Daredevil: Born Again has completed its Season 2 run, capping things off with an epic finale episode. “The Southern Cross” saw Matt Murdock/Daredevil and his nemesis Wilson Fisk/The Kingpin (Vincent D’Onofrio) standing at the head of their respective mobs, hellbent on a showdown. What began as an intricate verbal chess game in the courtroom soon boiled over into an all-out bloody brawl, with both Daredevil and Kingpin letting their respective inner beasts loose on the opposition.
When it premiered in 2015, the original Netflix Daredevil series set a new standard for what superhero TV shows could be, and much of that had to do with the kind of action it offered. Daredevil’s hard-hitting street brawler fight sequences were way above what fans were getting with DC’s Arrowverse. They killed a lot of skepticism that superhero TV could be both grippingly dramatic and offer action spectacle in line with (if not equal to) the Marvel Cinematic Universe movies. And the moment that got a lot of fans on board with Daredevil was no doubt the iconic “Hallway Fight” sequence.
Now, after 5 seasons of content, the Season 2 Finale of Daredevil: Born Again has delivered a Hallway Fight unlike any other before it, and Marvel fans are already crowning it as a new classic.
The Season 2 Finale of Daredevil: Born Again, “The Southern Cross”, saw Daredevil and Kingpin’s war come to a head within the confines of a courtroom. Fisk appeared as a witness, trying to ensure Karen Page (Deborah Ann Woll) ended up in a prison cell for her “vigilante activities,” but Matt Murdock pulled a major UNO “reverse” card out, by appearing in court and confessing that he, as Daredevil, was a major witness to the crimes of the “Kingpin.” Karen was released, but Fisk and his cabal of flunkies and supporters refused to leave the courthouse and instead barricaded themselves inside. Pressure mounted both inside and outside the courthouse until it eventually boiled over into an all-out gang war.
Daredevil: Born Again took things to the next level by giving fans a two Hallway Fight sequences that are occuring at the same time: Daredevil, Jessica Jones (Krysten Ritter), White Tiger II (Camila Rodriguez) and their allies all battling Fisk’s Anti-Vigilante Task Force goons, to get into the courthouse; meanwhile, Kingpin gets fed up and comes bursting out of the courtroom doors, battling his way through a mob of rioters dressed in Daredevil cosplay. Marvel fans are thrilled to see Fisk get his own turn at a Hallway Fight, and were even more thrilled to see that having it occur in the MCU allowed more fun liberties with the villain’s strength and endurance levels. Watching Kingpin punching rioters so hard they were dead on impact, or mercilessly breaking their bones and bodies like they were dolls, has renewed the awe and respect fans have for the character. If there was ever a question before, there isn’t one now: Wilson Fisk is a true supervillain.
Daredevil has been upping the ante on its Hallway Fights since they were first introduced in Season 1. Jon Bernthal’s Punisher got his own variation of one in Season 2, while Season 3 delivered a classic, turning an entire episode into Matt Murdock having to fight his way out of an entire jail riot. Daredevil: Born Again, Season 1, tried to turn Daredevil vs. Bullseye into an entire apartment building fight, but left fans seriously underwhelmed and disappointed with all the CGI visuals – same went for a bastardized Hallway Fight with Daredevil in the She-Hulk TV series. Even The Defenders crossover gave fans a Hallway Fight sequence featuring Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage (Mike Colter), and Iron Fist (Finn Jones) taking on Elektra (Elodie Yung) and The Hand – but somehow, that sequence turned out to be one of the most disappointing ones.
The Defenders crew is reuniting for Daredevil: Born Again Season 3, and they seem like the most obvious candidates to deliver the next big Hallway Fight sequence that MCU fans will love. Matt’s in jail, but Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist are a perfect trio for a tag-team fight. Luke is bulletproof; he and Jessica Jones are both super-strong brawlers, while Iron Fist is a masterful martial arts master with his own super-punch. Taken altogether, the remaining Defenders could pull off one of the best Hallway Fights yet – even better if Punisher, Coleen Wing (Jessica Henwick), and Misty Knight (Simon Missick) are part of the gang.
Did you like Kingpin’s Hallway Fight in Daredevil: Born Again? And what do you want to see from the next one? Catch all of Season 2 streaming on Disney+. And discuss the show with us on the ComicBook Forum!
