Daredevil: Born Again, Season 2 - The Best Superhero Story on TV Returns
By John Kirk
Rating: A
Season Two of Daredevil: Born Again is the pinnacle of superhero storytelling on either the big or small screen.
There. Review over. Go watch it.
I’m oversimplifying things, but properly telling a superhero’s story is an immensely complicated process often overlooked when comic properties get adapted.
The writer has years, perhaps decades of already-established backstory, character development and fan expectations to contend with, not to mention the limitations and demands of adapting a comic character to screen. Daredevil: Born Again is an exceptional comic story come to life.
The second season picks up with dozens of suspected vigilantes and other undesirables who threaten the Fisk Mayoralty locked in tiger cages, in a hidden warehouse somewhere in New York. Wilson Fisk, aka the Kingpin (Vincent D'Onofrio) has a chokehold on the city, with his Anti-Vigilante Task Force patrolling the streets with impunity and smuggling military grade weapons through his private freeport. And no one seems able to stop him from ruling New York City like a kingdom.
The situation is dire but also a devilishly (no pun intended) clever scheme that highlights Fisk’s criminal genius, a hallmark of the character that comic readers will be looking for. The complexity of managing a criminal empire while appearing as a caring and conscientious politician is well-executed.
But the television Born Again is actually a mash-up of two comic storylines. The first season is loosely based on Frank Miler and David Mazzucchelli’s run of issues #227 to #233 in 1986, possibly one of the greatest story arcs in comics. In my review of the first season, I detailed that story.
Essentially, Matt Mudock (Charlie Cox) loses everything when, in that comic, Karen Paige sells Daredevil’s secret identity out to the Kingpin for drugs. The Kingpin systematically destroys everything that Matt Murdock holds dear until he is able to redefine himself and his mission. The message in that storyline was simple: when you hit rock bottom, all you have left is your true self.
The difference of that storyline in the first season is that Murdock loses Foggy Nelson. He has Karen Paige (Deborah Ann Woll) as a constant ally and in the second season we see her true self emerge. I have to confess, though the purist in me lamented the departure from that original plot, seeing Karen stand by Daredevil, even while being hunted by Mayor Fisk’s anti-vigilante army, was welcome. And her loyalty gives the audience another reason to appreciate Matt Murdock, the hero.
The second season is a clever homage to the “Mayor Fisk” storyline that Charles Soule wrote in Daredevil issues #595 to #605, and then Chip Zdarsky a few years later. D’Onofrio is perfect in his rendering of this complex manifestation of the Kingpin of Crime, a man who is so besot with the acquisition of power that he confuses it with love. This storyline is where we see the complexity of the Kingpin, trying to understand his own nature.
Matt Murdock, aka Daredevil (Charlie Cox) is no avenger with a cosmic range of super powers. In comparison to other heroes, his super powers aren’t the fanciest: heightened senses and reflexes with a lifetime of martial arts training that makes him a formidable opponent. But let’s face it: he’s a blind guy who hears really well.
What sets Daredevil apart is his sense of justice – an unshakable conviction in the power of Law to achieve that justice. Like all heroes, he is guided by a strict moral compass that not only guides him in his pursuit of justice as a superhero but also in his capacity as a criminal defence attorney. He fights equally hard, both on the streets and in the courts but within the Law and with all the complications that brings.
Charlie Cox is perfect in reprising this role. Not only does he fit the bill physically, but he presents Matt Murdock’s Catholic guilt and his struggle with rising above the eye-for-an-eye mentality when confronted with Bullseye (Wilson Bethel), the murderer of Foggy Nelson (Elden Henson), his best friend and partner.
This is a recurring theme in the Daredevil comics and the essence of the character that fans will be on the hunt for. Murdoch doesn’t believe in vengeance and one of the best lines in the series is: “murder isn’t justice.” It’s this assertion of values against the greatest of odds and the most difficult of challenges that marks this character as a true hero with real depth instead of tired clichés.
That’s the powerful drama in this story. Despite the Kingpin’s aim to achieve and consolidate his power over New York City at any cost, how will Daredevil will maintain his belief in the power of the law to bring this villain to heel?
It’s a viscerally painful struggle in which fans will be able to immerse themselves in and stay immersed, because it isn’t about super-powers or hi-tech weaponry or foiling some dastardly caper. It’s about checking the imbalances of human nature and the struggle we all have in rising above our baser selves.
But again – maybe I’m just over-thinking this.
Daredevil good. Kingpin bad.
It’s the best superhero story I’ve seen on television.
Daredevil: Born Again – Season Two. Directed by Justin Benson, Aaron Moorhead, Solvan "Slick" Naim, Angela Barnes, and Iain B. MacDonald. Starring Charlie Cox, Vincent D’Onofrio, Deborah Ann Woll, Krysten Ritter, Matthew Lillard, Wilson Bethel, Elden Henson. Season Two of Daredevil: Born Again streams on Disney+ Canada March 24.