‘Daredevil: Born Again’: Who Is Buck Cashman in Marvel Comics

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Editor’s Note: Spoilers ahead for Daredevil: Born AgainDaredevil: Born Again has brought the Marvel Cinematic Universe back to street-level threats, lunging the audience into politics, the morality of vigilantes, and even courtroom drama. Wilson Fisk (Vincent D’Onofrio) has left the life of crime behind him, to enter a new era as mayor of New York City. It takes a well-crafted team surrounding a powerful politician, something Fisk is very used to implementing in his past as a successful crime boss. Not only does Fisk need help navigating a new career path, but he also needs to help convince the masses that his past run-in with the law won’t affect his tenure as mayor.

Fisk has always had a right-hand man to help orchestrate his very complex goals — at least in the adaptation of the character we have seen throughout the Netflix series, Daredevil and now in Daredevil: Born Again. In Season 1 of Daredevil, it was James Wesley (Toby Leonard Moore), in Seasons 2 and 3 it was Wilson’s lawyer, Benjamin Donovan (Danny Johnson), and now in Daredevil: Born Again, it’s Buck Cashman (Arty Froushan). Cashman in the series was instrumental in Wilson winning the election and becoming the mayor of New York City, as he is very well versed in the political landscape Wilson intends on thriving. While his character does work with Wilson in the comics, his skill set is vastly different.

Who Is Buck Cashman in Marvel Comics?

Buck Cashman, more commonly known by his nickname, Bullet, was introduced in Marvel Comics in Daredevil #250 in 1987 and was created by Ann Nocenti, John Romita Jr., and Al Williamson. Bullet was a covert agent for the United States government, who was assigned to aid Wilson in a plot against the environmental protection organization, Save the Planet. This scheme would see Bullet let a bombing occur at the headquarters of the organization, to make it look like a terrorist attack. Of course, Matt Murdock foils the plan, and the saboteur gets put into custody. Later on, when Bullet murders a man with toxic waste, to try and frame the environmentalists again, Murdock catches Bullet in the act in his costume as Daredevil. The two fight until the police arrive and Bullet is arrested for this crime. After being in custody, Bullet makes one simple phone call, and, with his government connections, the charges are dropped.

In another comic run, Cashman was recruited by the Assassins Guild, the rival group to the Thieves Guild led by the popular X-Men, Gambit. This recruitment leads to an altercation with X-Force where Cashman is seemingly killed by Warpath, but a fellow X-Force member, Elixir, was healing assassins in the wake of X-Force’s quarrels. An older Cashman was approached by the F.B.I. to track down Bullseye, in exchange for getting his U.S. citizenship reinstated. The hunt for Bullseye went insanely south, with Bullseye murdering his son Lance, and torturing Cashman. Even after a complicated past, the two work together when hired by The Stromwyns, alongside Rhino, Crossbones, and Stilt-Man, to retaliate against the New York Police Department by causing havoc in Hell’s Kitchen.

At one point, Cashman tries to leave the life of crime behind, living in a remote cabin with his dog. Unfortunately, his dog has bonded with the Phage symbiote, a sibling of Venom, and moves on to Cashman as its host. Under the control of Phage, Cashman joins the Friends of Humanity, the pro-human and anti-mutant terrorist organization, and is appointed the head of security for Senator Peter Krane. Cashman was eventually separated from Phage when he fought with Silence, a new symbiote that was formed from a sample of the Scream symbiote mutated by Anti-Venom serum. Cashman survives but is imprisoned at Myrmidon prison, which is run by Mayor Wilson Fisk. Cashman breaks out of prison by Daredevil, who is recruiting soldiers for his fight against the Hand, where he reveals to Cashman that his son Lance is secretly alive.

Cashman is nearly 7 feet tall, and weighs around 400 pounds, a stark comparison in stature when looking at the live-action adaptation of the character in Daredevil: Born Again. Cashman has superhuman strength and speed, which makes him super-nimble and agile for a man of his size, and with his extensive military training, he is also a very skilled combatant. The comics describe him as even stronger than Wilson Fisk, and he handles himself very well when he fights against the likes of Daredevil and Bullseye.

How Different Is Buck Cashman in ‘Daredevil: Born Again’ Compared to the Comics?

The biggest difference in Cashman from the page to the screen is certainly the size of the character. While Cashman is a massive human specimen in the comics, he has a fairly average build in Daredevil: Born Again. There is no military background present, at least at this point in the series. Moreover, instead of being appointed to work with Fisk by the government, Cashman seems to have come from the world of politics and was handpicked to work on the side of Fisk during his mayoral campaign. Even just in the first few episodes of Daredevil: Born Again, Cashman has proven to be very integral in the daily activities of Mayor Fisk.

Cashman gathered intel on NYPD Commissioner Gallo’s (Michael Gaston) secret family in Philadelphia, allowing Fisk to gain leverage over the commissioner, who planned on resigning from his position despite Fisk’s election. Cashman also had Heather Glenn (Margarita Levieva) sign an NDA while providing couples therapy for Fisk and Vanessa (Ayelet Zurer), even though she is legally bound to protect the privacy of her clients. Vanessa even sent Cashman to relay a message to the feuding crime families, to uphold the peace while there is a power vacuum in the absence of Fisk or Vanessa at the head of the table.

While it is highly unlikely we will see Cashman bond with the Phage symbiote (let’s ignore the obvious rights issues with Sony) or a clash with any mutants or X-Men members, a face-off with either Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox) or his masked alterego Daredevil, or even both are definitely on the cards. Fisk has found his new Wesley, at least when it comes to loyalty and getting the job done.

Daredevil: Born Again airs Tuesdays on Disney+.

“}]] Buck Cashman aids Wilson Fisk’s mayoral rise in Daredevil: Born Again, shifting from a violent comic past to a political strategist.  Read More