The Best Daredevil Fight Scenes in the Netflix Series and Born Again

This article contains spoilers for Daredevil seasons 1-3 and Daredevil: Born Again episodes 1-2.

Daredevil is a character well known for being an impeccable fighter. He may not be able to visually see his opponents, but his other heightened senses allow him to detect their movements. The Netflix series Daredevil did a great job of translating the character’s street-level fighting style into captivating fight scenes that keep us on the edge of our seat, and the series’ sequel of sorts, Daredevil: Born Again has carried on this tradition.

Many of Daredevil’s fight scenes are gritty, bloody and end up with Matt (Charlie Cox) needing to be patched up by Hell’s Kitchen’s most badass nurse Claire Temple (Rosario Dawson). But they are also well choreographed and often show us how far Matt is willing to go to enact his brand of justice. There have been so many incredible fight scenes over the course of Daredevil’s run – here are some of our favorites, in chronological order.

Daredevil vs. Russians

Daredevil Season 1 Episode 2 

This season 1 scene is easily one of the series’ best and often what people reference when talking about the show’s fighting choreography. After nearly dying the first time, Matt returns to a Russian safe house to try and rescue a young boy who had been kidnapped. Matt is still visibly exhausted and worn down, but that doesn’t stop him from going from room to room in this dimly-lit hallway, kicking ass. There are times when Matt has to stop fighting to catch his breath, and others when he literally throws his entire body at a bad guy because he doesn’t have the strength to punch or kick them. 

While not part of this fight scene, or really much of a fight scene at all, we’d like to give an honorable mention to another dope scene from this episode that involves Matt dropping a fire extinguisher down a stairwell at the perfect moment to knock someone out with it. 10/10 delivery and absolutely no notes.

Matt vs. Stick

Daredevil Season 1 Episode 7

A few episodes later, we learn where, or rather who Matt picked up his Martial Arts skills from – an old blind guy named Stick. Stick is very much a no-nonsense kind of guy and isn’t one to sugarcoat his opinions. When Stick arrives in Hell’s Kitchen on an important mission, he asks for Matt’s help. Matt begrudgingly agrees, but finds himself at odds with his former teacher when he discovers that Stick’s mission involves killing a child that’s set to be used as some sort of weapon. The two fight in Matt’s apartment, destroying furniture left and right and using whatever they can grab as weapons. The pair is pretty evenly matched, though Matt does technically win the fight…this time.

Daredevil vs. Fisk

Daredevil Season 1 Episode 13

The final fight of season 1 might not be quite as epic as the hallway fight we see at the beginning of the season, but it is the first time we get to see Daredevil in all his red leather glory go toe-to-toe with Wilson Fisk (Vincent D’Onofrio). Even with his new-and-improved outfit, Matt still has a hard time matching Fisk’s pure strength, and he’s able to get a number of heavy punches in. In the end though, Matt is able to knock Fisk out and send him on his way to prison, at least for now.

Daredevil vs. Dogs of Hell

Daredevil Season 2 Episode 3

With a new season comes a new badass hallway fight, and boy does season 2 deliver. This sequence follows Matt as he tries to help Frank Castle (Jon Bernthal) out of an apartment complex as the biker gang The Dogs of Hell hunt them down. Leaving an unconscious Frank in the elevator, Matt fights his way down the stairwell with nothing but some chains and a gun duct taped to his hand. This sequence never loses momentum as bodies and fists go flying all around.

Daredevil and Elektra vs. the Yakuza

Daredevil Season 2 Episode 6

This episode is the first time we get to see Matt and Elektra (Elodie Yung) fight side-by-side. In the opening scene, we watch them kick Yakuza ass with incredible chemistry. They are able to trust that the other can take care of themselves, focusing on their own targets as they take the assailants down one by one. With the amount of tension in the room, it’s no wonder their romance rekindles over the course of the season.

