Warning: This article contains major spoilers for Daredevil: Born Again episode 1 & 2.Daredevil: Born Againfinally answered a seven-year-oldMarvelcliffhanger from the originalDaredevilshow - but appears to have ignored the coolest part of what said cliffhanger actually set up. The debut ofDaredevil: Born Againepisode 1 and 2on August 19, 2025 was a big moment for both the Marvel hero himself andthe wider MCU timeline, as the sequel follows up directly from the originalDaredevilseries that released on Netflix. WithDaredevilending in 2018, there’s a considerable gap between the two Marvel shows, which makesDaredevil: Born Againall the more interesting.
Unsurprisingly,Daredevil: Born Again’s first episodes focus on filling in the gaps about what has happened with the main characters of the originalDaredevilin between the ending of season 3 and now. This allows new viewers to get an easy entry point to the series, and provides some major payoffs for those who watchedDaredeviland were left with questions even after its ending. However, the way the Marvel show answers one of these big questions essentially dodges around one of the most exciting parts of whatDaredevilseason 3’s endingset up for the future.
Daredevil: Born Again Just Brought Back Bullseye
Daredevil: Born Againopens with the return of Benjamin Poindexter in dramatic fashion, reinforcing just how much of a threat the murderous man with perfect aim and a deep-rooted desire to harm others can really be, andconfirming that the surgery he underwent inDaredevilseason 3 did undo his paralysis. Before the opening credits ofDaredevil: Born Againepisode 1 have even rolled, the Marvel villain is shown suiting up as Bullseye and gunning down Josie’s Bar, most notably killing Matt Murdock’s lifelong best friend, Foggy Nelson.
Murdock is understandably devastated when he hears Foggy’s heart stop, resulting in Daredevil’s already intense fight with Bullseye becoming an absolutely brutal takedown. After going all out at one another, the battle between Daredevil and Bullseye ends via Daredevil pushing him off a roof, with Bullseye taking a heavy landing. Daredevil appears shaken by both Foggy’s death and his inability to prevent it, and also just how ruthlessly he beat his enemy afterward, leading to his retirement. Interestingly, Bullseye’s defeat looks even more notable given the ending of his story inDaredevilseason 3.
Bullseye’s Cogmium Upgrade Doesn’t Seem To Make Much Difference
Daredevilseason 3 ends with Bullseye getting his spine broken by Kingpin in the final fight of the show, taking him out of the equation and leaving Daredevil and Kingpin to duke it out one last time in the original series. Season 3 shows this isn’t the end of Poindexter’s story, though, as the show closes with a tease of him getting a comic upgrade in the live-action universe, via a scene wherein experimental surgery is being done on his spine, and a shot shows the character’s eye with the bullseye logo over it.
In the comics, Bullseye goes through a similar experience, having his bones imbued with adamantium in order to work as an assassin once more. However,Daredevilseason 3 makes an interesting adjustment to this story, since one of the people working on Poindexter’s surgery explicitly mentions they intend to use cogmium instead - another valuable Marvel resource, but one with powers that are less defined than admantium in the comics, raising questions about how much it would serve to help Bullseye.
InDaredevil: Born Again,Bullseye’s fight with Daredevil doesn’t appear to show him with any particular upper hand from his cogmium surgery, especially since he’s defeated by the Devil Of Hell’s Kitchen. Unless the metal alloy is what allows Poindexter to survive his fall off the roof at the end of the fight, there’s little indication that the surgery did anything other than restore his ability to walk, which seems very different to what an adamantium upgrade could have promised for the character.
Is Bullseye More Powerful In The MCU Than On Netflix?
Currently, Bullseye’s time on-screen in the MCU’sDaredevil: Born Againdoesn’t appear to depict him as any more powerful than his Netflix show counterpart. While his fight with Daredevil in episode 1 is certainly dramatic and dynamic, it doesn’t look worlds away from the battles the pair had in the originalDaredevil, though it would seem Bullseye has less of the advantage of surprise compared to his initial appearances in the live-action Marvel story.
With that said, it does seem Bullseye might be more committed than ever to his grudge against Daredevil and his allies based onDaredevil: Born Again’s depiction of the character thus far, which could mean he presents more issues for the hero in the immediate future despite his incarceration. Similarly, since there’s only been one Bullseye fight so far, there’s still potentially plenty of time for further fights to appear and show that Bullseye’s cogmium surgery did actually come with enhanced abilities, be that in terms of improved durability or other unfortunate benefits.
Daredevil: Born Againepisode 3 is set to release on August 06, 2025.
