Season 2 of Daredevil: Born Again has shattered its own records by unleashing an unprecedented number of villains upon Hell's Kitchen. Premiering on Disney+ on March 24, the new season wasted no time catching up with a sprawling cast of returning characters from Season 1, checking in on where they stand in the aftermath of the finale. The result is a first episode packed with more antagonists than the series has ever seen at one time.
The Daredevil: Born Again Season 2 premiere set a record for the active villains in a single season premiere of a live-action MCU Disney+ show. The first episode, "The Northern Star," showed off seven villains (and a special eighth exception).
Leading the charge, as always, is Mayor Wilson Fisk (Vincent D'Onofrio), who arrives at the scene of the sunken Northern Star weapons ship and immediately frames Daredevil as a terrorist, leveraging his authority to deploy his Anti-Vigilante Task Force to hunt him down.
At his side is the ever-calculating Vanessa Fisk (Ayelet Zurer), who joins her husband, but also proved in Season 1 that she beats to the tune of her own drum now.
Rounding out that trio is the newly introduced CIA operative Mr. Charles (Matthew Lillard), who storms into New York from Washington, D.C., and immediately establishes himself as a threat even Kingpin can't dismiss, demanding the deaths of the Northern Star's salvage crew to cover up the illegal arms deal.
Early in the episode, he also silenced the city's attorney general with a single phone call tied to his connection with Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus).
Fisk's Deputy Mayor Daniel Blake (Michael Gandolfini) is shown enjoying a luxury apartment courtesy of Fisk while allowing BB Urich (Genneya Walton) to be used as a mouthpiece for AVTF propaganda.
Taking the dirtiest hands-on work, Buck Cashman (Arty Froushan), Fisk's cold-blooded assistant, tracks down the Northern Star's surviving crew members and kills the captain to ensure no loose ends threaten his boss's operation.
Now a full-fledged bad guy, Heather Glenn (Margarita Levieva), Matt Murdock's ex-girlfriend and Fisk's appointed mental health commissioner, actively falsifies a psychiatric evaluation of captured vigilante Swordsman (Tony Dalton).
The pressure to do so came directly from District Attorney Benjamin Hochberg (John Benjamin Hickey), who also attempts to bully defense attorney Kirsten McDuffie (Nikki M. James) into throwing the Swordsman case.
Hickey previously was on Netflix's Jessica Jones, but as an entirely different character.
As a haunting bonus, the ghost of Muse lurks throughout the episode as a recurring hallucination for Heather. In Season 1, Muse was shot three times in the chest by Heather after he broke into her office.
This total count reflects only the characters who are actively operating as antagonists in the Season 2 premiere, rather than those who simply appear or are set up for future arcs.
By that logic, Muse and Heather were excluded from the Season 1 tally, as neither was functioning in a villainous capacity during the premiere despite their presence.
Looking deeper at the full slate of MCU Disney+ series premieres, fans may be surprised to see the collection of villains for each show.
Other MCU Disney+ Premiere Villains
Daredevil: Born Again Season 1
In the Season 1 premiere, Kingpin returns after making past Disney+ appearances on Hawkeye and Echo. The opening episode takes a dark turn when Bullseye (Wilson Bethel) famously murders Foggy Nelson in the opening minutes of the series revival.
Amidst the chaos, Vanessa is reestablished as a calculating presence, now running her own operation, and not exactly thrilled to see her husband return.
Back for Season 2, Buck and Daniel also appeared in the first episode of Born Again, having developed a lot since then under Fisk's guidance.
Devlin (Cillian O’Sullivan) was also in Season 1, Episode 1, but it wasn't until the armed robbery in Episode 5, "With Interest," that he had more of a moment.
Ironheart
The first episode of Ironheart introduces a unique blend of street crime and mysticism centered on The Hood (Anthony Ramos), aka Parker Robbins. He leads a diverse crew of criminals, including the tech-savvy John (Manny Montana), often referred to as Cousin John.
Supporting Robbins also were specialized operatives like the pyrotechnic Clown (Sonia Denis) and Slug (Shea Couleé). The group's physical muscle is rounded out by the "Blood Siblings," Jeri (Zoe Terakes) and Roz (Shakira Barrera).
Arguably, the best villain that appeared in Ironheart wasn't in the premiere, but his presence had been theorized in the MCU since WandaVision.
Secret Invasion
Secret Invasion Episode 1 includes an Everett Ross Skrull (Martin Freeman), which leads directly to the radical leader Gravik (Kingsley Ben-Adir), who operates from New Skrullos with a cold-blooded intent to reclaim Earth.
His right-hand man, Pagon (Killian Scott), assists in coordinating the Moscow bombing, showcasing their willingness to use mass-casualty events as a political tool.
Meanwhile, the presence of Raava, impersonating James Rhodes (Don Cheadle), remains one of the worst reminders in MCU history.
Hawkeye
In the debut of Hawkeye, Eleanor Bishop (Vera Farmiga) is introduced at a black-tie auction. The auction is violently interrupted by the Tracksuit Mafia, led on the ground by Kazi (Fra Fee), a key presence throughout the series.
Among the ranks are Ivan Banionis (Aleks Paunovic) and Tomas (Piotr Adamczyk), who serve as the primary muscle during the heist for the Ronin suit. Their dynamic is one of clumsy but persistent aggression as they relentlessly pursue the "Ronin" figure.
Falcon and the Winter Soldier
The premiere of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier features a stellar aerial battle where Batroc (played by UFC champion Georges St-Pierre) leads a hijacking attempt.
While Batroc represents a familiar physical threat in the MCU, the episode also introduces the danger of Karli Morgenthau (Erin Kellyman). As the leader of the Flag-Smashers, this is just the beginning of a long story arc.
The episode concludes with a major shift in the MCU status quo as the government unveils John Walker (Wyatt Russell) as the new Captain America. Even though Walker is now part of the new Avengers, he's set up at the beginning of this series as possibly the most important antagonist.
Loki Season 2
Season 2 of Loki begins in a state of administrative panic within the TVA. Dox (Kate Dickie) leads a militaristic faction determined to find Sylvie and "prune" the branching timelines at any cost.
Assisting her is Hunter X-5 (Rafael Casal), a hunter who eventually reveals a desire for a life outside the TVA, though in the premiere, he remains loyal to Dox.
While Renslayer (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) is physically absent from the current timeline, her influence looms large through a found audio recording from the past, where she is heard conspiring with He Who Remains.
Later in Season 2, it's revealed that Renslayer secretly commanded the army that won the Multiversal war and helped establish He Who Remains' utopia, though her memories were later erased by Miss Minutes.
