No Surrender Cinema: Daredevil: Born Again (Episodes 1 & 2)
Get ready for a No Surrender Cinema that’s here to drag you straight to Hell…’s Kitchen! The Man Without Fear has resurfaced in the MCU, and the latest chapter in the story of Matt Murdock and his alter ego just dropped on Disney+! The two episodes that dropped tonight did not waste any effort in reintroducing one of Marvel’s greatest heroes in an extreme and gritty fashion, and I’m not going to waste any more time either; let’s break down Daredevil: Born Again, shall we?
SPOILER ALERT: For brand new shows, I like to keep No Surrender Cinema somewhat vague, that way I’m not ruining anything for the fans that might read up on a show before diving in. I’ll spare some of the extensive details, but if you haven’t watched yet, you might want to come back once you have!
As happy as I am to have one of my favorite comic book characters of all time back on my screen, so are the trio of Matt Murdock, Karen Page, and Foggy Nelson. The trio of lawyers are all smiles and laughs as they visit Josie’s Bar for a celebration, but the jovial re-introduction to the world of Daredevil will soon be replaced by the torment and darkness that shapes the world of The Man Without Fear. Within minutes of Daredevil: Born Again‘s beginning, tragedy strikes in a major way. The celebration is short-lived, and not even Matt Mudrock donning his Daredevil costume for a showdown with his old rival Bullseye is enough to save a life. The fact that Daredevil, with his heightened, super-powered senses, can literally hear a friend’s heartbeat growing fainter as he fights with his nemesis, provides a heaviness to the moment that shows our hero struggling to survive both physical pain and mental anguish simultaneously. Kudos to actor Charlie Cox, who plays Murdock/Daredevil, because he’s the one who suggested the heartbeat idea for the scene, and it really was a hell of a way to open up this new chapter of Daredevil’s story.
Only a few minutes after it started, Daredevil: Born Again jumps a year into the future; a future where Daredevil is no more. Ever since the event in question, Matt Murdock has opted to forego his vigilante persona and allow the battles to be fought in court. He’s also not the only one to consider himself a new man these days, as another familiar face, Wilson Fisk, would like nothing more than to be seen as a legitimized man that just so happens to now be the Mayor of New York as opposed to The Kingpin of Crime. Naturally, Fisk’s position as Mayor is seen as undeserved by many, which motivates him to use his typical, criminal means of intimidation to get his way. He first attempts to sway Matt Murdock from ever donning the Daredevil suit again, but since we know that’s not going to happen, Fisk moves on to imposing his will on the police officers of New York, many of whom refuse to work under the very man they once all swore to put in prison.
The thread that appears to connect the two men this time around is the death of a police officer at the hands of a citizen who assumed he was saving somebody from an assault. It turns out that the people committing the assault were cops who chose not to identify themselves, at least not until one of them met a grisly fate. The circumstances behind this makes Murdock curious, so much so that he voluntarily chooses to represent the accused. During Episode 2, more is revealed about Hector Ayala (Murdock’s client) that shows he may be a kindred spirit to his lawyer, and that the tragic mistake he made may have actually been warranted.
Like any good Daredevil story worth its salt, there’s as much turmoil in the love life of Mr. Matthew Murdock as there is in the other aspects. There are unresolved issues with Karen Page and a new love interest in therapist Heather Glenn that I’m guessing will come to a crossroads at some point during the season. There are also new supporting characters that are quickly thrust into the craziness of Murdock trying to balance both aspects of his life, and others in the Kingpin’s orbit. These characters include Matt’s new associate Cherry, a former cop, Fisk’s protege Daniel (played by Michael Gandolfini, son of Sopranos star James Gandolfini, which feels fitting), and BB Urich, a female take on longtime Marvel character Ben Urich, whose live action counterpart was killed in a previous season of Daredevil, opening the door for his niece’s arrival.
Daredevil: Born Again takes its name from my favorite Daredevil story of all time, however the name looks to be all they have in common. In those comics, Karen Page had become a junkie and revealed Daredevil’s secret identity in exchange for a heroin fix. When the revelation reaches The Kingpin, he uses the information to mentally torture Matt Murdock. While the latter could certainly happen in later episodes (especially with the face to face meeting establishing that these two characters are engaged in a game of mental chess), I would be extremely surprised if we saw heroin junkie porn star Karen Page as part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The reason I bring up the comics version of Born Again and note that it’s my favorite Daredevil story is because the two episodes that premiered tonight are already some of my favorite live action interpretations of any Marvel character. The opening fight is an amazing, one shot brawl that is visually and emotionally stunning. It’s bookended by another brawl at the end of Episode 2, one that’s much faster but not lacking brutality, and that one establishes the rage living in Matt Murdock’s heart. You could liken him to my favorite Marvel character of all time, The Incredible Hulk, in that he is a man clearly suppressing his emotions, and all of that pent up guilt, anguish, and anger is going to boil over. It’s going to be glorious in the remaining episodes when he embraces it and dons the Daredevil suit once again, channeling it towards Fisk, the corrupt cops, and whoever else might appear as an antagonist.
I remember how excited I was when Daredevil debuted on Netflix 10 years ago (a statistic that I couldn’t believe, especially since Charlie Cox looks exactly the same here as he did in that first season), and I can safely say that all of the anticipation and excitement I had for Born Again was worth it. Knowing that there is more to come with Daredevil and a confirmed appearance by The Punisher (another of my favorite characters) isn’t going to quell that excitement any time soon either, and after what I just watched, it’s probably only increased it. This was a great way to bring Daredevil back into the MCU proper (cameos in She-Hulk and Spider-Man notwithstanding). I know that Season 2 is in production as we speak, so it’s good to know that Disney has put as much faith into Daredevil as the people of Hell’s Kitchen have.
Daredevil: Born Again is now streaming on Disney+
