[Warning: This article contains spoilers from Daredevil: Born Again season 1.] The death of Foggy Nelson (Elden Henson) seemed to be an open and shut case. Just minutes into the first hour of Daredevil: Born Again, Bullseye (Wilson Bethel) shot and killed Foggy in a rampage at Josie’s Bar in Hell’s Kitchen. Daredevil (Charlie Cox) avenged Foggy when he brutally beat and nearly killed Bullseye, who was then convicted of 11 counts of murder in the first degree and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
It wasn’t until the season finale that viewers learned the motive: Vanessa Fisk (Ayelet Zurer) hired the assassin to silence Foggy before his client’s case could expose her and husband Mayor Wilson Fisk’s (Vincent D’Onofrio) plans to transform New York’s Red Hook Port into the Fisks’ own city-state.
Viewers also hoped to learn that Foggy’s death was a fakeout. In the comics, Foggy was apparently stabbed to death while visiting a client in 2006’s Daredevil #82, an issue that inspired his death scene in Born Again.
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But it turned out that Foggy was revived in an ambulance and whisked away into witness protection by the FBI. Daredevil #92 revealed that a terminally ill Vanessa Fisk was pulling the strings behind the scenes, including faking Foggy’s death.
Such a reveal never came in Daredevil: Born Again‘s “Straight to Hell” season 1 finale directed by Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead, the duo who also helmed the “Heaven’s Half Hour” season opener that started with a bang with Foggy’s death.
“When we were talking about [Foggy’s death], there was a moment where we went a little quiet and made long eye contact, as it sunk in that we were responsible for photographing the killing of one of our favorite characters from one of our favorite shows,” Moorhead told The Hollywood Reporter about killing off a character who had been the heart of Daredevil since its first season in 2015. “We then felt like interlopers in a way. We were looking at Elden, who was only on set for those couple of days, and we started to think, ‘What right do we have?’”
“But he gave us his blessing as long as we took it very seriously, and it wasn’t just meant to be something shocking,” Moorhead continued. “If it resonated out through the whole series and was the reason that Matt did the things that he did for the rest of the show, then we’d have permission to do it.”
Added Benson, “You feel like you have this obligation to the prior Netflix show, which is a masterpiece. You’ve got to get it right for yourself, for the fans, for everything, because that show is amazing. To use a different example, it’s like if someone came along and said, ‘You get to direct your very own episode of Breaking Bad!’ And we’re like, ‘Yes, we’re in! What are we doing?’ And they’re like, ‘You’ve got to kill Jesse in the first five minutes.’ And then we’re like, ‘Is everyone going to hate us?’ And they’re like, ‘Maybe! But you’ll also get to work with Vincent D’Onofrio, Charlie Cox and Jon Bernthal. So, good luck killing Jesse!’”
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Asked about a prevalent fan theory that the 468 address of the Nelson, Murdock & Page law firm is a reference to 2006’s Daredevil #88 — legacy issue #468, which revealed “The Secret Life of Foggy Nelson” in FBI witness protection — Moorhead said, “I’ve heard this theory, you eagle-eyed geniuses. I would love to tell you, however, Marvel will snipe me if I say anything else.”
He continued, “But what is really nice about Daredevil being a street-level superhero is that, generally, the supernatural doesn’t really interact with this universe as much, even though it is within the MCU. So that often gives much stronger consequences where punches hurt more and blood means more and getting hurt means more and dying very often does mean that you’re actually dead. But that’s all I can say.”
Perhaps it’s a reveal for Daredevil: Born Again season 2, which is currently shooting and will release in March 2026 on Disney+.
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