Warning: The following review contains mild spoilers for Daredevil: Born Again Season 1, Episode 1, “Heaven’s Half Hour,” and Episode 2, “Optics.”
Boxing is in Daredevil: Born Again protagonist Matt Murdock’s blood. So, it’s only fitting that the blind lawyer by day, costumed vigilante by night had to fight his way back onto the small screen.
After Netflix cancelled the original Daredevil series back in 2018 (part of the streamer’s wider shutdown of all its Marvel Cinematic Universe shows), the Man Without Fear was left in limbo. Fans lobbied Marvel Studios to revive Daredevil for years, but rights issues meant this was initially a non-starter. Things didn’t go much smoother when Marvel was finally ready for a new MCU outing headlined by Murdock and his crime-fighting alter-ego, either. First the 2023 Hollywood strikes ground filming to halt, then Marvel decided to essentially start over from scratch.
All of which is to say that Daredevil: Born Again has been a long time coming and is therefore one of the most hotly-anticipated MCU productions in recent memory. Happily, the wait was mostly worth it, as – based on its two-part premiere – Born Again is a largely satisfying continuation of Netflix’s Daredevil series.
And Daredevil: Born Again really is a continuation – at least at first. Season 1 opens with Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox), Karen Page (Deborah Ann Woll), and Foggy Nelson (Elden Henson) back together again, just as we left them in Daredevil Season 3. The trio’s reunion doesn’t last long, though. Tragedy tears them apart before the opening credits have even rolled, and Matt promptly retires from the superhero game. But with a police conspiracy afoot and Wilson Fisk/The Kingpin (Vincent D’Onofrio) taking control of City Hall, it won’t be long before Matt’s forced to suit up again – whatever the cost.
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It’s all very gritty and determinedly grown-up, and immediately dispels any lingering concerns that Marvel Studios would water down Daredevil’s milieu in the transition from Netflix to Disney+. On the contrary, showrunner Dario Scardapane and his team make a concerted effort to emulate what came before. Born Again‘s muted palette – not to mention its one-take action sequence early on – are very much in line with the original show’s aesthetic. The same goes for the revival’s flashes of graphic violence and profanity: you don’t need a radar sense to detect we’re in a different corner of the MCU than where Marvel Studios’ other, predominantly family-friendly fare goes down.
Indeed, watching Cox, Woll, and Hensen playing off each other against this Netflix-inspired backdrop almost feels like you’re watching Daredevil Season 4 (and will likely leave newcomers a tad lost). But like I said earlier, this feeling fades somewhat, once Born Again‘s focus shifts away from both the Matt/Karen/Foggy interplay and Murdock’s spandex-clad antics. In their place, we get a deliberately paced legal potboiler that teams our hero with new civilian allies, Nikki M. James’ Kirsten and Clark Johnson’s Cherry. Matt also scores a fresh love interest, therapist Heather Glenn (Margarita Levieva).
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None of this is bad, per se. Matt’s case is a smartly reworked comics storyline. Cox and Levieva have solid chemistry. But does any of it hit the same highs as the Netflix original? It’s too early to say for certain, however, I’ve got a sneaking suspicion that’s probably a “no” – particularly with Woll and Hensen seemingly side-lined for Born Again‘s seven remaining episodes. On the plus side, Scardapane and co. haven’t abandoned the Netflix Daredevil‘s other core dynamic: the eternal battle of wills (and wits) between Matt Murdock and Wilson Fisk. Watching Cox and D’Onofrio verbally spar is as entertaining as ever, and neatly lays out Born Again‘s compelling central thesis.
Like its Netflix predecessor, Daredevil: Born Again is preoccupied with the unintended consequences of using might to make right as you see it, whether that’s trying to clean up the streets or control a city. But there’s an even greater focus this time around on redemption (a popular topic for superhero shows this year). Daredevil and Kingpin are both trying to start over in Born Again, but can two people with so much to atone for – no matter what they set out to achieve or why – ever truly atone? Do they even really want to?
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That’s easily Born Again Season 1’s most arresting thematic wrinkle: the notion that Murdock and Fisk might be kidding themselves about who they really are. The violence in them, the hunger for retribution will eventually win out over whatever state of grace they strive for. Sure, there’s commentary around populist leaders and policing (complete with a nod to the real-life appropriation of the Punisher’s skull symbol) in Born Again, but putting Matt and Wilson’s souls under the microscope is what hits like a red-gloved fist.
And ultimately, this probably sums up why Daredevil: Born Again ultimately succeeds: it captures the spirit of the Netflix original. Does it nail every aspect of its execution with Bullseye-like precision? Not quite. But it does Matt Murdock and his world justice, and that’s what counts.
Daredevil: Born Again Season 1 is currently streaming on Disney+, with new episodes dropping Tuesdays.