Commentary: ‘Daredevil: Born Again’ Has Too Many Characters
by Frank Martin
A key to any superhero story is creating a strong supporting cast. No hero can do good or be challenged alone. He needs allies helping him from all sides and villains attacking from all angles. Traditionally speaking, Daredevil comics have handled this subject quite well. However, the Marvel Cinematic Universe series based on the title stretched itself a bit thin in this department. Daredevil: Born Again introduced so many different characters and subplots that the focus is extremely divided. More attention should be paid to the key characters and the side characters merely a distraction.
As a continuation to the original Netflix show, Born Again sees Wilson Fisk (Vincent D’Onofrio) rise to the position of Mayor of New York. He has outlawed vigilantism, so Daredevil (Charlie Cox) has gone underground with Karen Page (Deborah Ann Woll) in order to fight his authoritarian rule. He has allies fighting the system legally, such as ex-detective Cherry (Clark Johnson) and Kirsten McDuffie (Nikki M. James), a lawyer who is having a tough time battling against Fisk’s corrupt court system. Also, the program details BB Urich’s (Genneya Walton) journey as she tries to extract information from Daniel Blake (Michael Gandolfini), Fisk’s protege, and share it via underground media.
While it is important to showcase the various ways in which Fisk has spread tendrils into the lifeblood of New York, these characters don’t need to be so fleshed out. Even the characters within Fisk’s administration, such as his Mayoral Director Sheila Rivera (Zabryna Guevara), are focused on as they need to make their own decisions in a dangerous situation. But the show is named for Daredevil. It should ultimately be his journey that we care about. Anything other than that turns this superhero show into a generic political drama.
Daredevil: Born Again is now streaming on Disney+.
