Daredevil: Born Again S2 Finale Sets Up the Return of Two Netflix Characters

This article contains spoilers for Daredevil: Born Again season 2.

By the end of Daredevil: Born Again‘s second season, things look rough for Matt Murdock, who has his identity revealed to the public and is sentenced to prison. But things are slightly better for Jessica Jones and for fans of the Netflix shows, as the last episode sees the return of Mike Colter as Luke Cage.

Even if they don’t realize it, Matt Murdock’s very bad day is very good news for fans of the Netflix shows. Both the reveal of Daredevil’s secret identity and Matt’s prison sentence come directly from the comics. And both of those stories involve characters who we met in the Netflix shows: Danny Rand a.k.a. Iron Fist, played on Netflix by Finn Jones, and Kilgrave a.k.a. the Purple Man, played by David Tennant.

The Daring Danny Rand

The story about Matt Murdock going to prison after the public learned about his Daredevil identity culminated in the storyline “The Devil in Cell-Block D,” in Daredevil #82 through #87 (2005–2006), written by Ed Brubaker and illustrated by Michael Lark. However, the plot begins earlier than that, going back to the original “Born Again” storyline from 1986, in which a drug-addicted Karen Page sells the secret of Matt’s identity to Wilson Fisk. For a variety of reasons, Fisk kept the information to himself, using it to strategically torture Daredevil, but never wanting to share it with anyone else.

That changed during Brian Michael Bendis‘ run, which began in 2001 and ended with “The Murdock Papers” in Daredevil #81, right before handing the reins to Brubaker. During that time, the Kingpin struck a bargain with the FBI, trading incontrovertible proof of Daredevil’s identity in exchange for special favors. At the end of Daredevil #81, Murdock is found guilty of criminal activity as Daredevil and sentenced to prison, as happens in the show.

Of course, things don’t go well for Matt, who is locked in jail with not only people he prosecuted as a lawyer, but also with people he captured as Daredevil. And his only help comes in the form of Frank Castle, who can’t resist the opportunity to once again remind Red how half-measures never work.

Further complicating things is the fact that Daredevil is still stalking around Hell’s Kitchen while Matt’s doing time. Finally, when Matt gets out, he puts on his own red suit to find out what’s going on. He meets the imposter on a rooftop and attacks, easily outmatching the fake until the other Daredevil throws a punch, his hand glowing yellow.

Yes, the imposter Daredevil is Danny Rand, who tried to help out his ol’ pal by acting as the Man Without Fear, to prove that Matt couldn’t be ol’ Hornhead. Danny being Danny, of course, screwed it all up, making more of a mess for Matt to solve.

But for fans of the Iron Fist television show on Netflix, the plot point gives Marvel the perfect excuse to bring Finn Jones back into the fold. Even if season 2 of Born Again overcorrected the lack of Daredevil in costume from season one, it’s unlikely that the third season will go without its central hero. And while it would fit Bullseye’s current arc to see him take up the mantle, and while Elektra is also Daredevil in current comic book continuity—and many would also like to see Élodie Yung reprise the role—a Finn Jones return makes the most sense (especially if you saw those behind the scenes photos floating around the internet).

The Purple Man’s Legacy

Thus far, no set leaks have given us reason to hope for the other character who could return to Hell’s Kitchen, Zebediah Killgrave, the Purple Man. However, Born Again season 2 does pave the way for Tennant’s return, if they’re loosely following the comics.

Dumb as Danny is, his ploy did manage to raise some doubt in the public mind, as did Matt’s defense of himself. Over the next several years, Matt’s superhero identity was something of an open secret. Matt would deny it to anyone who asked him, and he would sometimes use various forms of subterfuge to throw people off the scent, but he never pulled a Peter Parker and made a deal with the devil to wipe everyone’s memory.

Instead, the devil did it for him. Well, the devil’s kids. Well, the Purple Man’s kids. Before I explain further, I do need to provide a quick trigger warning, as this story takes the Purple Man’s abilities to their logical extreme. As seen in the Jessica Jones show and in the original Alias comics that introduced her, Killgrave will use his mind-control powers to take advantage of women. In 2014’s Daredevil #8, by Mark Waid and Chris Samnee, we learn that Killgrave has sired a host of children, all of whom have similar powers.

When the Purple Children learned about one another, they banded together to take revenge against their father. However, Killgrave defeated his offspring and held them captive, hoping to seep away their power and enhance his own. Fortunately, Daredevil came to the rescue, and the Purple Children were so grateful that they did him a favor: they used their abilities to make everyone forget that he is Matt Murdock.

Matt had to do some work to remind people who he is, but the Purple Children reversal is more or less the current status quo in Marvel Comics. In fact, that plot point led to Wilson Fisk outlawing vigilantes when he became mayor, which served as the inspiration for Born Again‘s second season.

Obviously, the Purple Children story would need some alteration for Born Again‘s third season, and not just because the concept is more unpleasant than Disney would like. Killgrave died at the end of Jessica Jones season one, and while some hallucinations allowed Tennant to appear in season two, we’d need the real guy to help wipe everyone’s memory.

Still, writers have found some clever ways to integrate comic book plot points into past seasons of Daredevil: Born Again. And if it means more David Tennant, then it will definitely be worth it. More Iron Fist is okay, too.

All of Daredevil: Born Again is now streaming on Disney+.