Blind justice will take over the MCU as Marvel’s darkest, most spiritually tormented hero returns to the small screen next week with Daredevil: Born Again. Writer Frank Miller’s iconic 70s run of Daredevil, which reimagined the titular hero in a gritty, realistic, and tragic setup—with greater emphasis on the psychological recesses of the character, and the success of CW’s Arrow, which paved the way for grounded, dark small-screen superhero ventures—acted as the foundation of Netflix’s Daredevil back in 2015. With Charlie Cox’s brilliant portrayal as The Man Without Fear, the series continued for three successful seasons—and through its nuanced characterization, storytelling, cinematography, and action sequences, it offered viewers some of the most iconic moments of comic-book media in the process. After an untimely cancellation by Netflix in 2018, fans have been begging for a much-deserved continuation of the series—which they will finally get with the revamped continuation of the series, Daredevil: Born Again, set to premiere next week on Disney+.
According to the showrunners, Born Again will not be seen as the fourth season of Netflix’s series; rather, it will be its own thing despite being crafted in the vein of the beloved show. However, there are story elements and character dynamics Born Again will focus on that viewers won’t feel familiar with unless they go through all three seasons of the Netflix series. While fans will definitely like the opportunity of binging the entire series, with this recap you can still get in the groove in a lesser timespan.
Spoilers Ahead
Season 1: Devil In Disguise
Nine-year-old Matt Murdock went through a tragic, life-altering experience while trying to save an elderly person from an oncoming truck, as he lost his eyesight after being exposed to the chemical waste spilled from the vehicle. After loss of vision, Matt’s other senses were amplified significantly, more than compensating for his visual impairment as his heightened senses translated the world around him with much more depth than his eyes could ever have. In his own words, Matt saw the world on fire, portrayed like an impressionist painting. Matt shared a strong bond with his single father, Jack Murdock, a boxer from the neighborhood of Hell’s Kitchen in New York City, known for his grit and perseverance, who wanted his son to have a better life. To provide for Matt’s future, Jack took money in exchange for throwing fights. However, on one occasion, unable to see his son disappointed any longer, Jack ended up winning a title match despite having taken money to throw the fight, and as a result, notorious fixer Roscoe Sweeney had Jack murdered. This incident scarred a young Matt for life and pushed him to pursue justice, as later in his life he goes on to become a successful lawyer.
Jack’s mean, almost devilish, never-give-up attitude was inherited by Matt, and he was profoundly impacted by his father’s Catholic faith as well. After Jack’s passing, Matt was sent to an orphanage where Stick, a mysterious, elderly, born-blind man, took him under his wings and helped him hone his gifts—the famous radar sense of Daredevil. Stick trained Matt in the disciplines of martial arts and wanted to make him his perfect soldier in the order of Chaste, a group of warriors who are forever locked in conflict with the Hand, an ancient malevolent cult set on world domination and gaining the secrets of immortality. However, an orphan, Matt saw Stick as a father figure, and the fear of emotional entanglement caused Stick to abandon Matt. Stick wanted Matt to refrain from connecting with others, as he felt Matt would lose his edge in life’s struggles by giving in to his emotional vulnerabilities; however, the overarching theme of the series is how Matt’s inclination to follow Stick’s advice resulted in his damnation in the long run.
At present, Matt Murdock has opened a small time law firm with his best friend from law college, Foggy Nelson, and unbeknownst to anyone, wearing a makeshift costume, Matt is operating as a vigilante – the Man in Black, by night. Aside from a sharp sense of justice, Matt is motivated by his faith to join in the righteous fight against the evil of the world and feels the cross of humanity is his to bear as he subjects himself to excruciating mental and physical torment every night, beating up the dregs of society. The only emotional outlet Matt has to balance the equilibrium of his dual life is Father Lantom, who offers him solace with his spiritual guidance. It should be mentioned that despite having better career opportunities of working in bigger private law firms, Matt and Foggy didn’t want to sell out and instead wanted to help the underprivileged communities in their neighborhood, Hell’s Kitchen. Later on, Matt befriends Claire Temple, a dedicated nurse in Hell’s Kitchen, who rescues him on one occasion while he is in pursuit of Russian child traffickers. Claire supports Matt’s one-man crusade to clean up their neighborhood, and the duo have a brief fling. Matt saves a kid from the Russians by infiltrating their hideout, and the one-take fight sequence—famously known as the hallway fight scene— cemented the show’s popularity by showcasing the unyielding perseverance of the hero to be reiterated in each of the following seasons in glorious ways. As a vigilante, the no-kill code which Matt adheres to with religious zeal is a by-product of his faith.
