Daredevil: Born Again Season 2 looks set to shake up a long-standing villain pattern that has defined the character's live-action stories for over a decade. Born Again returns on March 24 with Charlie Cox back as Matt Murdock and Vincent D'Onofrio as Wilson Fisk, continuing the rivalry that has anchored the franchise since 2015. This time, Fisk operates from an even more powerful position as the mayor of New York City, while Matt will be sticking to superhero work this year. However, Season 2 will introduce a key shift: Matt won't be the only one standing against Fisk.
One of the most notable additions to Daredevil: Born Again Season 2 is Matthew Lillard's mysterious character, Mr. Charles, a powerful intelligence operative who, the actor told the LA Times, is "a CIA spook" with influence over global politics.
Lillard described him as having immense power, helping "nations rise and fall" from the shadows. Teasing the division between Mr. Charles and Kingpin, he mentioned that he's "not impressed by the powers" of the new Major of NYC:
"He’s a guy that controls power from afar. He helps nations rise and fall, but he's very clandestine. He is not impressed by the powers of [Vincent] D’Onofrio’s [Kingpin] at all."
This dynamic marks a major shift for the franchise, as Fisk has traditionally been challenged almost exclusively by Daredevil himself in any live-action project.
By introducing a geopolitical power player who can threaten Fisk while Daredevil pressures him on the streets, Season 2 finally gives the Kingpin a different enemy, while also still fending off the Devil of Hell's Kitchen.
Based on the marketing and promotion thus far, it's unclear if Daredevil and Mr. Charles will team up in any way. It seems more likely they just have a common enemy and want to put a stop to Fisk and his Anti-Vigilante Task Force.
Daredevil will have several other allies this season, needing a team to restore order to the streets of NYC. While Jon Bernthal's Punisher will be away this season, his main partner will be Deborah Ann Woll's Karen Page, and even Krysten Ritter's Jessica Jones is getting back in the action.
He may even need help from Luke Cage, played by Mike Colter, who has expressed interest in returning to the MCU on a few conditions.
Over the years, Daredevil has also needed help against a dynamic group of enemies, not just Kingpin. Cox's red-suited hero has traded blows with Bullseye (Wilson Bethel), the mystical ninjas of The Hand, and the Punisher. More recently, Murdock had to take down the serial killer Muse in Born Again Season 1.
This same level of combatants has been missing from Kingpin in live action, on both Netflix and Disney+, despite the Marvel villain having many different adversaries in other media.
Kingpin's Rogues Gallery of Enemies
While Wilson Fisk (especially Vincent D'Onofrio's take) is most famously linked to Daredevil, the Kingpin of Crime has challenged a diverse roster of heroes across various Marvel platforms.
In the MCU, outside of any Daredevil projects, Fisk made a formidable debut against Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner) and Kate Bishop (Hailee Steinfeld) in the series Hawkeye before serving as the primary antagonist for Maya Lopez (Alaqua Cox) in Echo.
The villain's reach extends into animation as well, where he appeared as the central threat to Miles Morales in the film Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.
Also, Kingpin has served as a recurring mastermind against Peter Parker in numerous animated television programs, games, and, of course, comic books.
Unfortunately, for those wanting to see Kingpin take on Spidey in live action, the film rights to the villain are shared between Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures.
The split ownership has made it difficult for the character to appear in a movie despite the character's popularity. Still, D'Onofrio has openly said that his biggest hope is to eventually play Kingpin on the big screen in an MCU film.
For now, fans will have to settle for Bernthal bringing his "high octane" Punisher to Spider-Man: Brand New Day later this year in theaters.
