Death in the MCU doesn’t always mean a lot: a fair number of supposedly dead heroes and villains have either returned or found creative loopholes to shrug death off. Loki did it (by faking his death and then being replaced by his own variant), Thanos and Gamora did it (thanks to time travel), Red Skull did it (thanks to a magical curse), and Bucky Barnes did it by not actually fully dying. Professor X has been killed more than anyone. We shouldn’t be surprised, of course, because Marvel Comics doesn’t exactly have a permanent contract with death, and for that reason, we’re all waiting for Scarlet Witch’s seemingly inevitable resurrection. And now Daredevil: Born Again has joined the group. Warning: This article contains SPOILERS for Daredevil: Born Again, Season 2, Episode 5.
Videos by ComicBook.com
In Daredevil: Born Again, Season 2, Episode 5, we see the fallout of Bullseye’s attack on Fogwell’s Gym and the apparent death of Vanessa. Only she didn’t die as quickly as everyone probably thought she would, rallying and then dying to kick off, no doubt, a chaotic climax to the season. Her temporary near-death experience was notable for facilitating the returns of both Foggy Nelson (Elden Henson), and Kingpin’s beloved original sidekick Wesley (Toby Leonard Moore), who was killed by Karen Page back in Daredevil Season 1.
Daredevil: Born Again Kills the Best Foggy Nelson Theory
Sadly, both Wesley and Foggy’s returns are merely flashbacks, as the episode tells an intertwining story from Matt Murdock and Wilson Fisk’s pasts to flesh out the morality and impact of what Bullseye did to Vanessa at the end of the last episode. Wesley returns as Born Again retells the story of how Wilson and Vanessa met, drawn together by the sale of the all white painting “Rabbit in a Snowstorm” that so transfixed him. He was killed off way too early in Daredevil‘s run, even if his death played an important part in Karen’s moral development. His appearance was very much a fond reminder of what was lost – though, honestly, the emergence of Arty Froushan’s Buck Cashman as his replacement has been one of the best parts of Born Again.
Foggy’s return sadly killed the theory that he was never actually killed by Bullseye at Vanessa’s behest. There had been some speculation that – like the comics – Foggy’s death was a trick, and part of a wider plan by the FBI, who put him in witness protection. It would have taken something special to convincingly redo that story, since Matt heard Foggy’s life drain away, but we’ve accepted stranger things in the MCU. Instead, Foggy returns to help tell the story of one of Nelson and Murdock’s earliest cases, which forced them to confront their own concept of justice as a spectrum. Foggy was forced to put aside the fact that his client was an abusive bully from his past.
It’s an interesting way to frame the idea of justice in Born Again to bring both back: Bullseye’s actions in attempting to kill Kingpin could be justified in the bigger picture, but ironically proved Fisk’s point about the dangers of vigilante justice. To have his actions contextualised both by Wesley’s presence (who Karen killed, despite her absolute refusal to believe Bullseye had no choice but to kill Foggy), and also Foggy and Matt’s complicated case is further, clever exploration of the shades of moral gray that Born Again is built on. Still, it’s a shame we’ll only get more Foggy if there’s another flashback scene in Born Again Season 3.
New episodes of Daredevil: Born Again release every Tuesday night on Disney+. What do you think? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!
Most Viewed
-
Image courtesy of Marvel Studios -
Image Courtesy of Netflix -
Courtesy of SuperGiant Games -
Courtesy of Kadokawa / Shosetsuka ni Naro
