Daredevil- Born Again, Again

Poor Mathew. The defining story in the comics for Daredevil was Frank Miller's "Born Again." This was a tale where The Man Without Fear lost EVERYTHING, (friends, job, law license, home, other stuff) and then battled his way back from the bottom.

Oh yeah, spoilers are on for this one. I'm tired.

The problem with the reverence of that story is that even though the smart aleck and happy version of the character is equally cannon. (Stan Lee's run, Mark Waid's run, his appearances in She-Hulk) creators keep going back to the well of taking everything from Mr. Murdock and making him gritty and miserable. 

Season Three on Netflix partially adapted the original "Born Again" story, therefore the new Disney Plus series had to find new ways of knocking Daredevil down, borrowing from other comic runs where they did the same.

I mean, the show was just as excellent as the previous series was and all, (and the bank episode may be my favorite single episode of Marvel TV.)  I just feel bad for the guy. 

They did keep up the notion (which I love about the character) that Matt is actually far crazier than most superheroes. Bringing in psychologist Heather Glenn to point that out was a nice touch. Keeping up the pattern that Matt's girlfriends usually end up insane, dead, or driven in a diametrically opposite direction than him (often all three, as Heather did in the comics) was a decent nod to the source material.

The writers are playing the long game here, but did tell a complete story, along with the encapsulated story of Matt reclaiming the Daredevil role to take down Muse. The Fisk's are complex enough characters to carry what is basically their tale of triumph. The comics took decades to show Vanessa as competent and terrifying as her husband. The show has accelerated that.

With references and call outs, (and Fisk's appearances in Hawkeye and Echo) this series is completely set in the MCU now. There are way more powerful characters in this universe than even the expanded Netflix hero shows had. This season kept appearances contained to only Daredevil the White Tiger and the Punisher. (Oh yeah. And the freakin' Swordsman, of all people!) Matt's and White Tigers enhancements are the only super powers in that group. There is nothing on the level of the high tier film characters. I wonder if next season will have a version of the Avengers iconic appearance from the Born Again comic story. With Dex's FBI background, he could take the place of Nuke, who appeared in a previous season. There are enough powered villains in the MCU to add to Fisk's task force, just like the comics, if they want to follow that storyline. 

Will Matt become deputy mayor? [Unlikely] 

Will David Tennant return as the Purple Man [ooh! Hope so.]

The team up with the Punisher and Daredevil was great, as they always are in either medium. There is a lot to play with considering how much the two both respect each other's focus and abilities, while hating each other's methods. And Frank's epic verbal takedown of the corrupt cops who adopted his symbol was excellent.

One thing is for certain. I am very glad I have read nearly every Daredevil comic ever published. Having seen Foggy die and come back at least three times in print over the years, that notion kept me from turning off the this show after the first episode.