We’re three episodes into Daredevil: Born Again, and may be already two Spider-Man references deep. The first one was dropped by none other than Wilson Fisk (Vincent D’Onofrio), who called out a man dressed as a spider in his screed on vigilantes. And in this week’s third episode, “The Hollow Of His Hand,” Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox) name-drops “Officer Morales,” which might be a reference to Miles Morales’s father, Jefferson. Or… Is it?
Here’s how things go down. During the trial of Hector Ayala, aka White Tiger (Kamar de Los Reyes), Matt is losing the case. And when it looks like Hector will be sentenced to prison for killing a police officer — something he didn’t do — Matt throws the trial into disarray by revealing Ayala’s superhero identity to the court… Despite previously demanding to the judge that they don’t do that. Regardless, the judge allows it, and Matt and Kirsten McDuffie (Nikki M. James) bring on a series of character witnesses to prove Hector is a hero who would never kill a cop.
After Kirsten reads a police report from a cop White Tiger saved, Matt calls out several more.
“More police reports,” Matt says. “Officer Reyes, Officer Wong, Officer Morales, Officer Grant… All of these tell a different version of the same story, and it isn’t the story of a man who has a vendetta against the police.”
Did you catch that? Are you freaking out? Frickin’ OFFICER MORALES, bro! That’s Spider-Man’s dad, bro!
…Or more erudite and calmly, in the comics, Miles Morales’s father was first named Jefferson Davis, then changed to Jefferson Morales to align with his name in the movies Into the Spider-Verse and Across the Spider-Verse. Miles’s mom’s name is Morales so yes, Jefferson did take his wife’s last name. Good guy!
Is Officer Morales A Spider-Man Reference On Daredevil: Born Again? Probably Not
So is this a reference to Spider-Man’s father? Not to contradict my good colleagues on the internet and everything who have definitively called this the introduction of Miles Morales into the MCU, but I’m going to give this a hearty “probably not, unless you want it to be.” Mainly because it’s a list of names with no context. And if we’re going to say “Officer Morales” is an Easter egg, what about the rest of them? The DA in Season 3 of Daredevil was named Samantha Reyes (Michelle Hurd), is Officer Reyes her son, bent on revenge? What about Officer Wong, is he the Sorcerer Supreme, Wong (Benedict Wong), now working undercover for the NYPD? And Officer Grant obviously has to be Grant Ward (Brett Dalton) from Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., back in the land of the living and using his first name as his last name.
Rather than all those stretches, it’s distinctly possible that the episode’s writer, Jill Blankenship, was looking for a list of ethnically distinct names that Matt could list off quickly and easily, used the ones you hear in the episode as the list, and that’s it.
…But What If That Daredevil: Born Again Officer Morales Name-Drop Is A Spider-Man Reference? What If???
But that’s no fun, right? Let’s say on the other end of the spectrum that this is a reference to Spider-Man. Let’s say they purposefully put the name Jefferson uses in the movies and more recent comic books to send the fanboys and fangirls spiraling. While there’s a 0% chance Spider-Man will show up on Daredevil: Born Again due to the complicated TV and movie rights sharing program between Disney/Marvel and Sony, this may be the former’s way of tying together the universe without explicitly showing any of the many men dressed as a spider.
It’s also par for the course for how the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) has treated Miles so far. Previously we met Donald Glover in Spider-Man: Homecoming as a version of Aaron Davis, Miles’s uncle, who named dropped that he has a nephew. And the end of Spider-Man: No Way Home had someone call out Miles’s name through a wall in Peter’s new apartment. So adding “Officer Morales” as a hat trick could indeed be the only real way Marvel Television can continue to thread Spider-Man into the show.
So is Officer Morales a reference to Miles Morales, or merely a name the show threw in the middle of a monologue? You decide which one is more fun (or logical), and remember to say “I love you” to your dad. It’s what Jefferson would want.
Daredevil: Born Again Premiere Dates And Episode Guide:
New episodes of Daredevil: Born Again premiere on Tuesdays on Disney+ at 9pm ET / 6pm PT.
Here’s the full list of episodes in Daredevil: Born Again Season 1 with premiere dates:
- Tuesday, March 4, 2025: Daredevil: Born Again, Season 1, Episode 1
- Tuesday, March 4, 2025: Daredevil: Born Again, Season 1, Episode 2
- Tuesday, March 11, 2025: Daredevil: Born Again, Season 1, Episode 3
- Tuesday, March 18, 2025: Daredevil: Born Again, Season 1, Episode 4
- Tuesday, March 25, 2025: Daredevil: Born Again, Season 1, Episode 5
- Tuesday, March 25, 2025: Daredevil: Born Again, Season 1, Episode 6
- TBA: Daredevil: Born Again, Season 1, Episode 7
- TBA: Daredevil: Born Again, Season 1, Episode 8
- TBA: Daredevil: Born Again, Season 1, Episode 9 *Season Finale*
Where To Watch Daredevil: Born Again
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