Daredevil: Born Again Review (Episodes 1-2): Halfway Between Sequel and Soft Reboot
Daredevil: Born Again is available on Disney+, to the delight of the many fans, not only of the original Marvel character, who is among the most loved and iconic superheroes of the parent company, but also of those who once enjoyed a television universe that can rightly be described as the best dedicated to superheroes. This new season, from the start, impresses with its dramatic and unexpected twists. You couldn’t go wrong Hell’s Kitchen Devil’s return to Disney Plus by Marvel Studios, in fact Daredevil: Born Again, at least in the first two episodes that we had the opportunity to preview, the settings, the violence and the blood did not disappoint, and indeed, they were also better than the mother series license plate Netflix. Indeed, Daredevil: Born Again is a continuation of the previous series, although it is not necessary to see it to understand this new version on Disney Plus. We find, once again Foggy, Karen, and Charlie Cox as Matt Murdock, who continue their dream of opening a successful studio. The event that opens the series is shocking, and for this reason, Daredevil will decide to hang the costume on the wall, just as underlined in the trailer by Wilson Fisk by Vincent D’Onofrio. His Kingpin is also frightening here, and his story directly picks up the events that happened in the Hawkeye and Echo series. For this reason, the two Marvel Television series are directly linked to this new Daredevil: Born Again.
The Netflix series would stand out for their mature and violent approach to superheroic matters, focusing on street vigilantes (Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, etc.) in an urban context close to everyday life and far from the most marked fantastic drifts of film productions. The aim was to show the public a different side of the shared universe of the Marvel house, a plan later abandoned with the advent of Disney’s proprietary platform and the consequent cancellation of the aforementioned series, at least until today. Seven years have passed since the last season of the original series of Daredevil, a long period in which fans have spasmodically awaited a new solo adventure of the vigilante in the MCU. While Matt Murdock and his alter ego, always played by Charlie Cox, were reintroduced to the official continuity in Spider-Man: No Way Home, She-Hulk: Attorney at Law Doubts also grew about how this new management could have distorted the character’s gloom and drama. Fears partially mitigated by Echo, first MCU TV-MA miniseries, where both Daredevil and his Kingpin nemesis, previously seen in Hawkeye, made their appearance. But now we have reached the moment of truth with the imminent exit of Daredevil: Born Again, available on Disney + starting March 5th. A new series entirely dedicated to the Hell’s Kitchen Devil and created for the small screen from Dario Scardapane (Jack Ryan), Matt Corman (The Enemy Within) is Chris Ord (Covert Affairs).
Daredevil: Born Again Review (Episodes 1-2): The Story Plot
Daredevil: Born Again starts from Hell’s Kitchen with Matt (Charlie Cox), Karen (Deborah Ann Wolf) and Foggy (Elden Henson) who now look to the future, in New York where, however, many unknowns, uncertainties remain and to confirm it already in the first episode he arrives, Bullseye (Wilson Bethel). The ancient and sadistic enemy will be able to set in motion a series of events that will forever upset Matt and his life, but it will certainly not be the only element of surprise and novelty. Wilson Fisk, aka Kingpin (Vincent D’Onofrio), after escaping death in Hawkeye, now seems to want to change his life, he also participates in his wife Vanessa (Aylet Zurer) who continues to maintain control of their criminal activities behind the scenes, even if apparently in the face of the media and public opinion the two have absolutely nothing to hide. Kingpin’s candidacy for Mayor of the Big Apple marks an armed truce between Daredevil and the former bloody boss, although perhaps it is now appropriate to simply call them Matt and Wilson, But how long will it last? Does Fisk want to change his life? Or will he and Matt be destined to come back to confront each other as in the past?
Daredevil: Born Again takes its name from what is considered one of the greatest narrative lines in comic book history (not just Marvel), conceived by Frank Miller in 1986. This narrative marked a significant turning point in the life of the character created by Stan Lee and Bill Everett, and fundamentally influenced the modern superhero concept, pushing the boundaries of alienation and moral ambiguity. It is a masterpiece, and it was inevitable that the adventures of the blind vigilante from New York would eventually continue. How faithful this continuation will be is yet to be determined. However, let’s begin by stating that Daredevil: Born Again is not a watered-down version. The concern of presenting a softer iteration of the character, a fear that arose from Disney’s influence, has been mitigated. Therefore, there is a strong intention to remain faithful to the character while also offering a distinct vision of superheroism that diverges from the mainstream interpretations seen in recent years on both the big and small screens—a vision that also resonates with a specific American cinematic authorship, that of New Hollywood.