Karen Page, an employee of Union Allied construction company, finds herself framed for murder of her colleague after exposing the financially fraudulent records of the company and becomes the first client of Nelson and Murdock who help to clear her name. In reality, the dreaded, violent crime lord Wilson Fisk, who is planning to purge and rebuild New York City in accordance with his vile worldview, was involved in the financial scam of Union Allied, and his trusted right-hand man/friend, James Wesley, had arranged the means to frame Karen. After Karen is acquitted, Wesley sends his lackey to have her murdered, and donning his costume Matt is able to save her. As Matt and Foggy offer her a sense of security and comfort, Karen decides to take up a job in their newly built firm. Later on, Karen probes deeper into the investigation on Union Allied and joins hands with veteran straight-arrow investigative journalist Ben Urich as she seeks to get to the bottom of this.
The first season also offers a look into Wilson Fisk’s traumatic childhood as his abusive father tried to ‘man him up’, thereby instilling an element of violence in the young boy, who ended up brutally murdering his father after he abused his wife. Unable to form a meaningful connection with others all through his life, Fisk has grown up to be emotionally unstable, prone to childlike fits of rage. However, things change for the better for Fisk as he gets into a relationship with Vanessa Marianna, an art dealer who loves Fisk with all his imperfections. At present, Fisk is operating from the shadows and is revealed to be connected with the Triad represented by Madam Gao, Yakuza represented by Nobu, the Russian mob represented by Vladimir and Anatoly Ranskahov, and a Wall Street financier, Leland Owlsley. This group is working in unison to run a citywide drug syndicate—through extortion, human trafficking, evicting families from impoverished neighborhoods, and other malevolent means. Fisk brutally murders Anatoly for disrupting his privacy and goes on to destroy the Russian mob’s presence before Vladimir can retaliate. The Man in Black continues to be a nuisance in Fisk’s planning as Matt tries to expose him, which prompts the crime lord to use his connections with police and media to frame the vigilante as a killer. In the midst of all this, Stick returns to the city and pays his old student a visit and kills a teenage human weapon named Black Sky, whom Nobu wanted to use for the Hand’s malicious purposes.
Fisk lures Matt out of the shadows by having a poor elderly tenant, Elena Cardenas, murdered, and orchestrates Nobu’s death while pitting him against Matt and gives the vigilante a heavy beatdown. Matt’s secret is revealed to Foggy, who feels betrayed by his best friend, and the duo have a brief falling out. After Nobu’s supposed death, Vanessa is poisoned by Leland and Madam Gao, who deem Fisk to have lost his edge following emotional diversions. Karen and Urich uncover Fisk’s schemes and pay a visit to his mother to dig up some dirt on him—something which Wesley becomes aware of. Without informing Fisk, Wesley abducts Karen and demands her cooperation in exchange for the lives of her close ones – Matt and Foggy, and in self defence, Karen ends up shooting Wesley to death. Fisk learns about Urich’s visit to his mother and strangles the journalist to death, leaving Karen devastated and guilt-ridden as a result. In the meantime, Gao goes into hiding after Matt exposes her drug operation, where she exploited blind Chinese immigrants.
Ever since learning about Fisk’s heinous machinations, Matt struggled to uphold his moral code, as he was caught up in a conflict over whether to spare Fisk’s life in adherence to his faith, or to take it for the greater good, saving innocent lives in the process. In the course of events, Matt soul searches to question whether it is justice that he is seeking or if it is his inner darkness and pent-up anger that gain an outlet through him playing hero. Matt learns about Fisk’s relationship with Vanessa, which allows him to gain better clarity about him and set aside his darker thoughts.
