History ComicBook / BornAgain

A live-action adaptation of ''Born Again'' --intended as a sequel to the 2003 ''Film/{{Daredevil}}'' film-- was in development at one point but never made, while a later pitch for a (separate) film adapting the story was rejected by Creator/TwentiethCenturyFox in 2012. However, the third season of ''Series/Daredevil2015'', released in 2018, would ultimately borrow several elements from the story in its third season.

* DelusionsOfEloquence: Felix, one of the Kingpin's henchmen who spies on Matt Murdock in the field.

* GoneHorriblyRight: Fisk destroys Murdock's entire life in the ''very first issue'' of the story. Then Murdock strolls into Fisk's office, gets his crap handed to him, and Fisk tries to kill him in the East River. When they don't find a body, Fisk realises Murdock's alive, With nothing to lose, and [[OhCrap coming for him]]. After all, a man without ''hope'' is a man without ''fear''.
* [[HesBack He's Back]]: When Nuke attacks on Kingpin's orders, Matt Murdock, having regained his spiritual center, finally redons his Daredevil costume after so long to confront the lunatic.

* OhCrap: Kingpin's reaction to the above. He realizes that destroying Matt's life but not ensuring his death has given him a foe with nothing to lose.

A live-action adaptation of ''Born Again'' --intended as a sequel to the 2003 ''Film/{{Daredevil}}'' film-- was in development at one point but never made, while a later pitch for a (separate) film adapting the story was rejected by Creator/TwentiethCenturyFox in 2012. However, the Netflix version of ''Series/Daredevil2015'' would ultimately incorporate elements from the story into its third season.

A live-action adaptation of ''Born Again'' --intended as a sequel to the 2003 ''Film/{{Daredevil}}'' film-- was in development at one point but never made, while a later pitch for a (separate) film adapting the story was rejected by Creator/TwentiethCenturyFox in 2012. However, the final scene of ''Series/{{The Defenders|2017}}'' --which features Matt as a central character-- depicts a wounded Matt laying in convent surrounded by nuns (one of whom is implied to be his mother), possibly setting up elements of ''Born Again'' to feature in the plot of season 3 of ''Series/{{Daredevil}}'', which was further solidified in October prior to the start of shooting as Creator/VincentDOnofrio (Fisk) was the first confirmed cast member outside of Matt, Karen and Foggy to be returning.

* BerserkButton: For a crime lord, Kingpin's actually a pretty reasonable guy. He listens to his subordinates and considers their advice. But ''don't'' mention his wife.[[note]]Years prior, near the beginning of Miller's DD run, Vanessa became collateral damage in a gang war (literally, that was the title) between Fisk and his rivals. Miller's contemporaneous GN ''Love and War'' details Fisk's efforts to rehabilitate her mind. It's implied that his failure to help her is still getting to him.[[/note]]

* {{Crossover}}: Matt appeared in an issue of ''[[ComicBook/SpiderMan The Amazing Spider-Man]]'' during the events of the story, where he makes Peter promise not to go after Fisk before he gets a chance at him. Peter ignores him and confronts Fisk as Spidey, but realizes that he can't legally barge in and attack him since he doesn't have any official proof and is forced to bow out, deciding it's best to leave things to Daredevil once he recovers.

* MouthOfSauron: Wesley, the Kingpin's personal and most trusted assistant, is introduced in this story. He is the second most feared man in the Kingpin's organization, considering he is responsible for carrying out Fisk's most secret orders, including when to kill people.

* RevengeBeforeReason: Kingpin gets called out on it, that his vendetta against Matt is a drain on resources and jeopardizing his plans to expand into more legitimate enterprises. [[TooDumbToLive This was not the time to point this out to him.]]

** Also Comicbook/CaptainAmerica. Nearly every character - even the crazed Nuke - practically salutes in his presence except Murdock, who's more annoyed that Cap is interfering in his private war against the Kingpin.
* ThouShaltNotKill: Daredevil normally adheres to the "no killing" code of most superheroes. In this story, when Nuke's pilot is shooting up New York in a military helicopter, [[spoiler:Daredevil picks up a rocket launcher, mutters, "Forgive me," and blows him up.]]

* VillainousBreakdown: Kingpin undergoes a subtle one over the course of the story after he learns that Murdock is still alive. It's very clear that he's becoming quite unhinged, culminating in Fisk sending the [[PsychoForHire psychotic]] Nuke to Hell's Kitchen and making him shoot up the place to draw Matt out.

