Dead Marvel Villain Returning in Daredevil: Born Again Season 3 Would Be a Mistake

Charlie Cox knows exactly which dead Marvel villain he’d love to return in Daredevil: Born Again Season 3, but it would be a huge mistake. Born Again Season 3 increasingly feels like a Defenders reunion, bringing back so many of the old Marvel Netflix stars. Charlie Cox, Krysten Ritter, Mike Colter, and even Finn Jones are all signed up, while Vincent D’Onofrio’s Kingpin will return in a very different role now he’s been cast out as mayor of New York.

But Charlie Cox wants one dead MCU villain to return. Speaking to Empire, he recalled when Daredevil’s secret identity was exposed in the comics, and how it was put right. ““I think Purple Man’s children in effect do Daredevil a solid and wipe the memories of New York or something,” he said. “I don’t want to do that, although I’d be a huge advocate of having David Tennant on the show.” Tennant’s Kilgrave was the main villain in Jessica Jones, ultimately killed by Jessica when she realized he was too dangerous to live.

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Kilgrave Needs to Return, But There Needs to Be A Point

Cox can be forgiven for assuming a resurrection is possible; death has always been a revolving door in the comics, and the Multiverse Saga certainly creates a chance to exploit that on unprecedented scale. Most viewers assume Avengers: Secret Wars will end with a multiversal reboot (as in the comics), meaning Marvel can easily rewrite history and bring characters back from the dead. David Tennant’s Kilgrave seems like a no-brainer, because the character was absolutely phenomenal and Tennant was a revelation in the role.

There are other ways to resurrect Kilgrave, of course. Daredevil traditionally spends a lot of time fighting a ninja crime cartel known as the Hand, who are returning in comic-accurate form in Spider-Man: Brand New Day. They’re noted for resurrection spells, and on several occasions the Hand have raised a character from the dead, brainwashed as their pawn. Given the insidious nature of the Hand, they’d definitely be interested in working their magic on Kilgrave.

These are only the two obvious options. But there’s a catch; Kilgrave’s story ended in a tremendously satisfying way, and resurrecting him would risk undoing that (or, worse, erasing it from the timeline). As things stand, it really does feel as though it would simply be being done for the “Cool Factor,” as part of the current Defenders reunion, rather than because there’s actually a compelling story to be told about him. Other Marvel Netflix villains are already outstaying their welcomes (as great as the Kingpin may be), and it would be so disappointing to see Kilgrave wind up suffering the same fate.

Kilgrave Doesn’t Really Matter to Daredevil

This brings us to the second problem, though: Why would Kilgrave even turn up in Daredevil: Born Again Season 2 in the first place? The characters have no historic connection, no relationship whatsoever. It would be like having the Green Goblin as the main villain in Black Panther 3, utterly left-field and bereft of any real emotional consequence. If Marvel do want to bring Kilgrave back, there is only one place to do it: n a Jessica Jones revival.

There’s a real danger to Marvel’s odd Defenders revival. It risks making Daredevil the center of it all, the one everybody else orbits around, with other heroes relegated to secondary roles when they deserve their own shows. Krysten Ritter’s Jessica Jones is a phenomenal character, dearly loved, and her old Marvel Netflix show is one of the best comic book adaptations ever made (season 2 and 3 aren’t as good as the first, but they all tie together surprisingly well on a rewatch). Jessica deserves so much more than to be a secondary character in another superhero’s show.

Hopefully, that is indeed the plan. Marvel bosses have to know there’s so much more to these established heroes than Matt Murdock; ideally, we’ll see Daredevil: Born Again Season 3 serve as a launchpad for spinoffs exploring Jessica and Luke, and perhaps even Iron Fist. Marvel would be far, far wiser to skip Kilgrave in Born Again Season 3, and instead bring him back in a Jessica Jones revival. So here’s hoping one is in the works.

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