Fisk finally learns about Leland’s betrayal when he tries to coerce him into surrendering half his gains to him in exchange for giving up Detective Hoffman, a cop on Fisk’s payroll who can rat him out. Fisk kills Leland and orders a manhunt. Matt learns about the situation, rescues Hoffman just in time, and sends him to Brett Mahoney—an honest cop—to testify against Fisk for all his crimes. It should be mentioned at this point that Matt manages to get a hold of Fisk’s tailor, Melvin Potter, and convinces him to create a protective suit for him in exchange for keeping his girlfriend, Betsy, safe from Fisk. After arranging the means to send Vanessa away, Fisk makes a last-ditch attempt to escape the authorities until Matt—now fully adopting his heroic persona, Daredevil—finally pins him down and hands him over to the cops.
Season 2: A Dark Past and Darker Future
I think Daredevil fans will agree with me that despite having its moments, the second season is the weakest link of the series—primarily due to the lack of a strong central villain and an emphasis on larger world-building instead of offering a cohesive narrative. Fisk is behind bars, and a new threat has emerged in Hell’s Kitchen. Frank Castle, aka Punisher, an amnesiac, decorated, trigger-happy ex-Marine, annihilates the Irish gang, the cartel, and a biker gang named Dogs of Hell to get revenge for his family, who were caught in the crossfire during a violent gunfight between these gangs. Matt, Foggy, and Karen end up on a collision course with Punisher while acting as a legal aide of Grotto, one of the lowlifes from the Irish gang, whom Frank ultimately manages to kill. Frank justifies his actions as a necessary evil needed to root out criminals for good, and locks horns with Daredevil on multiple occasions. Matt begins to question the kind of heroism he is inspiring after having a conversation with Frank, who denounces Matt’s moral code and shares his belief that Matt is just one bad day away from finally snapping. Matt somewhat sympathizes with Frank after learning the truth about his family’s demise and has no option except to accept the fact that it is the failure of the system that has bred vigilantes like Daredevil and Punisher. Matt’s battle with the biker gang is the second season’s iteration of the one-take hallway fight. Karen and Foggy suspect foul play after DA Samantha Reyes tries to use Grotto as bait to capture Frank, and after Daredevil manages to hand him over to the authorities, she quickly tries to bury the case by pushing for Frank’s execution – which doesn’t come to pass later on. Karen sympathizes with Frank after prying deeper and learning his past, and also because she herself is wracked with guilt for having taken a life and projects her inner guilt by searching for a way to absolve Frank. It is Matt and Karen’s willingness to do right by Frank that leads Nelson and Murdock to volunteer to offer Frank legal aid, but Frank’s trial begins, and Matt becomes preoccupied with another secret facet of his life.
Elektra Natchios, daughter of a rich diplomat and Matt’s old flame from his college years, returns to his life as she implores Matt to investigate an alliance between Yakuza and the Roxxon corporation. In the past, Elektra wanted Matt to embrace his inner darkness and kill Roscoe Sweeney, the man responsible for his father’s death. However, Matt didn’t give in to his baser instincts, prompting Elektra to abandon him. At present, while investigating Roxxon, Elektra and Matt end up in the crosshairs of ninjas of the Hand and get rescued by Stick—who helps Matt to save Elektra’s life. Matt is shocked to learn that Elektra was raised by Stick as an assassin in the war against the Hand, and she was sent to bring Matt into their order, Chaste. However, at present, Elektra confesses that she fell in love with Matt for real and no longer feels the need to participate in the meaningless proxy war. Karen and Matt have started a relationship, but as Matt grows increasingly distant from his friends to tend to his past affairs, their connection deteriorates. Foggy and Matt once again go through a falling out after Frank’s trial goes sideways, and to everyone’s utter shock, Frank makes a scene at the court while confessing to his crimes. Karen honors Ben Urich’s memories by taking up his position in the New York Bulletin, offered to her by Editor Ellison.
