All 7 MCU Daredevil Appearances Ranked (Including Born Again)

The Man Without Fear has finally made his triumphant return to the spotlight with the release of Daredevil: Born Again on Disney+, marking a new chapter for one of Marvel’s most beloved street-level heroes. Charlie Cox’s portrayal of Matt Murdock first captivated audiences during Netflix’s Marvel era, establishing a gritty, grounded interpretation that perfectly captured the character’s duality as both a principled attorney and a brutal vigilante. After Netflix cancelled the series in 2018, fans launched passionate campaigns to #SaveDaredevil, and their persistence paid off when Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige confirmed in 2021 that if Daredevil were to appear in future MCU projects, Cox would indeed reprise the role. Since then, Matt Murdock has popped up across multiple Marvel properties, from brief cameos to substantial supporting roles, all building toward Born Again’s revival of the Netflix era.

While superheroes like Iron Man, Captain America, and Thor have long been considered the faces of the MCU, Daredevil stands as the Marvel character with the most substantial screen time across the franchise. Between three seasons of his Netflix series, The Defenders limited series, and appearances in various other MCU projects, Cox has had ample opportunity to develop Matt Murdock’s complex psychology and fighting prowess. Each appearance offers something different, whether emphasizing his legal brilliance, Catholic guilt, or bone-crushing combat skills. As we witness this latest incarnation in Born Again, it’s the perfect time to look back at Cox’s performances as the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen and determine which Daredevil appearance truly stands as the character’s finest hour in the MCU.

7) Spider-Man: No Way Home

Spider-Man: No Way Home delivered the first official confirmation that Charlie Cox’s Daredevil had been folded into the main MCU continuity, but the appearance amounts to little more than a glorified cameo. The scene, featuring Matt Murdock as Peter Parker’s attorney, lasts barely a minute, with only a quick display of his enhanced reflexes as he catches a brick hurled through the window. While the moment sent theaters into uproarious applause, the brief interaction offers virtually nothing substantial for Daredevil’s character development or narrative progression. Cox delivers his lines with the same measured confidence that defined his Netflix portrayal, but the MCU appearance feels designed primarily as fan service rather than meaningful storytelling.

6) Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man

The animated series Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man presents a fresh take on Daredevil, transitioning Cox’s performance from live-action to voice work while maintaining the character’s essential traits. The rooftop confrontation between Daredevil and Spider-Man delivers fluid animation and impressive choreography, showcasing Matt’s martial arts expertise and tactical mind. Cox’s vocal performance bridges the gap between Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man alternate timeline and the broader MCU, creating a sense of continuity despite the stylistic shift. However, Daredevil’s limited screen time in the first season relegates him to a supporting role at best. While we learn he’s investigating Norman Osborn and mentoring the young hero Finesse (voiced by Anjali Kunapaneni), these potentially intriguing storylines remain largely unexplored. The animation allows for more acrobatic fight sequences than live-action could realistically portray, but this advantage gets overshadowed by the character’s peripheral status in the narrative.

[RELATED: Daredevil: Born Again Reveals What Spider-Man Has Been Doing Since No Way Home]

5) She-Hulk: Attorney at Law

Daredevil’s appearance in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law offered viewers a refreshingly lighthearted version of the typically brooding vigilante. Breaking from the relentlessly dark tone of his Netflix series, Matt Murdock displays genuine charm and playfulness in his interactions with Jennifer Walters (Tatiana Maslany). Cox demonstrates impressive comedic timing, delivering quips with the same confidence he brings to dramatic scenes, and his chemistry with Maslany feels natural and engaging. The “walk of shame” sequence, with Matt proudly striding out in his Daredevil suit after spending the night with Jen, provides one of the series’ most memorable moments. However, this portrayal arguably sacrifices the weight and intensity that defined the character’s best appearances. More problematically, the action sequences trade the practical effects and meticulously choreographed fight scenes that distinguish Marvel’s Daredevil for weightless CGI battles. While it’s refreshing to see Matt experience moments of happiness amid his typically tortured existence, this version of Daredevil feels somewhat diluted.

