Daredevil: Born Again's Most Chilling Moment Is Drawn Straight From Real Life

Before the first episodes arrived, Disney went to great lengths to let us know that its revival of the Netflix "Daredevil" series wasn't going to be some... well, Disney version of its predecessor. The first two episodes of "Daredevil: Born Again," which dropped March 5, 2025, have delivered on that promise with action that's every bit as graphic as the Netflix series. "Born Again" also has the highest age rating of any Marvel Studios project yet, all of which equates to something distinctly different to anything Kevin Feige and co, have delivered in the 17 years since the Marvel Cinematic Universe began.

But the show isn't just using violence to convince you that it's more mature than your typical Marvel Studios fare. From the very beginning, "Born Again" asserts itself as a show very much concerned with something deeper than showcasing Matt Murcock's badassery. Episode one immediately introduces the show's central theme of justice, with Clark Johnson's retired NYPD cop, Cherry, discussing the subject with a detective Kim as they sit in Josie's bar. "We're the thin blue line not [vigilantes]," says Kim, adding, "The way I see it, the vigilantes are just like us. Some are stand up human beings worthy of the gate, others are just power-tripping a******s."

Vigilantism, law enforcement, the line between the two, and ultimately the moral quandaries that arise from trying to define justice itself are the themes that drive this new series. But episode 1 and 2 demonstrate the series' commitment to commenting on contemporary socio-political issues, too — something especially obvious with a subplot that directly tackles some law enforcement's embrace of the Punisher logo as an emblem for their, shall we say, direct approach to police work. A chilling moment during the climax of the second episode suggests that, as things progress, we'll be getting a full-on critique of this concerning cultural trend, which for a Marvel Studios product, is a refreshing development that's bound to be fraught with controversy.

Jon Bernthal's Frank Castle/Punisher, who first appeared in season 2 of Netflix's "Daredevil" back in 2016 before fronting two seasons of his own show, will be appearing in "Daredevil: Born Again," but Marvel has also confirmed the Punisher's first MCU project after the show as a one-off "special presentation." For now, the only reference we have to Bernthal's vigilante — the best live-action version of The Punisher yet — comes at the end of "Born Again" episode 2. 

After taking on the case of vigilante Hector Ayala (Kamar de los Reyes), who's accused of killing a cop, Matt Murdock discovers his client is actually the vigilante White Tiger. While out of costume, Ayala encountered two men assaulting a third on a subway platform and intervened. However, the resulting fight led to one of the attackers being killed after falling in front of a train. It turns out this man and his partner were NYPD officers in plain clothes, and Ayala is quickly arrested and charged with the killing of the cop. While Matt, who's been retired as Daredevil for a year at this point, works diligently to build a solid defense for Ayala, he finds that the New York justice system is inflexible when it comes to accused cop-killers.

The lawyer tracks down the man who was attacked by the pair of plainclothes officers on the subway platform and visits his apartment, urging him to leave immediately as the surviving corrupt cop is on his way to kill him. The cop arrives with one of his fellow dodgy officers and beats Matt down, holding a gun to his head before the lapsed vigilante snaps into action and absolutely lays waste to both his attackers. Just before Matt rediscovers his "violent nature," as Vincent D'Onofrio's Wilson Fisk calls it, we get a quick shot of one of the cops' forearms, which bears a Punisher logo tattoo.

What does it mean that this dirty cop resonates with the Punisher and his ethos? Well, it's not entirely clear at this point, but the suggestion is that "Born Again" is going to directly tackle the phenomenon of real-world law enforcement embracing the logo as their own, which could either make for a fascinating subplot that provides a nuanced insight into a pressing contemporary issue, or prove to be contentious in a way that distracts from Daredevil's long-awaited MCU re-emergence.

Anyone paying even a little attention to the news in recent years will surely be aware of the Punisher logo's increased prevalence outside of its Marvel origins. The emblem has been embraced by certain groups, typically associated with right-leaning politics and in many cases those associated with extreme right-wing views. That in and of itself would be alarming, but a large swathe of law enforcement officers have also adopted Frank Castle's skull symbol as their own, in what is surely one of the most seemingly contradictory and concerning real-world uses of the emblem.

In order to understand why, it helps to know the history of the Punisher as a character. Created by writer Gerry Conway and artists John Romita Sr. and Ross Andru, ex-marine and Vietnam vet Frank Castle first appeared in 1974's "The Amazing Spider-Man" #129. It's ultimately revealed that Castle witnessed the mob murder his family in Central Park, transforming him into a savage vigilante obsessed with vengeance and waging brutal, unrelenting war on crime. Conway spoke to Time about his original vision for Castle, explaining how he was "originally conceived as a secondary, one-issue, throw-away character." But after readers responded well, and the Punisher became a bigger part of the Marvel comic book world, meting out his merciless form of justice in his own series, which has since provided multiple great Punisher storylines that could be used for that upcoming Marvel spotlight special. "He was sort of like an anti-villain, as opposed to an anti-hero," added Conway.

This proclivity for violence and savagery did indeed put Castle right on the line between anti-hero and villain, with the character operating outside the boundaries of the law in order to wage his personal war on crime. It's this that has caused controversy over law enforcement's adoption of the Punisher's skull emblem, a symbol ostensibly representative of violent vigilantism rather than law and order.