* DoNotGoGentle[=/=]RousingSpeech: Played with by Miller. After Ben Urich is intimidated into silence by the Kingpin's goons, J. Jonah Jameson (Yes, of {{Spider-Man}} fame) gives an incredible speech explaining how important it is that the Bugle expose the Kingpin for what he is despite the potential consequences. Urich is unmoved at first. He later decides to pursue the story, but the speech isn't portrayed as an important factor in his decision.

A live-action adaptation of ''Born Again'' --intended as a sequel to the 2003 ''Film/{{Daredevil}}'' film-- was in development at one point but never made, while a later pitch for a (separate) film adapting the story was rejected by Creator/TwentiethCenturyFox in 2012. However, the final scene of Creator/{{Netflix}}'s ''Series/{{The Defenders|2017}}'' --which features Daredevil as a central character-- depicts a wounded Matt laying in convent surrounded by nuns (one of whom is implied to be his mother), possibly setting up elements of ''Born Again'' to feature in the plot of ''Series/{{Daredevil}}'''s third season.

The story is considered one of the best of the era and one of the three eminent [[DeconstructedTrope superhero deconstructions]] -- among them ''ComicBook/BatmanTheDarkKnightReturns'' and ''ComicBook/{{Watchmen}}'' -- though less famous than they are. Which is somewhat ironic in itself, given that of the three ''Born Again'' probably remains closest to the traditional superhero story, without going into SociopathicHero territory. More than the other two, Murdock is portrayed as a fundamentally decent guy with genuine heroic impulses, while still very much a human being, and the central story is an old fashioned battle between the hero and the villain. Notable for featuring perhaps the first time a superhero comic issue in which the hero is not once in his costume.

!!Tropes:

* DelusionsOfEloquence: Wesley, the arch-Dragon:

** This is not Wesley, this is Felix, another Kingpin henchman.

** This is Felix, another Kingpin henchman.

* TookALevelInBadass: Turk Barrett, a minor criminal introduced in Daredevil #69, manages to stab Matt Murdock.

* NeverFoundTheBody: As soon as Fisk hears this about Murdock, he [[GenreSavvy realizes Murdock's not dead]].

1986 was a big year for Creator/FrankMiller. In between the [[TheDarkKnightReturns other]] [[ComicBook/BatmanYearOne stuff]], he also happened to write this: an overlooked classic and swan-song to his hugely influential 1979-83 stint on the character. The story goes like this: Karen Page, the love of Matt Murdock's life, now a [[BrokenPedestal washed-up and coked-out adult film star]], sells his secret identity for a fix. Said information, as good as gold, makes its way to no less than the Kingpin of Crime, Wilson Fisk. Who proceeds to "test" the information -- by [[ForTheEvulz completely ruining Murdock's life.]]

The story is considered one of the best of the era and one of the three eminent [[DeconstructedTrope superhero deconstructions]] -- among them ''ComicBook/TheDarkKnightReturns'' and ''ComicBook/{{Watchmen}}'' -- though less famous than they are. Which is somewhat ironic in itself, given that of the three ''Born Again'' probably remains closest to the traditional superhero story, without going into SociopathicHero territory. More than the other two, Murdock is portrayed as a fundamentally decent guy with genuine heroic impulses, while still very much a human being, and the central story is an old fashioned battle between the hero and the villain. Notable for featuring perhaps the first time a superhero comic issue in which the hero is not once in his costume.

'''[[TropeCodifier The]]''' Comicbook/{{Daredevil}} story.

1986 was a big year for Creator/FrankMiller. In between the [[TheDarkKnightReturns other]] [[ComicBook/BatmanYearOne stuff]], he also happened to write this: an overlooked classic and swan-song to his hugely influential 1979-83 stint on the character. The story goes like this: Karen Page, the love of Matt Murdock's life, now a [[BrokenPedestal washed-up and coked-out adult film star]], sells his secret identity for a fix. Said information, as good as gold, makes its way to no less than the Kingpin of Crime, Wilson Fisk. Who proceeds to "test" the information--by [[ForTheEvulz completely ruining Murdock's life.]]