Frank is sent to prison, and his ulterior motive behind the confession comes to light as he meets up with Fisk, who was pulling strings from behind all along. Fisk offers Frank a chance to learn the truth behind his family’s passing from a prison head honcho named Dutton, in exchange for having Dutton murdered by him as Fisk wants to assume complete control in prison as well. Frank learns about the involvement of a secretive, extremely influential drug dealer named Blacksmith, and murders Dutton afterward, only to get betrayed by Fisk, who has prison guards trap him with vicious, murderous captives. However, in a brutal, bloody prison battle, Frank ends up murdering the entire lot and earns Fisk’s respect, who decides to have Frank released after having a brief bout with him. In the meantime, DA Reyes, who was trying to bury Frank to embolden her political ambition, confesses to being responsible for putting Frank’s family in harm’s way while apprehending Blacksmith. Reyes is murdered in her office at City Hall after a violent shootout, and Matt’s radar sense allows him to save Foggy and Karen just in time. Frank is suspected as the killer, but Karen remains convinced about his innocence, and later Frank saves her life from another such shootout. Eventually, Frank and Karen learn the true identity of Blacksmith to be Colonel Ray Schoonover, the acting chief of Frank’s recon division in the Marines—and Frank takes his revenge by killing Ray at the end. Matt knows Fisk must have pulled some strings from prison to have Frank escape, and while interrogating him, he promises to make arrangements so Fisk never gets reunited with Vanessa ever again—a daring act that causes Fisk to deliver a nasty beatdown to Matt and threaten him and Foggy’s life.
Matt finds out Nobu, revealed to be a founding member of the Hand, is still alive and is using human vessels to drain blood in order to perform a mystic immortality-obtaining ritual. Matt rescues the emaciated teenagers, who are revealed to have been zombified and controlled by the Hand as they return to their captors. Elektra refuses to abide by Stick’s orders any longer; Stick sends his hitman to kill Elektra. A vengeful Elektra targets Stick, and Matt finds himself trapped in between both of them when Nobu and his ninjas surround him. Nobu reveals Elektra to be the prophesied Black Sky, the ultimate human weapon destined to lead the cult—and this was the reason as to why Stick wanted to kill Elektra. Anyway, as the trio retreats, Matt assures Elektra that she must not give in to her darker self to follow any ambiguous predestined nonsense, and that she is capable of being loved. In a final battle, Matt and Elektra take on Nobu and soldiers of the Hand, and Elektra ends up sacrificing her life to save Matt from Nobu’s attack. Nobu is killed for good this time as Stick decapitates him, and in the end, Matt ends up revealing his truth to Karen. Elektra is hinted to have been resurrected by the machinations of the Hand.
Defenders S01
While there are a lot of connections going on with The Defenders, where vigilantes of New York—Jessica Jones, Daredevil, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist—band together to take on the threats posed by the Hand, you need to remember three major events from the series to catch up with the third season of Daredevil. Elektra Natchios is reborn as Black Sky, and the Hand’s leader, Alexandra, brainwashes her to fight the Defenders. In her corrupted state, Elektra ended up killing Stick. In the final moments of the series, Daredevil stayed with Elektra in the hopes of redeeming her, and the duo ended up remaining inside the collapsing Midland Circle building. Even though Matt survives, there is no sign of Elektra after the dust settles.
Season 3: The Devil Triumphant
The third season of Daredevil is literally the peak of the series, as following the traditional hero’s journey route, it breaks the dark vigilante in mind, body, and spirit to have him reborn as a greater force. Starting off right from the end of The Defenders, the third season begins with a broken Matt recuperating in the orphanage in Father Lantom and Sister Maggie’s care. Losing his beloved Elektra and his mentor/father figure, Stick, Matt has hit rock bottom and is questioning the purpose of his alter ego. God’s righteous wrath has turned into the wrath of a man who is disillusioned by the world’s apathy and capacity for evil. This is Matt at his most vulnerable self, and the very first episode sees him struggling with faith to such an extent that he asks a bunch of muggers to kill him as he is unable to take his life – as it is an act against his faith. In sync with the dark, personal tone of the third season, Matt dons his old black costume—after all, it is a battle he waged against his own insecurities and self-doubt. Also, like the second season, Matt continues to keep himself distant from his friends, believing himself to be responsible for putting them in harm’s way—but eventually realizes their presence to have been his source of strength all along. Sister Maggie is revealed to be Matt’s mother, who had abandoned her family all those years ago after suffering postpartum depression.
