Forget ‘Daredevil: Born Again’: These 7 Series Have Much Better Action

2 weeks ago 12

Published May 9, 2026, 1:58 PM EDT

Remus is a writer, editor, journalist, and author with an eye for detail and an extremely active imagination. He is an enthusiast of everything to do with the graphic medium, whether it's Western comics and their adaptations or manga and anime. Remus is also the author of the sci-fantasy novel Once Upon a Time in Hyperspace and several works of short fiction in the mystery, comedy, and horror genres.

After a bit of a rocky start, the MCU Disney+ series Daredevil: Born Again has now become one of the most popular action shows on streaming, engaging and exciting audiences with its intense, brutal action scenes. Created by Dario Scardapane, Matt Corman, and Chris Ord and starring Charlie Cox in the lead role, the series has successfully won over fans of the previous Daredevil series on Netflix and found new ones, too. But as entertaining as the show may be, Daredevil: Born Again isn’t necessarily the be-all and end-all of action television.

Over the years, there have been several series that can be considered true action masterpieces, delivering tons of thrills with their perfectly choreographed set pieces and hard-hitting stuntwork. They include both superhero shows like Daredevil: Born Again and completely original, grounded action dramas, covering a wide range of subgenres between them, but all sharing the same high intensity and visceral performances. Of course, any comparison between these shows is purely subjective, but here’s our handpicked selection of series that we believe have much better action than Daredevil: Born Again.

1 ‘Peacemaker’ (2022–2025)

John Cena as Peacemaker dancing to "Oh Lord" by Foxy Shazam during the Peacemaker Season 2 title sequence.

Created by James Gunn, Peacemaker is a spin-off of Gunn’s 2021 film The Suicide Squad that sees John Cena reprise his titular role as Chris Smith / Peacemaker. The show’s first season, set in the DC Extended Universe, follows Chris as he joins a black ops mission to hunt down parasitic butterfly-like creatures, and the second season, which brings the show into the current DC Universe franchise, takes the character to an alternate universe where he’s celebrated as a hero. Besides Cena, the show also features Danielle Brooks, Freddie Stroma, Jennifer Holland, Chukwudi Iwuji, Steve Agee, Robert Patrick, and more in key roles.

A delightfully ridiculous superhero show with surprising depth, Peacemaker was an unexpected hit when it first premiered, and it has since been hailed as one of the best shows ever made in the genre. Powered by John Cena’s stellar performance in the lead role, the series is an engaging and entertaining watch that combines comedy and emotional weight with brutal action. And though the series may have ended with Season 2, Gunn has previously indicated that we’ll be seeing more of the character in future DCU projects, so fans can look forward to a lot more Peacemaker to come.

2 ‘The Boys’ (2019–2026)

Billy Butcher looking over his shoulder.

Created by Eric Kripke and inspired by the comic book series by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson, The Boys is a satirical superhero show set in a world where “superheroes” are basically corporate-sponsored psychopaths who frequently abuse their abilities. Seeking revenge against these so-called heroes, a group of regular humans comes together, led by Billy Butcher (Karl Urban), to form the titular group and bring violent justice to the superhumans who destroyed their lives. The ensemble cast also includes Jack Quaid, Antony Starr, Erin Moriarty, Dominique McElligott, Jessie T. Usher, Laz Alonso, Chace Crawford, Tomer Capone, Karen Fukuhara, and more.

Hyper-violent and darkly comedic, The Boys features some of the most graphic action scenes of any TV show, and its satirical take on the superhero genre has earned it an international fan following. The series is a no-holds-barred actioner that’s highly satisfying for genre fans, and beyond the gratuitous violence, the show also has some intriguing worldbuilding and surprisingly heavy themes. In the years since its premiere, The Boys has spawned an expansive shared universe as well, which includes the web series Seven on 7, the animated anthology Diabolical, the live-action spin-off Gen V, and more.

3 ‘The Punisher’ (2017–2019)

Frank Castle frowning while standing at a tunnel in The Punisher.

A spin-off of Netflix’s Daredevil, The Punisher is an action series created by Steve Lightfoot and based on the Marvel Comics character. Spinning out of Daredevil’s second season, the show follows Frank Castle (Jon Bernthal), a former Marine turned ruthless vigilante who is haunted by the trauma of his family’s murder, as he uncovers intricate conspiracies and mysteries while navigating his grief and violent proclivities. Besides Bernthal, the show also stars Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Ben Barnes, Amber Rose Revah, Daniel Webber, Jason R. Moore, Deborah Ann Woll, and more in supporting roles.

