Who Is Bullseye In ‘Daredevil: Born Again’? Dex’s Story So Far

The premiere of Daredevil: Born Again Season 1 brings the return of several Marvel Netflix characters but most notably, a villain that likes to hit his shots — Bullseye. 

Since the character’s inception, Bullseye has always been one of the most popular villains of Daredevil. From an infamous adaptation in the form of the 2003 Daredevil film, where he was played by Colin Farrell, audiences demanded the character be part of the next instalments and adaptations of the hit comic. 

First debuting in the MCU with Netflix and Marvel TV’s collaborative effort Daredevil, Bullseye has been considered one of the best MCU villains. In the original show he made his debut early in the season as Benjamin “Dex” Poindexter, an FBI Special Agent who saves the lives of colleague Ray Nadeem (Jay Ali) and prisoner Wilson Fisk (Vincent D’Onofrio). He was a member of the task force that aimed to prevent Fisk from committing crimes in his state-funded penthouse prison. 

In the comics, Bullseye is an operative with lethal mastery of any and all throwing weapons, including those not intended as weapons. As you are about to see, the television adaptation of Bullseye isn’t far from the source material. 

Benjamin “Dex” Poindexter in ‘Daredevil’ Season 3

In childhood, Dex’s parents passed away leading to attachment issues later in life, between therapists, and potential love interests. At a young age, he intentionally killed his coach with a baseball after getting benched, leading him to therapy where he exhibited more psychopathic tendencies, such as wanting to kill his therapist, Eileen Mercer, due to his attachment to her when she had to retire for health reasons. In therapy, Dex was taught to use structure as a coping mechanism to keep his life on track, hiding any of his psychopathic tendencies. Following the death of his therapist, Dex joined the US Army, where he sharpened his aim and familiarized himself with weaponry. He went on to work at a Suicide Hotline, where he met Julie (Holly Cinnamon) and formed a parasocial attachment to her. Dex moved onto the FBI, but his attachment to Julie did not.

Under the FBI, Dex was appointed to a special task force to protect and contain Wilson Fisk while he was used as an informant by the FBI to take down criminal enterprises both within and outside of New York. This lack of structure and increased exposure to Wilson Fisk’s manipulative tactics would result in the immediate falling apart of his psyche. Dex had been stalking Julie, following her and sometimes copying her life but never replicating the emotions she displayed. While on break at the hotel Fisk had been staying in, Julie (now an employee there) interrupted him and said hello. Dex, being socially inept, revealed some personal details of her life without realizing he wasn’t meant to know them, and leading Julie to flee. This caused Dex to return to his apartment, having a meltdown due to losing his last remaining pillar that was holding his psychopathic tendencies back. He punches a wall and throws a knife, with extreme precision embedding it in a photo of Julie’s face on a wall frame. 

Following his killing of the Albanian gang who attacked a police escort containing Fisk and Nadeem, Dex would be manipulated further by Fisk, who Dex accused of hiring Julie for the hotel, but was also placed on administrative leave following the shooting, leaving his life without structure. That night, while attempting to kill himself, Fisk rings Dex and further manipulates him, leaving the call on a final note, notifying Dex that a present had been sent to him, something that would allow Dex to become his true self. This present was later revealed to be a Daredevil suit, created by Melvin Potter (Matt Gerald). Fisk had sent him the suit with the intention of Dex assuming the Daredevil moniker to mislead the public and frame Matt Murdock’s alter ego, but to also carry out more specific tasks such as performing a hit on Jasper Evans, one of Fisk’s former employees while in prison, at the New York Bulletin, where Karen Page (Deborah Ann Woll) was employed.

In his attack on the Bulletin, Dex showcases extreme skill with ranged weaponry, including throwing everyday objects, to extreme effectiveness. He kills many Bulletin employees as well as Jasper Evans and nearly kills Foggy, Karen, and Ellison but is thwarted by Daredevil, who does not wear his typical suit. After the chaos and bloodshed, he returned to his apartment undetected, where he removed the suit. The next day, Nadeem brought Dex into the office and put him into contact with a defence attorney, trying to get him reinstated in the force. This doubled as an excuse for Nadeem and Daredevil to break into his apartment and attempt to find evidence against Dex, leading Matt to smell the new phony Daredevil suit, but realizing it had been removed from the apartment. Dex arrives home and engages in gunfire with the duo, using the opposing building to ricochet bullets off of and wound his opponents, showcasing his truly amazing marksmanship. Fisk later officially recruits Dex to his cause. He goes through with a variety of tasks doing this, the first being scaring Nadeem into joining him by visiting his family. Poindexter is then reinstated as an FBI Special Agent.

