Daredevil: Born Againhad Matt Murdock suit up again as the titular vigilante after a brief retirement, but the original show already teased his hero hiatus would not last long. By the time ofDaredevil: Born Againepisode 9’s ending, Matt Murdock had fully become the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen once more. The series began with the shocking death of a major player fromDaredevil: Born Again’s cast, forcing Matt to seek justice - or, more aptly, revenge - and subsequently hang up his helmet and focus on fighting crime via legal means.
Throughout most of the show’s opening episodes, Matt was shown struggling with his inner demons. Be it the rise in power ofMayor Wilson Fisk inDaredevil: Born Againor the inherent calling Matt feels to unleash his anger on criminals, the character eventually came out of retirement. However, given thatDaredevil: Born Againis a continuation of the Netflix show, this was not the first time Matt had stopped his vigilante work as the hero. For this reason, and the same storyline in the originalDaredevil,Born Again’s retirement was never going to stick.
Daredevil’s Struggle With Whether He Should Be A Vigilante Was A Consistent Storyline Throughout The Original Show
Matt Has Always Been Torn Between Two Lives
Firstly, it is worth exploring how Matt’s inner conflict about his hero life was showcased in the originalDaredevilshow. One of the main early arguments that caused Matt to wonder whether he should be Daredevil or not was brought about by his best friend, Foggy. Foggy found out that Matt was Daredevil and, hurt by the lies he was told and the danger Matt placed himself in, ended their friendship. Despite their reconciliation, this made Matt somewhat question his vigilante activities.
Matt gave up the mantle of Daredevil due to the hurt and pain it brings inDaredevilseason 2’s finale…
That said, undoubtedly the biggest plot point that addressed Matt’s struggle between the two halves of his life came betweenDaredevilseason 2 andThe Defenders. After the death of his ex-girlfriend Elektra, Matt gave up the mantle of Daredevil due to the hurt and pain it brings inDaredevilseason 2’s finale. Matt did so after telling Karen Page, another love interest of his, about his secret identity. Evidently,Netflix’sDefenderstimelineoften showcased Matt struggling to come to terms with his darker side. As made clear inThe Defenders, though, he never stays away for long.
Daredevil Coming Back As A Hero After Daredevil Season 2 Showed The Exact Reasoning Born Again Uses To Have Him Don The Suit Once More
Both Shows Used The Same Excuse For Matt Becoming Daredevil Again
AfterDaredevilseason 2, a few months passed in the Netflix MCU universe beforeThe Defenders. In the latter show, Matt teamed up with Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist to stop The Hand from taking over New York City, forcing the former vigilante to reclaim the Daredevil mantle. The same can be said inDaredevil: Born Againseason 1. Retiring after the death of Foggy lasted around a year, before the rise of Kingpin, the emergence of Muse, and Matt’s darker tendencies forced him to confront the devil inside him again.
While the broader elements of Matt choosing to come back as Daredevil again were different betweenDaredevil/The DefendersandDaredevil: Born Again, the same trick was used to push him over the line. In both shows,Matt was shown to fight against crime whether he was in possession of the Daredevil mantle or not. InThe Defenders, he began fighting against The Hand simply as Matt Murdock, wearing a scarf as his mask before taking back the Daredevil suit.Daredevil: Born Againsaw him doing similar, especially in episode 5, before regaining the suit an episode later.
Therefore,The Defendersproved that Matt should never be expected to stay away from the Daredevil life forever. This trick being used twice, seven years apart proves this above all else, by effectively showing just how much Matt needs to fight against those who have wronged him. IfDaredevil: Born Againseason 2 depicts another crisis of faith, these two past instances will be enough to prove it will not last very long at all.
Matt Was Always Going To Be Daredevil Again
Image via Disney+
Thanks to the shared method of bringing Daredevil back,Daredevil: Born Again’s story never possessed any suspense where Matt’s retirement was concerned. Although a lack of suspense would usually be classified as a bad thing forMarvel’s TV shows, it worked in this case. AfterThe Defenders, audiences knew that Matt’s Daredevil hiatus would not be a permanent feature of the show, especially given its title,Daredevil: Born Again. Therefore, the suspense of whether Matt would or would not come back as Daredevil was replaced by sheer excitement at when the former would take place.
From the momentDaredevil: Born Againepisode 1’s time-skip revealed that Matt had given up his Daredevil persona, the excitement for the resurgence of the hero began building. It was not a case of wondering whether Matt would don the suit again, but instead a case of the agonizing wait for the moment he would. This wait was built up organically and slowly throughout five episodes untilDaredevil: Born Againepisode 6 finally gave us what we were waiting for. Thanks to the previous instance of Matt negating his retirement, the storyline inBorn Againworked.
Any Longer & Matt’s Story Would Have Dragged On Too Long
That being said,Daredevil: Born Againcould have risked lingering on Matt’s retirement as Daredevil for too long. Aside from the past instances of Matt becoming Daredevil once more,Born Againneeded to get the timing right. If the show dwelled too long on Matt no longer being Daredevil, the aforementioned excitement audiences felt to see him suit up again would have warped into frustration.
This frustration would have stemmed from the show itself taking too long to focus on the titular hero, but also the original show. The three seasons of Netflix’sDaredevilmade it clear how good Matt’s vigilante storyline was, while also providing a fair amount of turmoil with his hiatus'. Therefore, dragging on yet another hiatus for too long without showcasing the fantastic Daredevil stories the show has been capable of would have been disappointing. Thankfully, though,Daredevil: Born Again’s retirement storyline did not last too long and the Man Without Fear returned in all his glory.
