First announced as part of Phase Five in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) in July 2022, Marvel’s Daredevil: Born Again series is premiering on Disney+ on March 4.
The series acts as a revival of Netflix’s three-season show Daredevil, which ran from 2015 to 2018. This and other associated Netflix series are officially canon to the MCU’s Official Timeline. It’s important to note that this timeline doesn’t yet include media that are unavailable on Disney+, like Spider-Man: No Way Home, in which Daredevil made an appearance. However, Daredevil and its related Netflix series are available to watch on Disney+.
While being great news for fans of the character, this series will open up a whole new aspect of the MCU that some Marvel fans may not be familiar with. With so much Daredevil-associated media predating Daredevil: Born Again, it can be an intimidating watch for those unfamiliar with the vigilante. That said, here’s your deep dive into everything you should know before watching Daredevil: Born Again.
Who is Daredevil?
Daredevil was first introduced by Marvel with the 1964 release of Daredevil No. 1, and like any iconic superhero, he has his set-in-stone origin story.
Daredevil, whose real name is Matt Murdock, was born and raised in Hell’s Kitchen, New York by his father, Jack, who struggles to make ends meet as a boxer. Murdock grows up not knowing his mother and is under the belief that she passed away, which isn’t the case.
In his childhood, Murdock gets involved in an accident after saving an elderly man from being hit by a truck. The truck ends up spilling radioactive chemicals onto Murdock, permanently blinding him in the process. However, these chemicals also superhumanly enhance his other senses. Following this incident, the MCU canon diverges slightly from the comic timeline.
In the official MCU timeline, Murdock’s father dies shortly after his son’s accident. A criminal known as “The Fixer” tells Murdock’s father to throw his boxing match, but he refuses and wins the match, leading The Fixer to have him murdered. Following this, Murdock is raised in Saint Agnes Orphanage, a Catholic orphanage in the MCU, and begins training under a blind martial artist named Stick.
Murdock eventually attends Columbia University, where he meets Foggy Nelson. Together, the two graduate from university and pursue a career in law, eventually opening their own firm.
As a character, Daredevil explores the lines between restorative and retributive justice. His relationship with his Catholic upbringing, combined with his daily attorney practices, creates an ironic dichotomy with the crime-fighting, devil-themed alter ego he dons at night.
Marvel’s Netflix Shows
Disregarding the 20th Century Fox film Daredevil (2003), starring Ben Affleck, Daredevil’s first major live-action appearance is in Netflix’s Daredevil series.
The series, starring Charlie Cox as Matt Murdock, was met with positive reviews from both critics and audiences, leading to three complete seasons.
This series included several important characters, including Murdock’s partner-in-law, Foggy Nelson; their firm’s co-founder and secretary-turned-reporter, Karen Page; Murdock’s on-again-off-again romantic interest and ally, Elektra Natchios; and the formidable crime lord, Wilson Fisk, also known as Kingpin.
At the same time, Netflix produced several other series, including Jessica Jones (2015-2019), Luke Cage (2016-2018), Iron Fist (2017-2018), and The Punisher (2017-2019). These series, also a part of the MCU Official Timeline, were interconnected with Daredevil and ultimately led to the characters meeting together in The Defenders in 2017.
While a lot happens throughout Daredevil’s three seasons, there are a couple of important takeaways to know. So, spoiler alert if you were planning on binge-watching any of these series.
Through both Daredevil and The Defenders, Daredevil fights against the Hand, a powerful organization seeking immortality. In Daredevil’s second season, it’s revealed that Elektra is the Black Sky, the prophesized weapon and leader of the Hand. However, Elektra still assists Daredevil in fighting the Hand, ultimately sacrificing herself.
The Hand resurrects her, which leads to her not remembering the previous events or Daredevil. We see her next in The Defenders fighting against Daredevil, but she’s ultimately defeated as a building collapses on them both. Daredevil is confirmed to be alive and is shown being healed by a nun, whom he realizes is his mother, Maggie Murdock. Elektra’s fate, however, is left unknown.
Wilson Fisk returns as the antagonist of Daredevil’s third season. Fisk manipulates Benjamin “Dex” Poindexter into posing as Daredevil in an attempt to ruin the vigilante’s reputation. Pointdexter, also known as Bullseye, is capable of making anything into a projectile weapon, making the fights between him and the actual Daredevil pretty intense.
Ultimately, Daredevil reveals to Pointdexter how Fisk is manipulating him, but Pointdexter is left paralyzed after fighting Fisk. Daredevil and Fisk agree that Fisk will return to prison and leave Foggy and Karen alone, and in return, Daredevil won’t reveal the involvement of Fisk’s wife, Vanessa. The season ends with Fisk’s return to prison and the reveal that Pointdexter is undergoing surgery.
Daredevil in the MCU
Daredevil: Born Again won’t be Daredevil’s first step into the MCU. He was previously in Spider-Man: No Way Home as Peter Parker’s lawyer and in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law as Jennifer Walters’ legal opponent, crime-fighting ally, and romantic interest.
However, the series Echo lends some information that may be important to Daredevil: Born Again. Released in January 2024, the series follows Maya Lopez as she faces her past, including her complicated father-daughter relationship with Wilson Fisk. Daredevil also makes an appearance, one that suggests he wasn’t blipped following Thanos’ snap in Avengers: Infinity War.
In Hawkeye, it was revealed that Fisk was behind the death of Lopez’s father. Despite Lopez thinking she killed Fisk, it’s revealed in Echo that he’s alive. He tries to convince her to join him in his criminal empire and be his prodigy, but she refuses, using her powers to make him remember his abusive childhood in an attempt to heal his trauma and make him let go of his anger. It’s unclear how this affected Fisk, but the next time we see him is in the mid-credits, which shows him considering running for mayor.
What We Know From The Trailer
The official trailer for Daredevil: Born Again reveals some new details. Several familiar faces make an appearance in the trailer, including Bullseye and Frank Castle, also known as The Punisher. The trailer also shows characters not seen before in live-action, including the villain, Muse, and the hero, White Tiger, also known as Hector Ayala.
Additionally, it’s revealed that Fisk is the elected mayor of New York, and Murdock has stopped being a vigilante because “a line was crossed.” It’s unclear what this means, but it may be alluding to the traditional idea that Daredevil is a “no-kill rule” hero, similar to characters like Batman and Spider-Man. The idea of Daredevil struggling with this rule has been explored in the past, so the new series may follow this route.
However, this is just one of our many unknowns. Is Elektra still alive? Will the Hand return? What about the Defenders? And how does this all connect to Marvel’s upcoming Phase Six? We’ll just have to wait and see on March 4.
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