After months of fans impatiently awaiting, and several pretty serious production delays, “Daredevil: Born Again” is nearly upon us. Announced nearly three years ago during San Diego Comic-Con, the series will finally reunite Charlie Cox’s Matt Murdock with Vincent D’Onofrio’s Wilson Fisk in Hell’s Kitchen. However, Kingpin won’t be the only villain along for the ride this time around. Not by a long shot.
As the footage from the newly-released “Daredevil: Born Again” trailer reveals, Matt Murdock is mixing it up with several masked baddies. One of which is doing graffiti and has a pale white mask with blood on it. This is none other than Muse, a villain who is a somewhat recent addition to the Marvel Comics canon, having first appeared in “Daredevil” #11 in 2016. The character was created by writer Charles Soule and artist Ron Garney. Put simply, Muse is a serial killer who turns his victims into works of art. It’s unclear, for now, which actor is under that mask. Time will tell.
Muse made his debut in what Marvel Comics billed as “the creepiest [Daredevil] story of the century.” He appeared in a total of 14 issues from his debut in 2016 until (spoilers) his death in “Daredevil” #600 in 2018. Since nobody in mainstream comic books ever really dies, the character is also appearing in “Daredevil: Unleash Hell” #1, which hit shelves in January of this year. The fact that Marvel brought the character back in the comics mere months before he’s slated to appear in a big show is probably not a coincidence.
There are other villains in the mix in “Born Again” as well. Daredevil is going to get a rematch against Bullseye, for one. It also appears as though White Tiger will be making his live-action debut. But neither of them are quite so uniquely violent as Muse.
Who is Muse in the comics and what are his powers?
Muse is pretty unique amongst comic book villains in that his alter ego was never revealed in the comics. Whether or not that changes in the Marvel Cinematic Universe remains to be seen. What we do know is that he is a sadistic murderer who uses art to make grand gestures to the public, with blood serving as his signature medium. He was dubbed “Vincent van Gore” by the media. Yes, we’re talking about a killer who paints with blood, so let’s not worry that Marvel Studios is going to tone Daredevil down despite the move from Netflix to Disney+.
Another interesting thing that makes Muse unique relative to many Daredevil villains is that he possesses actual superpowers. He has superhuman strength as well as super-tuned reflexes, making it possible for him to catch projectiles that are thrown at him rather easily. He also has an interesting ability to be stealthy and imperceptible, as he’s able to pull in various sensory information from around him, including smells and sounds. This makes him a deadly foe, as some of his victims in the comics were Inhumans. In other words, he’s not just capable of killing run-of-the-mill humans.
That is, very basically, what to expect from Muse. At least that’s what we can glean from the comics. Marvel Studios often changes characters from the page to screen. Sometimes that’s for the better of the project, sometimes it’s not. What we know is that “Born Again” went through a lot of turmoil behind the scenes, changing showrunners and directors, in addition to getting serious rewrites and heavy reshoots. Hopefully, that was for the better and, with any luck, that means Muse will be given a proper live-action introduction.
The show also includes returning “Daredevil” cast members Deborah Ann Woll (Karen Page), Elden Henson (Foggy Nelson), Wilson Bethel (Bullseye), Ayelet Zurer (Vanessa), and Jon Bernthal (Punisher). Margarita Levieva (“The Acolyte”), Zabryna Guevara (“New Amsterdam”), Nikki M. James (“Severance”), Genneya Walton (“Candy Cane Lane”), Arty Froushan (“Carnival Row”), Clark Johnson (“Evil”), and Michael Gandolfini (“The Many Saints of Newark”) round out the ensemble.
“Daredevil: Born Again” premieres March 4, 2025, on Disney+.
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