I hate to call the Daredevil: Born Again has capably carried the torch and earned widespread acclaim for its first four episodes. This also makes it a prime example of how re-shoots can benefit an MCU production despite skepticism.
reintroduced Frank Castle to the MCU after teasing his arrival with his skull iconography. His interaction with Matt Murdock was particularly emotive, reuniting after almost a decade as Matt investigates the proliferation of his skull symbol among corrupt police officers. It is during this interaction that I think Matt demonstrates his hypocrisy during a conversation that centers on their characteristic gulf in values and different approaches to enacting justice.
Daredevil: Born Again Episode 4 Reveals Matt Murdock Has Known Punisher's Whereabouts
He Managed To Track Frank Castle Down Pretty Quickly
Daredevil: Born Again episode 3 ended tragically with the death of White Tiger at the hands of an as-yet-unidentified figure bearing Frank Castle's Punisher logo. Although this detail is presumably unknown to Matt Murdock, he stepped up to further investigate the crime scene after the system failed to unearth anything beyond the nature of White Tiger's slaying. Using his heightened senses and investigatory skills, Matt discerned the location of the shell casing used in the killing, which was engraved with the same symbol. This then brought him to Frank Castle, who now lives in a stark basement.
Matt is well aware of the Punisher's lethal methods, so outright suggesting that he return to his vigilantism is tantamount to calling for the murder of criminals.
Daredevil's heightened senses are certainly superpowers, but I struggle to see how they could have helped him to pinpoint Frank Castle's precise location without prior knowledge. This suggests that Matt is keeping tabs on Castle, which would also explain his lack of push-back when Castle disavows the use of his logo on a shell casing as Matt knows he's being truthful. At the same time, it could signify a tacit approval of Frank's methods, which would fly in the face of his previous, well-established stance against Frank Castle's violence.
Daredevil: Born Again’s Punisher Return Looks Very Different After Watching All Of His Story In The Original Daredevil Show
The Punisher's Born Again scene with Daredevil has a lot of ties to his original story in the Netflix shows, adding dimension to the new MCU series.
This is demonstrated when Matt tells Punisher he could be "of service" in New York instead of holing himself up in a basement where he seems to be studying his next big target. Matt is well aware of the Punisher's lethal methods, so outright suggesting that he return to his vigilantism is tantamount to calling for the murder of criminals. This is a very different Matt Murdock to the one that confronted Punisher nearly ten years ago.
In Daredevil Season 2, Matt Promised To Never Stop Going After Frank Castle
Daredevil Previously Treated Punisher Like He Was Another Criminal
This is where Matt Murdock demonstrates his hypocrisy. His earlier interactions with Castle weren't so amenable, with the two coming to blows over Castle's approach. Daredevil is replete with compelling interactions, but one of the best was when Daredevil and Punisher locked horns on a rooftop while the former was incapacitated.
Aside from a small outburst at the repeated mention of Foggy, Matt doesn't take this opportunity to take Castle down and even apologizes for striking him.
While Daredevil opines on the potential for good in every person, even the most heinous criminals, Punisher insists that there is no such glimmer of good in his targets. Punisher also claps back at Daredevil's methods by highlighting their futility, where the people he targets can bounce back while Punisher's victims stay down. Daredevil then calls Punisher unhinged and vows to keep pursuing him as long as he operates before Frank Castle knocks Matt out.
Evidently, Matt has now changed his stance. Aside from a small outburst at the repeated mention of Foggy, Matt doesn't take this opportunity to take Castle down and even apologizes for striking him. Additionally, calling on Castle to be "of service" against criminals outright confirms that Matt has reneged on his promise and the stance he held against the Punisher for the entirety of Daredevil season 2.
I've Worked Out Why Daredevil: Born Again Makes Matt Murdock A Hypocrite
Matt Murdock Is Now A Broken Man
Ultimately, Matt's U-turn isn't entirely unexpected. Daredevil: Born Again has pulled no punches, opening with the shocking death of his best friend and partner, Foggy Nelson. This culminated in Matt's attempted murder of Foggy's assassin, Bullseye, prompting him to relinquish the Daredevil mantle after crossing the line that separated him and Frank Castle. His knee-jerk response to Foggy's death was Matt's most hypocritical moment yet and might explain why he reneged on his promise to Frank Castle after essentially understanding his point of view for the first time.
Foggy's death has turned Matt down a far darker path. His broken horn symbolizes his broken moral system and his psyche more generally. It's no wonder, then, that Murdock visits Castle under a truce that quite literally sees Castle bury a hatchet and observe that Matt's visit was a thinly veiled attempt to get "permission" to go after New York's villains with murderous intent.
Jon Bernthal is working on a Punisher Special Presentation for Disney+.
To be fair, it isn't as if the two characters left things on a sour note. The last time the Punisher was seen interacting with Daredevil on-screen was when he helped in his fight against the Hand and saved his life. This brings them closer to being allies than ever, and I'm kind of hoping that the relationship develops in Daredevil: Born Again to bring us a team-up.
How Born Again Can Pull Off A Daredevil And Punisher Team-Up
Daredevil And Punisher Are Closer Than Ever
Custom Image by Milica Djordjevic
With Matt Murdock traveling a darker path, it makes more sense now than ever before for Daredevil and Punisher to team up in their fight against New York crime. I'm not suggesting for a second that this should involve Daredevil killing criminals, but his assertion that Frank could be of service suggests that he is more than willing to begin overlooking Frank's lethal methods. This does, however, require Matt to finally don the suit and operate as Daredevil once more.
Every Returning Marvel Character In Daredevil: Born Again
Daredevil: Born Again is bringing back many Marvel characters from the old Netflix series, including those that have already breached into the MCU.
Thankfully, it's clear that this is where he is headed. He was last seen training with a new weapon on his rooftop, unable to sleep as Kingpin is likewise shown to be reverting to his old ways. I think it was astute of Frank Castle to call out Matt Murdock while visiting him to ask for permission, and in some ways, I think he is heralding the inevitable team-up.
Fisk is shown to be engaging in his villainy once more, making Daredevil's return inevitable, and I think the scale of what he is building up to could necessitate Frank's involvement. The show's secondary villain, Muse, was also shown to be particularly depraved with methods that are likely to test Daredevil's moral resolve to its limit. Whatever the case, I hope Daredevil: Born Again doubles down on the last interaction between Punisher and Daredevil in the original series.
Daredevil: Born Again
- Release Date
- March 4, 2025
- Network
- Disney+
- Showrunner
- Chris Ord
Cast
Matt Murdock / Daredevil
Wilson Fisk
WHERE TO WATCH
- Directors
- Aaron Moorhead, Justin Benson, David Boyd, Jeffrey Nachmanoff
- Writers
- Jesse Wigutow, Jill Blankenship, Thomas Wong, David Feige, Grainne Godfree
- Franchise(s)
- Daredevil, Marvel Cinematic Universe
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