I’ve been a Daredevil fan for a long time. One of the first comic collections I owned was the first 10 issues of the original Daredevil comic book series from the Silver Age, I read through Mark Waid’s run on the character a few years after I graduated college, and when the Netflix Daredevil series launched in 2015, I went back to read older runs, as well as kept up with the ongoing Daredevil comics for a while. So needless to say I’ve read a lot of stories about the Man Without Fear, and after watching the Daredevil: Born Again trailer, I’m pretty sure that the upcoming Marvel TV show will be adapting one of my favorite Matt Murdock stories.
The Storyline Daredevil Born: Again Seems To Be Pulling From
In the preview, Vincent D’Onofrio’s Wilson Fisk, a.k.a. Kingpin, asks Charlie Cox’s Matt why he stopped being a vigilante, to which Matt responds, “A line was crossed.” While Matt doesn’t provide any further context, Wilson says that it’s “hard to come to terms with the violent nature.” Now, Matt obviously hasn’t had a problem with violence in the past since the whole point of being Daredevil is so he can fight crime when he’s not seeking justice in the courts. So what kind of line would be crossed that would be so extreme for him to hang up the mask? Easy: he killed someone, something he swore numerous times in the original Daredevil TV show he wouldn’t do.
Let’s assume for now this is the case; I don’t think Matt deliberately killed anyone, as he wouldn’t even do that to Wilson Fisk in the Daredevil Season 3 finale after all he’d done. Rather, I think this was an accidental killing, which leads to me crossing my fingers that Daredevil: Born Again is adapting a key plot point from Chip Zdarsky’s comic book run. Early on in this period of Daredevil’s printed page history, Matt unintentionally killed a thief, and he felt so guilty about this that he not only gave up being a superhero for a while, he even agreed to go to prison for his crime provided that he never had to reveal his true identity.
More Evidence That Supports My Zdarsky Theory
Obviously I don’t expect Daredevil: Born Again to do a deep-dive adaptation of Chip Zdarsky’s run. Frankly, that’s not even possible since the Disney+ subscription-exclusive series is also putting its spin on the Mayor Fisk storyline that the Echo finale teased, which was explored in Charles Soule’s run. But I should also note that in addition to my speculation, there’s also the confirmed fact that Jeremy Earl is playing Cole North, an NYPD officer who’s serving on Fisk’s Anti-Vigilante Task Force. In the comics, Cole was introduced during Zdarsky’s run as the detective who investigated the homicide Daredevil committed, and he was later assigned to apprehend Spider-Man when Wilson Fisk wanted to rid the Big Apple of all vigilantes.
So it’s entirely possible that as Daredevil: Born Again progresses, we’ll see Jeremy Earl’s Cole trying to track down and arrest Daredevil for having killed this unknown individual. If Charlie Cox’s Matt decided to give up being a superhero permanently, then he’d never have to worry about the authorities coming after him. But then that would make Born Again a boring affair, so events will unfold in the series that require Matt to put the mask back on, whip out the billy club and beat up criminals again.
What will those events be? Well, obviously there’s Wilson Fisk wielding more power than ever now that he’s been elected mayor of New York City, and we know he won’t be up to any good. Additionally, there’s also the return of Jon Bethel’s Benjamin Poindexter, who will officially become Bullseye, as well as the serial killer artist Muse running around. Hell, I wouldn’t be surprised if Matt ends up having an extended clash with Jon Bernthal’s Frank Castle, a.k.a. The Punisher, and that’s not even taking into account the tense scene between those two in the trailer.
I Hope Daredevil: Born Again Doesn’t Ignore The Prison Plot Point
With Daredevil: Born Again consisting of nine episodes, something tells me there’ll be enough to keep Matt Murdock occupied in the streets of New York City during that time. However, if the series is indeed pulling from Chip Zdarsky’s run, then I also hope this season will plant the seeds for, if not end with Matt being thrown in prison. Remember, Born Again received an 18-episode order, and while originally that was supposed to be spread across one season, those latter nine episodes will now comprise Season 2, which will begin filming sometime later this year.
If Born Again is going to the trouble of having Wilson Fisk set up a anti-vigilante task force, plus if Matt accidentally killed someone like I suspect he did, then that’s more than enough justification for our hero to be locked up. That would have for a great Season 1 cliffhanger, seeing Matt having be incarcerated alongside the kind of people he helped send to prison as either a lawyer or superhero, and all while wearing that mask so that his civilian identity remains a secret. Between Matt’s unwillingness to take any more lives and Fisk living comfortably holding the highest political office in NYC, there’s enough to ensure that this doesn’t feel like a rehash of when Frank Castle was sent to prison in Daredevil Season 2.
Since Daredevil: Born Again premieres on March 4 on the 2025 TV schedule, it won’t be too much longer until my suspicions are either confirmed or debunked. Whatever it ends up being, I do recommend that anyone who’s remotely interested in Daredevil comics should read Chip Zdarsky’s run, whether you pick up the physical collections or pull up the issues on Marvel Unlimited.
