somebody on tiktok is saying that dex's spinal scar is visible in his suit in the new bts photos. do we think it's the scar or just his back? <3
hello. i’ve seen people pointing that out, and it was an observation i made when i first saw the set photos too. i think it’s one of those things where we just don’t have enough information yet to make a definitive call. right now we’ve only seen one filming day. before i fully commit to saying it’s his reconstructed spine showing through the suit, i’d want to see photos from other filming days and different angles. if that same shape continues showing up consistently no matter how he’s standing, sitting, or moving, then i think there’s a much stronger argument that it’s an intentional costume detail. if it disappears completely in future photos, then it was probably just a fold in the fabric, the way the vest was sitting, or some weird costume quirk that happened to be visible from that particular angle.
that being said, i personally don’t think it being a zipper is completely convincing. could it be a zipper? sure. i can’t rule it out. but when i look at it, what stands out to me is that it doesn’t seem to read as one clean, straight line. there are places where it almost looks uneven or segmented, which is why the immediately connections to his spine makes sense to me. the other thing that makes me question the zipper explanation is the construction of the suit itself. from what we’ve seen, there appears to be a base layer and then an additional vest-like piece worn over it. like the daredevil suit he wore ten years ago in 2017 (in universe.) if the zipper is part of the underlying suit, you’d expect the outer layer to obscure a lot of that detail. instead, whatever we’re seeing seems unusually noticeable.
i also don’t think that if it is related to the surgery, we’re literally seeing the scar itself. scars don’t generally protrude through clothing in that way, especially not a decade later. by the time born again season 3 takes place, dex would have had that surgery for around ten years. even a major surgical scar would have faded significantly during that time, although it would never completely disappear. a spinal surgery scar that extensive would almost certainly still be extremely visible on his bare skin, (especially from the scars on his face we can see that he seems to scar very easily, and it usually heals darker than the complexion of his skin that isn’t scarred) but what i think is more plausible is that we’re seeing the shape of the spine itself underneath the suit.
i’ve seen that people sometimes talk about dex’s spinal reconstruction as if it’s just some random comic-book detail, but it really isn’t. it is arguably the single most important physical event that ever happened to the character of bullseye, both in the comics and live action. at the end of season 3, fisk doesn’t simply injure dex where after some time healing dex can just spring up and be as good as new. fisk damaged his spine so completely the vertebrate were pulverized. the implication of that ending is that dex’s entire future depends on dr. oyama’s intervention, just like how comic bullseye also was paralyzed, but from the fall at matt’s apartment after bullseye killed elektra. without that surgery, there is no bullseye in born again and bullseye’s whole assassin career would. be over. there is no fall from josie’s, prison, no escape, no diner fight, no anti-vigilante task force confrontation. none of it happens. dex only continues existing as an active participant in the story because somebody rebuilt his spine.
i think that is another reason why the spinal surgery is so important symbolically, because the show deliberately frames it as a transformation. there is a very intentional visual parallel between the beginning and ending of season 3. the very first scene of 3x01 opens with matt falling with the debris of midland circle, his body positioned with his arms outstretched in a way that resembles an upside-down cross. he is broken physically and spiritually, and the entire season follows his struggle with whether he can continue being daredevil or whether he needs to let that part of himself die. then the final moments of 3x13 mirror that image with dex. after fisk destroys his spine, dex is placed on the operating table in the exact same upside-down cross-like position as dr. oyama begins reconstructing his body. season 3 begins with matt in that position and ends with dex in it. the first image is matt, the final image is dex. one man is trying to find his way back to himself, while the other is being transformed into something he can never come back from.
that final shot of dex opening his eye is also one of the most important pieces of visual storytelling in his entire character arc. he does not literally have a bullseye inside his eye; the reflection is symbolic. it represents the moment benjamin poindexter fully becomes bullseye. throughout season 3, dex is constantly trying to convince himself that he can still be a good person. an FBI agent, someone who follows rules, someone who can have a normal life. every time he loses something that keeps him grounded, he falls further into the identity that had always been waiting beneath the surface. the bullseye reflected in his eye is the show telling the audience that there is no going backwards anymore. when dex opens his eyes after the surgery, he is quite literally looking at his future. the first thing he sees is the symbol of the identity that will define him. he went into that operating room as benjamin poindexter, a broken man desperately clinging to the idea that he could still be special agent poindexter. he opens his eyes as bullseye.
which is why i think reducing the spinal surgery to just a way to explain why he can walk again misses the entire point of the scene. yes, on a literal level, the surgery restores his mobility, makes him more durable, and allows his story to continue. but narratively, it functions as a rebirth scene. the body that enters the operating room is broken by fisk, and the body that leaves it has been rebuilt. the fact that the season visually connects matt’s “death and rebirth” imagery in the opening to dex’s transformation in the final moments is incredibly deliberate. matt begins the season asking whether daredevil should die so matt murdock can survive. dex ends the season with benjamin poindexter metaphorically dying so that bullseye can be born.
that’s why i’ve always found it strange that born again hasn’t acknowledged it at all. from a storytelling perspective, the surgery is huge. it’s a defining transformation, his body is literally altered forever. whether the alloy is eventually adapted as adamantium, cogmium, or remains unnamed, the point is that dex is not physically the same person he was before the penthouse fight. his body has been reconstructed.
