Disney+ Review: ‘Daredevil: Born Again’ is a Very Worthwhile Reincarnation of Two Phenomenal Characters

Audiences have been waiting a long time to see Daredevil back on their TV screens after Netflix’s series ended after three seasons in 2018. While Charlie Cox’s Matt Murdock did make a few appearances in other Marvel properties since then – and a more extended stint on She-Hulk: Attorney at Law – this is the first time that he’s back in the limelight as the main character. Marvel Cinematic Universe devotees and Daredevil fans alike will be impressed to find a show that matches the original series’ dark tone and only improves upon it with a renewed exploration of the conflict that drives Daredevil to persist in a world filled with brutality.

This show makes many brave decisions, the first of which is to forge ahead with only its lead character and to dismiss its other main players within the opening minutes of its first episode, leaving the door open for returning to their stories in the future but making it clear that they are not part of this show. Daredevil isn’t really either, since Murdock has made the decision to put away the suit and to focus on fighting crime by representing those who desperately need his help in court. His longtime adversary Wilson Fisk, better known as Kingpin, is also back in the picture, but in a way that causes him to reconsider how he’s always operated now that he’s gotten himself a new job: mayor of New York City.

What’s clearly established from the first episode of this series is a fragile but definitive understanding between Murdock and Fisk: each knows who the other really is, and they’re going to stay out of each other’s lanes as long as they agree not to put on the Daredevil costume and not to use violence to force compliance, respectively. But neither of them is able to truly resist, since Murdock can’t turn off his heightened senses and feels like he must, for instance, walk into a bank where he knows a heist is in progress so that he can be the one in danger rather than other innocents. Fisk wants to get things done, in one case declaring that a construction supervisor should consider permits approved merely by his spoken authority, but he also isn’t above some unsubtle intimidation to ensure that those who are supposed to serve him don’t step out of line.

It’s a fascinating journey watching these two magnetic characters try to chart a new course, and there are a bevy of challenges thrown at both of them. Murdock must contend with elements meant to be protecting and serving who seem ready to attack and even kill him despite knowing full well that he’s an attorney, and Fisk has to sit through grating musical performances and pretend to care about minutia when all he wants is to deal with the big picture. This show’s universe and the supporting players and plotlines within it are strong and well-written, but it’s also a stunning and staggering character study that probes the possibility of true change and whether the past can ever actually be abandoned and forgotten.

Given that this is an MCU show, it’s understandable that tie-ins to other franchise elements will be made occasionally, and this show is actually surprisingly sparing with those, preferring to focus instead on its two protagonists. That’s a smart choice because, even after thirty-nine episodes of the Netflix show, there’s still much more ground to be covered (and season two already on the way). With so many superheroes and comic book stories out there, it’s refreshing to see something that feels so familiar yet still manages to be creative and involving. Those who appreciated the grittiness of The Penguin will find something similarly dark and well-crafted here. This is top-tier Marvel television, revisiting an established character and his world in the most interesting and engaging way possible.

Series Rating: 9/10