Matt Murdock has returned from his year-long hiatus to bring justice back to Hell's Kitchen. The Man Without Fear officially launched his plan to take back New York City from the corrupt Kingpin in Daredevil: Born Again season 2 in a season premiere that had fans in complete and utter awe. Honestly, considering how epic that premiere episode is, it's not surprising at all.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe show has been a real favorite of the franchise's Disney Plus era, but the fan consensus made it clear that there was room to grow in season 1. All it had to do to improve, however, was to be more like the original Daredevil series that inspired it. We're pleased to report that it has pulled it off in a huge way.
One of the big new additions this season's cast is none other than Matthew Lillard, who plays a mysterious character known as Mr. Charles. Here's what you need to know.
*** This article contains MAJOR SPOILERS from Daredevil: Born Again season 2 episode 1. If you haven't seen the episode yet and would prefer that it wasn't spoiled, don't read. ***
Mr. Charles in Daredevil: Born Again season 2, explained
When we first meet Mr. Charles in Daredevil: Born Again season 2, he's in Washington, but he wastes little time in catching a flight back to the streets of New York City to arrange a meeting with the mayor, Wilson Fisk, a.k.a. the Kingpin. He helps the corrupt official out of a sticky situation wherein the crook would have had to report his Anti-Vigilante Task Force's despicable methods directly to the governor. Charles did that with the help of Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, who is of course portrayed by Julia Louis Dreyfus in the MCU (although we don't actually see her here).
Yes, Mr. Charles seemingly works for the CIA and he answers to Val. Of course, just like Val herself, he's also extremely corrupt, willing to order the death of men that he deems expendable. While the Kingpin himself has done this on many occasions, he's unwilling to lead his own loyal soldiers into a situation in which Charles would dispose of them. But Charles? He's what he calls a "logistics man"; a fixer of sorts. And that makes him dangerous.
So, does the MCU's iteration of Mr. Charles have a source to go on? Well, kind of. There is a Mr. Charles in the Marvel Comics, but he's not exactly a well-established character. In fact, he only has one appearance to his name, where he was in charge of the illegal drills on the oceanic platform Roxxon Discovery.
Given that this Mr. Charles is in charge of clean-up on the Northern Star ship, we'd say that there are marginal similarities here. What's interesting is that Daredevil: Born Again season 2 very much suggests that he will play a much greater role in the MCU than he ever did in the Marvel Comics. That's as exciting as it is intriguing, because it means we have no idea which direction the storyline might take.
We do know that he is a larger-than-life presence who is capable of stealing the spotlight (we can thank Matthew Lillard's performance for that) and although that serves Fisk well now, it's likely going to become a problem at some point down the line. The two have already exchanged words over Charles' "disrespect" of Vanessa, and we all know how the Kingpin doesn't usually let that stand.
We're in for one very interesting season. And Mr. Charles might just be at the center of why that is.