Daredevil: Born Again Season 2's Matt Murdock Finale Cliffhanger Explained

Contains spoilers for "Daredevil: Born Again" Season 2, Episode 8 — "The Southern Cross"

"Daredevil: Born Again" finished its stellar, critically-acclaimed 2nd season with a bang. The finale, "The Southern Cross," flipped the script on where we thought the Man Without Fear was going. To finally end Wilson "Kingpin" Fisk's (Vincent D'Onofrio) reign of terror over New York City, Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox) reveals to the whole world his dual identity as Daredevil. While this will no doubt have major ramifications for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it's led many to wonder if this also happened in the original Marvel comic books. Strangely, the answer is "yes."

While various characters throughout Daredevil's colorful comic book history have discovered his secret identity — including Spider-Man, Karen Page, Kingpin, and Ben Urich — that information has only gone public on a handful of occasions. After all, who would believe that a blind lawyer from Hell's Kitchen would moonlight as a ninja-like vigilante leaping across the rooftops of New York? And yet, as we see on "Born Again," there was one time in particular when Matt publicly unmasked as Daredevil.

After years of fighting allegations that Matt Murdock and Daredevil are one-in-the-same, he lets the cat out of the bag during Mark Waid's run in "Daredevil" (Vol. 3) #36. "Under oath and with God as my Witness, I'm telling you that I am Daredevil," Matt tells the courtroom. While Matt succeeded in unraveling a criminal conspiracy by the Sons of the Serpent, he was ultimately disbarred in New York as a result.

Of course, this new status quo didn't last forever. Although the fourth volume of "Daredevil" (also penned by Waid) took Matt to San Francisco where he continued his superheroics publicly, eventually the genie went back in the bottle. With the help of the Purple Children, "Daredevil" Vol. 5, written by Charles Soule, restored Matt's secret identity and legal profession in NYC. Although, it seems unlikely that "Born Again" will go that same route.

If anything, the third season could combine several Daredevil arcs. For instance, in Brian Michael Bendis' "Daredevil" (Vol. 2) #32, Kingpin offers the FBI details about Matt's identity that leads to his arrest. While imprisoned on Ryker's Island, he dealt with the very sorts that he put away as both a lawyer and vigilante. Indeed, "Born Again" has already teased similar ideas between Matt and the former members of the Anti-Vigilante Task Force.

Likewise, in Chip Zdarsky's "Daredevil" (Vol. 6) #22, Daredevil (whose identity is once more intact) serves a short-term prison sentence for manslaughter after accidentally killing a criminal. While there, the vigilante is confronted by those he put away, inspiring him to seek further reform. While Matt's secret identity as Daredevil has been restored in the comics, the MCU — which has given Daredevil more screentime than any Avenger — has finally opened that door. Perhaps we'll catch up with him next in "Spider-Man: Brand New Day."