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(SeaPRwire) –   Since the debut of Marvel’s Daredevil in 2015, Vanessa Fisk (Ayelet Zurer) has served as a pivotal figure and a sort of “Lady Macbeth” in the brutal conflict between Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox) and Wilson Fisk (Vincent D’Onofrio). She is the first character to accept Wilson for who he is—without fear or pretense—which emboldens him to embrace his monstrous nature. It was inevitable that his brutality would rub off on her, as seen over three seasons of the original Netflix series. There, Vanessa became increasingly entangled in Wilson’s criminal empire, with their forced separations failing to diminish their desire to reshape New York City. Now, in Daredevil: Born Again Season 2, Episode 4, “Gloves Off,” Vanessa’s storyline appears to be evolving into a narrative directly inspired by a specific comic arc. Spoilers ahead.

Two seasons into the revival series Daredevil: Born Again, Vanessa has established herself as a cunning and ruthless “White Queen,” maintaining peace among the city’s five crime families in her husband’s absence and even deploying the unstable assassin Bullseye against Foggy Nelson to conceal her illicit dealings with the Red Hook Freeport. However, it seems her efforts have borne bitter fruit—as of the latest episode, Vanessa may face the ultimate penalty for her association with Kingpin, left in critical condition following another assassination attempt by Bullseye. Looking back at the source material, this is not the first time Vanessa Fisk has faced death, and this same plotline may offer insight into the future direction of Born Again.

Vanessa Fisk’s Born Again Arc Borrows From Her Comics Canon

For the majority of comic history, Vanessa Fisk was not as deeply involved in Wilson’s empire as she is in the show; she often urged him to abandon the Kingpin persona for her sake. The couple even had a son named Richard, who was sent to boarding school in Switzerland. The stress of constant threats and her husband’s on-and-off criminal lifestyle led him to send her to Europe for safety. When Richard returned, he blamed his father for the chaos surrounding them and sought a share of the power, eventually organizing an assassination attempt on his own father (a plotline originating in The Amazing Spider-Man #83 in 1970, though Richard was reintroduced in the 2004-2005 Daredevil run). Upon learning of this, Vanessa returned to Hell’s Kitchen to settle her husband’s affairs—similar to her current role in Born Again—and massacred those responsible for the attempt, including her own son. This event devastated her emotionally and psychologically. When she was later diagnosed with an undisclosed terminal illness, she sought to finalize her affairs and accept her fate.

Her final tasks happened to be her husband and his nemesis, Daredevil—the two individuals she blamed for the death of her son and the destruction of their family. Behind the scenes, Vanessa orchestrated a series of events that publicly exposed Matt’s secret identity, landing both him and Fisk in prison. She then faked Foggy Nelson’s death, hoping the two enemies would destroy one another. When Matt escaped and uncovered the truth, Vanessa manipulated the legal system to restore his reputation, only to force him to use his legal skills to secure Kingpin’s release, a move she believed would permanently tarnish Murdock’s soul.

Born Again Is Seemingly Merging Two Comic Book Runs

It is clear that while the show adapts elements from Brian Michael Bendis and Ed Brubaker’s acclaimed runs, certain details differ—Wilson and Vanessa have no son, Vanessa holds no ill will toward her husband, and she is not suffering from a mysterious illness. Nevertheless, her potential death could still serve as a substitute catalyst for Matt’s identity leak and imprisonment. Although Fisk has spent the season refusing to reveal Matt’s identity out of fear of being labeled a villain, the potential loss of his wife could make him even more desperate and dangerous, especially since Kingpin believes Daredevil saved Bullseye’s life. If Matt successfully removes Fisk as mayor, it could be a “pyrrhic victory” that costs him his freedom and reputation. Even if Vanessa isn’t pulling the strings exactly as she did in the comics, she remains a strong candidate to be the catalyst for Born Again Season 3, which could loosely adapt the iconic storyline “The Devil in Cell Block D.” Currently, everything rests on Mrs. Fisk.

Daredevil: Born Again airs every Tuesday on Disney+.