In the opening episodes of Daredevil: Born Again, Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox) and Wilson Fisk (Vincent D’Onofrio) struggle to reinvent themselves. Following the death of Foggy Nelson (Elden Henson), Matt has abandoned crime-fighting to focus on his legal practice alongside new partner Kirsten McDuffie (Nikki M. James) while developing a relationship with therapist Heather Glenn (Margarita Levieva). Fisk, meanwhile, has returned from a long retreat to launch a successful mayoral campaign that positions him as New York’s savior from masked vigilantes. On the surface, both men appear committed to new chapters, with Matt trusting the system he once circumvented and Fisk pursuing power through legitimate channels. Yet, Episode 3 uses a striking visual motif to show the similarities and challenges of both Matt and Wilson.
Videos by ComicBook.com
WARNING: Spoilers below for Daredevil: Born Again Episode 3
Daredevil: Born Again establishes a deliberate parallel between Matt and Wilson by focusing on their bruised hands and bloody knuckles. Matt got his hands dirty after confronting corrupt police officers in Episode 2, where he defended witness Nicky Torres (Nick Jordan) from Officer Powell (Hamish Allan-Headley) and his partners. These wounds become a recurring focus throughout Episode 3, with the camera lingering on Matt’s damaged knuckles to remind fans of the demons he’s trying to contain. Similarly, Mayor Fisk’s office scenes feature deliberate shots of his bruised hands resting on his desk – injuries whose origin remains unexplained.
[RELATED: Daredevil: Born Again Reveals What Spider-Man Has Been Doing Since No Way Home]
What makes this visual cue particularly effective is how it communicates character without dialogue. Neither Wilson nor Matt talk about what their wounds mean. The camera simply draws our attention to them as physical manifestations of internal conflict. For Matt, a man whose Catholic faith forms the backbone of his moral compass, these marks prove that despite abandoning the Daredevil mantle, violence remains his instinctive response when confronted with injustice. For Fisk, whose political rhetoric emphasizes law and order, the bloodied knuckles reveal that beneath his mayoral authority lurks the same man who once brutalized his way to power as the Kingpin of Crime.
Daredevil: Born Again Is About the Dual Journey of Matt Murdock and Wilson Fisk
The bloody knuckles motif in Daredevil: Born Again deepens the exploration of duality that runs throughout the series. In Episode 3, Matt commits fully to defending Hector Ayala (Kamar De Los Reyes) through legal means, even making the difficult decision to reveal Ayala’s identity as the White Tiger vigilante to help win his case. His dedication to pursuing justice within the system demonstrates his sincere commitment to this new path. Yet the close-ups of his bruised hands serve as constant reminders of his violent confrontation at Nicky’s apartment, a necessary action when the system failed to protect an innocent witness. Furthermore, it’s significant that when Matt confronts Powell and his partners, he does so as Matt Murdock, not as Daredevil. With that in mind, his battered knuckles also represent the blurring line between his two identities.
For Fisk, the bloodied hands carry different implications. As New York’s newly elected mayor, he presents himself as the solution to the city’s vigilante problem and a champion of legitimate authority. His carefully crafted public persona stands in stark contrast to his past as Kingpin. However, the unexplained injuries to his hands suggest that despite his political transformation, he still resolves certain problems through direct physical means. The visual cue hints at how thin his veneer of legitimacy actually is and that violence remains Wilson’s default response at times.
Where previous superhero narratives might present heroes and villains as fundamentally different types of people, Daredevil: Born Again uses the bloodied hands motif to suggest that Matt and Fisk are more alike than either would admit. Both men possess dual identities and struggle to maintain the public-facing versions of themselves when circumstances trigger their more primal instincts. Their injuries aren’t just evidence of isolated incidents but windows into their fundamental nature. Despite their best intentions, both men remain defined by violence.
New episodes of Daredevil: Born Again come to Disney+ every Tuesday.
How do you like Daredevil: Born Again themes so far? Do you think the series will keep exploring the similarities between Matt Murdock and Wilson Fisk? Join the discussion in the comments!
