Marvel's Defenders ended on a major cliff-hanger and simultaneously opened up a huge storyline
that we can expect to see in Daredevil Season 3.
Yippee-ki-yay, movie lovers, it's Jan here and today I'm breaking down The Defenders
ending, the inspiration it takes from the comic book storyline "Born Again", and predicting
what we can expect from new and existing characters in the next season of Daredevil.
Don't forget my Defenders and Punisher giveaway is also running on this video, so for a chance
to win a cool Funko Pop, all you have to do is leave a comment about the series and subscribe.
And in case you haven't seen it yet, just be aware there will be spoilers from The Defenders
in this video.
At the end of The Defenders, we see Matt lying injured in a bed, and we hear a nun tell someone
off-screen to 'get Maggie.'
That name is important because, in the comics, although initially Matt didn't know, his mother
became a nun called Margaret.
There was a hint at this part of Matt's comic-book past in Daredevil Season 1 when Stick asked
a nun at the orphanage if Matt's mother was dead, to which she replied, 'That is another
story'.
Thanks to season 1 of Daredevil, we already know about Matt's father, the boxer 'Battlin'
Jack Murdock, who threw fights for money but was bumped off when he refused to continue
doing so.
And, in The Defenders, Jessica Jones gives us a handy reminder of this element of Matt's
backstory when she and Matt talk to the daughter of the Midland Circle architect.
Jessica compares the daughter's situation to Matt's, saying, 'my friend thought his
dad had abandoned him too.
But one day he learned the truth.'
We know that in Season 1, before his final fight, Jack Murdock left a phone message for
his ex-wife, asking her to look after the young Matt, though Matt ended up at an orphanage.
But now, in Season 3 of the show, Matt looks set to finally learn the truth about his mother
and this part of his past.
And the look of that final scene in The Defenders also points to this.
Notice how Matt is bandaged in bed, and how there's a cross above him, a beside-table
and window either side of him, and a nun sitting by him.
All of that is a clear homage to this image from 1986 which appeared in Daredevil issue
230 in the 'Born Again' storyline by Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli.
In fact, Defenders showrunner Marco Ramirez has said this is one of his favourite Daredevil
images from the comics and he had it in mind to use in the show from early on.
Which is interesting because, in that issue, Matt is cared for by a nun named Maggie who
he later realises is actually his mother.
The fact that Matt survived the implosion of Midland Circle at the end of The Defenders
reminded me of something in Season 1 of Daredevil that he said as a young boy to his father
about how Murdocks take a lot of hits but they always get back up.
Now, adult Matt may be on his way to getting back up after that last explosive hit in The
Defenders, but given how important the 'Born Again' storyline will be for Season 3 of Daredevil,
there's gonna be a whole load more things to knock the Devil of Hell's Kitchen back
off his feet again.
For a start, in that particular comic-book storyline, Wilson Fisk finds out Daredevil's
secret identity and sets out to destroy him.
During that time, Matt loses his home, his job, and, very nearly, his life.
Fisk actually gets Matt's information, indirectly, due to Karen Page, who sold her knowledge
of Daredevil's true identity for a drugs fix because, in these comics, Page is a heroin-addicted
ex-actress turned porn star.
So, how much of this is gonna happen in Daredevil Season 3?
Well, last time we saw Kingpin in Season 2, he was meeting with Matt in prison, where
he attacked the lawyer and threatened to wreck his and Foggy's lives when he got out.
Later, in his cell, Fisk asked one of his henchmen to get him Murdock's files so he
could re-examine them, and it seemed like he might have already been connecting the
dots between Matt and Daredevil thanks to Matt's punch in the prison and Daredevil's
punch before Fisk was arrested.
I expect Season 3 to find Kingpin still out for revenge on Matt and his former avocado
at law, and, given Fisk's wealth and connections, it wouldn't surprise me if he will soon find
himself out of prison and launching a full-scale assault on Matt's life.
As he already may have suspicions about Matt Murdock's link to Daredevil, it likely won't
take much to steer him in the right direction – perhaps even just a careless remark from
someone.
Indeed, as Karen Page said to Foggy at the end of The Defenders about how she was stuck
when it came to writing her newspaper article on the events: 'If I reveal what happened
at Midland Circle, then…
all it takes is someone like me figuring out…
Superhero and lawyer go missing at the same time.'
Which brings me to Karen Page's role in Season 3.
Page has a very chequered history in the comics and the TV show has hinted at a complex background
for her in the MCU.
She's obviously devastated by the fact that Matt appears to have died, so it's not beyond
belief that she could turn to drugs or drink to numb her pain.
