Daredevil: Born Again Finally Reveals Who The Real Big Bad Is
After seasons of standing by the sidelines, a Daredevil: Born Again character is stepping up their game.
Daredevil: Born Again had its work cut out for it. Unlike other Marvel series, this one had an existing framework and cast of characters, all built around the central rivalry between Matt Murdock/Daredevil and Wilson Fisk/Kingpin. But there’s so much more to Daredevil than just its hero and villain — they’re all surrounded by a complex web of allies and rivals.
In Episode 8 of Daredevil: Born Again, the reboot series revealed it hasn’t forgotten about this fact. In fact, the most devious villain in the entire show may not be Wilson Fisk himself, but rather someone the audience has underestimated from the very start.
Spoilers ahead for Daredevil: Born Again Episode 8!
Wilson Fisk has always prioritized his wife in his evil schemes.
In the latest episode of Daredevil: Born Again, “Isle of Joy,” all of the pieces from Episode 1 start falling into place: Matt returns to Josie’s Bar to mourn Foggy, Dex escapes from prison using a gross dental trick from the comics, and Wilson plans his annual Black and White Ball. But the most important parts of the episode come not from any of these characters but from Vanessa, who comes into her own on a number of levels.
First, Wilson reveals his capture of her former lover Adam, and Vanessa is surprised and upset, but then realizes that at least Wilson kept his promise and didn’t murder him. That doesn’t get in the way of her morals though, and she has no qualms pulling the trigger.
It’s a big moment for Vanessa: we’ve never seen her murder anyone. She has always been the thing Wilson has sworn to protect, a posh and cultured art dealer who loves Wilson in spite of his bloodthirsty nature, not because of it. Now, we see that may not be true: she has the same brutal instinct.
Vanessa Fisk is far more dangerous than we first thought.
This is totally confirmed by the final moments of the episode. Matt confronts Vanessa with an uncomfortable truth: it was her who put out a hit on Foggy, not Wilson. She was the one who set off the biggest loss of the series so far, and she is the one who is now encouraging Wilson to exert his own power as mayor. She’s the Lady Macbeth of Daredevil, something reflected in her being the only person at the Black and White ball wearing red.
After seasons of standing by Wilson’s side — that is, when she wasn’t in a hospital bed serving as emotional motivation — Vanessa is finally proving why she has decided to align herself with him. After all, behind every great man is a greater (if somewhat smaller) woman.