The Punisher’s central character is a far darker anti-heroic figure compared to Daredevil, and the show appropriately takes a brutal approach to its action. The series was widely praised throughout its two-season run for Bernthal’s performance in the title role, which is easily the best screen version of the character so far. Though it has some flaws in its plot, when it comes to action, few shows are as good as The Punisher, and the series has garnered a number of accolades for its stunts and action.

Collider Exclusive · Marvel Personality Quiz Which MCU Hero Are You? Spider-Man · Daredevil · Iron Man · Punisher · Thor · Cap

Six heroes. One destiny. Answer 10 questions to discover which Marvel Cinematic Universe hero shares your personality, values, and fighting spirit. Will you swing, fly, or thunder your way to glory?

🕷️Spider-Man

😈Daredevil

🤖Iron Man

💀Punisher

⚡Thor

🛡️Cap

FIND YOUR HERO →

What drives you to do what's right? Choose the answer that feels most like you.

AWith great power comes great responsibility — I protect those who can't protect themselves. BMy faith and my conscience — I believe justice must be served, even in the dark. CLegacy and ego, honestly — but I've learned that others depend on me now. DThe system failed. Someone has to make sure the guilty actually pay. EDuty to the innocent and honour to my name — I was born to protect realms. FThe values I was raised with — freedom, decency, and never backing down from a bully.

NEXT QUESTION →

It's 2 AM. Where are you? Your answer says more about you than you'd think.

ASwinging between skyscrapers, keeping an eye on the neighbourhood. BRunning rooftops in Hell's Kitchen, listening for trouble. CIn my lab, upgrading my suit with a cold cup of coffee nearby. DStaking out a target I've been tracking for three weeks. ESomewhere between the stars, or at a feast that got out of hand. FOn a morning run — I was up at 4, actually. Couldn't sleep.

NEXT QUESTION →

How do you handle a villain who keeps escaping justice? Every hero has a method. What's yours?

AWeb them up and leave them for the police — again. BBuild an airtight case and dismantle their entire operation from the inside. CDeploy a containment system I designed specifically for them. Tech wins. DMake sure they don't escape a third time. Permanently. EChallenge them to single combat. Honour demands a decisive end. FRally allies, adapt the plan, and bring them in — by the book, even if it's hard.

NEXT QUESTION →

How do you feel about keeping a secret identity? The mask — or the lack of one — says everything.

AEssential — my loved ones would be in danger if anyone found out who I am. BCritical — the mask protects my mission as much as my face. COverrated — I announced myself to the world and I'd do it again. DI'm a ghost. The less people know about me, the better. EMy name is known across the Nine Realms. There's no hiding it. FI don't hide — but I understand why some need to. Transparency builds trust.

NEXT QUESTION →

You've lost someone important because of your heroism. How do you carry that? Every hero pays a price. The question is how they pay it.

AWith guilt that never fully goes away — it pushes me to do better, every single day. BI channel it into purpose — their memory is the reason I keep fighting. CI buried myself in work for years. I'm only recently learning to face it. DIt transformed me completely. I'm not the same person I was before. EWith warrior's grief — I honour them by fighting with everything I have. FI keep moving forward. Stopping means letting the loss win.

NEXT QUESTION →

What's your role when working with a team? Who you are under pressure is who you actually are.

AThe enthusiastic wildcard who somehow makes it work — and keeps the mood up. BThe strategist who works best alone but shows up when it matters most. CThe one who funds it, equips it, and occasionally takes over the whole operation. DI don't do teams. I'm more effective operating solo, on my terms. EThe heavy hitter — I crash in, draw fire, and turn the tide of battle. FThe leader — I earn trust, build the plan, and make sure no one gets left behind.

NEXT QUESTION →

Where do you draw the line between justice and revenge? The answer defines what kind of hero you really are.

AClearly — I don't kill, and I wrestle with that line constantly. BI try to hold the line, but I've come terrifyingly close to crossing it. CPractically — I do what's necessary to protect people, including hard calls. DI crossed that line long ago. What I do is justice — the system just won't admit it. EIn battle, victory is justice. Mercy is earned — not automatic. FFirmly. The moment we abandon our principles, we become what we fight against.

