‘Daredevil: Born Again’ Season 2 Quietly Breaks ‘Thunderbolts’ Ending

To this point, the television shows from Marvel Studios have largely acted as set-up for the theatrical slate, filling in gaps between movies more than anything else. Daredevil: Born Again, however, looks to buck that trend and truly operate side-by-side with the films. The trailer for Spider-Man: Brand New Day already showed that Tom Holland‘s fourth Spidey movie will share deep connections with the new season of Daredevil. In the Season 2 premiere, Daredevil: Born Again delivered a very subtle connection to Thunderbolts*, one that will have some fans asking questions about a major MCU character.

Daredevil: Born Again Season 2 introduces a mysterious new villain known as Mr. Charles, played by fan-favorite actor Matthew Lillard. Mr. Charles works for the CIA and is sent to New York to work alongside Mayor Fisk (Vincent D’Onofrio) — and to potentially keep him under the agency’s thumb. In one pivotal scene in the premiere, we learn that Charles is there on the orders of none other than CIA director Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus). A phone call from the Contessa confirms her meddling in this current Daredevil storyline, and that behavior is seemingly at odds with the version of the character we saw at the end of Thunderbolts*.

What Is Valentina Up to in ‘Daredevil: Born Again’?

Image via Marvel Studios

In the wider MCU, as seen in both movies and TV shows, Valentina is quietly pulling a lot of the strings, almost like a villainous Nick Fury. She’s running the CIA but using her power to do things like create a living weapon like Sentry (Lewis Pullman), or to try and wipe out entire groups of heroes at once (though that didn’t work out in her favor). She accidentally created the New Avengers when the team known as the Thunderbolts saved the day despite her worst efforts, and it seemed like she was going to be stuck working within the confines of the law for a while. Thanks to Born Again Season 2, that doesn’t appear to be the case.

During Thunderbolts*, Valentina was being investigated for her shady dealings using government assets. At the end of the movie, she made a bold pivot to take credit for the heroic actions of the team she dubbed the New Avengers, which resulted in Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh) letting Valentina know that the heroes were going to be keeping her in check. Given all of that, her phone call to the attorney general in Born Again makes you wonder how long those changes to Valentina actually lasted.

When the AG answers the phone (a call that Mr. Charles knew was coming), he calls Valentina by name, confirming she is on the other end of the line. He immediately changes his attitude towards Fisk and tells the mayor that the state’s office will support him with very little oversight, despite being very aggressive towards Fisk before the phone call arrived. There’s no telling what was said, but Valentina is clearly pulling strings to keep Fisk protected.

That implies Valentina is essentially defying the events of the Thunderbolts* ending, continuing to meddle in dangerous affairs and putting villains into positions of power. That said, it’s hard to say that this kind of move would be out of character for Valentina, or that anyone would expect anything better.

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Playing Both Sides in the MCU

Fontaine is working on both sides of the law, as she has been since the first time fans were introduced to her in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The only reason it’s surprising now is that the New Avengers are such a known entity to people in that universe, and her connection to them puts her under an enormous microscope.

She is using people like Fisk and Mr. Charles to get things done, hoping to keep her hands clean in the process. What she’s doing with Fisk, though, isn’t crystal clear. It does appear as though she’s involved with the weapons coming in and out of Red Hook. Either way, her actions are in direct opposition to the New Avengers, which puts her in an incredibly delicate position.

Release Date

March 4, 2025

Network

Disney+

Showrunner

Dario Scardapane

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