The Marvel Cinematic Universe is continuing a complicated villain trend in its most recent release, furthering a Multiverse Saga issue. It is widely known that the MCU’s Infinity Saga saw the franchise at its best, while the Multiverse Saga has had to deal with a fair share of criticism. A lot of that comes from the creation of the Disney+ MCU TV shows.
That meant Marvel Studios had to release too many projects in such a short amount of time, not leading to the necessary, longer development timelines to make sure that each new film and show could end up among the MCU’s best releases. Some of the casualties that came from the Multiverse Saga’s changes to the MCU were promising villains that never got to live up to their potential.
Since the start of the Multiverse Saga, several villains have debuted, with some of them initially seeming like they would be better, stronger, or more important in the grand scheme of the MCU. That list includes Marvel villains like Gorr the God Butcher, Taskmaster, MODOK, Kang the Conqueror, and more. Either by being played off as a joke like MODOK, being replaced by Doctor Doom like Kang, not really doing the one thing his name states like Gorr, or being a shadow of their comic book self like Taskmaster, all these MCU villains were wasted in some form.
Now, the MCU’s latest release, Daredevil: Born Again season 2, is falling down the same road. While Vincent D’Onofrio’s Kingpin and Wilson Bethel’s Bullseye remain nuanced antagonists, the MCU series is having a hard time making its exciting new villain matter. Mr. Charles could amount to so much more, but he has not shown why audiences should care just yet.
Daredevil: Born Again Season 2 Is Wasting Its New Villain So Far
Warning! This article contains SPOILERS for Daredevil: Born Again season 2, episode 6.Matthew Lillard joined the cast of Daredevil: Born Again season 2 as Mr. Charles. That was a big get for the MCU, as Lillard has a long history of delivering magnetic performances in popular franchises like Scream, Scooby-Doo, and Five Nights at Freddy’s. All that is to say that Lillard is uniquely equipped to bring an energetic MCU villain to life. At first, that is what seemed to be happening.
Mr. Charles had the perfect first scene with Wilson Fisk by showing up at the mayor’s office and just bossing everyone around. It looked like he would be a major force in the show, especially due to Mr. Charles being a shadowy government figure, not an outright villain. However, after the release of Daredevil: Born Again season 2, episode 6, the character’s inclusion feels mostly pointless so far.
After initially being uncomfortable with Mr. Charles’ control, Kingpin does not seem to pay the character any attention anymore. Since Buck easily killed the character’s men, Lillard’s MCU player has yet to show how he could bounce back. Mr. Charles’ presence is fun, but it does not really impact the story in a major way, which is a waste of an actor like Lillard after a promising debut.
There Is Still Time To Turn Mr. Charles’ MCU Story Around
There are still two more episodes of Daredevil: Born Again season 2 left. As such, there is time for the Marvel series to turn it around and make Mr. Charles’ inclusion in the show finally matter. Given how a conversation between Jessica Jones and Daredevil in episode 6 teased that Luke Cage is working for Mr. Charles, the opportunity for the antagonist to stand out might be coming.
If Mr. Charles is responsible for bringing Mike Colter’s Luke Cage back to the MCU, the character will have served a crucial purpose in Daredevil: Born Again season 2. It would also reveal how Mr. Charles is playing a larger game than anyone could see, which was teased in his MCU debut but not followed up on until now. Hopefully, Daredevil: Born Again season 2 will fix things and avoid continuing the Multiverse Saga’s disappointing villain trend.
- Release Date
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March 4, 2025
- Network
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Disney+
- Showrunner
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Dario Scardapane
- Directors
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Aaron Moorhead, Justin Benson, David Boyd, Jeffrey Nachmanoff
- Writers
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Jesse Wigutow, Jill Blankenship, Thomas Wong, David Feige, Grainne Godfree