Then there's that newspaper clipping about a mysterious accident that possibly involved
a young Karen or the upcoming events of Season 1 of The Punisher either of which could drive
Karen into a darker future.
I do hope, though, that we don't see her live out her 'Born Again' storyline in the Defenders-verse.
In fact, given that Karen's moved into journalism on the show and since we lost journalist Ben
Urich back in Daredevil season 1, in Season 3 I can see Karen taking on a similar role
to the one Urich has in the 'Born Again' comics.
And something from the Born Again story which could be pretty cool to see on TV is when
Kingpin orders the super-powered psychotic mercenary Nuke to be brought in to attack
Daredevil.
We've seen the MCU version of Nuke already on Jessica Jones's series in the character
of NYPD cop and former Special Ops agent Will Simpson.
Simpson, like his comic book counterpart, has been involved in a military program that
supplies him with pills that alter his aggression, stamina, pain and regenerative levels.
And he was last seen in Season 1 of Jessica Jones being hauled away by Doctor Kozlov's
soldiers.
He's likely still mentally unstable, so there's a chance we could see him brought into the
next season of Daredevil to be manipulated by Wilson Fisk into attacking the Devil of
Hell's Kitchen.
By the way, in the comics, Captain America turns up during Nuke's part of the story,
and while I don't see Chris Evans making an appearance in Marvel's Netflix show, it's
possible that another former military man like the Punisher could take on Cap's part
in the story instead.
The comics also show Kingpin trying to get at Matt Murdock by having a violent patient
set free from an asylum and sent out into the world dressed as Daredevil to kill Foggy.
Now, if the show does decide to follow this part of the story and introduce a Daredevil
impostor, I wonder if they'll take the opportunity to bring in Bullseye, a character who many
fans have been keen to see in the TV series and who, at one point in the comics, pretended
to be Daredevil after Matt lost his memory and couldn't remember who he actually was.
There have already been a couple of possible easter eggs to Bullseye in previous episodes
of the Netflix show.
And at the end of The Defenders, when Karen sits alone in church, there are two numbers
on the hymn board: 143 and 142.
In the comics, the second of those numbers is an issue that does feature Bullseye, but
what's more intriguing is that if you add those two numbers up, you get 285, which is
one of those issues that I mentioned just before where Bullseye pretends to be Daredevil.
Charlie Cox has said many times that he'd love to see Bullseye on the show, though Deborah
Ann Woll and Elodie Yung aren't so keen – no doubt because Bullseye kills both Karen Page
and Elektra in the comics!
If Bullseye does make an appearance though, who would you like to see cast in the role?
Let me know in the comments below!
By the way, just before we get that final shot of Matt still alive at the end of Defenders,
there's a very interesting shot of what looks like a Daredevil-silhouette crouched on a
rooftop against a red-lit Empire State Building in the background.
As the camera pans round, it reveals that it's not Matt Murdock, but Danny Rand instead,
a hint at Iron Fist taking on the role of Daredevil for a time in looking after the
people of Hell's Kitchen.
In the comics, Iron Fist masqueraded as Daredevil at one point in order to prevent Matt Murdock's
secret identity from being uncovered.
In the Netflix shows, perhaps Danny might do this because he thinks Daredevil has died
so he wants to step up.
Which means it's possible we could see Iron Fist in Daredevil Season 3 for a short time
until Matt resurfaces, especially if Daredevil's next season comes out before Iron Fist Season
2.
And let's not forget that Matt was buried under the rubble of Midland Circle together
with Elektra and Madame Gao.
It's hard not to imagine that Elektra and Gao probably survived given they've had the
immortality substance.
During Defenders, Elektra killed both Alexandra and Stick, purging herself of people who've
been manipulating her into a weapon or tool for themselves.
And, by the end of the show, she's clear about who she really is, saying she's doesn't care
about good or evil, but wants to be with Matt forever.
I can't help but think she'll be back in Daredevil Season 3 as it's quite possible that she was
the one who pulled Matt out from under the rubble with the enhanced strength she now
has after she was resurrected.
As for Madame Gao, it's possible we saw the end of her story for now, and whether she
comes back is probably more dependent on whether Marvel wants to keep using the Hand as a villain
in the Netflix shows or whether that storyline is completely over.
Now, what would you like to see happen in Daredevil Season 3?
And do you have any theories on how Matt Murdock ended up in that bed or about who else survived
the collapse of the Midland Circle building?
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Thanks for watching and see you next time.
Yippee-ki-yay, movie lovers!