Warning! This post contains SPOILERS for Daredevil: Born Again episodes 1-3The latest MCU release is making a distracting Thunderbolts* problem even more obvious. Set to release in May, Thunderbolts* will see a new team of morally ambiguous Marvel coming together to stop a major new threat in New York City. However, Marvel’s new Daredevil: Born Again series is highlighting a key question and potential problem ahead of the next MCU movie.
In the episodes of Daredevil: Born Again released so far, Matt Murdock has given up his life as Daredevil, while Wilson Fisk has become mayor of New York, promising major changes for the city and what he sees as an ongoing “vigilante problem” in need of correction. Thanks to these major new status quo changes, the consequence is that Daredevil: Born Again continues to highlight the fact that New York is full of vigilantes and heroes trying to dispense justice and do good, arguably making the biggest problem for Thundetbolts* even more evident ahead of its release.
Daredevil: Born Again Has Emphasized How Many Superheroes Are In New York City
Daredevil, Spider-Man, and Punisher (But There’s Many More)
In Daredevil: Born Again episode 2, the newly elected Mayor Fisk gives an address to the city on New Year’s Eve, promising to cleanse the city of its many vigilantes. To that end, Fisk specifically calls out Punisher, Spider-Man, and Daredevil by name, rejecting their efforts and declaring that New York knows how to take care of itself. That said, the show’s emphasis on New York vigilantes does bring to mind just how many other MCU heroes are known to be operating within the city limits.
Doctor Strange works out of his Sanctum Sanctorum in Greenwich Village, Kate Bishop’s Hawkeye is likely still in New York after she and Clint Barton faced Kingpin in their own MCU series, and it’s also worth counting Ms. Marvel, who is right next door in New Jersey. Hector Ayala aka White Tiger was also operating in New York before he was killed at the end of Daredevil: Born Again episode 3. Furthermore, Daredevil’s fellow Defenders from the Netflix Marvel era (Luke Cage, Jessica Jones, and Iron Fist) could be targeted by Fisk as well, ᴀssuming they’re also still in New York.
Thunderbolts* Trailers Have Revealed Another Attack On New York City
Bob Reynolds aka The Sentry/Void
Looking forward to the next MCU movie on the schedule, May 2nd will see the release of Thunderbolts* with New York City falling prey to the new hero Robert “Bob” Reynolds aka The Sentry. One of the most powerful heroes of all time, The Sentry is often described as Marvel’s Superman, wielding “the power of a million suns” with a handful of similar powers. However, Bob also has a darker manifestation of his powers and personality known as The Void, a destructive force responsible for the deaths of over a million New Yorkers in the original comics.
To that end, the trailers for Thunderbolts* have shown what looks to be The Void in full control over Bob. Darkness is also shown gradually covering New York, as The Void casually deletes civilians by reducing them to nothing but shadows. However, it looks as though the only Marvel “heroes” ᴀssembling to stop this major New York will be Bucky Barnes, Yelena Belova, Red Guardian, U.S. Agent, Ghost, and Taskmaster (though it’s been heavily teased Antonia Dreykov will be killed early on in the movie).
Thunderbolts* And Daredevil: Born Again Bring Back An Old MCU Problem
Why Isn’t It All Hands on Deck In New York?
Keeping both MCU projects in mind, it’s not hard to see the classic MCU problem: where are all of New York’s other heroes and vigilantes, and why are the Thunderbolts fighting Sentry by themselves to save the city that’s supposed to be full of heroes, so much so that Wilson Fisk built his entire platform around the issue? With any luck, future episodes of Daredevil: Born Again will provide the answer. Perhaps Fisk will successfully enact new laws and policies that effectively outlaw all vigilantes and heroes from working in New York, just like he did in the original comics.
“I would at least hope that Daredevil: Born Again season 2 deals with the fallout of Sentry’s attack on some level, even if Thunderbolts* doesn’t explain where all the other vigilantes are in the upcoming MCU movie…”
Fisk’s anti-vigilante agenda could at least partially explain why the Thunderbolts will be on their own, though it’s not necessarily a perfect solution. Either way, I would at least hope that Daredevil: Born Again season 2 deals with the fallout of Sentry’s attack on some level, even if Thunderbolts* doesn’t explain where all the other vigilantes are in the upcoming MCU movie. New York is such a major MCU location that it would just feel wrong if these two projects don’t have any level of intersection at all. This is supposed to be an interconnected cinematic universe after all.
New episodes of Daredevil: Born Again release Tuesday nights on Disney+. Thunderbolts* releases in theaters on May 2nd from Marvel Studios.
Upcoming MCU Movies
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Captain America: Brave New World
- Release Date
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February 14, 2025
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Thunderbolts*
- Release Date
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May 2, 2025
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The Fantastic Four: First Steps
- Release Date
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July 25, 2025
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Avengers: Doomsday (2026)
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MCU Spider-Man 4
- Release Date
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July 24, 2026
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Avengers: Secret Wars
- Release Date
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May 7, 2027
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