Daredevil: Born Again — Who Is the New Villain Muse?

Daredevil: Born Again season 1 episode 4, “Sic Semper Systema,” ended with quite the shakeup. Last episode, we lost a hero in white. Now, we’ve gained a villain in white. After the police murdered White Tiger, the balancing skills have tipped in favor of the bad guys. Kingpin rules as a mayor with bruised knuckles. The Punisher still kills, much to Matt Murdock’s chagrin. And while Daredevil is back in training, it’s been a long time since he put on the suit. In the meantime, Muse has stepped up to literally paint the town red.

The masked villain in Daredevil: Born Again is Muse

The Daredevil: Born Again trailers teased Muse. But now he’s front and center. Muse debuts in “Sic Semper Systema” around the 48:45 mark. He carries an unconscious man over his shoulder. Eerie music plays over flashes to gory paintings reminiscent of Edvard Munch’s The Scream (1893). When Muse’s captive wakes up, he sees out-of-focus corpses hanging in Muse’s hideout. Muse then plunges a large syringe in the man’s leg in order to take his blood. All of it, if the massive water jug is any indication of Muse’s plans.

My my, Muse? How do you get such a specific red color in your costume and canvas? Clearly, this villain enjoys utilizing mixed media in his paintings. According to Marvel.com, “Muse is the psychopathic murder artist whose signature medium is blood.” Looks like Born Again isn’t shying away from this essential part of his character.

Muse is just as deranged and dangerous in Marvel comics

Muse — who does not have any other name or confirmed identity — first appeared in Daredevil #11 (2015), written by Charles Soule with art by Ron Garney. Apparently called “Vincent van Gore” by the media, he gains infamy by painting bloody portraits and charging the public to view his demented designs. But painting isn’t Muse’s superpower. Muse actually possesses superhuman reflexes and strength, indicated by his ability to literally tear off people’s limbs. Most notably, Muse can absorb sensory information — smells, sounds — from his surroundings. In this way, he can make himself nearly invisible to Daredevil because Matt Murdock relies so heavily on his radar sense.

Like many villains, Muse’s main motivation is to feel powerful and superior. He also considers human suffering an art form. In both the comics and the show, audiences have seen him revel in the pain and misery of others in order to feed his passion and creative vision. Over in the comics, Muse is already dead. He walked into a fire and burned to death. It remains to be seen if this will be his demise in Born Again or if he’ll have a bigger role to play in the MCU.

Muse is probably the graffiti artist from episode 1

Do you recall that news report in the pilot? We don’t mean BB Urich’s street interviews. Alone in his apartment, Matt Murdock listens to the news while he prepares for Bullseye’s sentencing hearing. At the end of the report, the newscaster briefly mentions a graffiti artist painting murals throughout New York City. Later, the camera pans to someone designing a split-image spray paint portrait of Wilson Fisk AKA Kingpin. Although the costume doesn’t match, it’s likely that Muse created this image. You can see the resemblance to Marvel comics artwork in the gallery above.

However, it could also be a misdirect. The graffiti style does not match Muse’s paintings from his hideout. Either he switches styles between the streets and his personal gallery, or there are two artists loose in NYC. All this to say, we’re still holding out hope for a Miles Morales appearance. Geeks can dream, can’t we?

Orlando Arocena does Muse’s art

Of course, all the artwork in the series can’t just appear out of thin air. Someone needs to create it for the show. Like with David Mack during Jessica Jones season 2, Marvel has hired a real human artist to make the street art. And they chose the perfect guy to execute it. Orlando Arocena, or Mexifunk, is famous for culture-infused vector art and he painted the sprawling Punisher mural in Born Again episode 4. It’s unclear whether or not Orlando painted all of the graffiti in the series. Additionally, Muse hasn’t been officially credited for any of these paintings. But given his role and abilities in Marvel comics, it’s same to assume all wall tags are Muse’s (and Orlando’s!) work.

Are you excited to see more of Muse in Daredevil: Born Again? Share your predictions about this villain’s role with other Marvel fans at side.show/geekgroup or in the Sideshow Social Network. And don’t forget to Let Your Geek Sideshow!