Daredevil: Born Again Review (Episodes 1-2) and Analysis
Looking at the new episodes of Daredevil: Born Again on Disney+, one can’t help but think of filmmakers like William Friedkin, Don Siegel, Walter Hill, and even Martin Scorsese. Despite its strong ties to modern action and martial arts cinema, Daredevil: Born Again has always focused on portraying cities as jungles made of concrete, darkness, and asphalt. Here, we encounter a violent world filled with beasts, where Murdoch constantly confronts enemies who are even more formidable, ultimately as broken in spirit as he is. Charlie Cox and Vincent D’Onofrio recreate the fantastic chemistry that once made the series truly unique and incredible. Additionally, Jon Bernthal’s Punisher returns, although it will be the first and last appearance of Chamber of the Kings as White Tiger, as the actor tragically passed away from cancer in late 2023. We will meet new characters and reunite with several familiar faces in a series where it is challenging to distinguish between light and darkness, as everyone—truly everyone—strives to become something different from who they are, but the call of the jungle is stronger than anything else.
Daredevil: Born Again had a genesis complicated by Disney’s desire to start over, 10 years after the first season, to have something more “soft” for the general public. It would have been a heinous but not unprecedented mistake, but certainly this series also came with great doubts and perlpessity given the incredibly complicated production process, with delays, rearrangements, changes in driving and second thoughts by Kevin Feige. The main signature at the moment is that of Dario Scardapane. There have been additions and new scenes shot at last, but the fact that Cox and D’Onofrio said theirs as producers was the first proof of a desire to be more related to the public and less to supposed market needs. After all, Marvel on the small screen tried to create products for families. Daredevil: Born Again could not be, under penalty of forgetting the formula of “superheroes with superproblems,” which has always been the key to every Marvel character. We will see how the series will go on, whether this will be the rebirth of Marvel on the small screen or the classic swallow that does not make spring.
Continuing to talk about comic inspirations, more than the famous storyline “Born Again” by Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli, as the title would suggest, the series refers to much more recent cycles of the Guardian Devil, also considering that elements of that story had already been adapted in the second and third seasons of the old show. Daredevil: Born Again mainly takes inspiration from run in comics written by Charles Soule, as regards the idea of Fisk mayor and the introduction of the serial killer Muse (although still absent in the first episodes, the presence of the villain was revealed by advances and trailers). Another important source is certainly the work done on the character by Brian Michael Bendis, especially in the story “The trial of the century”, where ample space is given to the role of Matt as a lawyer (also in the TV series in question, the protagonist will find himself having to defend the vigilante White Tiger in court).
Daredevil: Born Again, at least in these first episodes, devotes a lot of time to appearance legal of the character, here intent on using his overdeveloped senses more as an investigation tool, in search of information and clues useful to his case, than for his activity as a hero in costume, for the moment set aside. Two episodes where this legal part alternates with Kingpin’s machinations, taking up the much-appreciated drama crime tones of the previous series. A show designed for a more mature audience, where the superheroic action – the elaborate clash in sequence with Bullseye, present in the prologue – is centered amid the thickening of the various intrigues and the deepening of the relationships between the characters. There are also disturbing parallels with the present, with Fisk, a populist politician, ready to take advantage of the lower instincts of the voters, also exploiting the power of social media (his communication is curated by the young and unscrupulous Daniel Blake, played by Michael Gandolfini). Daredevil: Born Again, in these first two episodes, presents itself as a worthy continuation of the dark and violent Netflix series, ready to satisfy fans of the first hour and beyond.
The point is that this Daredevil: Born Again is a chameleon hybrid that ranges from two main incarnations: on the one hand, we have an urban action with political hues, which carries on the general plot of a Marvellian New York that sees masked vigilantes oppressed by the judgment of public opinion and tormented by institutions. On the other, an intimate story of deconstruction and refoundation, of the character always beautifully played by Charlie Cox, grappling with a new life but also with old problems, that is, his desire to save the weakest and most unfortunate from the dark side of justice. And, not too surprisingly, the main focus of the series is precisely on the light of day, in the shadow of the court benches, where Matt tries to make a difference, and at the same time to carry on a secret crusade against the new plots of Kingpin – in whose shoes we find once again the matrix Vincent D’Onofrio. We, therefore, have a serial product which, in its 9 total episodes, ranges between more purely vertical stories and a horizontal texture that really explodes only in the final bars, taking up the momentum glimpsed in the prologue. In the middle, we have the construction of a new status quo, of elements that return from episode to episode, of a macro-history that leads to the cliffhanger of this first season, but also of independent and self-conclusive narratives, which partially recall the initial concept of the series.
It therefore seems clear that Born Again is the result of a cut and paste, which has preserved some original ideas and then become contaminated with something new, more dynamic, more “MCU”. And the result is something that excites only at times because it leaves us now dumbfounded, now confused: Daredevil: Born Again wants to contain too many things inside, he wants to converge too many subplots, he wants to welcome too many souls. Paradoxically, the series works much better precisely in its interludes untied by the macro-story, in its self-conclusive parentheses. It is at that juncture that the show finds a slightly different sap, a more marked identity, detaching itself from the attempt to mimic its previous incarnation. When he returns to more dramatic and violent tones, following the main storyline, he stumbles upon a thousand things: a villain who has too little space to make his mark, free cameos (some are very functional, others a little less) and a narrative mosaic that triggers cause-effect mechanisms that are all too fast and hasty.