that’s also why i think the possibility of his spine being visible is interesting even if it turns out not to be intentional. because visually, it would communicate something important about the character. season 3 dex is actually surprisingly unscarred for most of the series, although he most likely has scars from his youth, the army, and the fbi and they’re could be faded. by contrast, born again dex is covered in evidence of everything he’s survived.
he has the scar on his cheek from the fight at josie’s then falling off the roof of josie’s and hitting the pavement below subsequently made the wound more severe. he has the wound from matt throwing the knife back into his shoulder. he has the gunshot wound from vanessa. he has the forehead scar from matt in the meeting room. depending on how literally you want to interpret various scenes, he probably has additional scars from countless injuries sustained throughout his career. every major event leaves a mark somewhere.
that’s one of the reasons i loved the cheek scar in season 1. beyond looking cool, it served an actual narrative purpose. every time you looked at him, you were reminded that he cannot go back to being the person he was in season 3. physically, psychologically, emotionally. he’s permanently altered. the scar is a visual representation of consequence.
which is why the inconsistency with some of his scars has always bothered me a little. when we briefly saw his back in 2x07, there was no obvious spinal surgery scar. there was also no visible scar near the shoulder blade, despite the fact that we literally watched matt throw a knife into him. his forehead scar has appeared and disappeared depending on the scene. sometimes the continuity feels very deliberate, and other times it feels like the makeup department forgot what injuries he was supposed to have. so part of me is hesitant to immediately assume this line is an intentional reference because the show’s track record with dex’s scars has been somewhat inconsistent.
also, i kind of went on a tangent about dex’s scars, but whatever i am going to continue because i don’t want to write a whole analysis for it, because the inconsistency with them genuinely does bother me from a character and visual storytelling perspective. one of my favorite additions in born again season 1 was actually his cheek scar because it immediately communicated that this is not the same dex we left at the end of season 3. it is a permanent reminder of the fall from josie’s, the moment where matt quite literally pushed him off the roof, he realizes he was manipulated by a fisk again, and his entire life changed. it is such a good visual representation of consequence. he cannot put the suit back on, cover himself up, and pretend he is the same man who worked for the FBI. his body carries the evidence of everything he has survived.
which is why it frustrates me that the scar’s placement and shape have been so inconsistent. when it was first introduced, it was this straight, harsh line across his cheekbone, and it looked phenomenal. it sat high on his face and emphasized the damage from the fall while still keeping his expressions visible. but as the show has gone on, the scar seems to completely change shape and location depending on the scene. sometimes it is more akin to his s1 scar, sometimes it has a noticeable curve to it, and sometimes it seems like it has literally moved lower down his face closer toward his mouth. in all of season two, his scar hasn’t looked like how it did last season at all. scars do not migrate around someone’s face. they do not completely change shape. they can soften, flatten, fade, or change color over time, but the actual location of the tissue does not just shift several centimeters. so every time it appears in a different place, it immediately stands out to me.
what makes it even more frustrating is that the original daredevil series was pretty close to incredible when it came to visual continuity. season 3 especially paid attention to the smallest details of dex’s physical condition. you can literally track the passage of time by looking at him. his stubble changes depending on how long it has been since he has had the opportunity to shave, his appearance becomes more disheveled as he loses control of his life, and his injuries generally tell a story. there are a few small continuity issues, for example, after he punches the wall in episode 5 and damages his hand, the injuries on his knuckles are not present in the next episode. although it could be that production just forgot about it because filming had to be paused because wilson bethel broke his hand from punching the wall lmao.
that’s why the scar inconsistency stands out so much to me. it is not because i expect every single bruise or cut to remain identical forever; it’s because this is one of the most defining marks on his face. the makeup department absolutely would have reference photos showing the shape, angle, and placement of the scar, especially because it is a permanent injury that the audience is meant to recognize. and it is especially frustrating seeing some of the season 3 filming photos where the scar still appears to still be shifted away from its original placement. the whole point of a scar like that is that it tells a story. it is a physical reminder of one of the most important moments in his life, so when it starts changing shape and teleporting around his face from scene to scene, it takes away some of the impact that the scar originally had.
this is the part of dex’s spine that is described as “falling apart” and “pulverized” by the unnamed doctor in 3x13, and here is the prosthetic used in the scene. here, you can see the length of what the scar wouldn look like.
at the same time, if his spine showing through his suit is intentional, i think it would be a really smart detail. because unlike the cheek scar, the spinal reconstruction is the injury that changed everything. it is the reason dex is still capable of doing what he does. it is the reason he survived. it is the reason he can continue operating as bullseye. if the costume designers deliberately created a silhouette that subtly emphasizes the center of his back, that would be a very effective way of visually reminding the audience that every movement he makes is only possible because of what happened at the end of season 3.
i don’t think we have enough evidence yet to say it’s definitely his spine, his scar, or a zipper. we need more photos and more filming days before anyone can make that call with confidence. but i do think the spinal surgery explanation would make a lot of narrative sense. and it is what i hope it is. dex’s reconstructed spine is one of the most important and least explored aspects of his character, and if born again season 3 finally starts visually acknowledging that part of his history, i would be very happy to see it.
if anyones curious i have done an analysis on how i think how dex’s spinal surgery works on how it affects him. i am not a medical professional so it’s just based on the research i’ve done combined with the comics. it is one of my works that i am most proud of.
