Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox) is a really good lawyer. As a defense attorney in New York, he goes out of his way to make sure his clients get a reduced sentence or full acquittal, and find enough to back up his cases and maintain his reputation. However, sometimes being a lawyer isn’t enough, and as Daredevil, he deals with the criminals who do worse on the streets at night and instead of a great defense, he uses his fists and beats them to a pulp in a red suit. These are the two sides to Matt, constantly flipping between one another.
As a man of faith, Matt believes that his actions are done with a sense of righteousness, using his skills to deliver justice and help those who cannot help themselves, always toeing the line between being a vigilante who is often violent and a cold-blooded killer, as he also believes that everyone is capable of good even when the world tells them they don’t deserve a chance. However, as he encounters more and more characters who thrive on violence, he questions whether or not his methods are having any desired effect, as no matter what happens, crime is back on the streets and people die.
This begs the question: will Matt Murdock ever have a day where he fully goes over to the dark side? Daredevil: Born Again grapples with this very concept, as the concepts of violence and justice blur when lines are crossed, and the line between hero and villain blurs more than ever before. With the first two episodes of the series premiering earlier this week on Disney+ (full season review here), the story continues from when the character was last featured prominently in the MCU, Season 3 of his flagship series on Netflix. Barring a few quick appearances in Spider-Man: No Way Home, She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, and Echo, Born Again is essentially the fourth season of the Netflix series, building on plot points established in those appearances, while also further challenging Matt as he foregoes being The Man Without Fear over being a man he fears he’ll become.
But where Born Again becomes interesting is in looking at the flip side of this equation, with Wilson Fisk (Vincent D’Onofrio) deciding to turn over a new leaf and run for mayor of the city. This is a decision that is, of course, met with skepticism. As the Kingpin, there is no limit to the number of heinous crimes Fisk has committed in order to remain powerful and keep his empire from falling apart at the hands of the police, journalists and especially vigilantes, and despite having served time for these actions, there is no knowing whether Fisk will flip in an instant while maintaining a powerful position such as mayor as a facade for his activities.
In the world of comic books, infamous rivalries such as theirs, Spider-Man and Green Goblin, Professor X and Magneto, Superman and Lex Luthor, Batman and Joker etc. have long stood the test of time, each encounter an event often talked about long after it happens. What makes these rivalries so iconic, however, is also knowing that they often represent two sides of the same coin. Despite what they do to stop each other, there is an inherent knowledge that they cannot be who they are without each other, an idea spelled out by the Joker in Batman: The Animated Series when he says “without Batman, crime has no punchline.” In an interesting sense, while each of these pairings wishes to accomplish different things to the benefit/harm of others, there is also an understanding between them. A certain logic built in to their characters.
Much like Murdock, Born Again also begs the question: how long can Fisk go without being the Kingpin? Early on, as the two meet in a diner after a long time and discuss their present situations, the two can’t help but have a laugh over their recent detours in life, and how things seem to be changing for them in a world that has dramatically shifted since their last encounter. Due to recent events, Matt has stopped being Daredevil, as he believes he cannot be a hero without the crossing the line anymore, with a recent failure casting a massive shadow over him. As he explains this to Fisk, it is made clear that when it comes to Daredevil, it is only a matter of time when he comes back to fight crime. Similarly, despite Fisk running for mayor and explaining how he wants to be a man of the people, as well as having been on a journey recently with trying to find absolution through Maya and getting through to her once more (as seen in Echo), Matt knows it is only a matter of time when he comes back to commit crime.
Born Again is built on this duality the two struggle with. Both try to dodge their violent natures, putting on different masks to hide it, knowing that at some point, both will reach a point where they decide to embrace who they used to be once again, and when that day comes, will face each other. The emphasis on this in this new series, however, makes for mature storytelling on a level the MCU has not seen in some time. Back when Daredevil was on Netflix, along with the other characters in the Defenders lineup like Jessica Jones (Krysten Ritter), Luke Cage (Mike Colter), Iron Fist (Finn Jones) and The Punisher (Jon Bernthal), the series tapped into ideas and concepts that were spectacularly different from the more level nature of the films at that point. With the integration of Daredevil further into the MCU after some serious side-stepping in the past, Born Again tackles themes and ideas that affect even the real world, and create a fascinating and brutal new entry for the franchise.
*still courtesy of Marvel*
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