There was a time when every new update about Daredevil: Born Again sent warning klaxons blaring through the MCU fandom, but maybe, just maybe, Marvel undertaking a total creative overhaul of the upcoming series was for the best.
The latest sign the show is heading in the right direction? Wilson Bethel is reportedly returning as Benjamin Pointdexter aka Bullseye. According to Deadline, the Daredevil season 3 villain won’t be a regular in the new show — which is finally filming, as of Jan. 22 — but he will allegedly appear in three episodes of the run (which is probably going to be 13 episodes, not 18, in total).
Even with this truncated screentime, Born Again can go someway to following up on Dex’s epic entrance in season 3, and even put right a nixed Wolverine tie-in that Netflix had to junk.
Daredevil: Born Again can now fix season 3’s removed Wolverine connection
Daredevil season 3 served as an origins story for Bullseye, depicting how he went from a celebrated FBI agent to an unhinged murderer. That said, he never went by his comic book alias or donned his classic costume. However, his last scene in the finale teased his ultimate evolution into the Bullseye fans are familiar with, and thanks to Born Again coming out in the wake of Deadpool 3, Marvel can now pay this off in the perfect way.
When we last see Dex, he’s undergoing experimental surgery to cure his paralysis after being beaten to a pulp by Kingpin. Dr. Oyama is depicted fusing the villain’s shattered spine with cogmium steel — but Dex wakes up during surgery, and the surgical lights reflect in his eyes to replicate Bullseye’s logo. The implication is clear: the surgery works and Dex will be, well, born again as Bullseye.
Here’s the thing, though: in the comics, Bullseye’s spine is not fused with cogmium but adamantium. Naturally, the Netflix show didn’t have the rights to touch on the super-tough metal due to its close ties to Wolverine. Although, interestingly, Dr. Oyama was still able to appear, despite being a character with close X-Men connections himself — he’s the father of Lady Deathstrike, most known for her role in X2.
Now that all the action figures are in the MCU toybox, though, Born Again can put things right and retcon Bullseye’s operation to involve adamantium instead of cogmium. Once Wolverine arrives on the scene, we’re fully expecting adamantium to spread through the universe’s lore, in the same way vibranium has, so introducing it as part of Dex’s story would only be a smart bit of fan-pleasing world-building.
Everyone loves Netflix’s Daredevil, but just like Deadpool 3 will put Hugh Jackman in the Wolverine costume at long last, the one way Born Again can go above and beyond what’s come before is in being more faithful to the comics, simply because nothing is off-limits any more. In other words, it can go straight for the bullseye.