Warning! This article contains SPOILERS for Daredevil: Born Again season 1.
Now that the first season ofDaredevil: Born Againhas ended, a look back at the show’s nine episodes so far highlights how theMarvel Cinematic Universewas ready to go bloody with its latest live-action series.Born Againhad the very difficult job of living up to Netflix’sDaredevil. That was one of themost violent Marvel shows, perfectly mixing mature themes with bloody action to make it one of the most engaging superhero series.
Daredevil: Born Again’s castincluded returning veterans from the original series, as well as new players making their MCU debuts. However, both types of characters were fair game for shocking deaths.If there is one thingDaredevil: Born Againseason 1 certainly did well, it is making the most out of surprise deaths, which were used to advance the plot in huge ways.Marvel’s upcoming TV showscan learn from how the Daredevil series handled its major deaths.
8Foggy Nelson
The Biggest Death Of The MCU Series
BeforeDaredevil: Born Againpremiered, rumors and set videos had made fans worried that Foggy Nelson would die early in the show. That turned out to be accurate, with episode 1 dedicating its first half to showing how Matt, Karen, and Foggy had achieved their dreams together and how Bullseye took them away. Now that the season is over, it has been revealed thatVanessa Fisk got Bullseye to kill Foggyso that his work on “Dumb Benny’s” case would not reveal her use of Red Hook as a way to launder money.
Episode 1 did not have any of that context, leaving Foggy’s death to be a shocking moment at first, with Bullseye tricking Daredevil into going to another place while he showed up at Josie’s and immediately shot Foggy.His death led to Matt giving up on being Daredeviland becoming estranged from Karen. Despite hopes that Foggy would be revealed to be alive and in witness protection at the end, similar to how the comics did it, Foggy seems to really be dead.
7Hector Ayala
White Tiger’s Tragic Fate Was A Gut Punch
Daredevil: Born Againdid a great job of testing Matt’s decision to give up his superhero life throughout the first half of the season. One of the biggest elements used for that was the arrival of a new MCU hero. Not only was White Tiger a complex character, easily turning into one of the show’s most interesting players to watch, but the idea ofhaving Matt defend him in courtallowed the series to explore some important questions about what it means to be a hero.
Hector Ayala was willing to risk his life even without the amulet that gave him powers to save others. That is how much of a hero he was. When Matt told him he had to step down as White Tiger after the trial revealed his secret identity, Hector told him he could not do it because being White Tiger was who he was meant to be. Beingcowardly gunned down by Cole North, who wore a Punisher vestwhile sneaking up on him, was a tragic way to end Hector’s story.
6Officer Shanahan
The Main Reason White Tiger’s Story Played Out Like It Did
Officer Kel Shanahan was an important character inDaredevil: Born Againearly on, but not for anything of note he did onscreen. His biggest contribution to the show came in death. Shanahan was Officer Powell’s partner, and the two were beating Nicky Torres, their confidential informant, when Hector Ayala entered the subway to stop it. Despite not having his White Tiger powers, Hector got the upper hand in the fight, which ended withShanahan accidentally tripping on him and being smashed by a passing train.
Hector did not know that Shanahan and Powell were cops, as they were doing their dirty work without anything to visibly identify themselves.Shanahan’s death would lead to White Tiger’s trial, which was how Matt Murdock got roped into helping the hero and started contemplating whether it was better to help others as a vigilante or a lawyer. While Officer Shanahan did not live long in the MCU series, his death helped shape the journey of two heroes, Daredevil and White Tiger, so his impact was positive.
5Adam
Wilson And Vanessa Fisk Were Made For Each Other
Adam was one of the many recurring mysteries that played out throughoutDaredevil: Born Againseason 1. In the show’s first episode, Kingpin revealed to his wife that he knew about Adam, with Vanessa asking him not to kill him. As the season went on, it would be revealed thatAdam was the man Vanessa cheated on Wilson Fisk withwhen her husband went away. True to his word, Kingpin did not kill Adam, but he imprisoned him in a remote location and occasionally beat him up.
Instead of being enraged, Vanessa accepted her husband’s violent behavior and what he did to Adam as a display of his love for her.
