Daredevil: Born Again Season 2 Recap

By: R.A. Rayne

When Marvel brought back Charlie Cox as Matt Murdock in Spider-Man: No Way Home, fans of the Netflix series Daredevil were thrilled. His portrayal of the blind vigilante lawyer of Hell’s Kitchen was pulled directly from the comics and exactly what fans had hoped the character would be.

But Marvel didn’t stop there! A short time later, Marvel surprised audiences by bringing Vincent D’Onofrio back for the Disney+ series Hawkeye, further cementing the legacy of the Netflix Marvel series within the MCU. D’Onofrio’s portrayal of Wilson Fisk, the Kingpin, is undoubtedly one of Marvel’s best casting choices.

Daredevil’s next appearance was in the Disney+ She-Hulk series, where he comes to L.A. to help fellow lawyer and ‘enhanced human’ Jennifer Walters/She-Hulk (Tatiana Maslany). Many fans question the show, finding it silly and overly comedic. The show stayed close to the feel of the She-Hulk comic book, breaking the fourth wall, making fun of itself, and the rest of the Marvel Universe. They all will agree that Charlie Cox’s Daredevil was a standout of the series.

In the summer of 2022, at San Diego Comic-Con, Marvel announced that it would bring Daredevil: Born Again to Disney+. At the time, they didn’t say whether the series would pick up where the Netflix show left off or if any other actors from the original series would return. While many fans hoped we would see the other Defenders and that Jon Bernthal would return as the Punisher, it seemed unlikely at the time.

However, as Season One of Daredevil: Born Again drew closer, and more and more came out about the series, we found out that we would be seeing many of the original actors returning to the show, including Karen Page (Deborah Ann Wol) and Foggy Nelson (Elden Henson), Matt Murdock’s law partners. Season One also featured Jon Berenthal returning as the Punisher and Ms. Marvel/Kamala Khan’s father, Yusuf Khan (Mohan Kapur).

Season One of Daredevil: Born Again felt much like the original Netflix show. It gave us that gritty, street-level MCU feel while its story felt ripped straight from the headlines of our current world. We were not prepared for what was to come in Season Two. Season One ended with Fisk imposing martial law in New York City and his Anti-Vigilante Task Force hunting down any vigilante in town, or anyone associated with them; not even Daredevil was safe.

If Season One of Daredevil: Born Again felt like it was pulled from the news headlines, Season Two felt as if it was pulled straight from the cable news networks. The series was much darker and held nothing back. Disney+ allowed the showrunners to take Daredevil into the bowels of Hell’s Kitchen, and they didn’t pull their punches. Season Two picks up right where Season One left off. Wilson Fisk’s grip over New York’s vigilantes has tightened, and his AVTF police force keeps the rest of New York in fear, allowing the Kingpin to conduct his nefarious dealings without being noticed.

The series opens with Daredevil climbing aboard the cargo ship Northern Star, wearing a black costume, with the classic “DD” emblazoned in red on his chest. While the “new” costume is reminiscent of his Daredevil: The Man Without Fear #3 (written by Frank Miller and John Romita Jr.) costume, we see it is an MCU variant. Red scrap marks indicate that Matt had painted his original red costume to give him a more stealthy look for dealing with Fisk and the AVTF.

After Daredevil discovers that the North Star is carrying military-grade weapons to New York, Mayor Wilson Fisk’s Red Hook free port, Fisk orders the ship destroyed, blaming the disaster on Daredevil and setting up the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen as a villain trying to destroy all the good Mayor Fisk has done for the City of New York.

Season Two of Daredevil: Born Again is packed with nods to the original

Netflix series and connects to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The showrunners added Easter eggs for fans, including references to Night Nurse, a photo of Ben Urich, BB’s late uncle, Detective Mahoney, as well as mentions of Matt Murdock’s mentor Stick and Fogwell’s Gym.

We also meet Mr. Charles (Matthew Lillard), a top CIA logistics expert who interrupts Mayor Fisk’s meeting with the District Attorney. It turns out the illegal weapons shipment on the North Star was meant for the CIA. Later, we learn that Mr. Charles and his boss, likely still Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfuss), are recruiting ‘enhanced humans’ like Luke Cage for secret CIA missions worldwide. This seems like a nod to The Thunderbolts and may even hint at the Dark Avengers.

The Swordsman/Jack Duquesne (Tony Dalton), who first appeared in the 2021 Disney+ series Hawkeye, is arrested by the Anti-Vigilante Task Force under the “Safer Streets Initiative” and prosecuted for his activities as a masked vigilante following his public heroics. The “trial” is a sham orchestrated by Fisk to target heroes, their associates, and innocent bystanders who speak out against Fisk and the Anti-Vigilante Task Force, seize their assets, and illegally detain them. With the help of a fellow Defender, Jessica Jones (Krysten Ritter), whose powers are in flux after becoming a mother, and the new White Tiger, Angela del Toro (Camila Rodriguez), they rescue Fisk’s detainees, sparking a rebellion to take back New York.

Without revealing Daredevil: Born Again Season Two’s most shocking moments, I will say it has proven itself to be as good as, if not better than, the original Netflix show, and it has also proven itself to be in the top echelon of the entire MCU. This includes the twist-filled finale, which was the most-watched MCU episode on Disney+. I, for one, can’t wait to see how the fallout from this season reverberates throughout other MCU movies and series coming out this year.

Season Three wraps filming in July, promising even more returning characters. Season Three of Daredevil: Born Again is set to return in 2027.