NEXT QUESTION →

When you're not saving the world, what does life look like? The person behind the mask is always the more interesting story.

ATrying to juggle school, a part-time job, and not failing my friends. BWorking as a lawyer by day, fighting for justice in court and on the streets. CRunning a global company, attending galas, and pretending I'm sleeping enough. DQuiet. Isolated. Surviving with a clear mission and no distractions. ENavigating a bizarre and fascinating mortal world — coffee is extraordinary. FAdapting to a world decades ahead of everything I knew. Quietly, stubbornly.

NEXT QUESTION →

What keeps you up at night? Fear is useful data — if you're honest about what you're actually afraid of.

AThe people I couldn't save — and the ones I might not reach in time tomorrow. BWhether the monster I fight every night is starting to live inside me too. CThe threats I can see coming and whether my tech is actually good enough. DNothing. Silence is the only peace I get. I've made my choices. EWhether I'm truly worthy — of the hammer, of the throne, of the people I protect. FA world where no one stands up anymore. Where good people do nothing.

NEXT QUESTION →

The battle is lost. You're outnumbered, outgunned, and exhausted. What do you do? This is your tiebreaker — choose carefully.

ACrack a joke to buy a second, then find the one web shot that changes everything. BBlock out everything except the sound of the next threat — and keep going. CActivate the emergency protocol I built for exactly this scenario. Always have a plan. DI don't accept that it's lost. I keep fighting until I physically cannot anymore. ECall the lightning. All of it. The storm answers to me. FPick up the shield. Stand up. Because as long as I can stand, it's not over.

REVEAL MY HERO →

Your Hero Has Been Identified Your MCU Hero Is…

Based on your answers, the Marvel hero who matches your spirit, values, and instincts has been revealed.

🕷️ Spider-Man

You carry the weight of the world on shoulders that are younger than they should have to be — funny, loyal, and endlessly self-sacrificing.

You do the right thing not because it's easy, but because no one else will.
You understand that responsibility isn't a burden you choose — it's one that finds you.
Whether it's a neighbourhood mugging or a multiverse crisis, you show up.
Peter Parker's lesson — that great power demands great responsibility — isn't a slogan to you. It's the code you live by, even when it costs you everything.

😈 Daredevil

You fight in the shadows between law and chaos, guided by a fierce moral compass that refuses to let the guilty walk free.

You use every tool available — your mind, your body, your faith — to protect those the system overlooks.
You've looked into the darkness and chosen not to become it, though the line has never been easy.
Matt Murdock's duality — champion in the courtroom, devil in the alley — mirrors your own.
Relentless, conflicted, and unwilling to stop. That is exactly you.

🤖 Iron Man

Brilliant, driven, and occasionally insufferable — but always the person who solves the unsolvable problem.

You lead with your mind and back it up with resources, innovation, and a stubbornness that borders on heroic.
You started out looking out for yourself, but somewhere along the way the world became your responsibility.
Tony Stark's arc — from ego to sacrifice — is your arc too.
You build, you plan, and when the moment comes, you're willing to give everything. Because in the end, you're Iron Man.

💀 The Punisher

You've been through fire that would break most people — and it did change you, completely. What's left is unyielding, relentless, and operating by a code forged in grief.

You don't ask for forgiveness, and you don't expect gratitude.
You see a corrupt, broken world and you've decided to do something about it, consequences be damned.
Frank Castle's war is born from love twisted by loss — and so is yours.
Uncompromising and unflinching — the world may not agree with your methods, but your conviction is absolute.

⚡ Thor

Powerful, proud, and on a lifelong journey to become worthy of the legend you carry.

You lead with strength but have learned — sometimes painfully — that true greatness comes from humility and growth.
You're larger than life, yet more vulnerable than you let on.
Thor's story is one of transformation: from arrogant prince to worthy king, from isolated warrior to beloved protector.
You bring the storm when it's needed — and the warmth when it matters just as much.

🛡️ Captain America

You believe in something bigger than yourself — and you fight for it even when the world has moved on and nobody else will.

You don't bully the small guy, and you never stop when it gets hard.
Steve Rogers didn't become a hero when he got the serum — he was always one. So were you.
Your strength isn't in your fists; it's in your refusal to compromise what's right, no matter the cost.
In a world full of people taking the easy road, you're the one who picks up the shield and stands up — every single time.

