| "Born Again" | |
|---|---|
 Cover ofDaredevil: Born Again | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| Publication date | February – August1986 |
| Main character(s) | Matt Murdock Wilson Fisk Foggy Nelson Karen Page Ben Urich |
| Creative team | |
| Writer | Frank Miller |
| Artist | David Mazzucchelli |
| Letterer | Joe Rosen |
| Colorist | Christie "Max" Scheele |
| Trade Paperback | ISBN 0871352974 |
| Premiere Edition (Hardcover) | ISBN 0785134808 |
| Premiere Edition (Trade Paperback) | ISBN 0785134816 |
| Artist's Edition | ISBN 1613772386 |
| Artisan Edition | ISBN 1684055962 |
| Gallery Edition | ISBN 1302953044 |
"Born Again" is a 1986 comic bookstory arc published byMarvel Comics inDaredevil #227-233 monthly issues format, written byFrank Miller and drawn byDavid Mazzucchelli.
The story detailsDaredevil's descent into insanity and destitution at theKingpin's hands, as well as a subsequent struggle to build a new life for himself. The storyline (amalgamated with "Guardian Devil") was loosely adapted as the 2018third season of theNetflixMarvel Cinematic Universe (MCU)streamingtelevision seriesDaredevil.
Karen Page, the former secretary of the Nelson & Murdock law offices inNew York City and ex-girlfriend ofMatt Murdock, had left the city years earlier to pursue an acting career. After a brief period of success, she became aheroin addict and was reduced to starring inpornographic films inMexico. Strapped for cash, she sells the information that Matt is Daredevil for a shot ofheroin. This information is sold upward to theKingpin.
Over the next 6 months, the Kingpin uses his influence to have theIRS freeze Murdock's accounts, the bankforeclose on his apartment, and police lieutenantNicholas Manolis testifies that he saw Murdock pay a witness toperjure himself. By coincidence, Murdock's girlfriend, Glorianna O'Breen, breaks up with him and turns to dating his law partner and best friendFoggy Nelson on therebound.
Daredevil's initial investigations uncover that Manolis is helpingframe Murdock in exchange for medical treatments for his son. Still, he is unable to find who is behind the frame-up and is unwilling to turn Manolis in to the authorities. An exceptionallegal defense by Nelson saves Murdock from aprison sentence, though he isbarred from practicing law. With his initial plan foiled, the Kingpin has Murdock's apartmentfirebombed, which Murdock immediately recognizes as a deliberate and sloppy attempt by the Kingpin to destroy him. The Kingpin also gives out the order to kill anyone else who handled the information on Daredevil's identity. Karen eludes the Kingpin's assassins and makes her way to New York to find Matt.
Nowhomeless, suffering fromparanoia and growing increasingly aggressive, Murdock is continuously followed by the Kingpin's subordinates, providing the Kingpin with frequent updates on Murdock's mental state, as he has become obsessed with the fruits of his scheme to destroy Murdock. Driven by thoughts of revenge, Murdock confronts the Kingpin in his office and is brutally beaten by the crime lord. To avert investigation into his death, the unconscious Murdock is drenched inwhiskey and strapped into a stolentaxi cab, which is then pushed into theEast River. Murdock regains consciousness, breaks out of the cab, and swims to safety. Badly injured, he stumbles throughHell's Kitchen, eventually finding his way to the gym where hisfather trained as a boxer. There, he is found by his motherMaggie who, having not been in Matt's life for decades, has become anun at a localCatholic church. She nurses him back to health.
Meanwhile,Daily Bugle reporterBen Urich is investigating his confidant's plight and stands vigil with Manolis as his son is taken in for surgery. When his son dies, Manolis confesses to Urich about the frame-up and his suspicions that the Kingpin was behind it. Nurse Lois, an enforcer assigned by the Kingpin to monitor Manolis, responds by breaking Urich's fingers and beating Manolis nearly to death. The unintimidated Manolis calls Urich from hishospital bed; however, Lois breaks into his room and strangles him, laying thereceiver on his bed so Urich can hear his murder. At first Urich is shocked into silence and doesn't say anything. However, later he experiences a moment of epiphany and re-launches his investigation into Matt Murdock's frame-up.
Karen arrives in New York, having hitched a ride with Paulo Scorcese, a small-time drug smuggler and gangster who supplies her with heroin in exchange for sexual favors. She contacts Foggy to ask about Murdock's whereabouts. When he realizes that Paulo has been beating her, Foggy insists on taking her into his home.
