Who is Mr. Charles? 'Daredevil: Born Again' Season 2 introduces Marvel's mysterious new fixer
This story contains spoilers.
Much of the focus since'Daredevil: Born Again' Season 2's premiere has been on the imminent return of Krysten Ritter's Jessica Jones. That said, one of the more compelling characters comes in the form of a certain Mr. Charles (played by Matthew Lillard). The 'Cross' star lends a chilly presence in his first interaction with Vanessa Fisk (Ayelet Zurer) in the season opener, and his background is equally intriguing.
Mr. Charles (and the name is almost certainly fake) meets Wilson Fisk (Vincent D' Onofrio) in the aftermath of the Northern Star’s sinking. It is confirmed that he works for Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus). When Fisk faces threats from the governor’s office, Val intervenes and gets him to back down, courtesy of Mr. Charles. While Val is impeached at the end of 'Thunderbolts*', Mr. Charles appears to be still operating in the shadows. Furthermore, his complete intentions are unknown, and he is expected to play a major role in 'Daredevil: Born Again' Season 2. While he is a lesser-known character in the comics, his presence in the series now makes him a lethal threat to the blind vigilante. Calling himself a 'fixer' gives little indication of what he has in store in the future.
In related news, Season 2 showrunner Dario Scardapane teased Mr. Charles. "Matt and I go way back. We worked together on a show called 'The Bridge'. We worked together on a show I did, 'State Affairs," Scardapane told GamesRadar+. "We're, we're really, really good friends. And when we were doing season 2, there was an element, a type of character, that there were a couple of ways that you could do it. You know, it's a classic guy in black being that guy, or you do the Matt Lillard version of that. And, pretty much from as soon as that character was written, I knew that was the guy who should play it. It took a... It didn't take much with Marvel. And once he came in and did his thing. I'm always really interested in, like, George Clooney did it in Syriana.... scary and evil, who just seems like a total regular guy." For now, his appearance has raised eyebrows. Only time will tell if he becomes an integral part of the Season 2 plotline. 'Daredevil: Born Again' Season 2 drops a new episode every Tuesday at 9 p.m. ET on Disney+.