Daredevil: Born Again Season 2 has finally premiered on Disney+, with an opening episode—"The Northern Star"—that has some noteworthy ties to the wider MCU.
After making the franchise feel a little too much like "homework" in the earlier stages of the Multiverse Saga (Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness wasn't the easiest watch for those who missed WandaVision), Marvel Television is now focused on standalone stories.
However, unlike the Marvel Television of old, these tales are firmly entrenched in the MCU. That means there are plenty of connections in this action-packed opening chapter and the episodes still to come.
What those mean for the Man Without Fear will be determined both in the coming weeks and as we head into Season 3. In the meantime, here's everything you need to know after watching tonight's Season 2 premiere, including what these MCU Easter Eggs and references could mean moving forward...
Valentina Allegra de Fontaine
When Mr. Charles pulls a power move to establish that he's not to be trifled with, it's confirmed that the spook reports directly to CIA Director Valentina Allegra de Fontaine.
She seems to have a vested interest in keeping Mayor Wilson Fisk in power, and that's because the Kingpin has been smuggling weapons through Red Hook for her. Doing so has kept higher powers off his back, all while allowing Val to strengthen America's position on the world stage through any means necessary.
Marvel Studios seems to be building to something with the villain, but when and where we'll learn what her endgame is isn't clear. She'll have to get her comeuppance eventually, especially after getting off (mostly) scot-free in Thunderbolts*. Still, Val being a kingmaker of sorts here reaffirms her control across all avenues of the MCU and should lead to an intriguing power dynamic between Fisk and Mr. Charles.
Jessica Jones
When Karen Page mentions that "Jess" has pulled the Northern Star's manifest for her and Matt Murdock, it's pretty obvious who she's referring to: Jessica Jones.
This is more of a connection to Netflix's Marvel TV series than what we've come to know as the MCU. Still, it nicely sets the stage for the character's appearance later in Daredevil: Born Again Season 2 (the episodes she appears in have yet to be officially revealed by Marvel).
We haven't seen the private eye on our screens since 2019, but she's clearly still fighting the good fight, even if it is in the shadows. By bridging the gap between the Netflix era and now, Marvel Television is making it clear that those shows matter and that they're canon in the MCU tapestry.
Swordsman Returns
Jacques "Jack" Duquesne made his MCU debut in Hawkeye, where he was introduced as Kate Bishop's mysterious, and potentially villainous, future stepfather. We'd eventually learn that Eleanor Bishop was the true villain, and Swordsman even lent the title heroes a helping hand in the finale.
That put him on the Kingpin's radar, and when we last saw Jack, he was being held in Mayor Wilson Fisk's makeshift prison. Clearly, when The Punisher escaped, he didn't free his fellow inmates.
In Daredevil: Born Again Season 2, Jack is facing trial for his so-called crimes and finds little sympathy from Dr. Heather Glenn. Haunted by Muse, she's gone off the deep end and bought fully into Fisk's hatred of vigilantes. This feels like an important subplot on multiple levels, and if Swordsman is found guilty in a court controlled by the Mayor, it will be bad news for all of the Big Apple's street-level heroes...
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.
In our review of the series, we wrote, "A brutal, relentless tour-de-force, Daredevil: Born Again Season 2 is a Marvel masterstroke that sees Charlie Cox take the Man Without Fear to unprecedented heights, delivering the definitive take on Daredevil."
The first episode of Daredevil: Born Again Season 2 is now streaming on Disney+.