NYCC ‘24: Everything that happened at the Marvel Fanfare/Daredevil Born Again Panel

At the Marvel Fanfare panel at NYCC 2024, Marvel’s Editor-in-chief C.B. Cebulski joined special guests Frank Miller, Charles Soule, Steve McNiven, and Sana Amanat to discuss the legacy left behind by Daredevil Born Again and its history on Marvel, with  Charlie Cox and Vincent D’Onofrio making a surprise guest appearance at the end. 

Essentially this turned this entire fanfare panel into the Daredevil Born Again panel – to the surprise of every Marvel fan. Here’s the recap of what went down in chronological order. 

Frank Miller on his career and Born Again

Miller’s work on Daredevil at Marvel’s Fanfare Panel NYCC ’24

The panel kicked off with another guest appearance by Frank Miller, who had paneled at the last Marvel Fanfare event last year. Frank talked about his childhood growing up in Vermont, his affinity for watching Saturday morning cartoons along his early love of Supermanm Miller then described how his father would bring back comic books for him to read when they were available everywhere like in local pharmacies, recollecting that the invention of the comic book shop, a popular new idea at the time, absolutely mesmerized him.

“Comics were perfect in a way because they’re the one thing you can do where you don’t need anything but the most rudimentary tools,” recalled Miller while speaking at the panel. “Pall point, pen, paper, and you can make your own.” 

He shared about how he knew from age 5 that he wanted to make comics. His first idea, something he came up with while watching his mother making bread, was doughboy – a hero who could punch and stretch. 

“Then along came Jack Kirby, Stan Lee, and Steve Ditko. Everything changed. I learned how much more Shakespearean comics can be in scope. Comics ended their adolescence… and soon, so would I.”

Miller then reminisced about his time with Daredevil. According to him, “Everyone else has an extraordinary ability but he has an extraordinary disability”.

When describing the origins of his approach to Born Again, Miller explained that he wanted to strip Murdock down to nothing to show him who he really was. Which gave Frank Miller the ability to rebuild him and get down to the heart and soul of the character. The legacy that followed – a byproduct of this approach.

NEW DAREDEVIL: COLD DAY IN HELL

This led to the announcement of the upcoming DAREDEVIL: COLD DAY IN HELL.  The comic will be created by Charles Soule and Steve McNiven who together had done a run called Death of Wolverine. It’s been a project they’ve worked on together for four years and it’s influenced rather heavily by Frank Miller’s style of storytelling, particularly in its usage of featuring some unprecedented levels of panels per page ever in comics history.

“In the book, Daredevil is older. His powers are radiation-based,” revealed Soule while pitching his story to the audience. “As the story begins, he’s old and blind, running a soup kitchen, and settled down with his life.”

When describing the inciting incident that gets the story started Soule explained, “The story is set during the winter season and everything in life is fine. But when a dirty bomb goes off in Hell’s Kitchen, it suddenly gives Matt his powers again but only temporarily. He now only has a tiny 72-hour window to be daredevil again and solve this mystery of who set off the bomb. It’s a curveball set up about what it’s like to go back into a world left behind.” 

Daredevil Born Again

Credit: Marvel Television

Now, it hasn’t hit the internet officially outside of social media leaks, but there was a brand new trailer showcased at NYCC at this Daredevil Born again panel. From what was shown, the series looks incredibly good and featured clips of Daredevil meeting Punisher, Muse, and Kingpin. It also confirmed appearances from Bullseye, Karen, and Foggy, along with possible other inferences to the comics, including the possible reveal of White Tiger – as a man in a white suit and gold tiger pendant comes to visit a prison (it’s still unofficial as we don’t know the context yet of this scene). 

The theme of this show is a brand new world for this set of characters. One where Kingpin and Daredevil know who each other are and apparently… struggling to co-exist with one another and not cross each other’s lines.

Here’s the official show’s premise:

 “Matt Murdock, a blind lawyer with heightened abilities is fighting for justice through his bustling law firm, while former mob boss Wilson Fisk pursues his own political endeavors in New York. When their past identities begin to emerge, both men find themselves on an inevitable collision course.”

On the Daredevil Born again panel, it was evident that there will be a lot pulled from the source material, including as seen in the trailer, a larger role for the character of Muse, who was a popular villain created by Charles Soule and Ron Garney back during his run in 2015.

For those unfamiliar, Muse is a deranged serial killer with a penchant for artfully committing kills. Though how and to what capacity, we will have to wait until March 4th to find out. 

L to R: Sana Amanat, Vincent D’Onofrio, and Charlie Cox at the Marvel Fandom Panel NYCC ’24

To talk about the show, former Marvel editor turned MCU producer Sana Amanat had dropped by. Amanat spoke about what it was like working on the TV show, being the editor on Soule’s Daredevil run, what it was like to work on Ms. Marvel, and now, Daredevil Born Again. 

She began the panel by being clear about expectations and that Born Again will not a direct adaption. She promised that the spirit of the story’s theme would be kept, but that Season 3 of the original Daredevil series, had already done a lot of the Born Again plot line. She emphasized that the show will feel like the Daredevil audiences have come to know but in a new chapter. 

Vincent D’Onofrio and Charlie Cox surprise appearance

Photo credit: Getty images

If that wasn’t enough to solidify this was a Daredevil panel, fans were greeted with a special appearance from Matt Murdock and Kingpin themselves, Charlie Cox and Vincent D’Onofrio. They talked about their respective roles in the MCU the past few years including Cox’s appearance on She-Hulk and D’Onofrio’s guest roles on both Hawkeye and Echo. 

On talking about what to expect for this upcoming season:

“In a weird way, it takes us back to the drawing board,” said Charlie Cox to the enthusiasm of the fans. “There’s an idea that they trust each other as long as one of them doesn’t cross a line. It’s a good place to start this season.”

“These paths they are on this season have to do with their personal lives as well,” followed Vincent D’Onofrio who also stressed a much bigger role Vanessa (played by Ayelet Zurer) as well.

On talking about the new suit revealed at NYCC Cox and D’Onofrio joked:

“I’m just happy they gave me 3 zippers. Which means I can pee,” said Charlie Cox. 

“I just think it’s funny. It takes 3 to pee,” followed D’Onofrio.

Cox also revealed to audiences, that he really hopes one day, that he will get to graduate to the next suit and get to wear the full D.D. double D’s body suit one day for the show.

The Daredevil Born Again suits revealed at NYCC 2024

And that was it for the Daredevil Born Again panel. The crowd was happy. Everyone got an exclusive Daredevil comic. The internet, if you haven’t seen it yet, has gone wild.

Daredevil Born Again will premiere on Disney Plus on March 4th 2025. Miss out on any events? Check here for the rest of our NYCC ’24 coverage from The Beat.