Daredevil: Born Again Report Unmasks the Hero Secretly Working for the CIA

In the latest batch of Daredevil: Born Again episodes, there’s a curveball for fans still keeping tabs on those Marvel Netflix heroes. The show just spilled that not all of the old Defenders totally dropped off the radar—or kept their hands clean.

So, Who’s On the CIA’s Payroll?

Let’s get to the point. In Episode 6, Krysten Ritter’s Jessica Jones pops up and basically says, ‘Yeah, the CIA tried to recruit me. I said absolutely not. But someone else said yes.’ The show didn’t name names in dialogue, but Entertainment Weekly dug into it, and, apparently, she’s talking about Luke Cage.

That’s Luke Cage—the bulletproof community hero, the guy who’d rather punch a corrupt landlord than work for the feds. At least, that’s what we thought. Here, Luke’s missing entirely from the episode, supposedly off on some secret assignment for Matthew Lillard’s Mr. Charles. Guess that 'hero of Harlem' business is on hold while he plays super-spy.

Jessica and Luke: Not Exactly Couple Goals Right Now

If you’re wondering what this means for Jessica and Luke, join the club. EW’s reporting and Ritter’s interview make it sound like things are pretty icy. Ritter talked about how becoming a mom (their daughter Danielle exists in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, just like in the comics) turned Jessica into an even tougher version of herself. Here’s how she put it:

‘Being a mother allows Jessica to be bigger and badder than ever as a result of having a child.’

She also mentioned something a little weird: now that Jessica’s a mom, her powers are malfunctioning and going on the fritz at inconvenient moments. Maybe stress, maybe more—who knows with Marvel genetics.

What’s Really Going On with Luke Cage?

So far, no actual Mike Colter (Luke Cage) sighting in these new episodes—he’s MIA except for the occasional storyline mention. But he is expected to show up in Season 3, since leaked set photos caught him hanging out with both Ritter and Finn Jones (Iron Fist). Are they teaming up? Rescuing each other? Can’t say for sure yet.

As for Ritter, when someone asked her about those behind-the-scenes pics, she basically dodged the whole thing, laughing it off and joking that she doesn’t even remember being there.

Why Does This Matter?

• Luke Cage, the poster boy for fighting the system, seems to have signed up with the system. Bold move for a hero who used to rip up government contracts as a hobby.
• Jessica Jones’s powers are glitching ever since motherhood, which would throw anyone off—especially if her partner is suddenly in the intelligence business.
• Their relationship is probably hitting a rough patch if one’s moonlighting for the CIA while the other walked away in disgust.
• This isn’t a throwaway plotline: Colter is confirmed for the next season, so we’ll (hopefully) get some answers on why Luke is suddenly Team CIA.

Bottom line: Daredevil: Born Again just opened its own can of worms with the whole ‘which hero joined the CIA’ drop, and the show will need to actually deal with it—at least if it wants fans to buy any trust issues or team-up drama going forward.