The MCU Officially Retcons The New Avengers Just 9 Months Before Doomsday

The MCU is racing towards its biggest crossover ever in Avengers: Doomsday, but it seems like they just walked back some of the progress of The New Avengers in Daredevil: Born Again. Over the course of the Multiverse Saga, the MCU has been heavily criticized for not exploring connections between characters enough.

However, in 2025, they finally had several storylines come together in the Thunderbolts*, when characters from the Multiverse Saga and beyond were brought together by the mysterious Valentina Allegra de Fontaine. While Valentina was hoping to eliminate these mercenaries for hire in order to clear a path to bringing her Sentry project to life, those same mercenaries ended up saving New York City from the dark alter ego of the Sentry.

Following this, the Thunderbolts were rebranded as The New Avengers, and Yelena Belova, aka Black Widow, told Valentina that she had to do what they said from now on. Less than a year later, and with only months left before Doomsday arrives, it no longer seems like Valentina is bound by her leash.

The New Avengers Weren’t Able To Keep Valentina Allegra In Check

In Daredevil: Born Again, season 2, episode 1, we saw Mr. Charles speaking to Valentina on the phone while at Capitol Hill. Mr. Charles, as played by Matthew Lillard, is a man who is working both with the government and the corrupt Mayor Wilson Fisk, and it appears that he takes orders from Valentina.

Evidently, with those pieces now in place, it seems to confirm that not only is Valentina conducting shady deals behind the backs of The New Avengers, but she is getting involved with people like Mayor Fisk, right on The New Avengers’ doorstep in New York City.

So, the question remains, where are The New Avengers, and why don’t they know what Valentina is up to? And even more than that, why are they allowing Fisk to do such terrible things in New York City, as has been the case with the Anti-Vigilante Task Force?

How Daredevil: Born Again Season 2 Ties Into Thunderbolts*

There has been speculation that The New Avengers have been allowed to continue operating in New York and elsewhere because they have the support and backing of Valentina and other major players in the world of the MCU. If this is the case, Valentina and Fisk’s ties run deep, and they are mutually benefiting from turning a blind eye towards each other’s interests.

However, that doesn’t explain why The New Avengers would be ok with these kinds of operations being undertaken. Yes, they were down-on-their-luck killers for hire, but their story in Thunderbolts* saw them redeemed. It feels as though it is a major issue to walk back on that success, and have these characters just be pawns in a larger operation again.

However, it is possible that while the events of Daredevil: Born Again season 2 are playing out, The New Avengers and other major heroes have already been roped into the much larger issues that are now being faced in Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars.

Will We See Valentina Allegra In Daredevil: Born Again?

The fact that Mr. Charles is directly connected to Valentina and that Fisk and Valentina appear to have some sort of collaboration in place, it seems highly possible that Valentina could show up later in Daredevil: Born Again season 2. Add to that the fact that Valentina has been one of the most frequent cameos throughout the Multiverse Saga, and it seems even more likely.

However, there is no guarantee that this will actually happen in this series, and it’s very possible that Mr. Charles’ role as the middle man will be maintained throughout. Regardless, seeing the stories of the Multiverse Saga finally begin to connect and impact one another is interesting, and Daredevil: Born Again is uniquely positioned to showcase this with the central setting in New York City.