What Was Buck’s Past Before Kingpin Recruited Him In Daredevil: Born Again?

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Warning! This article contains minor spoilers for Daredevil: Born Again episode 7.

Daredevil: Born Again hints at a dark past for Buck before his work for Kingpin, begging the question of whether this links to Marvel Comics. The ending of Daredevil: Born Again episode 7 involves Buck in a big way, with the character saving Kingpin from an attempted assassination. One of Kingpin’s former underlings – the crime boss Luca – tried to kill Fisk, prompting Buck to stop him, thus proving the latter as a vital member of Daredevil: Born Again‘s cast.

While Buck is not one of Daredevil: Born Again‘s returning characters from the Netflix show, he has proven himself integral to Kingpin’s recent facade as New York’s mayor. This certainly makes sense, given that Fisk will need people around him that he can trust. In Daredevil: Born Again episode 7, a reference to Buck’s past is made by Kingpin, begging the question of who the former truly is, what his connection to the wider MCU is, and whether his storyline from the show links at all to the many tales of his counterpart from Marvel Comics.

Daredevil: Born Again’s Buck Is Actually A Character From Marvel Comics

Buck Has A Wide-Reaching Past In The Source Material

What may not be immediately evident from Daredevil: Born Again is that Buck is a comic book character. In Marvel Comics, Buck Cashman is primarily known as Bullet, described as an agent of the United States Government, though one whose work remains entirely mysterious before involving himself in the world of Marvel’s superheroes and villains. Buck has many contacts, many of whom he takes jobs from to provide for his son, Lance. In his early appearances, Bullet clashed with Matt Murdock/Daredevil during a fake terrorist attack on the Save The Planet organization, organized by Wilson Fisk himself.

After this, Bullet and Daredevil had somewhat of an ongoing rivalry. This resulted in the former being arrested, set free, and joined by elite assassins, all in an attempt to kill Matt Murdock. Buck also teamed up with Bullseye at one point, as well as the Assassin’s Guild, the latter leading him to fight against the mutants of X-Force.

In a big turn of events, Buck eventually becomes the host of the Phage symbiote. After being separated, a somewhat reformed Buck cleared the air with Daredevil and joined teams like the Fist and Hank Pym’s Lethal Legion. Evidently, the Marvel Comics version of Buck has a much deeper history than Daredevil: Born Again seems to imply.

How Buck Is Different In Daredevil: Born Again Than In The Comics

Buck Is A Much More Straight-Forward Character In The MCU

The iteration of Buck Cashman in Daredevil: Born Again is much different from his aforementioned comic book counterpart. As far as has been revealed as of Daredevil: Born Again episode 7, the only consistency between the two iterations is that they have shady pasts as a high-ranking US agent. Kingpin alludes to this in Daredevil: Born Again episode 7, with Buck’s skills – and the Easter eggs in prior episodes – clearly proving his experience in dealing with the criminal underworld of the MCU.

Although it could be revealed that Buck has a son in the MCU, Daredevil: Born Again has not confirmed this as yet. Moreover, Buck’s identity as Bullet has not been an element of the show. Buck could certainly become his own vigilante after working for Fisk, yet Daredevil: Born Again seems content to keep him as Kingpin’s lackey for now. These differences, as well as the lack of connections to symbiotes, mutants, and other major Marvel elements, render Buck a very different character in Daredevil: Born Again to the version presented in the source material.

Buck In Daredevil: Born Again Is Essentially A Wesley Replacement

An Old Daredevil Character Returns, Though Not As You Might Think

Thanks to Buck’s differences from the comic books in Daredevil: Born Again, the show has confirmed him as Wesley’s replacement. James Welsey was one of Daredevil season 1’s best characters, with the show depicting him as a sleazy, creepy, right-hand man to Wilson Fisk who was responsible for a lot of the latter’s dirty work. Wesley was later killed by Daredevil‘s Karen Page, greatly hindering Fisk’s operation.

Daredevil: Born Again‘s Buck, in light of his many comic book changes, is essentially filling Wesley’s role. Episode 7’s final scene proved this, with Buck stopping the assassination of Fisk, cleaning up the body, and acting as a liaison between his boss and Vanessa. This was the exact way in which Wesley was used in the original Daredevil, proving above all else that Daredevil: Born Again‘s Buck is a very different version to his comic book counterpart. Rather than being a symbiote host, a vigilante in his own right, and a direct enemy-turned-ally of Daredevil, Buck is instead an agent with a dark past committed to helping Fisk.

“}]] Buck’s story deviates from Marvel Comics.  Read More