Daredevil: Born Again Teaser Features the Return of an Underserved Marvel TV Character

As seen at the end of Daredevil: Born Again‘s first season, things are bad for the Man Without Fear, even by Matt Murdock’s standards. Mayor Wilson Fisk has declared martial law in New York City, openly waging war against masked vigilantes.

But as we see in the latest trailer, Daredevil (Charlie Cox) isn’t fighting alone. He has the support of not only Karen Page (Deborah Ann Woll), but also his Defenders ally Jessica Jones, played by a returning Krysten Ritter. But the most surprising potential aid in the trailer is the one we only see for a moment: Tony Dalton as Jack Duquesne, the Avenger known as the Swordsman.

Of course, Duquesne isn’t new to the MCU. He first appeared in the series Hawkeye as the nephew of the filthy rich Armand Duquesne (Simon Callow) and new fiancé of Eleanor Bishop (Vera Farmiga), mother of Kate (Hailee Steinfeld). In that series, Jack certainly had a chance to show off some of his swashbuckling skills, and he participated in the series’ central mystery, but we never saw him suit up.

That started to change in the first season of Daredevil: Born Again. After young journalist BB Urich (Genneya Walton) caught video of a masked vigilante using a sword to help someone in trouble, Fisk (Vincent D’Onofrio) directly confronted Duquesne, and even referred to him as the Swordsman. Duquesne tried to laugh it off, but by the end of the season, he was captured by the Anti-Vigilante Task Force and held in Fisk’s private prison.

All of that sounds like a set-up for Duquesne to fully embrace his destiny, one that brings the character closer to his comic book counterpart.

The Swordsman first appeared in 1965’s Avengers #19, written by Stan Lee and penciled by Don Heck. A one-time circus performer, Duquesne helped care for and train Clint Barton and his brother Barney, before the former became the Avenger Hawkeye and the latter became the villain Trickshot. Gambling debts drove Duquesne to commit crimes under the name Swordsman, but he had a change of heart and helped the Avengers, soon earning membership on their roster. Swordsman remained a member on the team for several years, developing a relationship with fellow member Mantis.

When Mantis was revealed to be the cosmically-powerful Celestial Madonna, she attracted the attention of Kang the Conqueror and his Variants, Immortus and Rama-Tut. Swordsman died to protect Mantis, but was resurrected years later as a member of the plant people known as the Cotati.

Since then, Swordsman has returned as both an ally and enemy to the Avengers, which only underscores his importance to the team.

In short, Swordsman might not be the most trustworthy member of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. But as the teaser makes abundantly clear, Daredevil’s going to need all the help he can get in Born Again season two. If the Swordsman will lend his blade, Matt Murdock would be a fool to turn him down.

Daredevil: Born Again season two premieres on March 24, 2026.