Daredevil: Born Again's season 1 finale, "Straight to Hell," sees the Man Without Fear team up with the Punisher to take on Mayor Wilson Fisk's Anti-Vigilante Task Force.
It ultimately proves to be a losing battle as Frank Castle is captured after confronting the dirty cops who idolise him. Matt Murdock, unaware of what's become of the Punisher, realises he can't win and decides to live to fight another day.
So, how does Daredevil: Born Again end?
We learn that Fisk and Vanessa have literally caged their enemies beneath the Red Hook pier, including Swordsman and Frank. Vigilantes are officially made illegal in New York, and to enforce his new law, the Mayor implements martial law and a strict curfew.
Bullseye is revealed to still be on the loose after trying and failing to kill Fisk, while a conversation between Matt and Karen Page sees the hero admit that he knows who he is now: Daredevil. With that, he gathers his allies in Josie's Bar, including Cherry, Detective Angie Kim, and a handful of good cops.
Matt is likely considered missing after Buck tried and failed to kill him in his apartment (shortly before the AVTF blow it up), though Kirsten McDuffie receives a heads up about what's really going on in Red Hood, and Heather Glenn starts working for the Mayor. We also see a shot of Angela Del Toro, teasing the idea of her potentially donning White Tiger's pendant.
As the episode ends, Daredevil vows to fight back against Fisk's tyrannical rule, declaring New York a "City Without Fear."
It's quite the cliffhanger and a great way to tee up season 2 of Daredevil: Born Again. With vigilantes now outlawed, that's bad news for the street-level heroes we know about (Spider-Man, for example) and those we've yet to meet.
New York belongs to Fisk, and it's been transformed into a police state, surely meaning 'ol Hornhead will turn to some of his fellow heroes - the Defenders, for starters - for help when the series returns to Disney+ next year.
"A masterpiece of epic proportions, Daredevil: Born Again delivers a powerful, unmissable take on the Man Without Fear," we said in our review. "Putting street-level heroics on the map in a way that promises to change the MCU forever, the show is sublime superhero storytelling on a whole new level."
All episodes of Daredevil: Born Again are now streaming on Disney+.