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This article contains spoilers for Daredevil: Born Again season 2.
Even though they’ve only met in the MCU once, and even then only in civilian guises in No Way Home, Spider-Man and Daredevil are usually linked in the Marvel canon. Both are street-level heroes in New York City, both have tragic childhood stories, and both suffer from overwhelming and unending guilt. But where Peter Parker usually faces trouble with non-stop banter, Matt Murdock forever wrestles with the dark night of the soul.
So if Peter’s going to have a brand new day in the MCU, then Matt must first have a very dark day. Which is exactly what happened in season 2 of Daredevil: Born Again. Yes, Matt managed to survive Mayor Wilson Fisk’s onslaught and the Anti-Vigilante Task Force he unleashed on NYC. But he’s in a bad place, with his identity revealed to the world and now serving a prison sentence for his activities. And with Daredevil off the board, New York City’s going to need Spider-Man more than ever.
Mayor Fisk No More
The biggest change in the MCU status quo is the removal of Wilson Fisk as mayor. Throughout season 2, Fisk used the sympathy garnered by the attempt on his life by the assassin Bullseye to put his anti-vigilante legislation into place. Because the AVTF targeted vulnerable people, and because Fisk controlled media outlets such as The BB Report, average New Yorkers supported him.
However, by the end of the season, the AVTF had gone too far, leading to widespread fear and violence. The courtroom drama nature of the finale to Born Again season 2 reasserted the rule of law, proving that demagogues like Fisk cannot be allowed to use the government as their personal weapon. Moreover, the season ends with Fisk out as mayor and his campaign director Sheila Rivera in his place. We saw Zabryna Guevara as Mayor Rivera briefly in the trailer for Brand New Day, suggesting that this new leader is ready to embrace the vigilantes that her predecessor vilified.
NYC Loves Vigilantes?
Will Mayor Rivera be alone in her newfound support for the costumed set? Thus far, the MCU movies have been reluctant to let Spider-Man stay in his friendly neighborhood, and while Spider-Man: Homecoming has some delightful bits with him interacting with New Yorkers, it’s not entirely clear how the city feels about him, especially after J. J. Jameson disseminated footage of him killing Mysterio in Far From Home.
Born Again‘s second season began with New Yorkers happy to let the AVTF do its dirty work, as long as it made them feel safe. But as Powell and his thugs increased their grip, more and more regular citizens joined the rebellion, participating in mass protests outside the governor’s office. So Brand New Day may send the pendulum in the other direction, with citizens ready to embrace Spider-Man, especially if he’s dealing with Boomerang, Tarantula, Scorpion, and Tombstone—all foes who will appear in Spider-Man’s next movie.
Big Brother is Watching
The citizens might be ready to support Spidey, but what about the government? Fisk got to do what he did because he had the support of the U.S. government, as expressed through CIA operative Mr. .Charles (Matthew Lillard). As we saw in the season 2 premiere, Charles literally has a direct line to Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, and was working in NYC on her behest. Born Again ends with Charles taking Bullseye away to replace Luke Cage as his new enforcer, but that doesn’t mean the federal government has no more interest in the Big Apple’s superhero community.
In particular, the Department of Damage Control has its eye on New York. We know that Tramell Tillman will play a member of Damage Control, the Homeland Security-style organization that has been an issue for Spidey since Homecoming. Further, rumors suggest that Damage Control will be hunting Sadie Sink’s character, who is likely to be Jean Grey of the X-Men. Given that Val just had Mr. Charles in New York dealing with Fisk and Daredevil, she’ll probably keep her eyes trained on the city, especially if mutants are about to appear.
The Punisher’s Pains
Between the end of Born Again season 2 and Spider-Man: Brand New Day comes The Punisher: One Last Kill, a Marvel Special Presentation focusing on Frank Castle. Jon Bernthal showed up as Castle in season 1 of Born Again, and he’ll be back again in Brand New Day, presumably defending Sink’s character from Damage Control. But he cannot help but be affected by his time with Daredevil.
Castle helped Daredevil fight off a horde of AVTF officers in the finale of Born Again‘s first season, and he repeatedly chided Matt Murdock for his half-measures. Certainly, he feels vindicated by the mess those half-measures made, and he’s likely to bring them up when dealing with Spider-Man, Hulk, and the other super-people he has to deal with in Brand New Day.
Dealt a Bad Hand
One of the more surprising parts of the Brand New Day trailer showed Spider-Man fighting off a host of crimson-clad ninjas. Longtime Marvel Comics readers will know these as members of the Hand Clan, a group of death-obsessed assassins who usually make trouble for Daredevil and Wolverine, but rarely bother Spider-Man. So why have they suddenly become Peter Parker’s problem?
The answer is simple: Wolverine isn’t present in the MCU yet (Deadpool & Wolverine doesn’t count) and Daredevil’s locked up in cell block D. Technically, the Hand haven’t appeared before in the MCU, but they were a major part of the Daredevil Netflix show and The Defenders. While the canonicity of those series is still in question, we can probably guess that Matt’s actions in those shows have kept the Hand out of the city. But now that he’s in prison, it falls upon Spidey to deal with those pesky ninjas.
Will the Devil Have His Due?
Perhaps the biggest thing people want to see in Brand New Day is an actual team-up between Spider-Man and Daredevil. That desire has only been stoked by the fact that Punisher and the Hand will be in the movie. And while Charlie Cox has been adamant that he won’t appear in the film, people have lied before about showing up in Spider-Man movies.
Yet, it’s hard to see how, exactly, Daredevil will be around in Brand New Day. He is, again, in prison. And while we don’t want him to stay there forever, it would be really disappointing if Matt gets out long enough for a quick cameo and then goes back to jail. So unless Peter decides to check in on his former lawyer during visiting hours, then Born Again season 2 makes it impossible for Daredevil to be in Brand New Day.
All of Daredevil: Born Again is now on Disney+. Spider-Man: Brand New Day swings into theaters on July 31, 2026.
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