The first two episodes of Daredevil: Born Again have several Easter eggs and references, not just to the previous Daredevil series, formerly on Netflix, but also to Marvel Comics and just the MCU as a whole. Here are some key references from the first two episodes Daredevil: Born Again that you might have missed.
Daredevil: Born Again Episode 1’s Easter Eggs and References
Daredevil: Born Again Introduces Kirsten McDuffie, Matt Murdock’s Love Interest From Marvel Comics
After the death of Matt Murdock’s best friend and partner, Foggy Nelson, in the opening moments of Daredevil: Born Again, we cut to a year later. Matt Murdock now has a new law practice with an attorney named Kirsten McDuffie (Nikki M. James), and this is a reference right to Marvel’s comics. In the comics, creators Mark Waid and Paolo Rivera introduced McDuffie in their 2011 run of Daredevil. She was the assistant district attorney who eventually dated Matt Murdock and was always suspicious that he was secretly Daredevil. For a time, Kirsten and Matt set up their own law firm in San Francisco. This was a city that Matt had lived in once before. In Daredevil: Born Again, Kirsten McDuffie and Matt Murdock seem to just be platonic friends and business partners. But who knows? That might all change down the line.
Born Again‘s Mayor Wilson Fisk Is a Reference to the Daredevil Comics
In the comics, Wilson Fisk, New York’s Kingpin of Crime, becomes Mayor of New York City, just as he does in Daredevil: Born Again. This Born Again reference is to a relatively recent development in the Daredevil comics. In 2017, Fisk first ran for Mayor of NYC, promising to restore order after a Hydra attack. He won, although Marvel later revealed he fixed the election. He even makes Matt Murdock his Deputy Mayor. But when Fisk’s meeting with criminal organizations is discovered, he loses his Mayoral position. He eventually gets it back, but not before fighting Daredevil in the streets, causing a public humiliation for himself. During his time as Mayor in Marvel Comics, he bans all vigilante activity, something he’s also doing in Daredevil: Born Again and an Easter egg we appreciate. None other than Luke Cage succeeds Fisk in office in the comics.
Daredevil: Born Again Brings in Heather Glenn, Another Romantic Reference to Marvel Comics
One of Matt Murdock’s many love interests from the comics is Heather Glenn. And she makes her way into the MCU continuity in the first episode of Daredevil: Born Again. In the MCU, Heather Glenn is a celebrated therapist and published author. She meets Matt Murdock on a coffee date set up by their mutual friend Kisten McDuffie.
In the world of Marvel Comics, Heather Glenn is the daughter of a wealthy CEO. Sadly, she dies tragically after a stormy on-again/off-again relationship with Matt Murdock. Her characterization is quite different in the MCU. But her name, at least, and romantic interest in Matt Murdock in Daredevil: Born Again, is a direct reference to Marvel’s comics.
Matt Murdock References Echo Shooting Wilson Fisk in the Face in Daredevil: Born Again
During the tense diner meeting between Wilson Fisk and Matt Murdock, Matt asks Fisk if he’d started a family in the years since they’d seen each other. Fisk answers by saying, “I tried to mentor someone, but that’s the closest I’ve come.” This is a reference to Maya Lopez, a.k.a. Echo. She referred to Fisk as “Uncle,” and was very close to him. Matt Murdock retorts by saying, “Didn’t she shoot you in the face?” Which Echo did, in fact, do, at the end of the Hawkeye series. This happens once Clint Barton reveals to her that Fisk was responsible for her father’s death. The fallout of all of this played out in the Echo series, which ended with the tease of Fisk contemplating a Mayoral run in New York City.
Daredevil: Born Again Episode 2’s Easter Eggs and References
Rogers! The Musical Easter Egg in Daredevil: Born Again Will Delight MCU Fans… And the Harlem’s Paradise Reference Will Bring Joy to Netflix Marvel Enthusiasts
In Times Square, we saw an assortment of digital billboards, just as in real life. But two are MCU-specific Easter eggs hidden in these Daredevil: Born Again ads. The first is one for Rogers! The Musical, the cringey Broadway smash about Steve Rogers/Captain America, that we first saw in Hawkeye. We guess it’s a success and still running on the Great White Way years later. The other MCU reference in Daredevil: Born Again is a billboard for Harlem’s Paradise, the nightclub last owned by none other than Luke Cage. Does that mean that Cage (Mike Colter) is coming to visit Daredevil? It might be time for a Defenders reunion.
Daredevil: Born Again Slips in a Spider-Man Easter Egg
In episode two of Born Again, the newly elected Mayor Fisk’s address to the city on New Year’s Eve, he mentions how the city no longer needs vigilantes on its streets, like a gun-toting maniac with a skull on his chest or a man with devil horns. Of course, we know who those guys are. But he also mentions “a man who dresses in a spider outfit.” This is, of course, a Daredevil: Born Again reference to the Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man. Although the MCU can’t actually call him Spider-Man on a Disney+ show like Daredevil: Born Again. This is because Sony only allows Spidey to be officially referenced in live-action MCU films and not TV. (Animation is exempt). But, we all know who he means here. And it’s fitting, as Fisk was originally a Spider-Man villain. This was long before he was reimagined as Daredevil’s arch-enemy.
The White Tiger Comes Onto the Scene in Daredevil: Born Again
Another vigilante Daredevil: Born Again introduces from Marvel Comics is Hector Ayala, the White Tiger. Matt Murdock represents him in episode two when he’s arrested for killing a police officer while defending a man from assault.
In the comics, White Tiger is an expert martial artist, whose powers come from mystical Jade Tiger amulets. Hector Ayala is Marvel’s first-ever Hispanic superhero, not to mention the first Latin-American main character in mainstream American comics. The mantle gets passed down to others in the comics, something Daredevil: Born Again may be setting up. In the series, he’s played by the late actor Kamar de los Reyes, who passed away in 2023 shortly after Born Again season one wrapped.
More Marvel and MCU References and Easter Eggs to Come on Daredevil: Born Again
The above are all the Easter eggs and references we’ve seen so far in the MCU’s Daredevil: Born Again so far. But if we know Marvel, there will be a ton more winks and nudges, both obvious and subtle, to come in future episodes. And we’ll be here to keep track of them all as they emerge from around the city corners.