Daredevil: Born Again Season 2 Solves A Classic Superhero Story Problem

Contains spoilers for "Daredevil: Born Again" Season 2, Episode 2 — "Shoot the Moon"

Whenever a villain finds out a hero's secret identity in the comics, the writers have to come up with a way to explain why that identity doesn't become public knowledge roughly 0.2 seconds after that. Often, they simply settle on the villain (or some other character who learns the secret identity on purpose or by accident) deciding to hold on to the information for ... reasons, thus guaranteeing that the public doesn't learn this secret on a scale that would muddy up the narrative waters. Because of this, it's refreshing that the refined, confident "Daredevil: Born Again" Season 2 actually comes up with a perfectly viable explanation for a scenario where the villain knows the hero's identity and still voluntarily shuts up about it. 

In "Shoot the Moon," Mayor Wilson "Kingpin" Fisk (Vincent D'Onofrio) remains on the hunt for Daredevil (Charlie Cox). While he's all too aware that the hero is actually Matt Murdock, he reveals his reason for keeping the vigilante's real identity to himself, and it makes all sorts of sense. Daredevil is a creepy, horned vigilante who's incredibly easy to sell to the world as a threat. Matt Murdock, on the other hand, is an extremely sympathetic blind guy who has recently saved Mayor Fisk's life. As such, Kingpin (Vincent D'Onofrio) understands it'd be absurd to connect the two identities, because it'd only make Daredevil seem nicer. 

Perhaps even more impressive than Kingpin's tactical decision to keep Daredevil's secret identity to himself is the fact that he manages to weaponize it anyway. in fact, he uses Daredevil's both identities to attack the hero on two fronts. 

Apart from the pre-existing hunt for Daredevil, Kingpin comes up with a truly cunning way to target Matt Murdock through positive public perception. The villain pleads the public to find Matt — not as an enemy of the people, but as a missing, blind, possibly confused man who the mayor personally feels indebted to. This sets up an enthusiastic manhunt by well-meaning city people, guaranteeing that Daredevil truly has no place to hide. 

"Daredevil: Born Again" Season 2 has left critics stunned, and Kingpin's relentless stranglehold over New York City certainly adds to the season's quality. This little example of deviousness is yet another piece of evidence about the villain's ability to outmaneuver his enemies ... at least, when he doesn't have to deal with an even bigger fish like Matthew Lillard's "Daredevil: Born Again" Season 2 character, Mr. Charles. 

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