Daredevil has never been afraid to make some highbrow references in its episode titles. Season 1 Episode 11, “The Path of the Righteous,” references the Bible verse Proverbs 4:18. Season 2 Episode 7, “Semper Fidelis,” references the motto of the Marines, a Latin phrase meaning “always faithful.”
Now, Daredevil: Born Again is repeating this pattern with an episode named after yet another Latin motto, but changed just a bit. The result is something that requires a bit of decoding, but reveals the truth rippling throughout both this episode and the series as a whole.
Daredevil: Born Again Episode 4 is entitled “Sic Semper Systema.” If you’re not fluent in Latin, which is understandable considering it’s a dead language, that roughly translates to “Thus always to the system.” Essentially, it’s saying that any system based on oppression will tumble.
Spoilers ahead for Daredevil: Born Again Episode 4.
It’s a slightly modified version of “Sic Semper Tyrannis,” the Virginia state motto, meaning “Thus always to tyrants,” a remnant of the American Revolution essentially meaning that those using power irresponsibly are doomed to fail.
But the phrase has a bigger role in American history. On April 14, 1985, Abraham Lincoln was watching a production of the play Our American Cousin at Ford’s Theatre when renowned actor John Wilkes Booth shot him in the head, jumped onto the stage, and yelled, “Sic Semper Tyrannis!”
This phrase wasn’t just chosen because of its role as a state motto — it’s often credited as the cry Brutus made as he assassinated Julius Caesar. Booth came from a family of actors, and his brother Edwin was especially famous for his Shakespearean roles, including Brutus in Caesar, so this reference was both to his attitude of Lincoln as a tyrant and more famous elder brother (think of him as the Liam Hemsworth of his time).
So what does this all have to do with Daredevil? Saying “Thus Always to the System” highlights how the main villain of this episode isn’t Wilson Fisk but the system itself. When Matt sits down with his client Leroy Bradford, he learns about how the system makes crime more likely, not less. Leroy was held in jail for 30 days last time he was arrested, meaning he missed his SSI appointment, meaning he was forced to dumpster dive and steal food, which got him arrested again.
Frank Castle was once the Punisher, but now that image has been absorbed by corrupt cops, who have co-opted his legacy for their own brutal anti-vigilante crackdown. But Matt — and Frank — know that it’s only a matter of time before the universe itself enacts its revenge.
We may not be able to change the system, but little things can take it down. It doesn’t mean a big assassination, but little things like lessening a sentence to a week in jail instead of a month. There’s no need for assassinations, because the corruption will destroy itself in time: thus always to the system.
