Marvel Studios/Marvel ComicsLeaked photos from the set of Daredevil Born Again Season 2 have revealed Matt Murdock’s new costume, and Marvel fans are up in arms.
Why are they so exercised? Well, the photos show Charlie Cox’s stunt double in a new black-and-red costume – complete with a double-D logo for the first time – which is clearly taken from the controversial Shadowland story arc from the Daredevil comics.
This divisive tale saw Matt Murdock don a new, darker black-and-red suit and attempt to bring peace to Hell’s Kitchen by whatever means necessary using the power of The Hand. In his quest, Matt murdered his nemesis, Bullseye, and it was clear he had deadly plans for the rest of New York’s supervillains.
In the end, the other NYC heroes – including White Tiger, Spider-Man, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, and Moon Knight – teamed up to stop Matt, and it was ultimately revealed he’d been possessed by a demon (it happens more than you’d think in comics).
Shadowland split fans
Anyway, the story was divisive for a number of reasons, but comic readers’ biggest complaints at the time were that it relied too much on the supernatural, had an overly grim tone (which is saying something for Daredevil stories), and was rushed in execution.
That said, comic fans agreed that the black-and-red suit looked incredible, and these leaked photos have been met with enthusiasm. “The Shadowland color scheme is dope af,” wrote one user on X/Twitter, while another added, “ All my f*cking dreams are coming true.”
It’s also been pointed out by a number of fans that just because they’re using the Shadowland suit, that doesn’t mean they’re adapting Shadowland. Indeed, it seems likely to me (considering what’s going on in Born Again right now) that we’re a million miles away from adapting a strange mystical story about demonic possession and murder.
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Reasons to be optimistic
I think it seems more than likely that Season 2 will just use the suit from Shadowland (especially if other leaks are to be believed), and the central theme of Shadowland (what if Daredevil went too far?) while ditching the more outlandish elements that bogged down the original storyline (sorry, Mephisto fans, he’s not in this Marvel show either).
It’s also possible we may see a set piece or two inspired by Shadowland, in the same way Daredevil Season 3 had an action sequence lifted from the Guardian Devil story, but otherwise, I imagine it would be entirely its own thing.
I should also point out that while it is clearly the Shadowland suit (it looks to be the OG Daredevil costume painted red), that story is hardly the only time Matt’s slipped on some black and slimming. During Charles Soule’s first few issues of Daredevil, he had Matt running around town in a little red-and-black number, so maybe this new dark suit was inspired by that run and not Shadowland.
I guess we’ll have to wait and see what the future holds for Daredevil and Hell’s Kitchen, but at least we know that whatever happens, Matt’s going to look cool while he’s doing it.
If you want to know more about the MCU, check out our guide to all the upcoming Marvel movies including Thunderbolts, Fantastic Four First Steps, and Avengers Doomsday.
