10 Years Later, ‘Daredevil’s Most Tragic Death Is Finally Getting Justice

Countless heroes are striving to make the Marvel Universe a safer place, but the bravest of them don’t always wear capes. For every Spider-Man fighting crime with his fists, there’s a pen-wielding journalist like Ben Urich. One is just as crucial as the other, at least on the pages of Marvel comics. Marvel’s Cinematic Universe, however, has struggled to bring the franchise’s most iconic reporters into live-action.

It’s not easy balancing the subtle thrills of investigative journalism with the Avengers-level threats that bombard the world. But as Marvel slowly builds out a more grounded universe on the small screen, it can make up for lost time, and redeem one of the franchise’s most disappointing character deaths.

Daredevil: Born Again is building on years of worldbuilding, from Marvel’s Echo and Hawkeye to Netflix’s Defenders universe. Notably, it’s carrying threads over from the original Daredevil, rather than rebooting the series. While that means deceased characters like Vondie Curtis-Hall’s Ben Urich will never get their MCU due, Born Again has found other ways to continue his legacy. The introduction of BB Urich (Genneya Walton), Ben’s niece, is slowly filling the void he left. It’s taken a while for Born Again to make good use of her, but in this week’s episode, she finally gets the spotlight.

Spoilers ahead for Daredevil: Born Again Episode 8.

Born Again didn’t waste much time building out the MCU’s street-level corner with a host of new characters, but this season’s pacing issues have denied that supporting cast the platform they deserve. Until Episode 8, BB Urich was more a cog than an active character. Early episodes positioned her as a voice of the people and established her connection to Ben, but Born Again didn’t really explore how his death affected her. Instead, the show leaned into her “man on the street” routine for The BB Report, using her to take the city’s temperature as Wilson Fisk (Vincent D’Onofrio) became mayor and cracked down on vigilantes.

As Fisk gained more influence, BB became one of Kingpin’s many pawns. It’s been frustrating to watch a character with so much potential join the dark side, especially knowing how fiercely her uncle fought Fisk’s tyranny. Fisk murdered Ben back in Daredevil Season 1, so the fact that BB would find herself ensnared in his web felt cruel. Fortunately, this week’s episode sets the record straight. Not only does BB know that Fisk probably killed her uncle, but she’s working in the shadows to bring down his administration.

The BB Report may now be a sounding board for Fisk, but it’s also designed to distract from BB’s true pursuits. She’s been using pseudonyms to criticize Fisk on other platforms and “speak truth to power,” and she intends to work with NYPD Commissioner Gallo (Michael Gaston) to avenge Ben’s death.

With one crucial scene, Born Again’s murkiest conflict just got a whole lot clearer. Unlike Daredevil (Charlie Cox) and Punisher (Jon Bernthal), who prefer to face crime head-on, BB is playing the long game… and taking a big risk in the process. Hopefully, history won’t be doomed to repeat itself here: the MCU needs this kind of hero now more than ever.

Daredevil: Born Again is streaming on Disney+.