Every Easter Egg in Episodes 1 and 2

Daredevil: Born Again kicked off with a bang in a two-episode premiere that will leave fans talking. The latest entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe sees Charlie Cox and Vincent D’Onofrio reprise their roles as Matt Murdock / Daredevil and Wilson Fisk / The Kingpin, respectively, in a continuation of the original Daredevil series. While fans might have been worried given that Daredevil previously went through some of the most iconic Daredevil stories, including “The Elektra Saga” and even put its own spin on the “Born Again” series that the Disney+ series draws its name from, the creators pulled from various corners of the Daredevil universe to craft this latest season.

Daredevil: Born Again features plenty of callbacks and Easter eggs from both the original Daredevil series and comics, but it also features some interesting nods and references to the larger MCU and the various heroes that occupy New York. From The Punisher, Spider-Man, Luke Cage, and Ant-Man, there are plenty more references to show that Daredevil operates in a much larger sandbox than before. Here are the biggest Easter eggs and references in the Daredevil: Born Again two-episode premiere.

Daredevil: Born Again

Release Date

March 4, 2025

Franchise(s)

Daredevil, Marvel Cinematic Universe

Callbacks and References to the Previous ‘Daredevil’ Series and Other Marvel Titles

Daredevil: Born Again is a continuation of the Daredevil series that originally aired on Netflix from 2015 to 2018, with many of the stars of the series calling the new series Season 4. This means the series features many notable callbacks to the original series, particularly in the opening episode prologue that kicks off the main story. Matt Murdock, Karen Page, and Foggy Nelson are seen hanging out at Josie’s Bar, the local Hells Kitchen Bar that was a frequent hang-out spot in the original Daredevil series. Foggy Nelson’s time working at Hogarth, Chao & Benowitz LLP is also referenced. That was the law firm of Jessica Jones’s supporting character, Jeri Hogarth, and which Foggy Nelson worked at in The Defenders and Daredevil Season 3.

Kingpin speaks with Vanessa about “healing” following his accident, a direct reference to Maya Lopez shooting him in the eye at the end of Hawkeye, which was followed up on in Echo. In the first episode, Wilson Fisk even alludes to Maya Lopez as the protégée he was training before she shot him. The Tracksuit Mafia, first introduced in Hawkeye, returns in Daredevil: Born Again as one of the many criminal organizations Vanessa Fisk has been running in her husband’s absence. The Tracksuit Mafia made their Marvel Comics debut in Hawkeye Vol. 4 #1 in August 2012 and were created by Matt Fraction and David Aja.

‘Daredevil: Born Again’ New Supporting Characters Comics History

Following the conclusion of Daredevil: Born Again’s prologue, the series jumps forward to the main action of the series, which sets up a new status quo for Matt Murdock, including a new business partner and a new love interest. Since Foggy’s death, he has started a new law firm titled Murdock and McDuffie alongside his new business partner, Kirsten McDuffie, played by Severence’s Nikki M. James. McDuffie was created by writer Mark Waid and artist Paolo Rivera and introduced in Daredevil Vol. 3 #1 from July 2011. McDuffie herself is named after the later great comic book writer Dwayne McDuffie, who passed away in February 2011, five months before Kirsten Duffie’s comic debut.

Daredevil: Born Again also introduced a new love interest for Matt Murdock, Heather Glenn. Glenn is played by Margarita Levieva, who previously appeared as Mother Koril on Disney+’s The Acolyte. Created by writer Marv Wolfman and artist William Robert Brown and first appearing in Daredevil #126 in July 1975, Glenn was another brief love interest for Daredevil. While the MCU depiction reveals she is a therapist, in the comics, she started out as Foggy Nelson and Matt Murdock’s new secretary.

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While a lot of attention has been paid to Michael Gandolfini, son of The Sopranos’ James Gandolfini, playing one of the Kingpin’s new right-hand men, it is the one played by Arty Froushan that should draw more attention. Froushan is playing Buck Cashman, who in Marvel Comics goes by the name of Bullet. Created by Ann Nocenti and John Romita Jr., Bullet first appeared in Daredevil #250 in January 1988. Much like the MCU version, the comic book Buck Cashman works closely for The Kingpin, though the comic version is a mercenary who typically wears a mask. While it is too early to tell, there is a chance that Buck Cashman could be suiting up in the MCU.

