Netflix’s “Daredevil” was canceled in 2018 after three seasons, and ever since then, fans have been clamoring to bring the character into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The Man Without Fear officially begins his reign in the MCU with “Daredevil: Born Again” on March 4, 2025. Let’s take a look at where seasons one, two and three left us.
Written by Stan Lee and drawn by Bill Everett, the character first grazed the pages of Marvel Comics in April 1964, with “Daredevil #1.” The hero got his powers when he was young. He was in a radioactive accident, which blinded him and amplified/heightened his other senses to extraordinary levels. As an adult, he became the superhero known as Daredevil.
Throughout his story, he crosses paths with the web-head Spider-Man, and we are also introduced to his lawyer partner and best friend, Foggy Nelson, and his lover, Karen Page. Netflix’s “Daredevil” draws from the following storylines: “Daredevil: Last Rites,” “The Elektra Saga,” “The Man Without Fear,” “Gang War”and the essential Daredevil story “Born Again.”
In 2015, Netflix released “Marvel’s Daredevil,” a series that, alongside “Jessica Jones,” “Iron Fist,” “Luke Cage” and “The Punisher,” wasn’t connected to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. At that time, the MCU was just beginning to hit its peak. But the MCU was very fantastical, with many elements that weren’t grounded in reality, like what you see in the comic books. Whereas all these shows were grounded to the streets, they were grounded to reality, and at least for Daredevil, they were more violent than the MCU has ever been.
Season one introduced us to Matt Murdock (played by Charlie Cox), who, as previously mentioned, received his powers when a truck containing radioactive chemicals struck him in the face while he was saving someone from being hit by a car. This, in turn, left him blind but also amplified his hearing, smell, taste, and touch to superhero levels. Matt becomes a lawyer alongside his best friend, Foggy Nelson (played by Elden Henson), with whom he starts a law firm called Nelson and Murdock. Their first big case involves Karen Page (played by Deborah Ann Woll) being framed for murder. Daredevil’s main antagonist is Kingpin (played by Vincent D’ Onofrio). They cross paths for the first time in this show and lay the seeds for iconic storylines to play out in further seasons.
Season two pushed the limits of how violent this show can be while expanding Daredevil’s history on screen, with new characters that comic book readers will be delighted to see on screen. Daredevil begins to maintain a balance of Hell’s Kitchen (a neighborhood in Manhattan), but new and old familiar faces emerge. One is Frank Castle, aka The Punisher (played by Jon Bernthal). He is one of the most violent comic book characters ever created, not just in Marvel’s but the whole comic book industry.
The other is a love interest from his past, Elektra Natchios. Both people make Matt question his morals and decisions, which lead him to make tough decisions that will have a lasting impact on him, both as the superhero Daredevil and as the lawyer Matt Murdock. All the while, Wilson Fisk, aka the Kingpin, meets the Punisher in prison and plots his revenge in the shadows of his prison cell.
Season three took elements from the best and most popular Daredevil storyline, “Daredevil: Born Again.” It’s important to note this season takes place after the first season of “The Defenders.”
This season introduced us to another popular villain in his rogue’s gallery, Benjamin Poindexter, aka Bullseye. Kingpin is released from prison, and he makes a deal with the FBI in which he
helps them take down other criminal organizations. In the end, Daredevil forces Kingpin to return to prison, and Matt, Foggy, and Karen rename their law firm to Nelson, Murdock & Page.
This show was canceled in 2018, and ever since, fans have been clamoring to bring it back. The fans love this show and praise it for its faithfulness to the comic books, they love how real and gritty the show is, the choreography, and the action scenes. Their wish was for the series to be canon to the MCU, and Marvel gave them hope when Charlie Cox reprised his role as Matt Murdock in 2021’s highly acclaimed “Spider-Man: No Way Home” movie. Shortly after, in 2022, Marvel officially announced the return of the character in “Daredevil: Born Again.” He continued appearing in the MCU as Daredevil in 2022’s “She-Hulk: Attorney at Law” series and briefly appeared in 2024’s “Echo” series before appearing in his show afterward.
Now, in 2025, fans are eagerly anticipating the return of the Devil Of Hell’s Kitchen with “Daredevil: Born Again.” This show was originally going to be a reboot, but Marvel listened to the fans and changed it to be a continuation of the 3 previous seasons. The original cast from the latter seasons: Charlie Cox, Deborah Ann Woll, Elden Henson, Vincent D’Onofrio, and more, all reprise their roles for this continuation. Some of the storylines the show will be adapting are: “Mayor Fisk,” “The Muse Arc,” “Bullseye: The Target,” “Daredevil” by Chip Zdarsky, and elements of “Born Again.”
The two-episode premiere delivers a big shocking moment in the beginning that you never thought Marvel would consider doing. It keeps you on the edge of your seat with just the first 15 minutes of the first episode. But just as things couldn’t get worse for Matt Murdock, his nemesis since the first season, Wilson Fisk, becomes mayor of Hell’s Kitchen and vows to fix the city and get rid of vigilantes. This sets the stage for an interesting dynamic as they will have to walk on common ground to work together against a new threat that affects both Murdock’s hero world and Fisk’s political campaign.
Critics, fans, and reviewers are already saying this could be the best Marvel show ever, and frankly, it would be a crime to disagree.