↻ RETAKE THE QUIZ

4 ‘Warrior’ (2019–2023)

A period martial arts crime drama series, Warrior was developed by Jonathan Tropper from an original concept and treatment by Bruce Lee, with Lee’s daughter, Shannon Lee, serving as executive producer. Set in 1870s San Francisco, the show stars Andrew Koji as Ah Sahm, a martial arts prodigy who travels from China to the United States in search of his sister, only to find himself drafted into one of the most powerful criminal organizations in Chinatown. The series also stars Olivia Cheng, Jason Tobin, Dianne Doan, Dean Jagger, Joe Taslim, and more in notable roles.

Combining classic martial-arts action with revisionist Westerns, Warrior is a thrilling, underrated series that has earned high acclaim from critics and viewers for its slick choreographies, powerhouse performances, and impeccable period detailing. Exploring the social, political, and racial landscape of late-19th-century America through an intensely violent crime story, the show is a well-crafted period drama that thrives on its hard-hitting action, which is easily some of the best ever delivered in a series format. Though it isn’t as widely known as it ought to be, Warrior is an action TV gem that’s worth checking out for any fan of the genre.

5 ‘Moon Knight’ (2022)

Oscar Isaac as Moon Knight holding a moon-shaped blade with the full moon behind him.

Created by Jeremy Slater, Moon Knight is an MCU miniseries starring Oscar Isaac as the Marvel Comics character. The show revolves around Marc Spector and Steven Grant, two alternate personalities of a man with severe dissociative identity disorder who reluctantly becomes the avatar and enforcer of an ancient Egyptian moon god. The series also stars May Calamawy, Karim El Hakim, F. Murray Abraham, Ethan Hawke, and more in notable roles.

Even within the action-heavy Marvel Cinematic Universe, Moon Knight stands out as a truly impressive action thriller, balancing hard-hitting fight scenes with intense psychological exploration. The series was widely praised at the time of its release for its darker tone, compelling performances, suspenseful narrative, and the sensitive way in which it portrays its protagonist’s psychological condition. Moon Knight is easily one of the best MCU shows on Disney+, and its action set pieces surpass all other shows in its franchise, including Daredevil: Born Again.

6 ‘Into the Badlands’ (2015–2019)

A sci-fi martial arts series, Into the Badlands was created by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar and explores a post-apocalyptic America roughly five hundred years in the future. The show follows a deadly warrior (Daniel Wu) who encounters a young boy (Aramis Knight) with strange abilities who could lead him and those he loves out of the feudalistic Badlands to a fabled utopia. The series also features Orla Brady, Emily Beecham, Sarah Bolger, Oliver Stark, Madeleine Mantock, Ally Ioannides, Marton Csokas, Nick Frost, Lorraine Toussaint, Ella-Rae Smith, Sherman Augustus, and Babou Ceesay in main roles.

Into the Badlands wasn’t very well-received when it first premiered, but over the course of its three-season broadcast, the show developed into an impressive and innovative post-apocalyptic drama. The series boasts an intricately detailed world full of competing factions and layered characters, not to mention some amazing action sequences. Bringing highly stylized fight scenes and a narrative inspired by Chinese wuxia films to the familiar beats of its genre, the series is a must-watch for fans of well-choreographed martial arts action.

7 ‘The Continental: From the World of John Wick’ (2023)

Colin Woodell as Winston Scott in The Continental

A prequel to the hit action franchise John Wick, The Continental: From the World of John Wick is a period action drama series developed by Greg Coolidge, Kirk Ward, and Shawn Simmons. Set in the 1970s, the show follows a young Winston Scott (Colin Woodell) as he puts together a team to seek revenge for his brother’s death by taking over the titular hotel, which provides a neutral haven for professional assassins. The series features Mel Gibson, Mishel Prada, Ben Robson, Nhung Kate, Hubert Point-Du Jour, Ayomide Adegun, Peter Greene, and more in key roles.

The Continental may not be on par with the iconic movies it’s inspired by, but the series has been quite well-received by fans for its polished and stylish production. Though its story may be a bit of a mixed bag, the action is undeniably excellent, operating on a higher level than most other action shows. It's a series that lives and dies on its fight sequences, which are highly intricate and masterfully choreographed.