Marvel's The Defenders: 10 Ways It Sets Up Daredevil Season 3

by Ewan Paterson

1. It Lays The Foundations For Born Again

Daredevil Born Again Symbolism
Marvel Comics

A given really, seeing as how all the other elements of the show foreshadowed the seminal eighties storyline, but one worth noting nonetheless.

That final sequence involving a bed-bound Matt also referenced an actual panel from the comic book, where a tattered Murdock falls into the arms of his mother in biblical fashion. It epitomised all the other little nods and winks we've gotten since DD S2 ended (particularly the threats made by Fisk to Murdock in that series), and confirmed fan suspicion that this is, in fact, the direction they're taking the character's third season.

There are a few other nods going on here as well, however. Season one borrowed heavily from Miller's The Man Without Fear, as well as other elements from Brian Bendis' run on the character, and season two again utilised moments from the wider Marvel literature to tell its story, including a fan-favourite moment from Garth Ennis' Welcome Back Frank arc on the Punisher.

The foreshadowing of Daredevil's identity getting exposed is a theme broached in both Bendis' and Brubaker's work, and, with that in mind, it's clear that the third season will be looking at a wide array of literature in its attempts to tell a unique DD story, of which Born Again will act as a key inspiration. It's exciting to think about, and while Netflix's street-level team up may have somewhat failed to live up to expectations, it's done an admirable job in setting up the next phase of the MCU's small screen presence.

Of course, the next show to release is the Punisher, and after that comes season two of Jessica Jones. That means we've got at least a year wait for a third season of Daredevil, but, given how good the previous two were, it's probably a wait worth bearing.

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What did you think of The Defenders? Which solo season are you most looking forward to now? Be sure to let us know in the comments below!

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Content Producer/Presenter

WhatCulture's very own resident movie guy, Ewan has been working in the content creation biz for over 10 years now, having started as a freelance contributor to WhatCulture Gaming all the way back in 2015. After graduating with a First-Class Honours in History from Northumbria University in 2017 (where he won a prize for a totally killer dissertation on the Watergate years), Ewan took on the role of Comics Editor at WhatCulture and quickly developed WhatCulture Comics into one of the biggest superhero-focused channels on YouTube. He followed this with a brief hiatus at Screen Rant in 2021, where he worked across the Gaming and Film sections as a writer and editor, before returning to WhatCulture as a Senior Content Producer / Presenter in 2023. He started his own podcast, We Love Dad Movies, in 2022, and has contributed several written pieces to the Eisner-nominated comics website Shelfdust as well. In his current role, Ewan incorporates his love of cinema, comic books, and history into written pieces and video essays for WhatCulture's Film & TV channel, as well as WhatCulture Gaming and WhatCulture Horror, with a particular focus on nineties-era Dad Movies, old school Westerns, and Golden Age Hollywood Noir. John Carpenter is his fave, and he thinks Batman Beyond should never have been cancelled. If that's your vibe, you'll probably like his stuff.