It's safe to say that Daredevil: Born Again is one of the biggest shows of 2025. Sure, the year hasn't long-started, but we're pretty sure we'll still be able to say that sentence come the end of the year. The Disney Plus series has acted as a revival of Netflix's Daredevil, catching us up with the main characters six years later, all while introducing some new ones and officially canonizing the events of that show in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. And that's before you take into account what goes down in it and the game-changing storylines it has tackled.
The MCU show is now halfway through its first season and it doesn't look like it plans on slowing down (the good news is that it won't have to as a second season is already filming). But among all the crime-fighting, campaigning, and chaos that is going down in the show, there have been some welcome references to the larger franchise that Daredevil and his characters are now a part of. The second episode featured a nod to Spider-Man while the fourth referenced some Skrulls.
The sixth episode features one of the most significant of them all.
Hawkeye star returns in Daredevil: Born Again episode 6
The sixth episode of Daredevil: Born Again features the return of Jack Duquesne, a.k.a. the Swordsman, with actor Tony Dalton reprising the role from previous MCU series Hawkeye. A wealthy socialite and formidable swordsman, Jack was first portrayed to be something of a villainous character when Kate Bishop (Hailee Steinfeld) suspected him of engaging in potentially murderous activities, but it turned out that it was actually Kate's mother, Jack's fiancée Eleanor Bishop, who committed the acts, working for Wilson Fisk.
Speaking of Fisk, Jack finally crossed paths with the Kingpin in Daredevil: Born Again. The episode, titled "Excessive Force", sees the two meet during a fundraising gala in which they are both attending. Jack doesn't buy Fisk's new nice guy routine that he has employed since becoming Mayor of New York, telling him that one phone call from one of the wealthy socialites there could easily result in the Kingpin being removed from his post.
That's not the only time we see Jack in the episode, however, as the opening scene of it showcases a report from BB Urich in which she reveals that other vigilantes / heroes have begun stepping up for the people of New York City, including a mysterious Swordsman. It then shows Jack, wearing a mask over his head, utilising his sword in broad daylight.
We last saw Swordsman in Hawkeye when Kate realized in the finale that he had actually been innocent all along. Jack helped her and Clint Barton in their fight against the Tracksuit Mafia - who were working for Fisk - utilizing his sword to take them down. It seems that he soon realized that he could use his talents to help people and took up heroics as the Swordsman.
Hawkeye was pretty pivotal to the MCU at the time, as it was the first time that Vincent D'Onofrio had starred in a project produced by Marvel Studios, essentially confirming that the Kingpin - and his actions in Daredevil - was canon to the MCU franchise. Charlie Cox appeared as Matt Murdock in Spider-Man: No Way Home at the same time of year (in 2021), which kickstarted the journey to bringing the Marvel Netflix characters into the MCU. Hawkeye spinoff Echo officially canonized things when D'Onofrio's Fisk returned for a larger role.
It goes without saying that it is great to see Tony Dalton back in the role of Swordsman, and we can't wait to see what else Jack Duquesne gets up to during his time in the MCU.
Daredevil: Born Again is now streaming on Disney Plus.