Season 1 of Daredevil: Born Again saw Mayor Wilson Fisk compared to President Donald Trump, but heading into Season 2, the real-life parallels continue. Even before the show's release, many have argued that the actions of the Kingpin's Anti-Vigilante Task Force are similar to those of ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement).
In the second batch of episodes, people are pulled from their homes and businesses and locked up without due process. The AVTF also patrols the streets of New York with impunity, acting with little oversight and meeting resistance from concerned citizens.
Talking to Entertainment Weekly, Daredevil: Born Again showrunner Dario Scardapane was asked about the similarities, including the garb worn by Mayor Fisk's men. Explaining that those designs were created more than two years ago, he said, "I'm wondering if people are taking pages from our book."
"What we're seeing happening in the streets of New York in Daredevil: Born Again happened in Cyprus in 1974," he continued. "So if you go back to the historical rise of autocrats, whether it's Nero, whether it's Pinochet, whether it's Franco, they follow a script."
Another scene that mirrors real life finds the AVTF abducting a woman from a bodega before taking her away in an unmarked black van. Scardapane claims it was meant as a nod to Ryan Coogler's Fruitvale Station, "which is another historical example of strong-arming disenfranchised communities."
He later said that there's a scene "at the very end" of Daredevil: Born Again Season 2, "That looks eerily like a bit of history... That one we did lean into. If you're diving into stories that are borrowing from past events, history tends to repeat itself if not learned from."
Pushed on the inevitable comparisons to ICE, Scardapane acknowledged, "As we got into post[production], things got into an art-imitates-life place."
Executive producer Sana Amanat also chimed in, suggesting that the biggest parallel is with Marvel Comics history itself. "It is wild. What's interesting about this is that the villain becomes a part of the system and controls the system. So what does a character like Daredevil — who’s not a traditional hero."
"He’s not Captain America, he's not Spider-Man, he's very much someone who is a complex character into himself, realizing that he needs to become the symbol that fights back and realizing also that there is power in that collective. He can become a symbol so he can create power and motivation in a collective and that the power is ultimately with the people."
"I think that's a powerful story," she continued. "I think we've told stories like that in Marvel before. It is a story of history, as well."
In Daredevil: Born Again, survival, resistance and redemption collide as the battle for the soul of New York begins. In Season 2, Mayor Wilson Fisk crushes New York City underfoot as he hunts down public enemy number one, the Hell’s Kitchen vigilante known as Daredevil.
But beneath the horned mask, Matt Murdock will try to fight back from the shadows to tear down the Kingpin’s corrupt empire and redeem his home. Resist. Rebel. Rebuild.
Created by Dario Scardapane, Chris Ord and Matt Corman, Daredevil: Born Again Season 2 stars Charlie Cox as the titular masked vigilante (aka Matt Murdock) and Vincent D’Onofrio as Wilson Fisk.
Daredevil: Born Again returns to Disney+ on March 24.