The MCU Officially Turns Daredevil Into Iron Man for the Second Time

Daredevil: Born Again Season 2 makes Matt Murdock the MCU’s New Iron Man, for the second time. The end of Born Again Season 2 features a massive change in Matt Murdock’s status quo, as the Man Without Fear unmasks himself to the world. He does so in the most spectacular fashion, building an argument in court that Kingpin realizes can only be headed in one direction; an act of mutual destruction that ends Kingpin’s reign as mayor of New York, while inevitably setting up Murdock’s own arrest for Daredevil’s many crimes.

The scene is naturally being compared to another iconic secret identity reveal in the MCU; Tony Stark’s decision to out himself as Iron Man all the way back in 2008. A foundational moment in the MCU, this played out just as dramatically; Stark couldn’t resist speaking up at his own press conference. The story beat lands just as powerfully, and it suggests Matt Murdock is indeed the MCU’s Iron Man on the small screen – for the second time.

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Daredevil Has Always Felt Like Marvel Television’s Iron Man

To understand the parallels, you first have to step back to 2015. The MCU was flourishing on the big screens, and Marvel wanted to extend it into a transmedia franchise as well. Marvel Television had already launched spy dramas set in the MCU’s background, and a thrilling partnership with Netflix finally meant we got MCU TV shows (of debatable canonicity) as well. Daredevil Season 1 was the first of these, and it set the pattern for everything that came next – just as Iron Man had done for the movies.

Modern viewers tend to forget how much of a gamble Daredevil really was. This was no CW-style superhero TV show; it was dark, brutal, and violent. Pacing was slow (sometimes ponderously so), which meant we had plenty of time to build up characters and explore complex themes. The Kingpin and Daredevil dynamic was electrifying, the action was gloriously well-choreographed, and it made the most of the hard R-rating. Daredevil established the template for all the Marvel Netflix shows, none of which quite beat it, and Born Again is still trying to match it.

This is exactly the same effect we saw with 2008’s Iron Man. The entire MCU was a gamble, and Marvel wasn’t quite sure it would work; that’s why The Incredible Hulk (which released the same year) has such a different tone and style. When Marvel saw how popular Iron Man was, the studio doubled down on that formula and turned itt into a loose template. Daredevil was simply repeating the Iron Man pattern; find what works, adjust everything so you build on it.

Now Daredevil Has Become a (Better) Iron Man

Now the end of Daredevil: Born Again Season 2 has made the comparisons all the more obvious. The MCU’s first film ended with an unforgettable secret identity reveals, and we now have one that riffs on it in the best possible way. There are differences, though, and they make this reveal far more significant; Matt Murdock has to deal with the consequences of his actions, while Tony Stark got away with it. Partly this is because Iron Man was a new hero, where Daredevil has been operating as a vigilante for over a decade. Partly it’s because Stark was wealthy enough to work his way out of the resulting problems.

Traditional superheroes and vigilantes don’t just wear masks to avoid responsibility. They do so to protect their loved ones (Spider-Man’s outing himself in the comics led to an assassination attempt on Aunt May). Iron Man didn’t particularly care about that; Stark was still egotistical and self-centered enough to not really think about it, and he had the resources to (mostly) protect Pepper and Happy as the years passed. Matt, meanwhile, doesn’t really care anymore either; his only loved one is Karen, and she’s already so strongly associated with Daredevil she’d inevitably become a target. Matt has nothing to lose, except his freedom.

Daredevil: Born Again Season 3 will clearly explore the consequences of Daredevil’s secret identity reveal. For Tony Stark, the only consequence was fame and fortune; that, and the occasional annoying Senate hearing. Matt Murdock, however, has gone to jail for Daredevil’s crimes. He’s been imprisoned with the very AVTF agents whose crimes he exposed, which pretty much guarantees that jail is going to be rough for the Man Without Fear. That said, he’s still a blind lawyer who can fight, so he should be able to handle himself.

Daredevil: Born Again streams on Disney+. Discuss Season 2 (including the Finale) with us over on the ComicBook Forum!