Daredevil: Born Again: All the Easter eggs, cameos, and references

Daredevil looking mean and moody.
(Image credit: Marvel Studios)

The first two episodes of Daredevil: Born Again are streaming now on Disney Plus! You can find out the new show's release schedule here. This page, however, is all about Easter Eggs. Here, you can find every reference and hidden detail that Marvel Studios has snuck into the new Daredevil show that we spot, from deep cut comic book characters, to allusions to the Netflix shows, and more.

Major spoilers ahead for Daredevil: Born Again episodes 1 and 2

Episode 1 catches us up with team Nelson, Murdock, and Page years after the events of Daredevil season 3. The future is looking pretty bright, but then something happens which causes Matt to hang up his Daredevil mask, seemingly for good. Still, it's not all doom and gloom: Matt meets Heather Glenn and the two strike up the start of what looks like a relationship. Meanwhile, Wilson Fisk – AKA Kingpin – has set his sites on becoming mayor of New York.

In Episode 2, Fisk's plan has succeeded and he has seized control of New York. Meanwhile Hector Ayala, who operates as a vigilante under the name White Tiger, witnesses a case of police brutality and intervenes – only to find himself arrested. Matt takes on his case, which lands him in trouble too. Meanwhile, Fisk and his wife Vanessa embark on some couples therapy – with Heather Glenn!

Episode 1 - Heaven's Half Hour

Karen, Matt, and Foggy.

(Image credit: Marvel Studios)

Josie's bar: Josie's bar was a frequent hang out spot for the trio of Nelson, Murdock, and Page. We see it again here, still run by Josie herself (Susan Varon), shortly before things go very badly for Foggy...

Kirsten McDuffie: The woman Foggy is flirting with is a recurring character from Marvel Comics, introduced in 2011's Daredevil (Volume 3) #1. In the comics, Kirsten is an assistant District Attorney who suspects that Matt Murdock is Daredevil. Over time their relationship becomes romantic and the two start dating. In later comics, having revealed his identity as Daredevil, Matt leaves Hell's Kitchen and moves to San Francisco with Kirsten. The two set up their own law firm, but when the Purple Children wipe everyone's memories of Daredevil's identity, Matt decides it's a good time to break up with her (Matt Murdock: never not a dick to his girlfriends). Despite this acrimonious split, however, she later helps clear Matt's name when he is falsely arrested for murder.

Hogarth, Chao & Benowitz: The firm that Foggy mentions having previously worked in is partially owned by Jeri Hogarth, Carrie-Anne Moss' character from the Jessica Jones show.

Fisk's breakfast: Kingpin is a man of routine. In the Netflix show he was shown making an omelette, which he eats again here, this time with a single stick of asparagus.

The BB Report with BB Urich: The TV show that we see intermittently pop up in the show is hosted by BB Urich, a new character played by Genneya Walton. We learn in episode 2 that she is the niece of Ben Urich, from season 1 of the Netflix show, where he was played by Vondie Curtis-Hall. Alas, the character was murdered by Wilson Fisk, which adds an extra resonance to his meeting with BB in episode 2, where Kingpin admits that he "knew" Ben.

"He supposedly crushed a guy's head!": In The BB Report segment an irate talking head refers to an infamous scene from season one of the Netflix show where Kingpin killed a man using a car door.

Kingpin references Echo: Matt and Wilson sit down for a catch up. While talking about family, Fisk notes, "I tried to mentor someone… Well, that's the closest I've come." He is, of course, talking about Echo here, in a reference to her Disney Plus show. Matt can't help but snipe back, "Didn't she try to shoot you in the face?"

Fisk is a man of his word: In the meeting Fisk also says, "About your friend. I had nothing to do with his death, I kept that promise," referring to a pact that Daredevil and Kingpin made in the Netflix show to not target each other's loved ones.

Heather Glenn, MD: Meet Matt's latest love interest. Heather Glenn is a fairly important character in the Daredevil comics, and we have a full explainer for Heather Glenn. Having said that, the TV version and the comics character are really quite different.

Fisk becomes mayor: This isn't an Easter Egg, as such, but it is something that happens in the comics. We have a guide to Fisk becoming mayor if you're eager to know more.

Spectrum News NY1: The real life news station (also sometimes called NY1 and Spectrum NY1) that reports on Fisk's election is a regular fixture of the MCU, having featured in The Avengers, Iron Man 3, Spider-Man: Homecoming and No Way Home, the Netflix seasons of Daredevil, Punisher, and Jessica Jones, WandaVision, and Hawkeye. Anchor Pat Kiernan, who has also appeared in various MCU projects, also recurs here.

Episode 2 - Optics

Matt Murdock against the New York skyline.

(Image credit: Marvel Studios)

Times Square: The opening scene of New York reacting to Fisk being elected mayor is full of visual references. There's a billboard for Rogers: The Musical, as seen in Hawkeye. There's also a poster for Harlem's Paradise, the ​​nightclub from Netflix's Luke Cage, while the PymVanDyne Foundation – belonging to Hope van Dyne – has a Happy New Year sign.

Fisk on vigilantes: "We don't need a gun toting vigilante who wears a skull on his chest. Or a man who dresses in a spider outfit. Or a guy who wears devil horns." These are very clearly references to the Punisher, Spider-Man, and Daredevil.

District Attorney Ben Hochberg: Hochberg is a minor character from Marvel Comics, first introduced in Daredevil (Volume 5) #2 from 2015. As in the show he is a New York District Attorney.

The title of Heather's book: Heather Glenn has published a book titled Life Without Fear: A Guide to Confronting Trauma by Heather Glenn MD. The first part of that title is a clear nod to Daredevil's longstanding nickname, "The Man Without Fear".

White Tiger's mystical amulets: Matt makes a passing reference to White Tiger having "mystical amulets". These are the Jade Tiger amulets, which originated in Iron Fist's heavenly city of K'un-Lun and which grant Hector superhuman agility and strength. You can find out more about those in our explainer to White Tiger's rich comic book history in our full explainer here.

Punisher tattoos: An obvious one to finish off the episode, but one of the cops that tries to kill Nicky Torres – the key witness in Hector Ayala's trial – is sporting an adapted Punisher tattoo. It's not like Frank Castle to work with the police, so are these cops who have taken on some of the Punisher's lethal methods?


Daredevil: Born Again streams new episodes every Tuesday on Disney Plus, so check back in weekly for the rundown on the latest instalments. Click to find out about all the upcoming Marvel movies and shows, learn about the best Daredevil comics and how to watch the Marvel movies in order.

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Will Salmon
Comics Editor

Will Salmon is the Comics Editor for GamesRadar/Newsarama. He has been writing about comics, film, TV, and music for more than 15 years, which is quite a long time if you stop and think about it. At Future he has previously launched scary movie magazine Horrorville, relaunched Comic Heroes, and has written for every issue of SFX magazine for over a decade. He sometimes feels very old, like Guy Pearce in Prometheus. His music writing has appeared in The Quietus, MOJO, Electronic Sound, Clash, and loads of other places and he runs the micro-label Modern Aviation, which puts out experimental music on cassette tape.

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