4) Echo

Though Daredevil appears only briefly in Echo, his limited screen time delivers arguably the most impressive action sequence featuring the character outside his titular series. The confrontation between Matt Murdock and Maya Lopez (Alaqua Cox) showcases the brutal, grounded combat style that defined the Netflix era, eschewing CGI flourishes for practical stunts and visceral choreography. The fight scene pays homage to Daredevil’s legendary hallway battles while establishing a meaningful connection between these two characters with sensory disabilities. The encounter also serves as crucial connective tissue between Hawkeye, Echo, and Born Again, demonstrating how Daredevil’s world continues to expand within the MCU.

3) The Defenders

While The Defenders struggled to craft a compelling narrative worthy of uniting its four street-level heroes, it excelled at showcasing Matt Murdock’s reluctant leadership and complex relationships. The limited series positions Daredevil as the most experienced vigilante of the group, with his personal connections to both Stick (Scott Glenn) and Elektra (Élodie Yung) directly tying him to the central conflict against the Hand. The series also forces Matt to confront his messiah complex when teaming with others, highlighting both his strengths and fatal flaws as a hero. The fight choreography, while not matching the heights of his solo series, still delivers several standout moments that showcase Daredevil’s unique fighting style.

Unfortunately, The Defenders‘ overcrowded storyline leaves little room for any character to truly shine, with Matt’s emotional journey regarding Elektra feeling rushed and sometimes overshadowed by the need to service other characters. Despite these shortcomings, The Defenders remains a significant chapter in Daredevil’s MCU journey, expanding his world beyond the confines of Hell’s Kitchen while testing his capacity to trust others.

2) Daredevil: Born Again

Daredevil: Born Again triumphantly reestablishes Charlie Cox as the definitive screen version of Matt Murdock, honoring what came before while charting new territory for the character. The series delves deep into the contradictions that define Daredevil: a Catholic who believes in redemption yet dispenses violent justice, and a lawyer who upholds the system while operating outside it. Cox delivers his most nuanced performance yet, conveying Matt’s internal struggles through subtle facial expressions and body language even before donning the iconic red suit.

Daredevil: Born Again wisely focuses on the man rather than the myth, allowing viewers to reconnect with Matt Murdock’s humanity before reintroducing the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen. In addition, Vincent D’Onofrio’s return as Wilson Fisk creates electric tension whenever these two forces collide, their shared history adding weight to every confrontation. While the action sequences rely too heavily on CGI rather than the practical stunts that distinguished the original series, the emotional and thematic depth more than compensates for this shortcoming.

1) Daredevil

The original Netflix Daredevil series remains the gold standard for the character’s live-action adaptations, delivering a near-perfect translation of what makes Matt Murdock so compelling in the comics. Across three meticulously crafted seasons, the show explored every facet of Daredevil’s mythology: his Catholic guilt, his complex moral code when confronted with killers like the Punisher (Jon Bernthal), his relationships with Karen (Deborah Ann Woll) and Foggy (Elden Henson), his eternal conflict with Wilson Fisk, and even his knack for getting involved with ninja chaos.

The series revolutionized superhero television with its unflinching violence, moral complexity, and groundbreaking action sequences — particularly the one-take hallway fights that became the show’s signature. Cox’s performance evolved throughout the run, from a man certain of his mission in Season 1 to someone questioning everything he believes by Season 3. What truly elevated Daredevil above other superhero adaptations was its willingness to take its time, allowing character development to drive the action rather than the reverse. Until Born Again completes its run and potentially surpasses its predecessor, the original series stands as the definitive Daredevil appearance in the MCU, a perfect balance of faithful adaptation and innovative storytelling.

What’s your favorite Daredevil appearance in the MCU? Let us know in the comments below!