In the season one finale of Daredevil: Born Again, Mayor Wilson Fisk (Vincent D’Onofrio) has tightened his grip on New York City. He’s declared martial law, outlawing all vigilantes. At the end of episode 9, “Straight to Hell,” Daredevil (Charlie Cox) says that to fight Fisk, he needs an army. And we think that army will be mostly made up of Matt Murdock’s former allies from The Defenders series. And possibly not just the characters from the original series. We think some additions are in order as well. Matt (and Frank Castle) are going to need some help in the upcoming war from other New York heroes. We examine the likelihood for each original Defender (and potential new Defenders) who might join the fight in Daredevil: Born Again season 2.
Jessica Jones (Krysten Ritter)
When Jessica Jones ended, our titular character decided to stay in New York City, as a superpowered P.I. True, she’s not technically a vigilante and certainly not a masked one. But we doubt that Mayor Fisk would make that distinction. Especially given her past as an ally of Matt Murdock in The Defenders. If any previous Marvel Netflix character seems the most likely to join Daredevil: Born Again season 2, it’s Krysten Ritter as Jessica.
Luke Cage (Mike Colter)
When we last left Mike Colter’s Luke Cage, he had taken over Harlem’s Paradise nightclub. So it’s unclear just how much vigilantism the bullet-proof man is doing these days. But a declaration of martial law in his home city might make Luke Cage take up the hero game again. This is possible even if he’d quit in the years since his show ended. In the pages of Marvel Comics, Luke Cage became Mayor of New York after Fisk. We could easily see Daredevil: Born Again season 2 setting that up quite nicely and bringing this Defender back.
Iron Fist/Danny Rand (Finn Jones)
No member of the Defenders wants to come back as much as Finn Jones as Danny Rand a.k.a. Iron Fist. It’s not out of pocket to say that of all the Netflix Marvel series, which culminated in The Defenders, it’s the least popular. But everyone deserves a chance at redemption, so we’re not against Born Again doing right by martial artist superhero Danny Rand. Maybe since the end of Iron Fist, he’s become a “Hero for Hire” with Luke Cage? That’s not a terrible outcome for his character.
Echo/Maya Lopez (Alaqua Cox)
Daredevil made a cameo appearance in the Echo series, and it seems Alaqua Cox should return the favor. Of all the MCU characters, who has more reason to be involved in a story involving Fisk than Maya Lopez? We don’t think that Echo is likely to get a second season at this point. So maybe we need to use Born Again as a way of getting Maya back into the mix, and giving us another Maya/Fisk confrontation. No one makes sense to return for Born Again season 2 more than Echo.
Frank Castle/The Punisher (Jon Bernthal)
He wasn’t a part of the original Defenders series, as Frank Castle (Jon Bernthal) is just not a team player and never agrees with Daredevil. But the Punisher’s been too much of a key player in Born Again to stay out of the fight next season. We’re not sure how well the Punisher is going to play with others, but we feel he needs to be part of any army that Matt is building. Seeing how season one played out, we’re confident that Frank will return.
Moon Knight (Oscar Isaac)
We haven’t seen Oscar Isaac as Marc Spector/Steven Knight/Jake Lockley since the end of Moon Knight, and there’s been nothing official since the end of that series. Oscar Isaac has a very busy movie schedule, and he might not be down to play his character on someone else’s show. But of all the newer Marvel Disney+ characters, aside from Echo, none fit more into Matt Murdock’s world than Moon Knight does. We’d love to see the Mister Knight persona join Matt in kicking bad guys’ heads in with some billy clubs.
Spider-Man/Peter Parker (Tom Holland)
Of all the MCU characters who should be affected by the events of Born Again, none fit the bill more than Spider-Man. Peter Parker was (sort of) name-dropped by Mayor Fisk in episode two of the series, and we know he’s out there, fighting crime with a mask on. Sadly, an appearance from Spidey is extremely unlikely, as Marvel Studios can only use the character in 30-minute animation on TV. And even if they could use Spidey, Tom Holland coming back for a TV series seems unlikely. But he should be there. Or at least mentioned.
The Defenders series on Netlfix wasn’t exactly a high point for those characters, so we’re hoping Daredevil: Born Again allows them to come together again for a better story. We’d love to see them reunited take New York back from Fisk, and maybe bring new allies along with them.