‘Daredevil: Born Again’ Could Bring THAT Character Back in the Way You’d Least Expect

[[{“value”:”

Editor’s Note: Spoilers ahead for Daredevil: Born Again, Episode 1

One of Marvel Studios’ less well-kept secrets was “revealed” on Tuesday when the anticipated two-episode premiere of Daredevil: Born Again killed off Elden Henson’s Franklin “Foggy” Nelson, a main cast member from the original Marvel Cinematic Universe Daredevil series, in its opening moments. Although Foggy’s death initiates an intensely emotional arc for his best friend, Matt Murdock/Daredevil (Charlie Cox), it’s a very divisive choice, with fans of both the Daredevil comics and previous series objecting given how crucial Foggy is to Matt’s larger story and the success of many past tales.

However, this portion of the fandom did get some much-needed hope when Marvel Television head Brad Winderbaum confirmed that Henson will reprise the role in the series, which is currently filming its second season, alongside fellow original cast member Deborah Ann Woll. While the era of peak TV has emphasized that there are plenty of ways to continue utilizing characters who are truly dead, the limitless storytelling possibilities offered by a comic book universe mean that there’s also a chance that Foggy could be brought back to the land of the living. The Daredevil comics themselves offer two very different possible paths to the character’s survival.

Daredevil Has a History of Magic Resurrections

Foggy is one of a few major comic book characters from Marvel or DC who hasn’t had an actual longstanding death, but he has been close to dying on multiple occasions and the most recent two runs on the ongoing Daredevil comic involve one of his most disturbing near-death experiences. The latter portions of writer Chip Zdarsky’s multi-year run on the title focus on Matt and his wife, Elektra Natchios (who recently began sharing the Daredevil mantle with him), fight to eliminate the Hand, the mystical ninja death cult they have repeatedly battled for decades, once and for all. Near the end of the conflict, Matt receives a devastating shock when he discovers that the version of Foggy he had been confiding in for months was under the mental control of the Hand, after having been physically killed and then revived. Matt subsequently travels to Hell, where Foggy’s soul is being held captive, and sacrifices himself to free him, before being returned to life but without many of his memories.

Since the beginning of Saladin Ahmed’s current run on the title, Matt has started to regain his memories and resume fighting crime as Daredevil. Many of the cases he’s recently investigated have pitted him against demonic versions of the Seven Deadly Sins, who have possessed some of his friends and superhero allies. The most recent issues of the series have revealed Foggy as the latest victim, with him having been possessed by Pride, who is set to force him to challenge his old law partner, Matt, in court. Foggy’s possession likely gives him an assortment of mystical superpowers, as in the cases of the other victims.

The original Daredevil Netflix series featured plenty of both the religious and mystical aspects of the comics and Born Again connects more directly to the wider MCU, which is known for featuring various kinds of magic, but both shows are still relatively grounded in the superhero genre. Therefore, it seems rather unlikely that future episodes of the latter will show Foggy and/or Matt in literal Hell or Foggy possessed by a superpowered demon, even temporarily. However, Foggy could still be resurrected by less far-fetched (relatively speaking) means.

In the series, he is killed by FBI agent-turned-assassin Ben “Dex” Poindexter/Bullseye (Wilson Bethel), with Matt’s choice to drop Dex off a roof after hearing Foggy’s final heartbeat with his superhuman sense of sound echoing an iconic moment from the comics in which Matt also seemingly lets Bullseye fall from a great height after the villain kills Elektra. Following this storyline, Elektra was resurrected by the combined mystical efforts of Matt and Stone, a member of the benevolent ninja order known as the Chaste. While the MCU version of Matt has not been shown to have this level of mystical power, the Hand has resurrected several characters onscreen, so it wouldn’t be too unbelievable to have someone with more direct Chaste training also perform the process.

Foggy Nelson’s Death Could Have Been Faked

That being said, a more grounded explanation for Foggy’s survival would more closely match the tone and style the new series has established so far. Fortunately, the comics also offer one such rationale. In Ed Brubaker’s earlier run on the title, The Secret Life of Foggy Nelson, which begins with Matt in prison after his secret identity is exposed to the public, Foggy fakes his death to enter the witness protection program. Matt also hears what he believes is his friend’s death, as he does in the first episode of Born Again. Interestingly, the new series also features Matt and Foggy running a law firm on an unknown street in a building with the number 468, which mirrors the title of Brubaker’s Daredevil #468, in which Foggy’s faked death adds further depth to his character in the comics and could potentially serve as a thematic basis for his survival in the series.

In the comics, Foggy is subsequently abducted by a crime family under the command of Vanessa Fisk, who ordered his kidnapping as part of a scheme to pit Matt and her estranged husband Wilson/The Kingpin against each other as revenge for perceived slights before her impending death, which came about because of his terminal illness. A particularly twisted wish of hers was to have Matt represent Wilson in court despite the immense hatred each has for the other. After Vanessa’s death, Matt reluctantly abides by this and is reunited with Foggy. There’s already some evidence that a version of the Vanessa storyline could play out in Born Again. Dex finds Foggy by torturing an unseen client of his named Benny, who was in hiding at Foggy’s apartment after getting threats due to mysterious events in the town of Red Hook.

A later scene reveals that Vanessa has taken over Wilson’s leading role in the New York area’s organized crime community during his lengthy recuperation from being shot in the face by Maya Lopez (Alaqua Cox) in the previous series Hawkeye, and features her reminding one of the subordinates that Red Hook is exempted from the mob’s “taxes.” Wilson’s decision to shut down most of his illegal activities and run for mayor of New York City upon his return also puts a strain on the pair’s relationship, leading them to enter couples counseling. This all suggests that there is more to learn about both Foggy and Vanessa’s recent histories, which could very well include the revelation that our beloved Foggy Nelson is still alive.

Daredevil: Born Again streams Tuesdays on Disney+ at 9 p.m. EST.

“}]] Daredevil: Born Again hints at Foggy Nelson’s survival, drawing from his faked death in Daredevil #468 and possible connections to Vanessa Fisk.  Read More