Daredevil and Claire vs. Ninja Assassins

Daredevil Season 2 Episode 11

After Matt rescues victims of the Hand’s experiments, their assassins come to collect. Thankfully Matt arrives soon after they infiltrate the hospital where the patients are being kept under observation and he and Claire do their best to fight the intruders. Matt pursues them across the rooftops of the city, but ultimately loses them as they make their escape.

Matt vs. An Entire Prison

Daredevil Season 3 Episode 4

Season 3 takes the hallway fight up another notch. This time Matt isn’t fighting his way through a single hallway or even an apartment complex – he’s fighting his way through an entire prison. While trying to find out how Fisk manipulated the FBI into getting him released, Matt discovers that Fisk essentially bought everyone there, including the guards. After a doctor tries to kill him, he soon realizes that he’s going to have to fight his way out. He doesn’t have his Daredevil suit. He doesn’t have his weapons. It’s just him and his fists against a number of criminals and guards who have been paid to make sure he doesn’t make it out alive. But despite the odds, Matt fights his way out of the prison even more pissed off than he was before.

Daredevil vs. Daredevil in The Bulletin

Daredevil Season 3 Episode 6 

In an effort to get back at Matt and tarnish Daredevil’s reputation, Fisk enlists FBI agent Benjamin “Dex” Poindexter (Wilson Bethel) to put on the Daredevil costume and attack the Bulletin. Foggy (Elden Henson) and Karen (Deborah Ann Woll) are there, trying to keep a witness against Fisk safe long enough for him to share his story with the FBI. But once “Daredevil,” arrives, the Bulletin becomes a bloodbath. Dex attacks everyone there indiscriminately until Matt arrives and tries to stop him. Matt soon realizes that Dex has exceptional abilities of his own, and struggles to dodge everything that Dex (quite literally) throws at him. It was a great way to introduce the character as another nemesis for Matt, especially since Dex is wearing Matt’s costume.

Daredevil vs. Dex vs. Fisk

Daredevil Season 3 Episode 13

The final fight of season 3, and of Daredevil’s Netflix era, sees Matt go up against Dex and Fisk at once. All three of them are fighting each other and it soon becomes a blood bath. Fisk slams Dex up against a wall, breaking his back. Matt comes closer than he ever has to killing Fisk and is barely able to hold himself back from doing so. It’s the perfect final fight for this era.

Matt vs. Dirty Cops

Daredevil: Born Again Season 1 Episode 2

Though we haven’t gotten the extent of Daredevil: Born Again’s fight scenes as season 1 is still currently airing, what we have seen so far is fairly promising. Though the opening fight against Bullseye in episode one might be more flashy with all of the CGI flips around the rooftops, it’s the episode 2 fight sequence that truly shines. This melee brings us back to Matt’s grittier roots and reminds us, and him, of what is always lurking underneath his lawyer surface. He tries his best to not be dragged back into this world, but when a pair of dirty cops try to kill a key witness in his trial, he can’t just stand by and let it happen. They duke it out in a small apartment and Matt pretty much beats the crap out of them. It’s incredibly satisfying to watch Matt knock these guys down a peg and is the first of hopefully many more fights like this to come.

Honorable Mention: Frank Castle vs. an Entire Cell Block

Daredevil Season 2 Episode 9

This fight doesn’t technically involve Matt, but it felt wrong not to at least give it an honorable mention. Before Matt was fighting his way out of a prison in season 3 of Daredevil, Frank did the same in season 2, also thanks to Fisk. Frank thought Fisk was helping him get revenge against another person responsible for the death of his family, but in reality Fisk was using him to get rid of competition. After Frank played his part, Fisk left him to fight his way out of the cell block, which Frank absolutely did. This version was a lot bloodier than Matt’s, as Frank is not above stabbing, gouging, and otherwise maiming his adversaries. This scene is not for the squeamish, but if you can stomach the blood, it’s truly unforgettable.

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