Daredevil: Born Again is finally upon us, and boy, oh boy, did that two-episode premiere go there. The Defenders universe never shied away from telling violent stories about New York’s criminal underground, but it’s almost jarring to see a TV-MA show come from the MCU’s corner—in the best way possible.
Oh, Kevin Feige, we’re not in Kansas anymore—at least where the Marvel Cinematic Universe is involved. Amid a particularly make-or-break time for Marvel Studios, the company is switching things up with a Daredevil reboot/sequel series intended for mature audiences. So far, it seems like it could be the best decision Feige & Co. have made in years.
If you’ve watched all three seasons of Netflix’s Daredevil, you’ve truly seen it all. A man impaling his own head on a spike, The Hand torturing Stick (Scott Glenn) by jamming bamboo shoots under his fingernails, Dex (Wilson Bethel) driving around New York City with a frozen corpse in his passenger seat, and a whole lot of Matt Murdock/Daredevil (Charlie Cox) getting stabbed, shot at, and punched in the face.
To honor its predecessor, it’s no wonder showrunner Dario Scardapane chose to not only replicate but amp up the violence for Born Again, which picks up roughly six years after Daredevil season 3. And given that the new series currently stands at a 93% audience approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, I’d say keep the blood, guts, and gore coming.
Spoiler warning for Netflix’s Daredevil and Daredevil: Born Again.
Daredevil: Born Again soaks up that TV-MA rating
Not even ten minutes into Born Again episode 1, viewers witness a shootout at Matt, Karen (Deborah Ann Woll), and Foggy’s (Elden Henson) go-to watering hole, Josie’s. Turns out it’s Bullseye out for revenge, and unfortunately, his whole thing is being a really, really good shot—bad news for us Foggy stans. On top of a major character death, we see Daredevil toss Dex off a roof, smash a guy’s head into the floor, and face-whammy a crooked cop with a refrigerator door. In this X user’s words, the MCU’s version of Daredevil is “BRUTAL,” commenting on a scene of Matt rightfully beating up some crooked cops. “Daredevil is BACK!”
It’s gloriously graphic and full of the same suspense that helped Daredevil build such a prominent fanbase over the years. Not to say that we’re all a bunch of sadists, but watching Matt wail on Wilson Fisk (Vincent D’Onofrio) or 1v20 an entire prison block is just downright fun. The drama and plotiness of MCU entries like Avengers: Endgame are all fine and good, but older audiences might prefer its more standalone, TV-MA contemporaries once in a while. That’s what Daredevil: Born Again delivers.
Marvel should take note of Daredevil: Born Again’s success and make more TV-MA shows
Deadpool & Wolverine, a.k.a. the MCU’s first foray into R-rated territory, grossed well over $1.3 billion at the global box office, proving that the masses not only enjoy but may even prefer their superhero movies with a bit of edge, so long as it accompanies a solid story.
Superhero movies shouldn’t just be for 12-year-olds, and exploring more tonally serious stories could curb many of the issues the franchise is experiencing at the moment. DC has the lead when it comes to adult-centric superhero content (i.e., Peacemaker, The Suicide Squad), so if Marvel could set aside the Disney of it all, R-rated shows and movies might genuinely benefit the studio long-term and diversify its catalog of streaming originals.
Unlike its cinematic counterpart, Marvel Television has the luxury of taking more risks. It’s worth noting that Born Again isn’t the MCU’s first TV-MA rodeo, with that honor going to 2024’s Echo. From the sounds of it, we’re about to see more tonally mature projects come out of the pipeline, including Marvel Animation’s What If…? spinoff, Marvel Zombies. I just hope they’re not few and far between.
Of course, a Marvel show isn’t automatically good just because it has a TV-MA rating. Echo received low viewership on Disney+, so it’s not exactly a flawless formula. However, not restricting filmmakers to a PG or PG-13 rating expands the limits of storytelling because, let’s be real, the superhero genre has always been violent. It’s how you make a violent story meaningful and relevant that ultimately wins people over.
Marrying pulse-pounding action scenes with smart dialogue about the ethics of vigilantism is what made Daredevil so memorable in the first place, and Born Again is shaping up to be a true return to form. So, if audiences like these gritty, street-level stories, why not give it to them? Shows like Born Again are a welcomed palate cleanser from the “He’s right behind me, isn’t he?” quips and the MCU multiverse of it all. I, for one, would love to see them co-exist.
New episodes of Daredevil: Born Again stream Tuesdays exclusively on Disney+.
