As superpowered heroes battle global threats in the semiannual films of the increasingly bloated Marvel Cinematic Universe, other heroes comfortably occupy the sidelines. The thrilling small-scale Disney+ series Daredevil: Born Again pits the fan-favorite title character—blind attorney by day, costumed crimefighter by night—against his archenemy, Wilson Fisk, the murderous crime boss better known as the Kingpin.
As the series begins, Fisk expresses a change of heart, renouncing his criminal ways to run for mayor of New York. But like most comic book adaptations, the series is predictably Manichaean, and we soon learn that he never left his old life at all.
Paralleling real life perhaps too bluntly, New Yorkers overlook Fisk’s felonies and elect him as an “outsider.” He swiftly consolidates power, purging dissenters and ruling with an iron fist to shape city policy to his benefit.
In the first few episodes, Fisk enters office with big plans to revitalize the city but is hamstrung by government bureaucracy. Instead of opening up a languishing port for redevelopment, he must navigate endless layers of red tape; he spends half his time attending cultural events and the other half sucking up to local stakeholders. Before we learn the project is directly tied to his ongoing criminal enterprise, we can almost understand why Fisk would be tempted to break a few rules.
