Marvel has been accused of playing it safe recently, but Daredevil: Born Again episode 1 proves the studio is still willing to take risks.
Warning: This article contains major spoilers for Daredevil: Born Again episode 1.
It’s been nearly seven years since we last saw Matt Murdock, the devil of Hell’s Kitchen. Netflix’s Daredevil, which followed the titular Marvel character as he tried to find some kind of balance in his life as a superhero and a lawyer, was a beloved series that concluded in 2018, but has now been resurrected over on Disney+ in the form of Daredevil: Born Again.
The new series takes place years after the events of Daredevil, but Matt (Charlie Cox) and his friends Karen (Deborah Ann Woll) and Foggy (Elden Henson), are exactly as we remember them. The trailers already promised us the series would find Matt at odds with his old adversary Wilson Fisk (Vincent D’Onofrio) and still largely resisting his superhero identity and the violence that comes with it.
That being said, episode 1 starts with quite a bang. We’re heading into spoiler territory now, so if you haven’t had a chance to watch the episode yet, bookmark this page and come back to it afterwards.
Many had correctly predicted that either Karen or Foggy might meet their maker in the series, most likely in the first episode, setting the plot in motion. We were right: Foggy does indeed get shot in the premiere.
Few of us could have predicted that the shooting would come in the first ten minutes, however. It’s been years since we last saw these characters, so I expected directors Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead would have let us settle into the world and pace a little, but I was wrong. Instead, the pair dive right into the action, including the expected one-shot fight scene – something each season of Daredevil had included – right at the beginning. Our trio enjoys a few drinks at Josie’s bar, only for Bullseye (Wilson Bethel) to ruin the night by shooting Foggy.
The shocks don’t end there. As chaos ensues at Josie’s, Matt swings about as Daredevil, eventually finding himself on the rooftop with Bullseye as Foggy’s heartbeat – which Matt can hear, thanks to his superpowers – slows down and then stops altogether. Matt has always struggled with the violence that comes with being a hero, and has always held on tight to his rule of not killing people. Injuring them is fine, even if it leaves them on the brink of death, but no killing.
Except now. When Foggy’s heartbeat stops, Matt is consumed with rage and throws Bullseye off the roof, seemingly to his death. If you were concerned that the violence had been toned down as the character moved over to Disney+, episode 1 puts those worries to rest. Bullseye hits the ground with an impressive thump, enough to make even the most seasoned gorehound wince a little.
It’s a bold opening. The series always had to do something a little bit extreme to show they were staying faithful to Daredevil’s tone and to get new viewers hooked without bringing in too much baggage from the old series. Mission accomplished, I’d say.
This is only a taster of what’s to come, too. As the series progresses and Matt further struggles with his identity, the violence gets more and more excessive, but it never feels like the fight scenes from The Avengers, Guardians Of The Galaxy or Iron Man. Marvel has always relied heavily on escapism. None of the fight scenes in the above films are supposed to be realistic, and I’m not criticising them for that, but Daredevil: Born Again barely feels like a Marvel production – in the best possible way.
Perhaps the change in tone wouldn’t be as obvious if the series didn’t follow Captain America: Brave New World, which largely was accused of playing things too safe. Last year’s Agatha All Along also demonstrated that Marvel was doing exciting, less serious things with its TV shows, but Daredevil: Born Again feels like a genuine risk for the usually family-friendly studio.
Could this new, more grounded and violent approach make its way into the studio’s cinema releases? That might be a step too far, still, as Marvel will likely want to get the entire family into the cinema rather than just adults. But perhaps Daredevil: Born Again is a sign that the studio is at least open to considering new ways of telling these stories.
The first two episodes of Daredevil: Born Again are now streaming on Disney+
