Daredevil: Born Again Confirms Kingpin Was Never The MCU’s Best Villain, This Underrated Character Is

From its first theatrical installment, The Incredible Hulk, to its most recent TV series, Daredevil: Born Again, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has featured plenty of antagonists, and some have been much more memorable or legendary than the rest. Loki and Thanos easily crest this list due to their ubiquitousness and significance across all Phases thus far, but an argument could be made that Wilson Fisk’s Kingpin has certainly earned his place among the best due to how paramount he is in the MCU’s streaming service shows.

As for who the definitive best MCU villain of all time is, however, that may have been answered recently in Daredevil: Born Again Season 2 Episode 4. Indeed, Benjamin Poindexter’s Bullseye has always been an equally charming and haunting presence in the MCU since he debuted in Season 3 of Netflix’s Daredevil series in October 2018, and the latest episode of the Disney+ revival series has cemented him as a generational villain.

Bullseye Is The MCU’s Best Villain, Bar None

Sometimes simplicity is key, and that is what makes Daredevil and Daredevil: Born Again’s Bullseye so special. Kingpin has been a consistently terrific villain, to be sure, but he has also literally been the main villain of every season of Daredevil and Daredevil: Born Again so far, overstaying his welcome quite obnoxiously.

Kingpin at least took a backseat in Daredevil Season 2, with Punisher and the Hand becoming main antagonists to fill that gulf. Still, Kingpin is no less present while he is incarcerated.

After five seasons, as well as supporting or cameo appearances in Hawkeye and Echo, it has become a bit much. Plus, Bullseye has undoubtedly wreaked more havoc in the three seasons he has appeared in, and the MCU treats him with the appropriate amount of reverence and atmosphere—blue filter and all—as a result.

Bullseye’s storytelling nuance and complexity, paired with his extraordinarily entertaining and creative marksman ability, are unparalleled by any other villain who has graced the MCU. The diner scene, followed by the apartment scene and the Fogwell’s Gym boxing match scene, in Season 2 Episode 4 of Daredevil: Born Again, is basically the act of placing the ‘best MCU villain’ crown onto Bullseye’s balaclava-clad head.

Street-Level Is The New Black In The MCU

Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars being on the horizon guarantee that we are nowhere near finished with cosmic, Avengers-level threats, and they will naturally always be a part of larger ensemble movies where the stakes are obligatorily inflated. That said, Thunderbolts*, Daredevil: Born Again, Punisher: One Last Kill, and Spider-Man: Brand New Day are proof that the MCU is aware of how popular its humble street-level endeavors are after dabbling in multiversal shenanigans for the last five years.

Bullseye’s misguided sense of righteousness would be wasted in a massive movie where actor Wilson Bethel would need to share screen time with the likes of Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, or Pedro Pascal, anyway. It is upsetting that Daredevil: Born Again discarded Muse so flippantly, even if Dr. Heather Glenn does eventually become Muse herself, and yet Bullseye is sure to eclipse any villain he is in the same show or movie with, unless his exceptional writing and portrayal from the shows are purposefully watered down, which would be a travesty.

Because Bullseye is so frightening and endearing, it will be neat to see how his role develops in the MCU. It is not expected that he will turn a leaf fully and become good or sane by the end of Season 2, but his comprehensive morality is fertile soil for Daredevil: Born Again to plant fruitful seeds in.

Daredevil: Born Again Season 2 is now streaming on Disney+.

Release Date

March 4, 2025

Network

Disney+

Showrunner

Dario Scardapane

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