Marvel’s blind superhero unites New York against the Kingpin
Created by: Dario Scardapane
Starring: Charlie Cox, Vincent D’Onofrio, Deborah Ann Woll
Rated TV-MA
Release Date: March 24, 2026 – May 5, 2026
This review may contain spoilers
Last time on Daredevil: Born Again…
Last year, Daredevil returned after a long hiatus from Netflix with Charlie Cox also returning as Matt Murdock, aka Daredevil. Well, yeah, Daredevil has been popping up in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) since Spider-Man: No Way Home, but his show was on hold due to copyright BS with Netflix.
Now existing on Disney+, the show brought back his greatest enemy, Wilson Fisk (Vincent D’Onofrio, Full Metal Jacket), who now became the mayor of New York and waged a totally legal war on vigilantes.
“I love New York”
Mayor Fisk, aka Kingpin, now has a tight grip on New York, using his specialized Anti-Vigilante Task Force to hunt down all vigilantes still in the city. Well, minus the super-popular, live-action web-shooting one that Marvel Studios can’t legally show because of complicated copyrights.
Kingpin is also dealing with a mysterious new figure from the CIA, calling himself Mr. Charles (Matthew Lillard, Scream series). Bullseye (played again by Wilson Bethel) is also still out there, now thinking of himself as one of the good guys as he kills Kingpin’s task force. All this and more collide into a winner-takes-all battle for the city between Daredevil and Kingpin (again).
MCU
Now officially canon with the MCU, both seasons of Daredevil: Born Again are set only in New York and barely acknowledge the events of current movies/shows. It actually focuses more on integrating past Netflix characters into the ever-expanding universe. Only one or two characters from the other shows show up.
Despite Thunderbolts* ending with a massive battle in New York, there didn’t seem to be any mention of Mayor Kingpin or his city-wide martial law in the city from season one.
Instead, the show stays contained in its own narrative, concerned only with what’s going on here, not the crazy superhero-filled world. Honestly, this here keeps the attention on the story without distracting the viewer with cameos.
In other words, there isn’t much to watch to catch up with this show. You can easily hop into this one. Although there are a few things that will affect Spider-Man: Brand New Day.
The Devil from Hell’s Kitchen
Matt Murdock is mostly in the Daredevil suit for the season, since his civilian side is considered missing. I like how you can see him more as the vigilante, as he has to rely more on his crime-fighting to stop Fisk this time.
His dark red suit is now covered in black, with the classic “DD” logo from the comics! Just a fun fact, I love these comic book moments!
Jessica Jones!
Oh yeah, my leather-jacket-wearing, whiskey-drinking, crime-solving girl is back! Krysten Ritter returns as Jessica Jones, joining the fight for New York and maybe her own series again (come on, Marvel!). It gives me hope for more Netflix characters back from hiatus, like Luke Cage and that rich guy with the glowing fist.
“I am the ill intent”
Don’t get me wrong, I love Vincent D’Onofrio’s Kingpin, but can we find more Daredevil villains? Other than one season of Netflix’s Daredevil, the Kingpin is always Daredevil’s main enemy. Not to mention Kingpin was also the main bad guy in the Ben Affleck Daredevil movie (RIP Michael Clarke Duncan).
Again, D’Onofrio kills it as Kingpin, and he is a fantastic villain for the series. But if Marvel can make Mysterio an actual threat in Spider-Man: Far from Home, then those guys can do a little justice to Daredevil’s bad guy lineup.
Granted, Daredevil’s rogue gallery is pretty goofy.
Serious F-bombs
New to the MCU are F-bombs or in layman’s terms, fuck. And fuck, does Daredevil and friends say fuck a lot of fucking times. The show is really earning the TV-MA rating.
So yeah, parents might want to pay attention to their kids watching Daredevil beat up bad guys.
I loved in season one, Daredevil got back into the superhero business by trying to call the cops, then put on hold, and literally just goes, “Fuck it,” and saves the day again.
Even superheroes would prefer broken bones and bruises over staying on hold with that damn music jingle.
More Seasons!
6 months before the second season premiered, a third season was announced. Hell yeah, keep this going!
“It’s time to give the devil his due!”
The second season of Daredevil: Born Again was awesome! Each episode ends with a wanting for more and excited to see next week’s episode.
Kingpin’s hold of the city tightens more and more with his corrupt anti-vigilante force working as his own militia for his enemies. With that and his handpicked governmental officials corrupting court justice, the final episode turns into a tense free-for-all.
No post-credit scene this season, but the season finale did have a teaser for The Punisher: One Last Kill special coming out a week later, after Daredevil. I’ll take it.
Daredevil: Born Again (Season 2) is streaming on Disney+.
