Daredevil: Born Again Review
Daredevil: Born Again, the reimagining/continuation of the Marvel-Netflix Daredevil series, debuted to much fanfare when it first arrived last year. Amongst a string of disappointments by Marvel in both film and television, fans hoped that the gritty, violent series about the devil of Hell’s Kitchen would bring back much-needed momentum for the franchise. So, how good is the return of Matt Murdock to the MCU, and does it break any new ground? Let’s find out in the review below.
This Daredevil: Born Again review breaks down Season 1 and Season 2 and whether Marvel got the revival right. Marvel promised a gritty return to form, but Daredevil: Born Again struggles to live up to the legacy of the Netflix series.
The History of Daredevil: From Netflix to the MCU
After the less-than-stellar performance of the Ben Affleck Daredevil flick from 2003, the rights to the character reverted back to Marvel. Finding their hands full with their MCU, Marvel sought to develop Daredevil for the small screen, teaming up with Netflix. In 2015, the first season of Daredevil debuted, bringing a dark and gritty outlook to the tragic story of Matt Murdock. Daredevil ran for three seasons on Netflix, paving the way for individual series of Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, and The Punisher. The heroes (except Frank Castle) then joined together in an Avengers-style team-up series titled The Defenders.
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While the rest of the Marvel-Netflix outings varied widely in quality, the three seasons of Daredevil were some of the best hours of television that Marvel had ever done. From its pacing to its story, Daredevil was a stunning achievement that showed Marvel could do prestige TV if it wanted to do so. However, the future for the Man without Fear was less than bright as disputes between Disney/Marvel and Netflix saw all these series promptly cancelled after Punisher Season 2 wrapped up in 2019.
Cancellation and Revival: How Daredevil Returned
However, the cultural relevance and broad appeal of these series (especially Daredevil and Punisher) meant Marvel could no longer ignore them and had to bring them into the MCU proper. The first step of this was Charlie Cox reprising his role of Daredevil in Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021), followed by his appearance in She-Hulk and Echo. At the same time, Vincent D’ Onofrio also appeared as Wilson Fisk in both Hawkeye and Echo, proving that Marvel was serious in bringing back these iconic characters once more. From there, it was a small stepping stone to Daredevil: Born Again.
Marvel had not wanted Born Again to be a continuation of the Netflix saga, and it worked very hard behind the scenes to ensure this would not happen. Subsequent leaks showed Born Again was initially planned as a light-hearted show with no cast members returning except Cox and D’ Onofrio. Ayelet Zurur’s Vanessa was also recast, and there were plans to reduce the street-level combat to a minimum. Thankfully, this did not come to pass, and due to sheer luck, what we got in Born Again was a straightforward continuation of what happened in the earlier seasons.
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Daredevil: Born Again Season 1 Review
First soft-rebooted and then resurrected, the first season of Daredevil: Born Again turned out to be a disappointment when it was released in 2025. Fans, spoiled by the Netflix outing, expected a tightly made political thriller but were flabbergasted to see it has the exact same issues as Season 1.Matt, the linchpin of the show, is still having the same problems the fourth time around; unsure whether to fully embrace his vigilante side or abandon it entirely to focus on the law.
Wilson Fisk returns as well after being thoroughly beaten three previous times, plotting a complex plan to take control of New York’s local government to make more money. A couple of new characters, including Muse and Bronze Tiger, are a welcome addition, but franchise veterans Karen Page and Nelson disappoint.
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What Went Wrong With Season 1
Daredevil Born Again review
There are a couple of good things to be found in this mess. The hand-to-hand action is on par with previous outings, and Fisk and Vanessa continue to be co-dependent sociopathic killers with no remorse. However, as we look deeper into the show, a multitude of further problems come to light.
Some of these are to do with the baffling creative choices on display; the jarring cuts within each episode attempting to show normal life in New York never mesh with the story, and Matt Murdock’s latest love interest, Heather Glenn, is way less interesting than all those that came before. Equally disappointing is Matt’s new work partner, Kirsten McDuffle, and her struggles in lawfare. Ultimately, the only thing that still works here is the connection to the original series.
Daredevil: Born Again Season 2 Review
Daredevil Born Again review
With Season 2 already in development when Season 1 dropped, fans expected Disney to fix the issues holding the series back. The creative team clearly fumbled Season 1, and the show needed a complete overhaul to get back on track.
Does Season 2 Fix the Problems?
Daredevil Born Again review
Season 2 of Born Again debuted two weeks ago, and as far as the first three episodes are concerned, this has the same exact issues as Season 1. The documentary snippets are still there, the new characters are still soulless, and the parallels between AVTF and ICE are blatant and underdeveloped. Fisk, once a commanding presence, is predictable and stale, and the recurring conflict between him and Daredevil does not bring anything new to the table.
The action is somewhat better, and so is Benjamin Poindexter/Bullseye, who manages to steal the limelight in every scene he is in. The final verdict for this season is still out, and won't be clear until we get to the very end. But, based on what we have seen so far, this season has not shown any inclination that it has learnt any lesson from the past.
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Final Verdict: A Missed Opportunity for Marvel
Daredevil Born Again review
There is no other way to say this: Daredevil: Born Again is a creative fumble for Marvel, and it should have been a lot better than it turned out to be.
For a character as iconic as Daredevil, “good enough” was never going to be enough, and that’s where Born Again ultimately falls short.
Daredevil: Born Again Review Summary
Rating: 5/10 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐☆☆☆☆☆
Best Element: Action and returning characters
Biggest Strength: Fight choreography
Biggest Weakness: Writing and inconsistent tone