Increasingly obsessed with killing Murdock, Kingpin uses his military connections to procure the services of a covert, experimental Americansuper soldier,Nuke. To draw Murdock out of hiding, he arranges for a violent mental patient to be released from anasylum, dress up as Daredevil, and kill Nelson. Nurse Lois is ordered to relocate so that she cannot be implicated, but she rebels and attempts to kill Urich. Murdock, who has been shadowing Urich since hearing of the articles he is writing on the Kingpin, knocks out Lois and leaves her for the authorities. He then overhears a phone call that tips him off to the plot to kill Nelson.
Meanwhile, Page spots Scorcese stalking Nelson's apartment building. While she tries to prevent him from killing Nelson, the two are attacked by assassins who the Kingpin has ordered to kill anyone who emerges from the building. Murdock defeats the impostor Daredevil and saves Page, who confesses to being the one who gave away his secret identity. Murdock forgives her. Now back together, they move into a derelict apartment, where Murdock helps her through heroinwithdrawal while supporting them as adiner chef.
Nurse Lois offers to testify against the Kingpin in exchange for a reduced sentence, but Kingpin has her killed by a bodyguard accompanying Urich when the reporter attempts to interview her in jail. Having failed to draw Murdock out of hiding, the Kingpin orders Nuke to fly to Hell's Kitchen and make a general assault on the neighborhood to send a message. From a helicopter, Nuke shoots dozens of civilians and destroys the diner where Murdock works. Appearing as Daredevil for the first time since his apartment was destroyed, he is left with no choice but to kill both Nuke and hispilot to avoid further civilian deaths. However, Nuke survives his attack, and theAvengers take him into custody.
Captain America, disturbed that Nuke has aU.S. flag tattooed on his face, investigates his background. When the military authorities give him evasive answers, he breaks into top-secret records and discovers Nuke is the only survivingtest subject of several attempts to recreate Project: Rebirth, the project that enhanced the Captain's own body. Nuke breaks free from custody in the same base. Captain America stops him, but the Kingpin gives the order to kill Nuke. The military shoots Nuke. Having heard of Nuke's escape while stealing money from Kingpin's drug importers to rebuild the diner, Daredevil grabs Nuke from Captain America and takes him to theDaily Bugle, hoping to get him to testify about the Kingpin. He is not fast enough, and Nuke apparently dies on Urich's desk before he can provide any evidence.
Trying to get Nuke back from Daredevil, Captain America stumbles upon one of thehitmen sent to kill Nuke. The hitman names the Kingpin as being behind Nuke's assault on Hell's Kitchen, setting off a wave of lawsuits. Although the Kingpin is able to fight off most of the charges, his public image as an honest and respectable businessman is shattered, and his lieutenants lose confidence in him. His obsession unabated, he disregards Captain America's role and plans for revenge on Murdock instead. As for Murdock, he lives happily in Hell's Kitchen with Karen and continues to fight for justice in his neighborhood.
With regular writerDennis O'Neil preparing to leave the series, long-runningDaredevil editorRalph Macchio called upFrank Miller and asked if he would be interested in returning. Miller, whose first stint as writer had broughtDaredevil from the brink of cancellation to the top-sellers lists, agreed under the condition that artistDavid Mazzucchelli would work on the illustrations following their first collaboration in issue #226.[1] Contrary to rumor, Mazzucchelli did not draw over layouts by Miller; the artwork on the story is entirely Mazzucchelli's.[2] Miller praised Mazzucchelli's unique talent as a comic book artist who's able to figure out the narrative structure of every page as well as providing rough layouts with great details in the early development.
It's almost criminal how easy David makes it to write a script. He makes a three-dimensional stage of the individual panel, complete in authentic detail, nonetheless uncluttered and utterly readable. He creates actors whose dramatic range is startling, whose best and most compelling moments are wordless. He's talked of writing his own comics. Keep your eye out for them. I will.
— Miller's afterword in the 1987 collected edition.
"Born Again" makes heavy use ofChristian symbolism, primarily fromRoman Catholicism, and the title invokes the Catholic teaching onBaptism. The phrase itself is spoken by Jesus in the3rd chapter of theGospel of John to indicate that one's old life must come to an end for new life to begin. While the story is set during theChristmas season, it followsEaster themes almost exclusively.