Shedding his doubts and conflicts from the first season, Fisk completely owns his villainous, vicious status as Kingpin as he makes a deal with FBI Agent Ray Nadeem to ensure he is exonerated and gets his long awaited reunion with Vanessa. While investigating Fisk, Matt ends up entering the lion’s den as he ventures into prison and has Fisk let the entire prison loose against him—to take revenge for his act of defiance in the second season. In the best iteration of the one-take hallway fight scene, Matt engages with dreaded prisoners in a tense, nerve-wracking beatdown—and Fisk is able to learn his identity as Daredevil.
At this point, we are introduced to FBI Agent Benjamin Pointdexter, aka the supervillain Bullseye, a deeply troubled ace marksman whose life is a mirror opposite to that of Matt. Coming from an abusive childhood and orphaned at a young age, Dex’s disturbed psyche was triggered early due to abandonment issues, which was somewhat assuaged by the disciplined lifestyle enforced during his army days. However, the horrors of his army days twisted his worldview further, and his lonesome life only increased his emotional burdens that much. Dex falls for Julie, his colleague from the suicide prevention hotline center, but fails to form a meaningful relationship as he starts stalking her in fear of rejection. Matt’s connection with his loved ones kept him on a moral, noble course of life, and exactly the opposite happened to Dex. As fans already know, Bullseye’s most fascinating skill is his ability to use anything as lethal projectile weapon, and the third season shows how deadly this psychopath can be in all his murderous glory.
After getting freed by staging an attack on himself in prison, Fisk uses Dex’s troubled psyche to his own advantage as he takes him under his wing after Dex is fired from the agency following his brutal streak. Fisk brings hell upon Matt by targeting both his identities, as Dex dons Matt’s Daredevil suit while leaving a trail of bodies, framing the vigilante in the process. Foggy and Karen try their best to stop Fisk, and Karen revisits her dark past, highlighting precisely what made it impossible for her to return to her family ever again. To get Fisk step out of bounds, Karen even confesses killing Wesley to him, but despite riling up Fisk her plan ends up getting foiled. Karen goes to Father Lantom for some soul searching, and the duo get attacked by Dex—Matt fails to appear in time as Father Lantom sacrifices his life to save Karen. A broken Matt is consoled by Karen inside the church, which recreates the Pieta scene reference from Daredevil: Born Again by Frank Miller.
To take complete control over Dex’s mind, Fisk has Julie murdered, and sends a team of hitmen to kill Nadeem’s family, who has been helping Matt to put Fisk in the shackles once again – and Matt ends up saving their lives. Matt almost feels his grip getting lost over his moral compass, as just like in morality plays, Fisk, as the devil on his shoulder, tries to goad him into giving in to the darkness, whereas memories of his late father, Jack Murdock, act like a good angel to keep him on the path of righteousness. Like the first season, Matt struggles to find a reason to not kill the devil incarnate, Fisk, who has absolute control over everything and cannot be stopped by relying on the instruments of justice. Vanessa returns, and Fisk reunites with her at long last, and her role in fueling Fisk’s darker ambitions once again becomes clear as she implores Fisk to kill Ray Nadeem, who will testify against him if not taken care of. Dex kills Ray, and Matt is able to learn about Dex’s connection with Julie—the woman whom Fisk had murdered. Matt informs Dex of the harrowing truth—which completely breaks the deranged killer and turns him against Fisk.
Fisk celebrates his reunion with Vanessa with a surprise wedding ceremony, and Matt and Dex arrive at their penthouse as party crashers. As Dex tries to kill Vanessa, Fisk shatters his spine—although at the end he is revealed to have recuperated. In the final showdown, Matt delivers a bloody beatdown to Fisk in front of Vanessa, humiliating him just enough but refusing to kill him, despite having every justification of going down that path and coming very close to cross the line. Nadeem’s secret video about Fisk incriminating himself surfaces, which proves to be enough to have the Kingpin apprehended once again. Fisk agrees to keep Matt’s identity a secret and spare Foggy and Karen’s pursuit, in exchange for Matt keeping Vanessa’s role in Nadeem’s death off the records. True justice won, but with a cost at the end.
At the end, Matt makes peace with his identity – Daredevil is his truth, his cross to carry – but he recognizes at the same time that he doesn’t need to do it alone. In the end, Foggy Matt and Karen reunite and set to begin their journey together once again.