One of the newest characters in the series has connections to the previous Daredevil series. B.B. Urich, played by Genneya Walton, is a young reporter who runs her own social media news organization called the bb Report. B.B. Urich is Ben Urich’s niece. Played by Vondie Curtis-Hall in Daredevil Season 1, Ben Urich was a reporter for the New York Bulletin who helped Karen Page and Foggy Nelson investigate the identity of The Kingpin, discovering it is Wilson Fisk. Fisk later killed Urich, but it is unclear if he was ever tried for this crime. This raises questions about whether B.B. knows that Fisk killed her uncle, but it seems like a plot point that will have to come out. With Ben Urich being a major supporting player in the Daredevil comics, his legacy now lives on through his niece in Daredevil: Born Again.

Comic References in ‘Daredevil: Born Again’

In the first episode, Karen Page has now moved to San Francisco following the events of the opening prologue. San Francisco has notably been a second home for Daredevil in the comics outside of New York. The first time the character moved there was in Daredevil #86 from 1972 by Gerry Conaway, the co-creator of The Punisher. Then, in 2014, during Mark Waid’s run on the Daredevil comic, Matt Murdock once again moved to San Francisco and started a new life there.

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The plot around Wilson Fisk running for mayor, first hinted at in the post-credit scene of Echo, is taken from a plotline in Charles Soules’s Daredevil storyline. Wilson Fisk’s Kingpin was elected mayor of New York in Daredevil #28 in October 2017, following the devastation of the Secret Empire storyline. Fisk’s tenure as the mayor of Marvel Comics leads him to outlaw superpowered individuals from the city, which seemingly is the direction the series is going, as Kingpin will likely try to outlaw vigilantes. Daredevil: Born Again is adapting a comic book storyline that was created during the middle of the previous series run on Netflix. Following Fisk’s tenure, Luke Cage actually became the mayor of New York City, possibly setting up how that character could return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

White Tiger in ‘Daredevil: Born Again’

In the first episode of Daredevil: Born Again, it is established that Daredevil isn’t the only notable vigilante operating in New York. A new character on the scene is White Tiger. There have been many White Tigers in Marvel Comics over the years, but the one scene in Daredevil: Born Again is Hector Ayala, the first White Tiger introduced in Marvel Comics back in Deadly Hands of Kung Fu #19 from December 1975 and was created by writer Bill Mantlo and the legendary artist George Pérez. The White Tiger gets his powers from a batch of mystical amulets that enhance his strength, speed, agility, reflexes, and balance and has a connection to Daredevil’s former Defender, Iron Fist, as the amulets draw their power from K’un-Lun. However, none of that is mentioned in Daredevil: Born Again.

Episode 2 introduces audiences to Hector Ayala in his civilian identity, breaking up what appears to be a mugging before an accidental death reveals one of the assailants is an undercover cop. The audience later discovers that Ayala is the vigilante in the episode alongside Matt Murdock. Hector Ayala’s introduction episode is also dedicated to Kamar de los Reyes, who plays Hector Ayala / White Tiger in Daredevil: Born Again. The actor passed away from cancer on December 24, 2023, after the first batch of episodes of Daredevil: Born Again were shot, and shortly after, filming began on the rest of the series.

‘Luke Cage,’ ‘Ant-Man and The Wasp,’ and ‘The Avengers’ References in Times Square

Episode 2 begins at a New Year’s celebration in Times Square, with the Kingpin addressing the citizens of New York. While the previous use of Times Square in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Captain America: The First Avenger, was used to get much of the movie’s product placement front and center for the mostly period-piece set film, here, Times Square is filled with a few references to the wider MCU.