Hiding in the Clinton Church from the wrath of Kingpin, Karen Page was laying low before Kingpin ordered Dex to kill Page. He attempts to do so at the Church, but is stopped yet again by Daredevil, who hides in a backroom with Page. Father Lantom, a series regular character throughout all three seasons, is killed by Dex. Foggy Nelson arrives, surrenders his friend and client Karen to the NYPD, instead of the corrupted FBI Task Force, and lets NYPD officer Brett Mahoney protect her, with Ray Nadeem showing compassion and allowing this to happen. Matt Murdock and Foggy Nelson attempt to use Nadeem to testify in front of the grand jury, spilling the secrets of his life to the public, but the grand jury still exclaim Fisk’s innocence, granting him freedom.

Dex arrives at Nadeem’s home, and in the backyard begs Nadeem to go inside so they can carry out their business more quietly. Nadeem, aware of his impending fate, declines and is killed by Dex by the pool. Nadeem’s death is used by Fisk in a PR move to further prove Fisk’s innocence. In the following days, Dex is contacted by Daredevil, who attempts to manipulate him back onto the side of good, using Julie and Dex’s childhood as leverage. Murdock reveals to Dex that Julie was murdered by Fisk, angering him further, and provides an address as proof of this, where Dex later finds Julie’s body. Dex calls Daredevil again, threatening him but Daredevil insists it was Kingpin, engaging in conversation about Fisk’s manipulation tactics. Dex is told that Fisk is having his wedding that night, and that Murdock doesn’t think he deserves a happy ending.

Dex shows up to the Presidential Hotel, with a frozen Julie in tow, who Dex converses with as if still alive. He goes upstairs and interrupts Kingpin’s and Vanessa’s wedding, and is about to kill Vanessa when Daredevil steps in and saves her life. A three way battle ensues where Fisk breaks Dex’s back, and Murdock defeats Fisk, sending him back to prison but also publishing a video made by Nadeem, showcasing the true nature of Fisk’s enterprise.

Dex ends his run of Daredevil season 3 paralyzed, or at least temporarily paralyzed, exclaiming that he cannot move in the immediate aftermath of the fight. He is hospitalized and later is the patient of a surgery, where his spine is being reconstructed. It is unknown whether he is currently an inmate or an escaped convict at this point. The season ends with Dex waking up mid-surgery, with his eyes bearing resemblance to that of a target, his pupils serving as the bullseye, teasing his comic name. 

Dex in Daredevil season 3 played as a mirror to Matt Murdock’s character, a man who loses his parents at a young age and is thrust into the world. Matt takes the path of faith and good, whilst Dex develops attachment issues and mental health problems, leading to a life ruled by structure, where any deviance can result in bad things happening to good people. Dex here is both repulsive and skin crawling, but also someone who can be empathized with. 

Watch Daredevil Seasons 1 through 3 below: 

Benjamin “Bullseye” Poindexter in ‘Daredevil: Born Again’

Before the original show’s cancellation, Dex was expected to appear again in a fifth season. The original version of the Disney+ revival Daredevil: Born Again did not feature his involvement with actor Wilson Bethel not asked to return by the team behind that version of the show. However, following an overhaul of the series mid-shoot, showrunner Dario Scardapane brought him back for what seems to be a big role going forward.

In the first episode of Daredevil: Born Again, the opening sequence sees Matt Murdock, Karen Page and Foggy Nelson dining out at Josie’s Bar. Foggy gets a phone call from a panicked client, who Foggy had stashed away at his own residence. He takes the phone call and finds out that someone is looking for him and that his client, Benny, had given him the address. A new scene sees a paperclip fly through the air and impale a fly, an act that requires extreme, even inhumane, precision, teasing the return of Dex. A flurry of bullets and some smoke canisters make themself present on the street outside of Josie’s, and Foggy is hit by a gunshot to the chest, Dex arrives in a new suit and now goes by his comic-book name — Bullseye. Karen is also about to be shot, with Bullseye saying “Hello”, a reference to a line in Season 3 when he was tasked to kill her in the Church eight years prior. 

Matt, now in his Daredevil attire, arrives to protect Karen and fights Bullseye whilst Foggy is bleeding out in the street in front of Karen. The fight makes its way through Josie’s, into a backroom, up the stairs, and onto the roof. Matt hears his lifetime friend, Foggy, die and in anguish, throws Dex off the roof, intent on killing him. In total, Dex had killed eleven people that night, and was arrested for these actions. A year later, he is on trial for these murders and is sentenced to a prison sentence after showing no remorse for any of his crimes.

As of the release of the first two episodes of Daredevil: Born Again, it is unknown who sanctioned this assassination of Foggy Nelson and the failed attempt at Karen Page’s life. The trailers for the series, however, do promise the return of Wilson Bethel’s Bullseye, with more scenes allowing us to expect Bullseye in the final two episodes of the season. As a shot in the trailer shows Benjamin being walked by prison guards to go somewhere, fans have theorized Poindexter may be going to a court hearing for killing Foggy Nelson and the other ten people at the bar. 

Daredevil: Born Again has been greenlit for a second season, which is currently filming in New York City, but it is unknown whether Bethel will return for a second season of the show. The show stars Charlie Cox, Vincent D’Onofrio, Wilson Bethel, Jon Bernthal, and many more. You can watch Daredevil: Born Again below. 

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