Daredevil: Born Again episode 3 contains another Marvel reference to Spider-Man, but it's got nothing to do with Tom Holland's Peter Parker

Matt Murdock and Kirsten McDuffie standing in a court room in Daredevil: Born Again

Wait, did Born Again's third episode just reference who I think it referenced?! (Image credit: Marvel Studios/Disney Plus)

Daredevil: Born Again episode 3 is hiding another Spider-Man Easter egg in plain sight
This time, it's potentially referencing Miles Morales' eventual arrival in the MCU
We still don't know when Morales might make his live-action debut

Daredevil: Born Again has dropped the biggest clue yet that Marvel is preparing to bring Miles Morales into the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).

The Disney+ show's third episode, titled 'The Hollow in His Hand', appears to contain a sneaky reference to Morales that you may have missed on first viewing. However, some MCU fans, myself included, immediately picked up on the Easter egg – and, unsurprisingly, it's set tongues wagging about when Morales might make his live-action debut as the franchise's second Spider-Man.

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The reference in question crops up when Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox) is trying to convince the jury that his client, Hector Ayala (the late Kamar de los Reyes), is innocent of the charges brought against him. Remember, Ayala is on trial for allegedly killing New York Police Officer (NYPD) Shanahan in the Marvel Phase 5 TV show's second episode.

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During this scene, Murdock rattles off the names of other NYPD detectives who, according to their written reports, can testify to Ayala's good character. That's because Ayala has rescued many New Yorkers in their time of need as his superhero alias White Tiger.

Until episode 3, nobody – well, Murdock and his private investigator Cherry (Clark Johnson) notwithstanding – knows that Ayala is White Tiger. That bombshell revelation is publicly revealed in court by Murdock himself, however, in a Hail Mary move to prove Ayala's innocence when Murdock and Kirsten McDuffie's (Nikki M James) previous defense plan falls apart.

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But back on topic. As Murdock lists the names of the NYPD officers who have vouched that White Tiger (and, by proxy Ayala) has done more good than harm, he mentions someone called "Officer Davis".

To the uninitiated, this just sounds like another cop who's employed to keep New York's streets safe. For Marvel comic book devotees, or anyone who's seen one or both of Sony's animated Spider-Verse movies – Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse – though, that name will be familiar.

The reason? Miles Morales' father is not only a police officer, but also has the surname Davis. Full name is Jefferson Davis, he was born in Brooklyn, married a Puerto Rican named Rio Morales, and had a child who they called Miles. In the Spider-Verse films, Jefferon Davis is voiced by Bryan Tyree Henry. In Sony Studios' Spider-Man 1 and Spider-Man: Miles Morales videogames, he's portrayed by Russell Richardson.

A suited-up Miles Morales and his dad Jefferson Davis standing on a building's roof in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse — Miles Morales and Jefferson Davis have appeared in animated movies, Marvel comics books, and Sony-developed video games (Image credit: Sony Pictures)

Now, it's possible that there might be another officer whose surname is Davis in the MCU. That would make everything I've written up to this point null and void. It would be an incredible coincidence, though, if Murdock wasn't talking about Jefferson Davis in one of the best Disney+ shows.

There's more evidence to suggest that Miles Morales' MCU debut might not be too far off, too. Speaking to Inverse in June 2023 about his at-the-time new Apple TV+ show The Crowded Room, Tom Holland, who currently plays Peter Parker/Spider-Man in the MCU, said he'd be "honored" to help usher in Morales' arrival.

Parker has mentored Morales in Spider-Man comics, video games, and movies. And, considering Holland won't be around to play Marvel's legendary webslinger forever, a passing of the torch feels inevitable. What better way to move the needle in the MCU than by introducing Morales and making him this universe's new Spider-Man once Holland hangs up his own spandex suit?

Speaking of Spider-Man, this isn't the first time that Born Again has referenced the wallcrawler. Here's why Daredevil: Born Again episode 2 gave me hope over a potential team-up between the two heroes, albeit one that won't happen on Disney+, aka one of the world's best streaming services.

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As TechRadar's senior entertainment reporter, Tom covers all of the latest movies, TV shows, and streaming service news that you need to know about. You'll regularly find him writing about the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Star Wars, Netflix, Prime Video, Disney Plus, and many other topics of interest.

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