The trailer for Daredevil Season 3 premiered not too long ago, and its final shot gave fans a lot to speculate on. It obviously wasn’t Matt Murdock in the Daredevil suit. But who was it? Longtime Daredevil fans no doubt noticed the parallels between the trailer and the famous Born Again arc of the comics. In that arc, Karen Page unwittingly aided the Kingpin in discovering Daredevil’s secret identity. From there the crime lord set out on a campaign to ruin the vigilante’s life. At one point in the arc, he wound up hiring a violent mental patient to impersonate Daredevil and ruin his image.
However, it’s obvious that show is taking some liberties with that arc. For starters, Captain America plays a large role in the latter stages of the comic. But the second clue came from none other than showrunner, Eric Olsen. In an interview with CBR, he was quoted saying:
There is another character on the show who is a very physical threat to Matt, who in many ways is able to balance and/or even best Daredevil.
This raised eyebrows to those who read the comics. The only other real threat in that arc was a D-List villain named Nuke, who ties in with the involvement of Captain America. Nuke is a gun-toting, nationalistic sociopath. Kingpin sending him to impersonate Daredevil would be like using a mallet to conduct surgery. But that led to another clue. A leaked photo from the costume department that stirred speculation. Finally, the trailer came out. In it, the impersonator throws a baton with what seems like deadly precision and force. It was enough of a hint to get people talking. And it turns out to be true.
Netflix recently confirmed that Daredevil would face off against none other than Bullseye in Season 3. Bullseye is one of Daredevil’s most notorious enemies. Probably best known for his role in the Frank Miller story that involved his killing Elektra to impress the Kingpin. Bullseye impersonating Daredevil also makes sense. Rather than being a random psychopath, the role can be filled by a known psychopath who actually challenges Matt Murdock a bit more. It’s also not that new of an idea. Bullseye actually pretended to be Daredevil in a 1990 story arc during which Murdock was suffering from amnesia.
Bullseye showing up here also opens up some possibilities for later seasons. If this storyline ends in a similar fashion to that of the comic, Bullseye can return for an adaptation of the Frank Miller storyline that launched his fame to new heights. In fact, there are numerous long-term benefits to tackling these storylines in reverse order. But fans will have to wait and see what Netflix and Marvel wind up doing.