Murdock loses his house, job, friends, and even sanity. But as Murdock, exhausted and enraged, fights the Kingpin--and survives, however destitute--Fisk notices something. [[TheDeterminator Murdock]] won't quit. Kingpin finally has found the man he cannot break.

The story is considered one of the best of the era and one of the three eminent [[DeconstructedTrope superhero deconstructions]]--among them ''ComicBook/TheDarkKnightReturns'' and ''ComicBook/{{Watchmen}}''--though less famous than they are. Which is somewhat ironic in itself, given that of the three ''Born Again'' probably remains closest to the traditional superhero story, without going into SociopathicHero territory. More than the other two, Murdock is portrayed as a fundamentally decent guy with genuine heroic impulses, while still very much a human being, and the central story is an old fashioned battle between the hero and the villain. Notable for featuring perhaps the first time a superhero comic issue in which the hero is not once in his costume.

!!The story contains examples of the following tropes:

* CaptainPatriotic: A dark version in Nuke, but CaptainAmerica plays it (mostly) straight in his guest appearance, even ''apologizing'' to the [=MPs=] sent to stop him, knowing they're just following orders. One of his most iconic quotes comes when he goes to confront a general about Nuke:
-->'''General''': You know the department holds you in the highest regard. We've always valued your commitment--and your loyalty...
-->'''Captain America''': I'm loyal to nothing, General...except the dream.

* UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar: Nuke is a Vietnam vet and still thinks he's fighting it.

* WorldWarII: CaptainAmerica thinks back to his experiences during the Second World War, answering the more cynical and psychotic experiences of his counterpart Nuke.

* MouthOfSauron: Wesley, the Kingpin's personal and most trusted assistant, is introduced in this story. He is the second most feared man in the Kingpin's organization, considering he is responsible for carrying out Fisk's most secret orders, including when to kill people.

* AxCrazy: see PsychoForHire below.

* BerserkButton: For a crime lord, Kingpin's actually a pretty reasonable guy. He listens to his subordinates and considers their advice. But ''don't'' mention his wife.[[note]]Years prior, near the beginning of Miller's DD run, Vanessa became collateral damage in a gang war (literally, that was the title) between Fisk and his rivals. Miller's contemporaneous GN ''Love and War'' details Fisk's efforts to rehabilitate her mind. It's implied that his failure to fix her is still getting to him.[[/note]]

* CaptainPatriotic: A dark version in Nuke, but CaptainAmerica plays it (mostly) straight in his guest appearance, even ''apologising'' to the [=MPs=] sent to stop him, knowing they're just following orders. One of his most iconic quotes comes when he goes to confront a general about Nuke:

* GoodShepherd: A female version in the nun (who may or may not be, to this day, Matt's real mother) who takes care of Murdock after he's injured.

* RevengeBeforeReason: Kingpin gets called out on it, that his vendetta against Matt is a drain on resources and jeapordising his plans to expand into more legitimate enterprises. [[TooDumbToLive This was not the time to point this out to him.]]

* TookALevelInBadass: Turk.

* SuperSoldier: Nuke
** Also Comicbook/CaptainAmerica. Nearly every character - even the crazed Nuke - practically salutes in his presence.
*** Except Murdock, who's more annoyed that Cap is interfering in his private war against the Kingpin.

* CostumeCopyCat

** "There is no corpse. ''There is no corpse.''"

* BerserkButton: For a crime lord, Kingpin's actually a pretty reasonable guy. He listens to his subordinates and considers their advice. But ''don't'' mention his wife.
** Years prior, near the beginning of Miller's DD run, Vanessa became collateral damage in a gang war (literally, that was the title) between Fisk and his rivals. Miller's contemporaneous GN ''Love and War'' details Fisk's efforts to rehabilitate her mind. It's implied that his failure to fix her is still getting to him.

* BigBad: Wilson Fisk, as ever.
** Maybe doubles as his own personal Crowning Moment. In a universe full of [[{{Magneto}} masters of magnetism]], [[DoctorDoom doctors of doom]], and [[{{Thanos}} mad titans]] bent on universal genocide...there is Wilson Fisk. A mere mortal, FatBastard, CorruptCorporateExecutive out to destroy the only good man he's ever known or ever will know--just because he can. It'd be [[HumansAreSpecial awesome]], if it weren't so hideous.
* BigDamnHeroes: Thor, ComicBook/CaptainAmerica and ComicBook/IronMan arrive to help Daredevil towards the end.

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