- Daredevil: Born Again episode 2 contains an unexpected Spider-Man Easter egg
- The webslinger is referenced by Wilson Fisk early in the series’ second chapter
- It’s highly unlikely that Spider-Man will appear in the show
Daredevil: Born Again‘s first two episodes are out now on Disney+, and the eagerly awaited Marvel TV show is already generating plenty of discussions online.
Chief among those fan conversations is that emotionally devastating moment in its first episode (no spoilers for anyone who ended up here but hasn’t watched it yet). Discussion-worthy as that incident is, though, I was far more surprised by an obvious reference to Spider-Man in the show’s second episode, and it’s one that’s made me even more desperate for a big-screen team-up between Peter Parker and Matt Murdock.
Spoilers follow for Born Again episode 2, titled ‘With Interest.’ Turn back now if you haven’t streamed it yet on Disney+.
The reference is made by Wilson Fisk as he addresses New York following his mayoral election victory. Speaking via a live stream that’s shown on Times Square’s giant screens and beamed into homes across the city, Fisk calls his triumph “a new era for the greatest city in the world,” but it’s the next part of his speech that contains the Easter egg-style remark concerning the web-slinger. “We don’t need a gun-toting vigilante who wears a skull mask on his chest,” Fisk says before adding: “Or a man who dresses in a spider outfit, or a guy who wears devil horns to save us.”
The “skull mask” and “devil horns” remarks, which refer to Frank Castle/The Punisher and Murdock’s vigilante alias, respectively, are to be expected. After all, Fisk battled both crimefighters during his time as Kingpin, aka one of New York’s most fearsome crime lords, during Daredevil‘s three-season run on Netflix.
His quotes about “a man who dresses in a spider outfit,” though, is the first time that Fisk has acknowledged Spider-Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Okay, until Born Again‘s release, Fisk had only appeared in two MCU projects – Hawkeye and Echo – so he’d not had the chance to mention the wallcrawler. Now that he has, though, Marvel has a golden opportunity to bring Spidey and Daredevil together to potentially fight Fisk.
Will Spider-Man appear in Daredevil: Born Again?
Unfortunately, the chances of Peter Parker and Matt Murdock joining forces in Born Again are slim to none. That’s in spite of Marvel fans thinking that they would, too, with some suggesting that Born Again‘s official trailer contained its own Spider-Man Easter egg.
Why won’t Spider-Man appear in this Marvel Phase 5 project, then? In short, he’s not allowed to show up in live-action productions on Disney+, aka one of the world’s best streaming services.
Speaking on a February 2025 edition of the Phase Zero podcast, Marvel’s Head of TV, Streaming, and Animation Brad Winderbaum explained why Spidey isn’t allowed to appear in the studio’s small-screen projects. Essentially, because Sony owns the long-form, live-action rights to the Spider-Man IP, the webslinger is forbidden from popping up in MCU TV shows.
However, he’s allowed to feature in animated projects, which is why he made a brief cameo in X-Men 97 season 1 and starred in a completely separate animated series – Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man – earlier this year. Interestingly enough, Daredevil appeared in the latter and was voiced by Charlie Cox, who’s played the character in a live-action capacity since 2015.
So, what are the chances of The Man Without Fear appearing in Spider-Man 4 instead? Vincent D’Onofrio, who plays Fisk, recently denied (via The Meltdown Press) that he and Cox aren’t part of that Marvel Phase 6 movie’s cast. That may be the case, but let’s not forget that Andrew Garfield consistently denied he’d appear in Spider-Man: No Way Home, and look what happened there.
In short, don’t expect Spidey to appear in Daredevil’s first standalone MCU adventure. If he does, you can be darn sure that I’ll be updating my Daredevil: Born Again season 1 hub, plus my Born Again cast and character guide, to reflect that crowd-pleasing moment.
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tom.power@futurenet.com (Tom Power)
