The MCU Finally Confirms its True Version of Batman

Thanks to Sentry’s appearance in Thunderbolts*, we already know who the MCU’s version of Superman is (albeit with a far darker side that’s way more at the surface than Kal-El’s flirtations with evil). In fact, the MCU probably has two, given Captain Marvel is also very-Man of Steel-like in Kevin Feige’s flagship franchise. Or maybe she’s Wonder Woman? We’ve got a sort-of Aquaman in Namor, a couple of speedsters have come and gone as Marvel stand-ins for Flash, and Doctor Strange has a ring and does magic, so if you squint, he’s somewhat Green Lantern-coded. That’s quite the Marvel Justice League, but it’s missing one notable member.

So who is the MCU’s Batman? Does Tony Stark count because he wore a suit of armor to make up for his lack of superpowers? Does his untold wealth and position at the head of a major corporation make him the Bruce Wayne of this universe? You could make a case for it, but the spirit of Batman isn’t quite there. Iron Man is too public; Batman worked from the shadows, driven by vengeance and constantly wrestling with the concept of justice. Moon Knight has a shout, but he’s an enigma all his own. Clint Barton’s brief stint as Ronin arguably made him more like Batman than Robert Downey Jr’s lost hero, but that didn’t last. And now, thanks to Daredevil: Born Again, we have the actual answer of who the MCU’s Batman is: it’s Matt Murdock.

The MCU Just Crowned Daredevil its Batman Replacement

In Daredevil: Born Again Season 2, episode 4, Swordsman (Tony Dalton) offers the intriguing confirmation that Charlie Cox’s hero is the closest the MCU will get to a Batman-like figure. He confirms to Daredevil that he has become a symbol for his city – of hope. He is the figurehead at the very knife-point of New York’s revolt against Kingpin and his insidious corruption, existing not only as an active participant but as a rallying point for vigilantes and real people. When Murdock says he could do with Swordsman’s help, he’s taken aback and says, “You don’t realise it, do you? You’re not a hero. You’re a symbol now. Hope, for an entire city.”

Read Next

The MCU Just Gave Daredevil an Avengers Loophole That Teases His Future

Now, typically, you’d say that a superhero becoming a symbol of hope would conjure the image of Superman rather than Batman, but Murdock’s status as a street-level hero keeps him more firmly tied to the latter. For all the religious symbolism of Daredevil, he’s not presented as a messianic figure, and his idea of morality is corrupted at various points by his emotions. Foggy’s death is his Crime Alley. And the fact that he appears to be New York’s hero in the MCU more than any other – including Spider-Man even – ties him to the city in a way that’s a lot more like Batman’s Gotham dynamic.

And if that wasn’t enough, Murdock also confirms he’s more like Batman in a way neither of them admit to being a positive. Bruce Wayne’s fondness for putting young charges (often children) in danger as his sidekicks has been mocked for decades, even as it’s been a staple trope in DC Comics, and in Born Again Season 2, Daredevil follows his lead. He happily allows Angela Del Toro (Camila Rodriguez) to follow in the footsteps of her father, the late White Tiger, to help avenge his death. That couldn’t be any more like a Robin origin story if it tried – including in the elder hero’s irresponsible willingness to put a kid in danger.

What do you think? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!