Daredevil: Born Again Is Marvel’s Greatest Stories Because It Does the Wrong Thing

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Frank Miller’s defining Daredevil comic arc, Born Again, strips Marvel’s “Man Without Fear” down to his lowest point. Whereas fans of comics at the time were more accustomed to larger-than-life superheroes who always triumphed over evil, Miller took an opposite approach. As a result, what could have turned out to be a colossal mistake on the part of the writer instead became one of the most iconic Daredevil storylines ever.

In an interview with Inverse, Miller discussed the iconic Daredevil: Born Again storyline, in which Matt Murdock teeters on the edge of a mental breakdown, feeling as though his actions as Daredevil have gone unappreciated. Miller explained why it was important that Murdock becomes isolated from his only real friend, Foggy Nelson, and becomes increasingly unpredictable as a vigilante.

Daredevil has always been a character who operates under a strict moral code due to his life-long Catholicism; Born Again shows what happens to Murdock when those morals are tested and his world is turned upside down.

Frank Miller Took A Chance With A Dark Storyline

In 1981, Frank Miller began writing his solo Daredevil run with Daredevil #168. With art by David Mazzucchelli, the Born Again arc comprises Daredevil #227 to #231 and starts with Matt Murdock on the precipice of destruction in his personal life, secret life as Daredevil, and mental state. One of Daredevil’s greatest foes, Wilson Fisk (Kingpin), finds out that Matt Murdock is behind the cowl and uses that information to make Murdock’s life a living hell. The vital piece of information is exactly what Fisk needed to destroy his nemesis.

Speaking with Inverse late last year, in anticipation of the upcoming MCU Daredevil: Born Again series, which draws inspiration from the original comic source material in both its name and its story, Frank Miller had this to say about his creative decisions:

I regard defining the hero as being the center and purpose of my work, and in order to find something you have to test it, prod it, attend it, and find new ways to portray it. And I find sometimes having a hero do wrong, or take a wrong course is the best way to ultimately define what a hero is, especially with my Daredevil and my portrait of Superman. It’s again the deconstruction thing where you can get to a character’s essence by having them wander far astray. With Daredevil: Born Again, he essentially has a nervous breakdown. He loses control of his violence and his darker tendencies and essentially has to lose everything before he can turn into a better character.

In other words, Miller realized that the best way to highlight the core traits of a hero was to have them deviate from their usual heroic path, throwing into sharp relief what they needed to do to get back on track, and prove themselves heroically.

Daredevil’s Failures Are At The Core Of “Born Again” On The Page – And Fans Can Expect The Same In The MCU

Netflix’s Daredevil Already Set The Stage For Matt Murdock’s Born Again Arc

At first in Born Again, Fisk is slow and methodical at sabotaging Daredevil’s personal life, plunging the already unstable Murdock deeper into darkness. But Fisk’s actions only get bolder and bolder, culminating with blowing up Murdock’s home. Left without a place to go, friends, money, or even any clout to his name, Murdock confronts Fisk, but is quickly and viciously defeated and left for dead. After wandering the streets as a beggar, Murdock is taken in by a church when he is found wounded and left to die again in the neighborhood he once protected.

While being nursed back to health by nuns – one of whom happens to be Murdock’s long-lost mother – Murdock has ample time to reflect on his life up until that point. He thinks about the lessons his late father taught him as a child, especially to never give up in the face of adversity. For fans of Netflix’s Daredevil series, this aspect of Murdock’s character is established early in the series, with a young Matt telling his father: “We’re Murdocks. We get hit. A lot. But we always get back up.”

Matt Murdock’s Humanity, Flaws, & Frailty Sets “Daredevil: Born Again” Apart During The Golden Age Of Superheroes

Frank Miller Reminds Readers Daredevil Is Still Just A Man

Though the Netflix version of Daredevil would come over thirty years after Miller’s writing tenure, the sentiment of “we always get back up” is the heart and soul of Born Again. Murdock gets hit a lot from all sides, and just when he thinks he’s lost everything –his sanity included – Murdock gets back up and keeps fighting. Miller strips Daredevil down to his vulnerable and very human identity as Matt Murdock, showcasing that while most people couldn’t overcome such personal tragedies, Murdock keeps fighting. Murdock fights through the worst time in his life and comes back stronger.

Frank Miller took risks from the moment he began writing Daredevil. From taking on a floundering title to implementing a darker and gritter art style to reflect the reality of life in the 1980s in Hell’s Kitchen,Miller faced and created many challenges other comic writers would not. Readers at the time wanted their superheroes to be invincible, as witnessed in titles like Spider-Man or Superman. Frank Miller used his Born Again arc to remind the audience that Daredevil was still very much just a man, one who could lose it all by making poor decisions in his personal life.

Frank Miller’s creative gamble with his legendary Daredevil series was even more risky considering the fact that, prior to Born Again, he had taken Daredevil from a B-list hero to a successful and in-demand title. With everything to lose – much like Daredevil himself –Miller’s risks more than paid off, as Born Again became a staple of Daredevil canon.Born Again establishes Murdock’s strength of character and morality, which went on to define Murdock in every Daredevil comic to come, even to the present day.

Source: Inverse, Frank Miller Interview

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