All of this is an immense sin because, in doing so, Daredevil: Born Again is configured as an extremely discontinuous and unbalanced product. In tone, in writing, and the technical and artistic direction. Even at the directing level, direct episodes with audacity and personality coexist in the same series with much more botched and hasty others. And therefore, in the end, we find ourselves by the hands of a work in which we live a continuous qualitative ups and downs, between very high moments and more questionable choices. Overall, it’s a good product, at times satisfactory, but for now, not yet memorable. And this is not a good thing, not all the way: because the Devil, when you embrace him, you want to carry it inside. Daredevil’s first two episodes: Born Again highlighted an important aspect for this rebirth of the character, namely the duality of the two opponents from the start of the series: Matt Murdock and Wilson Fisk. The first is grappling with a crisis of his double identity. After the events that took place at the beginning, we learn, as well as from the trailer, that he abandoned the vigilante costume to devote himself to the full-time lawyer case. The second, Wilson Fisk, after recovering from the clash with Echo, decides to run for mayor to devote his time to making New York flourish again.
Both, however, struggle to hide their violent side, which seeks blood and revenge, managing less and less to hide what they are. Vincent D’Onofrio steals the scene in every sequence we see it, and this version of Kingpin is much more frightening than those views of the latest appearances (Hawkeye and Echo). Charlie Cox is much shadier, a Murdock wounded by events who has stopped believing in what he does and who wants to avoid further bloodshed. An incredible start for this Daredevil: Born Again that many would not have expected and that could give us great satisfaction. The title of the series refers to the famous comic book cycle of Frank Miller, already partially adapted in the third season of the Netflix show, but it is, above all, an allusion to the return of the character after the troubled production history mentioned above. And the new course also proved to be not without obstacles, since during the 2023 strikes Marvel viewed the material already shot and found it insufficient, due to the initial approach that did not include explicit connections with the previous series (reason why historical supporting actors have a reduced presence on this tour, to make them return more permanently in the second season, already confirmed). A new showrunner was then hired, which made Rebirth a real sequel to the original show, trying to save the salvable from the four episodes shot up to that point.
And here we are faced with a hybrid operation, where the dark soul has remained and the writing is solid, but a certain contrast is evident, at least in the early stages, between a horizontal texture that is linked to what has been seen previously and a more vertical approach that is a legacy of the first version of the new show. But overall, thanks also to the direction of Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead for the first episode, the reincarnation of the series has its dark and adult identity, positioning Daredevil’s return to the scene as the main example of how the Marvel Cinematic Universe is not uniform in terms of tone and atmosphere. As already ten years ago, he is in his corner, in Hell’s Kitchen and surroundings, ready to ensure justice for those people whose problems are too small to attract the attention of the Avengers.
Daredevil: Born Again Review (Episodes 1-2): The Last Words
Daredevil: Born Again is the first solo adventure of the Hell’s Kitchen vigilante in the MCU. The series takes up the speech started by the old Netflix show, reintroducing most of the elements that had made it successful. In the first two episodes previewed, a large space is reserved for the legal enterprises of the protagonist, who uses his special skills more for the search for clues useful to his case than for the activity of masked hero. An aspect that alternates with the machinations of his Kingpin nemesis, taking up the appreciated drama crime tones of the previous series. A production that looks like a worthy continuation of Netflix’s dark and violent Daredevil, ready to satisfy fans of the first hour and beyond. Daredevil: Born Again is a clever and multifaceted operation, halfway between a sequel and a soft reboot. It is a series that lives on many souls, perhaps too many, within which the desire to go halfway between legal drama and urban action coexists. The result is a series that, in its self-conclusive segments, finds its own pleasant identity, but which then lends its side to a horizontal macro-plot in which it imports more the “thing” than the “as”. The result is an imperfect creature, which constantly alternates between very high moments and hasty writing choices. It is a product to which, given the enormous cliffhanger in the ninth episode, we must give the benefit of the doubt in the hope that Season 2 will show us the true and definitive face of this MCU-branded Devil.
Cast: Charlie Cox, Vincent D’Onofrio, Margarita Levieva, Deborah Ann Woll, Elden Henson, Wilson Bethel, Zabryna Guevara, Nikki M. James, Genneya Walton, Arty Froushan, Clark Johnson, Michael Gandolfini, Kamar de los Reyes, Ayelet Zurer, Jon Bernthal
Created By: Dario Scardapane, Matt Corman, Chris Ord
Streaming Platform: Disney+
Filmyhype.com Ratings: 4/5 (four stars)
Daredevil: Born Again Review (Episodes 1-2): Halfway Between Sequel and Soft Reboot - Filmyhype
Director: Dario Scardapane, Matt Corman, Chris Ord
Date Created: 2025-03-05 14:02
4
Pros
- The cast is in a state of grace
- The dark component is consistent with the previous version of the show
- The series can be used without knowing all the events of the Marvel Cinematic Universe
Cons
- Sometimes it is noted that the episodes have been reworked starting from two different ideas
