Summary
- Wesley's cool demeanor and manipulation tactics made him a formidable force until Karen Page's bullet took him out.
- Elektra's complex relationship with Daredevil adds a spicy dynamic to the series with her dark, exciting, and devil-may-care attitude.
- The Punisher's contrasting brand of personal justice clashes with Daredevil's morals, leading to intense disagreements and conflicts.
The superhero whose traumatic defining childhood event gave him superhuman abilities. The costumed red devil, or the man without fear who was very deserving of a proper live-action portrayal. In 2015, the first season of Netflix’s Daredevil showed the heights that superhero-based television can go to, bringing a quality to that specific genre that paved the way for other vigilante-based TV series to thrive on screen, too.
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One of the best aspects of Daredevil were the dangerous villains he had to face against, making his life hell and his city in need of cleaning. Here are 5 of the best from the series.
5 Wesley
Fisk's Right Hand
|
Full Name |
James Wesley |
|---|---|
|
Played By |
Toby Leonard Moore |
The very image of pure pragmatic sociopathy and a character that proves you don’t need amazing superpowers or even an impressive intellect to be an effective villain. Sometimes, all you need is to be a dedicated man in a suit. As Wilson Fisk’s top employee, Wesley was his right-hand man and often acted as the face of Fisk’s legal and business enterprises.
A man skilled in risk management and capable of maintaining his cool under pressure, James acted as one of Fisk’s closest confidants. He was a master of manipulation and was able to maneuver his way through many situations and control and influence others, especially those whose existence posed a threat to Wilson Fisk’s enterprises. He also doesn’t shy away from getting violent and can use a gun if need be.
Wesley is the type of businessman who applies the cold ruthlessness needed in the field to other areas of life, making him fit in easily among the top ranks of a criminal empire. Unfortunately for Wesley, his cool demeanor and expert bluff-calling were not enough to prevent his death. A bullet from Karen Page finished him off and took him out of the series.
4 Elektra
Lover And Rival
|
Full Name |
Elektra Natchios |
|---|---|
|
Played By |
Élodie Yung |
The classic femme-fatale parallel to the noble male superhero. DC Comics and movies have Batman and Catwoman, but Marvel and Netflix have a spicier version of that dynamic through Daredevil and Elektra. As seductive as she is incredibly capable, Elektra is one of the most entertaining entities in the Marvel universe.
Just like our hero Daredevil, Elektra has experience training with Stick and has ties with The Hand. In the series, the two reunite after years. Elektra goes back to her old ways, trying to seduce and manipulate Matt. Together, they handle conflicts with the Yakuza, defeating other fighters as they relive old memories and old love. Her dark, exciting, and devil-may-care attitude towards being a fighter and a vigilante makes her an interesting point of comparison with the far more stoic and righteous Daredevil.
Her romantic and sexual relationship with Matt Murdock is what makes her one of the most intriguing villains. She holds the key to both Matt’s heart and a box of the deepest and darkest emotions. She is willing to open and destroy either as much as she sees fit. With her signature twin sai’s and her mastery of martial arts, Elektra’s appearance in any Daredevil medium is bound to be an entertainingly violent show.
3 The Punisher
The Hero Of Another Story
|
Full Name |
Frank Castle |
|---|---|
|
Played By |
Jon Bernthal |
If there was ever a man who embodied the opposite of Matt Murdock's vigilante morals as Daredevil, it was Frank Castle, aka The Punisher. Whilst he is a ‘hero’ of his own story and a superhero in his own right, when it comes to Daredevil’s series, The Punisher shows up as the darkest of villains. Frank Castle believes that to deal with villains properly, you must deal with them permanently.
Why beat up an antagonist and send him to jail when you can just kill them and never have to deal with them again? Whilst killing wrongdoers is the Punisher’s modus operandi, Daredevil considers it a horrible miscarriage of justice, prompting their many disagreements throughout Season 2’s story. He wants to clean the streets of Hell’s Kitchen, but the way he decides to do it clashes heavily with Daredevil’s wishes and will. Their contrasting brands of personal justice cause a great deal of trouble and strife throughout the world of the street-tier heroes.
One of the best scenes in the series involves one of the best conversations between Daredevil characters. It's on the rooftop, where the Punisher and Daredevil argue in a battle of will over what is the best way to take out the worst of the city. They might not see eye to eye, but in the end they are both talented vigilantes with The Punisher making as good a villain as he does a hero.
2 Bullseye
The Most Accurate Villain
|
Full Name |
Benjamin Poindexter |
|---|---|
|
Played By |
Wilson Bethel |
Netflix’s Bullseye is quite different from the Marvel Comics version. This version of Bullseye is a lot less whimsical, a lot more troubled, but just as violent and frightening as his on-page counterpart. Bullseye proves to be one of the most interesting live-action villains in superhero fiction, the series giving audiences a deep dive into a sympathetic yet highly unstable mind.
Described as a ‘psychopathic FBI agent’, Bullseye’s years of trauma as a hardened survivor are not the only thing that makes him a formidable villain. As his name suggests, Poindexter is a talented marksman, able to make any item in his hand a deadly weapon by throwing it with great strength and expert precision. With skills as sharp as his jawline looked when he donned the Daredevil costume, he proved to be one of the biggest thorns in Murdock's side. Throughout the third season, Bullseye showed his instincts were almost on the same superhuman levels as Matt’s, with his eyesight being far better than the red devil as he flung precise items at him with intent to kill.
Fueled by the death of his parents, stints in troublesome children’s homes, and the tricks he learned from therapy, Bullseye established himself as the most fearsome Daredevil villain apart from one.
1 Kingpin
Daredevil's Greatest Rival
|
Full Name |
Wilson Fisk |
|---|---|
|
Played By |
Vincent D'Onofrio |
The first character that comes to mind when people think of a Daredevil villain. And for good reason, too, for he is the most iconic Daredevil villain of them all. The first entry on the list can only be considered a lackey in comparison to his criminal overload business of a boss, the infamous Kingpin.
The man who held Hell’s Kitchen in the palm of his muscular oversized hands. An emotionally abused child turned crime overlord, Kingpin combines the soft touch of a sensitive man with the brutal force of a psychotic gangster. Fisk does not see himself as a villain. He genuinely wants to make Hell’s Kitchen. The only issue is the manner in which he decides to do this. It is not just his personal power and control. Kingpin is a brute of great physicality.
Fans will remember some of his most impressive feats of strength throughout the series, such as the damage he did to a man with just a car door and the paralyzation of Bullseye, who saw his back crushed against a chimney during the battle at the presidential hotel. Kingpin is a powerful combatant, a useful gunman, a man with all the power in the city, and by far, the greatest Daredevil villain there is.
Daredevil: Born Again
- Release Date
- March 4, 2025
- Network
- Disney+
- Showrunner
- Chris Ord
- Directors
- Aaron Moorhead, Justin Benson, David Boyd, Jeffrey Nachmanoff
- Writers
- Jesse Wigutow, Jill Blankenship, Thomas Wong, David Feige, Grainne Godfree
- Franchise(s)
- Daredevil, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Cast
-
Charlie CoxMatt Murdock / Daredevil -
Vincent D'OnofrioWilson Fisk
WHERE TO WATCH
After Charlie Cox's cameo appearance in Spider-Man: No Way Home and supporting role in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, Daredevil: Born Again gives Matt Murdock his first show set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Daredevil: Born Again continues the story that started in Netflix's three-season Daredevil series and sees Wilson Fisk ascend to mayor of New York City.