• There is a billboard for Rogers: The Musical, the Hamilton-inspired Broadway musical that tells the story of Steve Rogers/Captain America, who previously appeared in Hawkeye and had a small background reference in Spider-Man: No Way Home.
• Harlem’s Paradise is a nightclub featured in Luke Cage. Initially owned by criminal Cornell “Cottonmouth” Stokes and later his cousin Mariah Dillard after she killed him. Following her death, she left it to Luke Cage, who decided to run the business as a way to monitor and control the crime in Harlem. The last time audiences saw Luke Cage in Jessica Jones Season 3, he was still running Harlem’s Paradise, and this ad possibly sets up the return of Luke Cage and other Defenders to the MCU.
• The Pym van Dyne Foundation was introduced in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. After the events of Avengers: Endgame, Hope Van Dyne retook control of Pym Technologies and renamed the company, using Pym particles to help reshape the world.
• An ad for the soft drink Pingo Doce, first seen in The Incredible Hulk, can be seen. An advertisement for Pingo Doce could also be seen in Ant-Man, with a diet version glimpsed in X-Men ’97. This soft drink is also available for purchase at Avengers Campus in Disneyland.

Spider-Man and The Punisher in ‘Daredevil: Born Again’

Meanwhile, in Wilson Fisk’s speech to the citizens of New York, he drops small hints at two of the MCU’s most famous vigilantes in New York with strong ties to Daredevil: The Punisher and Spider-Man. The Punisher is already confirmed to appear in Daredevil: Born Again, with Jon Bernthal reprising his role. However, don’t expect Spider-Man to appear, as Marvel Studios does not have the live-action television rights to the character, which blocks him from appearing in the Disney+ series.

Kingpin calling out Spider-Man is fitting as the villain first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #50 and was commonly associated as a Spider-Man villain until Frank Miller’s Daredevil run made him Daredevil’s arch-enemy. It is also fitting that The Punisher and Spider-Man are linked together since The Punisher first debuted in The Amazing Spider-Man #129. While filming Pilgrimage, Jon Bernthal and Tom Holland recorded audition tapes together to land the parts of The Punisher and Spider-Man, respectively, which eventually paid off, further connecting the two characters.

Unpacking the Controversy Around The Punisher in 2025

At the end of Episode 2, a pair of corrupt cops can be seen sporting a Punisher logo tattooed on their arms. It appears that Marvel is looking to tackle the controversial status of The Punisher in recent years, particularly with his skull logo. It became a popular symbol among members of the United States Armed Service division during the Iraq war to paint the Punisher logo on their uniforms, with one notable individual being Chris Kyle, the subject of the Best Picture nominee American Sniper. The logo has become particularly popular among police officers in the Blue Lives Matter movement, including making unofficial Punisher logo items with a thin blue line through it.

Gerry Conway, the co-creator of The Punisher, commented on police offers using the Punisher logo, comparing it to putting a Confederate Flag on a government building, and stated: “To me, it’s disturbing whenever I see authority figures embracing Punisher iconography because the Punisher represents a failure of the Justice system. … The vigilante anti-hero is fundamentally a critique of the justice system, an example of social failure, so when cops put the Punisher’s skulls on their cars or members of the military wear Punisher’s skull patches, they’re basically siding with an enemy of the system.” In a separate interview, Conway said, “They are embracing an outlaw mentality. Whether you think the Punisher is justified or not, whether you admire his code of ethics, he is an outlaw. He is a criminal. Police should not be embracing a criminal as their symbol.”

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In July 2019, writer Matthew Rosenberg tackled the Punisher controversy head-on in Punisher Vol. 12 #13. Frank Castle comes across two police officers who are fans of his as they proceed to take a selfie with him and show they have a sticker of his logo on their car before comparing their work to his. The Punisher tears up the sticker, saying, “I’ll say this once: we’re not the same. You took an oath to uphold the law. You help people. I gave that up a long time ago. You don’t do what I do. Nobody does. You boys need a role model? His name’s Captain America, and he’d be happy to have you…. If I find out you are trying to do what I do, I’ll come for you next.”

This is the stance that Marvel has taken on The Punisher logo being used by police since 2020, particularly after members of the Detroit Police Department were seen wearing the Punisher skull during the George Floyd protests in 2020. Around that time, Conway and others called on Marvel and Disney to take legal action to prevent law enforcement from using the logo. With a group of corrupt police officers wearing Punisher tattoos and The Punisher himself set to appear, Daredevil: Born Again looks like it will tackle the controversy head-on. While the original Punisher comic sold a little less than 20,000 copies when it was first published, Daredevil: Born Again has a chance to reach a much wider audience and allow Marvel to make their stance on certain individuals co-opting The Punisher logo clearer. Daredevil: Born Again is streaming now on Disney+.

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