Bullseye Is The Real Loser In Daredevil's Cancellation

Fans were saddened last week to hear the news that Marvel and Netflix's Daredevil would not be getting a fourth season. The news came after the double cancellations of Iron Fist and Luke Cage, which left many viewers wondering about the future of their fellow Defenders Daredevil and Jessica Jones.

After announcing the cancellation, Netflix thanked the crew behind the scenes and Charlie Cox for his portrayal of Matt Murdock. Marvel then reaffirmed that it looked forward to "more adventures with the Man Without Fear in the future."

This led many fans to assume we would be seeing the return of the Netflix series on Diseny+, the upcoming streaming service from the media empire. However, that was later quashed by a tweet from Rolling Stone TV critic Alan Sepinwall, who revealed that Disney+ would not be the new home for the characters we've come to know and love over eight seasons.

So, with Daredevil truly ending, fans can be comforted that all of the characters ended up in a good place for their finale, right? Matt, Foggy (Elden Hensen) and Karen (Deborah Ann Woll) reunited and planned to once again go into business together in the new law firm Nelson, Murdock and Page. Individually, all the characters reached a completion, with Matt having reconciled the divide between his civilian identity and his superhero one.

Nelson is surer than ever of his role as best friend and confidante to Murdock, while also having secured the safety of his family and his career. Karen is no longer haunted by her past, both with what happened to her brother and her guilt over the death of Kingpin's best hench, Wesley. Even Wilson Fisk (Vincent D'Onofrio) managed to find his true direction in life as the Kingpin, with Vanessa (Ayelet Zurer) figuratively by his side, despite Fisk's return to prison.

All's well that ends well, right?

Not so for Agent Ben Poindexter (Wilson Bethel). The third season of Daredevil spent as much time developing the character of Dex as it did to continue the stories of Murdock, Fisk, Nelson and Page. The third season became an origin story for Dex, first as an agent of the FBI and then as Fisk's newest victim of manipulation. We learned about Poindexter's childhood, the development of his skills and the murder that formed his identity, not to mention his problems throughout therapy and his need to have the stability in his life provided by the FBI.

Kingpin's slow takedown and rebuilding of Poindexter caused the character to resonate well with fans as we got inside his head, and the promise of something bigger for the character became evident to anyone watching. While he was never named as such in the show, fans knew Bullseye was coming.

Sadly, that doesn't seem to be the case any longer... does it?

Next Page: Where Does Bullseye Go From Here?

While the other Defender's series built up their own stable of characters while intermingling some characters from all shows, each of Daredevil's seasons built up individual characters for something bigger. The first season not only launched the Netflix Defenders series, it also built up Kingpin's origin alongside Daredevil's, making him one of the best villains in the MCU.

Season 2 not only furthered the overall Defenders arc but also introduced Frank Castle's Punisher, who was quick to receive his own series. Season three's build was all about Dex and left us wanting that next big step for the character, which may now never come.

His role in the show served a different purpose than what we had seen previously from the new characters introduced in the various seasons. Whereas Fisk and Frank Castle were a foil to Murdock's sense of law and justice, and Nobu and the Hand held a mirror up to his training and mentorship (with Stick and Elektra played upon the emotional core of Murdock), Dex attacked his personal skill and powers.

Daredevil had quite literally met his match, a foe who could take the advantage over Matt's enhanced senses through sheer skill and marksmanship. Their growth was tied together throughout the series, as Murdock recovered from the events of the Defenders miniseries and his loss of faith, just as Poindexter fell away from his FBI tethering under Kingpin's manipulations to become the murderous imposter Daredevil. This made the inevitable confrontation between DD, Kingpin and Dex all the more satisfying, and all the more tragic.

The final tease of Dex hinted at this final transformation into Bullseye, as we see him undergoing experimental spinal surgery after Kingpin broke his back in their climactic fight. The surgery involves “Cogmium steel reinforcing framework” and is done at the hands of Dr. Oyama, whose Marvel ties actually begin in the X-Men universe and the development of the Weapon X program that created characters like Wolverine and Deadpool.

In the comics, Bullseye's spine is coated in Adamantium, the same metal that covers Wolverine's bones and claws. While the cinematic use of that metal is restricted to Fox's X-Men universe (pending the upcoming Disney/Fox merger), Cogmium was clearly being used in place for Dex's repair. This scene ended with Dex's iris morphing into the Bullseye logo, hyping the rewarding appearance of the unbreakable assassin, Bullseye.

One more season could have included another iconic moment from Bullseye and Daredevil's long history of violence -- the death of Karen Page. Considering the iconic murder of Elektra was used for Nobu in season two of Daredevil, this was another huge loss for fans hoping to see the full potential of Bullseye realized on screen.

Alas, the characters of Daredevil now get to ride off into a brighter future, their heroic story ending on a bright note after a few seasons of darkness. The eventual threat of Bullseye is left unfulfilled, and he has become the real loser in the cancellation of Daredevil -- besides the fans, of course. At least we can still catch the third season of Jessica Jones and the second season of The Punisher when they hit Netflix in 2019.