The first season of Daredevil: Born Again, the highly anticipated revival of Netflix’s Daredevil, has come to an end. The series had a long road to production and a very unique release schedule, but its growing pains were definitely worth it. With nine episodes, Born Again brought something to the Marvel Cinematic Universe that few Marvel projects have attempted: a true political conscience. Its brutal season finale made hours of muddled build-up worth it. Born Again is the ACAB show Marvel fans never knew they needed, and that’s only set to continue as it heads into its second season.
The Born Again finale takes a sledgehammer to the status quo, positioning Wilson Fisk (Vincent D’Onofrio) as a true threat to the world at large. His rapid ascent forces Daredevil, aka Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox), to take desperate measures to stop him. When the credits roll, Matt and his allies are still on the back foot — but there is hope on the horizon, and it could come in the form of a long-awaited crossover.
Spoilers ahead for Daredevil: Born Again Episode 9.
Daredevil: Born Again Episode 9 ending, explained
Born Again’s Season 1 finale allows both Matt and Fisk to drop their mild-mannered alter egos and really, truly go to battle. Matt may have saved Fisk from catching a bullet in last week’s episode, but the favors stop there. Fisk has likewise had enough with all the vigilantes in New York: he declares a state of emergency to lock the city down, and sends his task force of corrupt cops out to slaughter anyone they deem a vigilante.
With a little help from Frank Castle/The Punisher (Jon Bernthal), the wounded Matt is able to fend off Fisk’s attacks. He also teams up with Karen Page (Deborah Ann Woll) to uncover the truth behind their friend Foggy’s (Elden Henson) murder.
By sifting through old public records, they discover the true significance of Mayor Fisk’s latest pet project. Throughout the season, Fisk has been working to restore the Red Hook Port. Before he gave up his life of crime, he used it to launder money — but seeing as it’s also a free trade zone, he and Vanessa can now use it to build their own city-state, free from all the taxation and tariffs that would plague them elsewhere. In short, the Fisks could become more powerful than they already are.
The Kingpin, meanwhile, works fast after Bullseye’s assassination attempt. By the time Matt and Karen figure out Fisk’s scheme, it’s already too late to stop him. High on his newfound power, Fisk murders Police Commissioner Gallo (Michael Gaston) and literally cages anyone else who stands in his way, including the Punisher and another vigilante known as the Swordsman (Tony Dalton). Matt and Karen can’t stop him alone: “We need an army,” Matt says late in the episode. But no one can get in or out of the city, thanks to Fisk’s Safer Streets Protocol. They’ll have to team up with local New Yorkers — like bar owner Josie (Susan Varon) and retired cop Cherry (Clark Johnson) — to stop the Kingpin. It’d also behoove them to seek out some more allies among the city’s vigilantes, and a few in particular already come to mind.
Daredevil: Born Again Season 2 could be a sneaky Defenders reunion
Fans of Daredevil’s adventures in Marvel comics may recognize the beats of Born Again. The series could be setting up a loose adaptation of the comic event called Devil’s Reign, which united the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen with New York’s finest heroes. Spider-Man, Elektra, the Fantastic Four, and even some of the Avengers tapped in to take down Fisk. We probably won’t get this level of crossover in Born Again Season 2, but there’s already a readymade team of heroes that could take their place: the Defenders.
Back when Cox starred as Daredevil in the Netflix series of the same name, he briefly formed a team with Jessica Jones (Krysten Ritter), Luke Cage (Mike Colter), and Iron Fist (Finn Jones). Their respective shows were canceled at the same time as Daredevil, but with Cox making the jump into the MCU, many fans are wondering whether the rest of the Defenders could follow suit.
Rather than adapting Devil’s Reign, Born Again could continue exploring the “Mayor Fisk” comic arc. The Defenders helped Daredevil defeat Fisk in 2018’s Daredevil #599, alongside vigilantes like Echo, Moon Knight, Spider-Man, and Misty Knight. Cox’s Daredevil has already crossed paths with most of these heroes, so it’d make sense for him to recruit them in his fight against Fisk. We’ll have to wait and see if Born Again Season 2 will actually commit to this crossover, but the show is slated to return sometime in 2026, so the wait won’t be all that long.
