Daredevil is finally back in Daredevil: Born Again, and with a slate of new and returning superheroes and villains, there is a lot to dissect when it comes to the show’s power rankings. Some of Born Again‘s new heroes are more powerful than anyone seen in the Netflix seasons, and some of the returning characters have been powered up significantly. So, here are all of Daredevil: Born Again season 1 and 2’s characters, ranked from least powerful to most powerful.
Born Again has a lot of characters, with most of them being regular humans. Since many of these humans have completely normal human abilities that would make them impossible to rank, this list will only focus on characters who have superpowers or seemingly inhuman levels of strength. While characters like Karen Page, Vanessa Fisk, and Office Powell are fun, they wouldn’t stand a chance in a one-on-one fight with any of these characters. With those criteria explained, here are all of Born Again‘s most powerful characters.
Jack Duquense, aka Swordsman, is a wealthy and powerful vigilante in Hawkeye and Daredevil: Born Again. He is incredibly skilled with any sword or sword-like melee weapon and can beat Anti-Vigilante Task Force agents in a fight. However, he doesn’t have enhanced strength, agility, or durability. So, without a sword, Jack isn’t much more than a regular human.
After the death of her uncle, Angela del Toro takes up the mantle of White Tiger. Born Again season 2 proves that she is a strong vigilante able to hold her own against AVTF agents. While she does have good martial arts abilities, her lack of experience and smaller size when compared to her uncle make her one of Born Again‘s less-powerful heroes. She knows her way around a knife and is pretty agile, but Born Again never fully explains exactly what she gets from her White Tiger amulet.
Muse is a minor villain in Born Again season 1, but he has proven himself a force to be reckoned with. While he doesn’t have the Inhuman powers of his comic book counterpart, Muse is an incredibly skilled martial artist, one who is able to take on Daredevil in hand-to-hand combat. He is also an incredibly skilled acrobat and has an intense psychological effect on people he encounters, especially Heather Glenn.
The inclusion of Frank Castle on this list may break the criteria of the characters who are being considered, as the Punisher is just a human who has a lot of guns. However, the events of The Punisher TV show make it hard to argue that Frank doesn’t have an inhuman level of strength. Frank takes a shocking amount of bullets throughout the show and walks away just fine. While he may be just a regular human, he may be the strongest regular human in the entire MCU.
On top of that, Frank is incredibly skilled with all kinds of weaponry. The Punisher: One Last Kill special shows Frank killing mobs of criminals simply due to his superior combat abilities. His time in the Marines makes him deadly with melee or ranged weaponry, and his willingness to kill makes him an even more terrifying foe.
Hector Ayala is killed early in Daredevil: Born Again season 1, and while he was only in the show for a short time, he was proven to be a powerful vigilante. He is seen fighting a few criminals, and his agility and strength allow him to easily dispatch the thugs he faces. He was only killed in a surprise attack by an Anti-Vigilante Task Force officer, but if it were a fair fight, Hector would have easily won.
The big problem when it comes to analyzing Hector’s powers is that Born Again doesn’t explicitly explain them. It is known that Hector’s abilities come from a magical White Tiger amulet, and while it seemingly enhances his combat capabilities, we don’t really know how. His martial art skills could be learned, or they could come as a product of the amulet. Either way, he is an incredibly powerful superhero, and if he were around more, his strength could have been demonstrated to an even greater degree.
Since returning to the MCU, Wilson Fisk’s strength has been increased immensley. He is able to crush human heads with his bare hands, tank punches and projectiles, and throw people across large rooms. Fisk can handle Matt in hand-to-hand combat, and while he can be killed, it takes a lot to beat him.
If Hawkeye is considered, Kingpin’s strength is even greater than what Born Again shows off. In the series, Fisk is shot with multiple trick arrows and barely breaks a sweat. He faces off against Kate Bishop and Echo and holds his own, even if he is defeated in the end. While Fisk’s political power mostly comes from his manipulative abilities, he has the physical strength to back up his threats.
Benjamin Pointdexter doesn’t have magical abilities, superpowers, enhanced strength, or mutations. However, he is really, really good at throwing things. Bullseye’s marksmanship makes him Born Again‘s deadliest villain, with him striking fear into anyone who crosses him. While Matt is able to beat him at points, he is easily the most difficult villain for Daredevil to face.
When we are introduced to Jessica Jones, she is already retired from her superheroics, meaning that her powers are rarely seen. However, Born Again continues to show off her super strength and enhanced durability, allowing her to take on armies of armored AVTF agents by herself. Her powers randomly stop working at points in season 2, meaning that a lucky opponent could get a chance to take her down. However, this only slightly takes away from her high power level.
Daredevil may not have enhanced strength, but his other superpowers make him more powerful than almost anyone in Born Again. Matt’s enhanced senses allow him to dodge projectiles, predict moves, and hear how many heartbeats are in a room before he enters it. This means that it is near-impossible to surprise Matt, giving him a major advantage in any fight. On top of his powers, Matt is also an incredibly skilled martial artist, which is why he’s able to take down so many villains and AVTF agents throughout Born Again.
Although he only had a brief cameo appearance at the end of Born Again season 2, Luke Cage is easily the most powerful character in the show. He has super strength and impenetrable skin, making him near-impossible to take down without specialized weaponry. While the other Defenders are constantly getting beaten up in their own shows, Luke almost never gets hurt. Luke could make quick work of almost any character in Born Again, making him the show’s strongest character.
What’s interesting is that Luke’s strength isn’t really shown in Born Again. He only appears at the end of the season, reuniting with Jessica in a peaceful scene. However, Mr. Charles explains that Luke has been going on black ops missions for the U.S. government, meaning that they recognize how powerful an asset he is. It is possible that Luke could have gotten even stronger in the years since Luke Cage season 2, and hopefully, this power will be demonstrated if he returns in Daredevil: Born Again season 3.
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