After a long and uncertain wait, Daredevil will finally return to the Marvel universe in Daredevil: Born Again on March 4th on Disney Plus. Daredevil: Born Again is expected to serve as a pseudo-fourth season of the Netflix show titled Daredevil. Stars Charlie Cox, Vincent D’Onofrio, Deborah Ann Woll, Elden Henson, Jon Bernthal, and Wilson Bethel will all return to their respective roles from the first three seasons of the series. With many longtime Daredevil fans highly anticipating the return of the man without fear, let’s take a look at what we can expect from the series!
Daredevil: Born Again and the much anticipated return of the Man Without Fear
Since 2018, Marvel fans have long hoped and awaited the return/reintroduction of Matt Murdock/Daredevil into the MCU. After Daredevil was cancelled after three seasons in 2018, many fans were heartbroken at the loss of such a phenomenal series. The fandom then launched a massive #SaveDaredevil campaign, which clearly caught the eye of Kevin Feige and Disney.
One of the biggest questions that needed answering was what would Daredevil in the MCU look like? Would it be the brutal and gruesome type of story featured in the Netflix series, or would Disney end up toning down the violence for something more family-friendly? As many fans are relieved to see, Daredevil: Born Again certainly seems to be keeping the TV-MA tone of the original series, as the trailer featured many bloody and brutal moments.
A loose adaptation of Frank Miller’s original comic titled Daredevil: Born Again
Daredevil: Born Again was a 1986 comic book run on the iconic character Daredevil, written by Frank Miller. Miller, who is known for many comic book runs along with Born Again, such as The Dark Knight Returns, 300, Sin City, and Batman: Year One. As one of the most popular comic book runs for the character of Daredevil, it was expected by many that this story would eventually get a proper adaptation. Presently, it is expected that Daredevil will carry the subtitle of Born Again for the first two seasons of the show, which would comprise the entire Born Again story of eighteen episodes.
To keep spoilers to a minimum, the Born Again comic run mainly covers the ongoing battles between Matt Murdock and Wilson Fisk, while also involving the usual characters of Karen Page and Foggy Nelson. Based on the trailer released last week, the Daredevil: Born Again series will work in the characters of The Punisher, Muse, White Tiger, Bullseye and more. With the introduction and reintroduction of so many street-level Marvel characters, it’s safe to assume Marvel is working towards something big, which brings me to my next topic.
The beginning of Devil’s Reign
For those who are unaware, Devil’s Reign was the culmination of the Chip Zdarsky era of Daredevil comics. Zdarsky’s Daredevil run consisted of thirty-six solo issues, which then culminated in a six issue limited series titled Devil’s Reign. While the plot primarily focuses on Matt Murdock and Wilson Fisk again, other characters get involved in the street level event, such as Spider-Man, Captain America, Iron Man, The Fantastic Four, Moon Knight, Elektra and more. For the many fans out there that are hoping for a large-scale event with the MCU’s street level heroes, Devil’s Reign seems like the safest bet so far.
What clearly gives away the fact that Marvel Studios is building towards a Devil’s Reign event is the fact that Wilson Fisk will actually become the Mayor of New York City in Born Again. One of the biggest aspects of Devil’s Reign is the fact that throughout that series, Wilson Fisk becomes Mayor Fisk and actually outlaws vigilantism throughout the streets of New York. This ultimately leads to a huge confrontation between the NYC street level heroes and Mayor Wilson Fisk that takes place in Devil’s Reign.
While Daredevil: Born Again will clearly take many pages out of its comic predecessor, I’m also expecting Born Again to use just as much of Chip Zdarsky’s run on Daredevil as well. While it will not be a 1:1 adaption per usual, I expect some characters seen throughout Zdarsky’s run to appear.
A big character from Zdarsky’s run, Cole North, is rumored to be played by actor Jeremy Earl, as set photos revealed the introduction of the potential Anti-Vigilante Task Force that Fisk puts forward to take down all of New York’s vigilantes. Marvel is always extremely calculated with the way they build up to big crossover events, and I expect that to continue into Born Again season two and beyond.
The likely crossover between Daredevil and Spider-Man in the future
Continuing on the topic of Devil’s Reign, the most feasible project to adapt this massive story into would be a future Tom Holland Spider-Man project. While I don’t personally think Spider-Man 4 will be Devil’s Reign, as I believe they’ll opt to go with one last multiverse story, it’s entirely feasible for Spider-Man 5 to potentially adapt this story.
So what would a Spider-Man 5 that adapts Devil’s Reign look like? It’s safe to assume the three leads of the movie would be Tom Holland as Spider-Man, Charlie Cox as Daredevil, and Vincent D’Onofrio as Wilson Fisk. The premise would obviously expand upon Mayor Fisk and his Anti-Vigilante Task Force hunting down the heroes of New York. The movie could end up being a Civil War style crossover by the second or third act, bringing in other characters such as The Punisher, Jessica Jones, Moon Knight, Kate Bishop and more.
It’s also safe to assume that Mayor Fisk’s allies will expand beyond just the Anti-Vigilante Task force. In the comic series, Wilson Fisk actually utilizes the Thunderbolts and orders them to hunt down all these vigilantes. While it’s probably unlikely that we’d see the Thunderbolts be allies with Fisk, given how they’re hunted down by Valentina (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) in the upcoming Thunderbolts* movie, it’s feasible for some already established Marvel characters to work with Fisk in the future.
Utilizing Daredevil and Wilson Fisk as the catalysts for a big event taking place is certainly one of the smarter moves that Marvel Studios has made lately, given the universal love and admiration for these two characters over the past ten years. Marvel fans should finally see a path forward in the long-awaited street level saga of the MCU. Overall, Daredevil: Born Again is shaping up to be a huge stepping off point for the MCU.
What do you think? Let us know on social media @MyCosmicCircus or on Bluesky @TheCosmicCircus.com!
Daredevil Reading Guide: 1964-1998
Daredevil Reading Guide: 1998-2022
