The blood-soaked comic history of Daredevil: Born Again villain Bullseye

Among the many returning characters shown coming back to Daredevil: Born Again as the revival series brings the Man Without Fear and his supporting cast to the MCU, fans have seen a few glimpses of Wilson Bethel's enigmatic Bullseye in captivity.

As fans of the Netflix era of Daredevil remember, Bethel's Bullseye debuted in season three as an assassin who impersonates Daredevil. And while that story has its roots in comics, where he is Daredevil's deadliest, cruelest enemy, comic Bullseye has an iconic identity all his own, not just copying Daredevil's style - though he has also impersonated a different Marvel hero who is also prominent in the MCU.

With Daredevil: Born Again bringing Bullseye officially into the MCU, there's a good chance he'll develop into a portrayal closer to Bullseye's comic origins and style. That means it's as good a time as any to dig into Bullseye's comic book history, as we prepare for Daredevil: Born Again.

Who is Bullseye?

The original Marvel Comics Bullseye is as enigmatic as he is deadly. In the MCU, Bullseye's real name is Benjamin 'Dex' Poindexter, an alias occasionally used by Bullseye. But in fact, the mainstream Marvel Comics version of the character has never fully revealed his true name, only revealing his first name as 'Lester,' with no last name at all, though this too could be misdirection.

We also know that he supposedly honed his skill for uncanny marksmanship (the reason behind his codename, of course) due to an obsession with guns in his childhood, and that he escaped an abusive childhood by getting a scholarship as a baseball pitcher. But this ended in violence when he threw a baseball so hard at an opponent who mocked him that it killed him on the spot, leading Bullseye to be convicted of manslaughter.

Once again though, all of this could be lies - Bullseye has told multiple versions of his backstory at this point, often with widely varying details.The only thing we know without a doubt is that Bullseye is a violent murderer with no regard for human life, willing to kill simply for the twisted pleasure of taking a life.

Bullseye first appears all the way back in 1976's Daredevil #131, created by writer Marv Wolfman, and Marvel art director John Romita Sr., along with artist Bob Brown, who actually drew the comic itself. In the story, Bullseye draws Daredevil into a public duel, nearly defeating him.

This begins a long rivalry between Daredevil and Bullseye, with Bullseye repeatedly being hired to kill Matt Murdock, and very nearly succeeding time and time again, eventually leading to Bullseye becoming the number one hitman for Daredevil's worst arch-enemy, the Kingpin.

Bullseye Vs. Daredevil

Their rivalry comes to its first apex in 1981's Daredevil #181 by writer/artist Frank Miller, one of the creators who would later upend Daredevil's entire reality with Daredevil: Born Again, the comic that gives inspiration to the upcoming streaming series.

Back in Daredevil #181, Bullseye sets his sights on Elektra, Daredevil's on-again-off-again paramour, who has supplanted Bullseye as Kingpin's chief assassin. To win back his place in Kingpin's organization, he kills Elektra, impaling her on her own sai.

The result is one of the most dramatic battles of Daredevil's career, with Matt Murdock getting the drop on Bullseye - literally - by sending him careening off a building. And though Bullseye doesn't die (not that Matt would have cared in that moment), his spine is shattered, leading to his bones being laced with Adamantium, much like Wolverine's, in order to restore his mobility.

In the years since, Bullseye has had a career that spans the Marvel Universe, battling everyone from Captain America, to Deadpool and Gambit. But his main grudge has always been with Daredevil, including a time when Matt Murdock had amnesia, and Bullseye briefly impersonated him, much like in Daredevil season three.

Still, Bullseye's most famous impersonation act is actually being recruited as the bootleg Hawkeye of Norman Osborn's Dark Avengers, stealing Clint Barton's superhero identity for an extended period of time that even included headlining his own Dark Hawkeye comic.

Over the years, Bullseye has cheated death multiple times - including once when he was apparently murdered by Matt Murdock himself when he was corrupted by the Hand.

Most recently, Bullseye has been back in the employ of the Kingpin, helping rally many of New York City's gangs under Wilson Fisk's central control, while also, as ever, still trying to kill Matt Murdock.

Bullseye in the MCU

As you can see, the Daredevil: Born Again version of Bullseye isn't so far off from the comic book version, though his appearances so far have only encapsulated a few parts of his history in comics - and especially his look.

Bullseye has one of the most iconic villain costumes in Marvel Comics, and with Daredevil and Punisher each at least getting new looks for Born Again, it would be a shame not to make an attempt at capturing the stark, striking simplicity of Bullseye's comic book look onscreen.

In terms of his presence in the story, well, the presence of Bullseye is always a dark portend for things to come in Daredevil's world, so at the very least we're expecting one of the most brutal Daredevil fight scenes yet filmed, if not some bloody plot developments to go with it.

We'll learn more as new episodes of Daredevil: Born Again air every week, starting in March.

For more, check out our guides to how to watch the Marvel movies in order and all the upcoming Marvel movies and shows you need to know about.