Near the end of the season, Kingpin decided to put everything in the open, trying to get close to his wife again. The Daredevil series then showed how the couple truly belong together. Instead of being enraged, Vanessa accepted her husband’s violent behavior and what he did to Adam as a display of his love for her. The character’s mysterious role in the MCU series would end withVanessa repeatedly shooting Adam, killing her former lover, and showing how her marriage was strong again.
New York’s Crime Families Needed A Recurring Presence
Image via Disney+
Luca was not a major figure in the show, but he did play an important role in a couple of storylines. While Wilson Fisk was away, both in prison and later healing from being shot by Echo, Vanessa took over his criminal empire. She became the ruler of New York City’s Five Families. Since Vanessa disliked how her husband’s return led to her power diminishing, Luca emerged as the figurehead of the crime families that could havea recurring role to press Vanessa into going against Kingpin.
His actions led to two major events. The first was the bank heist in episode 5, which only took place because Luca was ordered to pay restitution for meddling with another criminal boss' dealings. The second event would beLuca’s attempt to kill Fisk. He tried to get Vanessa to turn on her husband, and while it seemed like she did, Vanessa told Fisk everything, sending Luca to be unceremoniously killed by Buck upon arriving at the restaurant where Kingpin was waiting for him.
3Muse
One Of The Show’s Main Villains Made For A Shocking Death
Daredevil: Born Againseason 1 has a few prominent villains. While Wilson Fisk continues to be the main foe of Charlie Cox’s Daredevil, the physical threats he goes up against in the MCU series are Muse, Bullseye, and the Anti-Vigilante Task Force. Between the first two major villains,Muse was built throughout the season to potentially serve in a bigger role than he did. However, the character’s story was cut short when he decided to go after Heather Glenn. Muse’s murals, painted with the blood of his victims, made him a creepy villain.
Kingpin
Vanessa Fisk
Episode 7 saw him attempt to add Heather to his growing list of victims, but both she and Daredevil had something to say about that. WhileMuse’s fight with Daredevil in Heather’s office was violentand the situation urgent, it was never expected to end with the villain’s death. Adding to it, the fact that Muse was gunned down by Heather was surprising. His early death ended up being used to give Fisk’s Anti-Vigilante Task Force a major win, as the mayor claimed the credit for Muse’s death.
The Corrupt Cop Was Responsible For A Major Death
Cole North is one of the prominent members of Wilson Fisk’s Anti-Vigilante Task Force. The mayor put together all the corrupt cops he could find, and one of them happened to have had a major role earlier in the season, but it was only revealed in the finale.North was the one who killed White Tigerafter Matt managed to win the trial. He was the cause of so much suffering, and despite what he did, Daredevil still did not want to kill him, which the Punisher argued against.
North’s role in theDaredevil: Born Againfinale served to close that loose end to White Tiger’s storyline while alsosetting up a new moral debate over killing villains between Daredevil and the Punisher. With a grenade exploding in Matt’s apartment where the dirty cop and others Daredevil had knocked out were, North will not be one of the characters who move over to season 2, nor should he, as his arc was finished the moment he was revealed as White Tiger’s murderer.
1Commissioner Gallo
Wilson Fisk Could Never Leave Kingpin Behind
Finally, the biggest death in theDaredevil: Born Againseason 1 finale was that of Commissioner Gallo. For most of the season, Vincent D’Onofrio’s Wilson Fisk tried to control his more violent urges. However, Kingpin showed that he was not without a few cracks, such as how he kept Adam hostage and would go to his cell to take him out and beat him. By the finale,Fisk decided to go back to his Kingpin ways, and the result of that was brutal for Gallo.
The MCU series had quite a few gory deaths, but Gallo’s was the one that felt the most like it came from Netflix’sDaredevil.Kingpin effortlessly exploded the Police Commissioner’shead with his bare hands right in front of the Anti-Vigilante Task Force. It was the ultimate power move, showing Gallo that he had no say at all in the city and that his police force was under Fisk’s thumb, while the commissioner himself was literally under Kingpin’s thumbs. Gallo died so that Kingpin could rise again inDaredevil: Born Again.
Daredevil: Born Again
Cast
Daredevil: Born Again follows blind lawyer Matt Murdock, who uses his heightened abilities to pursue justice in New York. As he manages a bustling law firm, former mob boss Wilson Fisk navigates political ambitions, leading both men toward a confrontation as their pasts resurface.