The co-opting of the Punisher logo by real-world groups really began in the last couple of decades. This included American (and even Iraqi) military personal, firefighters, and right-wing militias, but "Daredevil: Born Again" appears to be honing in on law enforcement's embrace of Frank Castle's emblem.

It's not easy to pinpoint exactly when certain police embraced the Punisher as their own. As per the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, back in 2005 the Milwaukee Police Department investigated a group of its officers who had been engaged in "vigilante-style activity" who referred to themselves as "the Punishers" and wore black gloves and caps featuring skull emblems. But it wasn't until Navy Seal sniper Chris Kyle had his story told in Clint Eastwood's "American Sniper" that the use of the Punisher symbol by military and law enforcement groups seemed to gain real widespread traction. Kyle, who used the logo to represent him and his crew while serving overseas, wrote in his autobiography:

"We spray-painted it on our Hummers and body armor, and our helmets and all our guns. We spray-painted it on every building or wall we could, We wanted people to know, We're here and we want to f*** with you."

After this, the skull emblem started to crop up more widely among law enforcement groups in the U.S. and gained even more prevalence after the Blue Lives Matter movement began as a response to the Black Lives Matter movement. Often, the Punisher logo can be seen alongside or integrated with the so-called "thin blue line flag," a version of the stars and stripes that has come to exemplify not only law enforcement as a whole but the Blue Lives Matter movement and its defiant response to accusations of police brutality.

Unsurprisingly, the co-opting of the Punisher logo by groups charged with maintaining order and protecting the public has been controversial. Frank Castle is, after all, a killer operating outside the law to mete out cruel and merciless vigilante justice. In response to this concerning phenomenon, not only did Marvel give the Punisher a new logo as part of an attempt to reclaim the character, co-creator Gerry Conway publicly disavowed law enforcement's use of the symbol, even launching a fundraising effort called "BLM — Skulls For Justice," with the goal of reclaiming the emblem "for the cause of equal justice and Black Lives Matter." Writing on the project's homepage, Conway laments the way the Punisher logo has been "co-opted by forces of oppression and to intimidate black Americans," asserting that his character and his emblem were "never intended as a symbol of oppression."

Despite all this, Marvel has otherwise remained relatively quiet on the topic, and hasn't pursued any significant litigation against police departments using the Punisher logo. Now, however, it seems "Daredevil: Born Again" — and by extension Marvel Studios — is wading into this contentious discourse.

On its face, the adoption of a violent vigilante's logo by law enforcement seems at best unwise and at worst downright concerning for a group chiefly responsible for maintaining law and order. But there's clearly something about the Punisher logo that has resonated with police and military groups, and it surely can't be explained entirely by huge numbers of police disavowing their oath to uphold the law and embracing vigilantism.

After a police department in Lexington, Kentucky started using the Punisher skull on its cruisers, they were eventually pressured into removing the decals (via The Hollywood Reporter), but not before they defended their original choice to use the logo in the first place. As Police Chief Cameron Logan explained, "I consider it to be a 'warrior logo.' [...] That decal represents that we will take any means necessary to keep our community safe." Logan didn't make clear what "any means" actually meant, but it was a remarkably terse and opaque explanation.

More instructive is the explanation of Marine Corps veteran Christopher Neff, who spoke to Vulture about his adoration for the Punisher, which it seems comes mainly from the character's disregard for rules. "Don't worry about uniforms, inspections, or restrictive rules of engagement," he said. "Find the bad guys. Kill the bad guys. Protect the innocent. Any true warrior? That's the dream." While this is perhaps a little more understandable, it is also strikingly reminiscent of another aspect of "Daredevil: Born Again." The show sees Wilson Fisk run for mayor and promise to "get things done," cutting through bureaucratic red tape and simply taking action. It should be noted that Fisk is the central villain of the series.

If we're being equable about it, an outlaw who simply gets things done rather than having to worry about "restrictive rules of engagement," has a certain kind of appeal. It's a similar ethos that has shaped the modern U.S. political landscape. But there's also a clear conflict between this and the guiding principles by which both military groups and law enforcement are governed and to which they both swear an oath.

Is "Daredevil: Born Again" the place to litigate these important modern day socio-political issues? That remains to be seen. Either way, it seems we're going to be getting some pronounced commentary on the topic. It makes a difference that Jon Bernthal's Punisher is an actual person within the world of "Born Again," and not a comic book character, which means the writers can potentially make some very bold statements by having the Punisher himself react to the use of his symbol by law enforcement.

We'll have to wait to see how this aspect plays out, but we could very well see the character unequivocally denounce the use of his logo by corrupt cops, à la 2019's "The Punisher" #13, wherein Castle tears a skull decal off a police car and warns the police to turn to Captain America if they want a role model. A small screen version of this might well help to ameliorate tensions around the subject, or it could needlessly inflame them by directly associating the Punisher logo with unequivocally corrupt officers.

On a less consequential level, it is remarkable to see Marvel Studios so conspicuously entering the fray in this way, and raises the question of whether such pointed cultural critique will help or hamper the company's quest to regain dominance following a string of middling streaming series and generic blockbusters (2024 seemed like Marvel's last chance to fix the MCU before it was too late, and I'm not sure they managed it). While Matt Murdock continues to deal in broken bones, then, the real combativeness is coming from the "Born Again" writers' direct approach to tackling the issues of the day and reckoning with America's own "violent nature."