Thesplash pages of the first four chapters all show Matt Murdock lying down. In chapters 2 and 3 he is in afetal position, followed by him assuming the pose of the crucifiedJesus Christ in chapter 4.[2] The splash page of chapter 5 shows him standing, representative of the risen Jesus. In chapter 3, his wandering through Hell's Kitchen parallels Jesus's walk toGolgotha, including the three falls represented in theStations of the Cross, before culminating in the image of thePietà.[2] Sister Maggie takes the role ofthe Virgin Mary and thedove (traditionally used in Christian artwork to represent theHoly Spirit) is posed above her. All the chapter titles, excluding those of the story arc in #232–233, are names of Christian concepts.
The trade paperback collected edition was published in 1987.Between 2009 and 2010, Marvel reprinted the "Born Again" storyline in hardcover and trade paperback as part ofMarvel Premiere Classic. The direct market variant edition was limited to only 1229 copies.Daredevil issue #226 is also included in this reprint.
In 2012,IDW Publishing published theArtist's Edition of the story in a 200-page hardcover. Mazzucchelli personally supplied all the artworks for scanning and supervised the process of the development for approval. The 250 copies limited edition was exclusively available only for pre-ordering; this version includes a colorful slipcase, a variant design of the front cover, and Mazzucchelli's personal signature printed in an interior page.[3][4][5] The trade paperback, known as an Artisan Edition, was published on 2019. This version, however, is scaled down to the standard size of a graphic novel despite retaining the same content as the regular version.
The large-format Gallery Edition was released in August 2023.
In late 2024, Marvel Comics announced plans for thePremier Collection, a new line of paperback digests "featuring Marvel’s most celebrated and prestigious storylines and creators from its entire comic book legacy".Daredevil: Born Again was the first release, in February 2025, with an afterword by writer Frank Miller and a foreword by actorCharlie Cox, who playsDaredevil in theMarvel Cinematic Universe.[6]
| Title | Material collected | Format | Pages | Publisher | Released dates | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daredevil Born Again | Daredevil #227-233 | TPB | 176 | Marvel Comics | 1987 | 0871352974 |
| Daredevil Legends: Born Again | 26 Nov 2001 | 978-0871352972 | ||||
| Daredevil by Frank Miller Companion | Daredevil #219, 226–233;Daredevil: The Man Without Fear #1–5;Daredevil: Love And War,Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider–Man #27–28 | Omnibus | 608 | 28 Dec 2007 | 978-0785126768 | |
| 6 Apr 2016 | 1st reprinting:978-0785195382 | |||||
| 14 May 2024 | 2nd reprinting:978-1302957650 | |||||
| Daredevil Born Again (Marvel Premiere Classic) | Daredevil #226-233 | HC | 248 | Jan 2009 | Bookstore cover:978-0785134800 | |
| Direct Market cover:978-0785136552 | ||||||
| TPB | Jan 2010 | 978-0785134817 | ||||
| David Mazzucchelli's Daredevil Born Again Artist's Edition | Daredevil #227-233 | HC | 200 | IDW Publishing | Jun 2012 | Standard edition:978-1613772386 |
| Limited edition:978-1613773437 | ||||||
| Mar 2025 | Standard edition reprinting:979-8887242644 | |||||
| David Mazzucchelli's Daredevil Born Again Artisan Edition | TPB | 216 | Sep 2019 | 978-1684055968 | ||
| Daredevil Born Again Gallery Edition | Daredevil #226-233 | HC | 248 | Marvel Comics | 21 Aug 2023 | 978-1302953041 |
| Daredevil Born Again (Marvel Premier Collection) | TPB | 280 | 4 Feb 2025 | 978-1302965983 |
In regard to the rise ofDaredevil comic popularity during Frank Miller's run in the 1980s, "Born Again" is considered one of the best storylines within theDaredevil mythos, with praise for Miller's and Mazzucchelli's artwork, storyline and religious narrative mirroring Matt Murdock's arc from fall and rise. Fans and critics see "Born Again" to be an influential period during the start of theModern Age of Comic Books.
The "Last Rites" story arc inDaredevil #297–300, though written and drawn by an entirely different set of creators (except for colorist Christie Scheele), is to an extent a thematic sequel to "Born Again". The plot of "Last Rites" is centered on Daredevil systematically destroying the Kingpin's reputation and worldly possessions, much as the Kingpin did to him in "Born Again". In an explicit acknowledgement of this parallel, a deranged Kingpin mutters "born again..." in the final installment. The story also sees Murdock finally unraveling the frame job from "Born Again", winning back hisattorney's license.
In an ongoing subplot of "Born Again", the Kingpin hires Foggy Nelson for one of his firms. When writer Frank Miller left the series, this plot thread was temporarily abandoned, before finally being resolved inDaredevil #248–256.
