Daredevil: Born Again: How Muse is unlike any other MCU villain

Daredevil: Born Again has introduced a villain unlike any other in the MCU before.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe has introduced fans to a wide range of villains, from cosmic rulers like Thanos to Gods like Loki and to street-level criminal masterminds such as Wilson Fisk. Each of these villains has followed through with their very own version of control—whether through authority, difference in ideology, or revenge.

Daredevil: Born Again changes this formulaic villainy structure with Muse, a villain who isn’t fascinated with making the world kneel down to him or changing the world in any way, shape, or form.

Instead, he prospers on pure chaos and feeds off the horror he creates. Some of you might be wondering whether or not Loki Laufeyson mirrors Muse. Well, he simply doesn't. Read this to find out why.

However, returning to Muse, unlike any other villain that came before him, Muse isn’t obsessed with political determination or personal loss—he simply kills for the sake of his own sick and twisted artistry.

Disclaimer: This article contains the writer's opinion. Reader's discretion is advised.

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The disturbing reality of Muse’s crimes, as seen in Daredevil: Born Again

Muse’s introduction in Daredevil: Born Again brings to some degree something that the MCU has heavily kept away from: an actual serial killer.

While past antagonists have been clearly callous, they’ve always functioned with having an oddly specific goal in mind—be it "achieving balance" in the universe by taking away half of the population, bringing "peace" by causing a genocide, conquering earth and ruling it or something entirely else.

Muse, on the other hand, has no such specific goal/ambitions to play out with. He views death as a blank canvas board, creating murals out of pools of blood and exhibiting his victims like outlandish sculptures kept in an art museum.

The sheer viciousness of his approach towards his villainy splits him apart from any other villain the MCU has ever explored before. His wrongdoings are unsystematic, pointless, and thoughtless, making Muse an impulsive threat, unlike Fisk, Thanos, Ultron, or the several other villains the MCU has seen over the years.

One of the most disturbing characteristics of Muse’s character is how much he makes merry in his carnage. He doesn’t kill to reach an end goal; he does it simply because he likes it.

Daredevil: Born Again doesn’t shy away from throwing light on this wickedness of his. In one frightening scene, he drenches the blood off of two victims just to finish his artwork.

This only proves that Muse’s violence is uncontainable and is charged by something much murkier than the desire to attain something bigger.

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Why Muse’s lack of power in the MCU makes him even more terrifying

Unlike many MCU villains who exert peculiar abilities, like Ultron being a literal genocidal robot/machine, Muse is just a man.

Even though in the Marvel comics, he owned heightened alertness and the ability to vanish from Daredevil’s sharp senses, making him an even deadlier enemy, Daredevil: Born Again takes away any extraordinary gifts, leaving behind a villain who depends solely on his cruel nature.

However, this makes him seem even more terrifying than his comic counterpart.

Muse doesn’t need any superpowers to go up against Daredevil—his impulsiveness goes ahead and does that for him. Matt Murdock has faced numerous threats, including Wilson Fisk, but Muse… offers a distinctive moral and psychological fight between them.

How do you put an end to someone who isn’t driving a vehicle fueled with revenge or power? How do you outwit a literal serial killer who doesn’t have a plan but only a craving for blood? Muse forces Matt to confront the utter horror of wickedness with no reasoning whatsoever.

Muse’s attendance in Daredevil: Born Again also acts as a blunt reminder of the risks of vigilantism. While superheroes like Daredevil, Iron Man, Doctor Strange, or any of the other Avengers or superheroes in the MCU use their powers for the betterment of others, Muse’s serial killer nature brings forward the murkier side of taking the law into one’s own hands.

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Daredevil: Born Again has brought in one of the MCU’s most alarming and shivery antagonists, reinventing what it means to be a menace in the MCU.

As already established, Muse isn’t concerned about taking over the world and has no specific ideologies that require conquering the world. Instead, his only true ambition is chaos, leaving behind a trail of blood and destruction in the name of his distorted form of art.

His impulsiveness, lack of repentance, and complete disinterest from already traditionally established villain motivations make him an antagonist, unlike anything Daredevil or any other MCU superhero has faced before.

As Daredevil: Born Again continues, Muse’s presence will linger, an endless reminder that some devils don’t come with ominous plans—some exist solely to annihilate.