In the first episode of Daredevil: Born Again, the series introduces viewers to a new love interest in Matt Murdock’s life, Heather Glenn. The Acolyte actress Margarita Levieva plays her. In the series, Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox) meets Heather on a blind coffee date, which a co-worker arranges under somewhat false pretenses. Matt soon hits it off with the therapist and best-selling author and the two become romantic. While the character may be new to the MCU, she does have a long history in Marvel Comics. Here’s the history of Heather Glenn, one of Daredevil’s many tragic love stories.
Heather Glenn first appeared in Daredevil #126, published in 1975. She was created by writer Marv Wolfman, creator of Blade and Bullseye, and artist Rob Brown. Heather grew up in a life of privilege as the daughter of Maxwell Glenn, the CEO of Glenn Industries. She first met Matt Murdock when she discovered him living at the apartment of her ex-boyfriend Frankie. Using her spare keys, she walked in and found Matt there instead. Realizing Matt was a bigger catch than Frankie, whom she referred to as “a creep,” she began flirting with him right away. She even became a secretary for the law firm of Murdock & Nelson.
A bit of a bleeding heart type, Heather helped Matt and his partner Foggy Nelson open up a legal clinic called the Storefront. The intent was that they use the Storefront to aid those Hell’s Kitchen residents in need without deep pockets. Although Matt finds Heather a bit of an annoying pest, the two soon develop feelings for each other. Heather actually replaced Black Widow/Natasha Romanoff as Matt’s love interest, after the title became renamed to Daredevil and Black Widow for a time. Heather helps Matt in his fight against disinformation in the media, which is specifically targeting urban vigilantes like Daredevil.
Their relationship took a turn when Zebediah Killgrave/Purple Man entered the picture. MCU fans will remember him as David Tennant’s villainous character from Jessica Jones. He used his persuasion powers on Heather’s father Maxwell Glenn, making him complicit in several serious crimes. Matt Murdock attempted to prove Maxwell’s innocence. However, the guilt over what he’d done under Killgrave’s control caused Glenn to take his own life in jail. Around this time, a despondent and grieving Heather discovered that Matt was Daredevil. She blamed him for her father’s death, as Daredevil originally apprehended him. She then breaks up with him. Not long after, Heather takes over her father’s company.
Once Heather takes over Glenn Industries, she becomes a target for Killgrave herself. He uses his powers, forcing Heather to put a gun to her own head, but Daredevil saves her just in time. Eventually, she realizes Matt wasn’t responsible for her father’s death, and the two rekindle a romantic relationship. However, during the 1980s renaissance for the Daredevil comics run, things took a dark turn for Heather. First, Heather’s inexperience causes her to lose control of her company, allowing criminals to take over. Daredevil dismantles the operation, but Heather’s company is severely damaged. Matt Murdock asks her to marry him and Heather says yes. However, her reluctance to just become Matt’s wife and remain a businesswoman makes her deeply unhappy. And this is where things get really screwed up.
Matt’s best friend and business partner Foggy Nelson and his ex-girlfriend Black Widow realize that this relationship is toxic for both parties. Her business is failing and Matt can’t focus on his law career or his crime-fighting. So they forge “Dear John” letters to Matt and Heather, with each breaking up with the other. (Talk about overstepping.) This causes Heather to descend into alcoholism and become a party girl. She dates many men, including Tony Stark. Heather eventually breaks down and calls Matt to come see her, hoping to reignite the romance. She tells him to rush over to her place, as it’s an emergency. Matt neglects to save a woman in a domestic violence situation, deciding to help Heather first.
When Matt finally arrives at Heather’s home, he finds her drunk, and she admits to lying about an emergency so he would rush over. Furious, he leaves. He soon discovers the woman in the domestic violence situation he ignored earlier died, and he blames Heather and refuses her calls. She takes it as his final rejection of her and hangs herself in her home. This occurs in Daredevil #220 (1985), which was written by influential Batman writer Denny O’Neil. Matt discovers her lifeless body and blames himself for her death. It is yet another tragic ending to one of Matt Murdock’s romantic relationships.
Heather Glenn in the MCU in Daredevil: Born Again
In Born Again, Heather Glenn is a very different character. We don’t know if she was born into a life of wealth yet or not. But she’s not the flighty woman who became involved with Matt in the comics. Her comics persona as someone who wants to help the less fortunate is, in a sense, honored by the fact that she’s a respected licensed therapist. We simply hope that her journey does not end the same way it did for her comic book counterpart.
Although this marks the first appearance of Heather Glenn in live-action, she has appeared before in a way. A woman named Heather breaks up with Matt Murdock over voicemail in the 2003 Daredevil movie. We can assume that was Heather Glenn. Thankfully, Born Again is doing her character far more justice. And we’re curious to see what her future brings.