For three seasons of the original Netflix series and now two seasons of Daredevil: Born Again, Matt Murdock and Wilson Fisk have been locked in a seemingly neverending battle for the soul of Hell’s Kitchen. Their rivalry has outlasted the machinations of The Hand, the intervention of mass-murderer Frank Castle, and even the wildcard antics of Bullseye, and it has claimed the lives of characters caught in the crosshairs, like Foggy Nelson and Vanessa Fisk. No matter what happens, just like in the comics, it seems like Daredevil and The Kingpin can’t quite escape their base natures and will always end up back at each other’s throats.
When the first season of Born Again arrived last year, it felt like the ultimate culmination of that perpetual conflict — Daredevil abandoning the mantle while his archenemy ascended to the office of New York City’s mayor, backed by his own private militia. Season 2 only intensified the stakes, labeling Matt and Karen as domestic terrorists while Fisk’s own extrajudicial crimes grew in scale and audacity, with the fallout threatening to upend the structure of not just Matt and Wilson’s lives, but all of New York. And now that the dust has finally settled after last night’s season finale, while the city is hopefully headed towards an era of healing and reconciliation, our favorite lawyer-turned-vigilante is headed towards anything but.
