Ryan Kirksey
The following recap contains spoilers for Daredevil: Born Again S2E4, “Gloves Off” (written by Chantelle M. Wells and directed by Solvan “Slick” Naim). Spoilers also include information from Daredevil: Born Again Season 1.
When a comic book character like Daredevil has been around for 62 years (Daredevil #1 came out in April 1964), and has 688 legacy issues (as of April 2026), you have to get creative not only in storytelling but in crossovers, partnerships, ret-cons, and deaths of characters. But the sheer number of years and pages almost invites innovation and new ideas.
However, not once since Bullseye (aka Benjamin Poindexter) first appeared in March 1976 have he and Daredevil teamed up or joined the same side in the pages of Marvel comics. Bullseye has often been Daredevil’s most hated enemy because he was responsible for the deaths of Elektra and Karen Page. In Daredevil: Born Again, that death has been changed to Foggy Nelson, but the sentiment remains the same. This is the last person on earth Daredevil would want to call a partner.
And yet somehow, someway, the team behind Daredevil: Born Again has found a way for me to root for the assassin known as Bullseye and remain intrigued (and borderline optimistic) about the possibility of Daredevil (Matthew Cox) and Bullseye (Wilson Bethel) joining forces. Episode 4 peels back some of the layers of Bullseye and helps us understand the new motivations as to why he tries to convince Daredevil they are on “the same side.”
The fourth episode of Season 2, “Gloves Off,” wastes no time picking up immediately from the fallout of Episodes 2 and 3. It opens with a rather mundane look at Benjamin Poindexter (Bullseye). He has a calm morning routine, interacting politely with a neighbor and even cooking eggs for breakfast. The normalcy is unsettling, especially given what viewers know he’s capable of. This strange contrast to what we have seen him do sets the tone for the episode, especially when it turns on a dime at a diner.
At the diner, Bullseye calls in a fake tip about The Punisher to Mayor Fisk’s (Vincent D’Onofrio) Anti-Vigilante Task Force (AVTF). When the agents arrive, Bullseye turns the peaceful moment with a banana milkshake into a massacre, using improvised weapons like a toothpick and utensils to kill multiple officers. This scene reorients us with him as one of the most dangerous figures in the show, while also showing that he is trying to do something “good,” and making sure the AVTF knows he is behind it.
With Daredevil’s group in hiding after the jailbreak in the last episode, Karen (Deborah Ann Woll) plays a major role in coordinating information, and she helps get vital information to BB Urich (Genneya Walton) for the BB Report. The resistance is no longer just a small group; it’s becoming an anti-authoritarian movement. Angela Del Toro (Camila Rodriguez) steps up as well, volunteering to transport the critical evidence. Jack Duquense/Swordsman (Tony Dalton) gives them his bank account and tells them to use whatever they need.
Across town, Fisk is focused on controlling the public narrative with an event. He organizes a high-profile boxing event at Fogwell’s Gym, the same gym where Matt’s father used to train, and a place that holds special meaning to the Murdocks. But it’s a calculated move to consolidate power and distract from the chaos spreading across New York.
After Daredevil discovers a coin that Bullseye left at the diner, which comes from Clinton Church, the same church where Matt had a relationship with Father Lantom from the original Daredevil series, he is able to track Poindexter back to his apartment. It’s here that Bullseye tries to convince Daredevil that they are on the same side. Bullseye was tricked and blackmailed by Vanessa Fisk (Ayelet Zurer) in Season 1 and wants revenge on Fisk. Daredevil can’t forgive Bullseye for killing Foggy, but also won’t let Bullseye make Fisk a martyr.
The climax of the episode comes at the boxing event, when Bullseye decides to appear publicly and kill more AVTF agents before turning his attention to the Fisks. His target is Vanessa Fisk, whose past manipulation of him made her a focal point for his revenge.
Chaos erupts as Bullseye launches his attack. A brutal three-way conflict unfolds between Bullseye, Daredevil (who followed him there), and Fisk’s agents. Matt arrives in the middle of the violence, trying to contain the damage while also confronting Bullseye.
During the fight, Vanessa pulls a gun and shoots Bullseye. Bullseye then hurls a glass weapon toward Vanessa, and although Fisk intervenes by breaking it with the championship boxing belt he just won (brutally, I might add), the deflection causes a shard to strike Vanessa squarely in the head. She collapses, gravely wounded, as the entire event descends into panic.
What Daredevil then chooses to do in that moment might be just as important as the attack itself. Daredevil ultimately chooses to pull Bullseye out of danger rather than let him die, reinforcing the complicated dynamic between them this season and setting up a potential partnership in the back half of this season.
The episode ends on a major cliffhanger. Vanessa’s fate is left uncertain as Fisk is forced to confront the possibility of losing the person closest to him. This moment could push him into an even more dangerous and unstable state moving forward. If he was using his attack dogs to hunt vigilantes before, Fisk might let himself off the leash when it comes to Daredevil and Bullseye and exact his own kind of violent revenge as soon as he can find them.
Are Daredevil and Bullseye now partners? I don’t think it’s that simple. This is more of a “the enemy of my enemy is my friend” situation going on here. Daredevil may need Bullseye, but in no way do I think he will ever trust him.
