The story details Daredevil's descent into insanity and destitution at the Kingpin's hands, as well as a subsequent struggle to build a new life for himself.

The storyline (amalgamated with "Guardian Devil") was loosely adapted as the 2018 third season of the Netflix Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) streaming television series Daredevil.

By coincidence, Murdock's girlfriend, Glorianna O'Breen, breaks up with him and turns to dating his law partner and best friend Foggy Nelson on the rebound.

To avert investigation into his death, the unconscious Murdock is drenched in whiskey and strapped into a stolen taxi cab, which is then pushed into the East River.

Meanwhile, Daily Bugle reporter Ben Urich is investigating his confidant's plight and stands vigil with Manolis as his son is taken in for surgery.

Karen arrives in New York, having hitched a ride with Paulo Scorcese, a small-time drug smuggler and gangster who supplies her with heroin in exchange for sexual favors.

To draw Murdock out of hiding, he arranges for a violent mental patient to be released from an asylum, dress up as Daredevil, and kill Nelson.

Nurse Lois offers to testify against the Kingpin in exchange for a reduced sentence, but he has her killed by a bodyguard accompanying Urich when the reporter attempts to interview her in jail.

Having failed to draw Murdock out of hiding, the Kingpin orders Nuke to fly to Hell's Kitchen and make a general assault.

Appearing as Daredevil for the first time since his apartment was destroyed, he is left with no choice but to kill both Nuke and his pilot to avoid further civilian deaths.

With regular writer Dennis O'Neil preparing to leave the series, long-running Daredevil editor Ralph Macchio called up Frank Miller and asked if he would be interested in returning.

Miller, whose first stint as writer had brought Daredevil from the brink of cancellation to the top-sellers lists, agreed under the condition that artist David Mazzucchelli would work on the illustrations following their first collaboration in issue #226.

[2] Miller praised Mazzucchelli's unique talent as a comic book artist who's able to figure out the narrative structure of every page as well as providing rough layouts with great details in the early development.

"Born Again" makes heavy use of Christian symbolism, primarily from Roman Catholicism, and the title invokes the Catholic teaching on Baptism.

In chapter 3, his wandering through Hell's Kitchen parallels Jesus's walk to Golgotha, including the three falls represented in the Stations of the Cross, before culminating in the image of the Pietà.

[2] Sister Maggie takes the role of the Virgin Mary and the dove (traditionally used in Christian artwork to represent the Holy Spirit) is posed above her.

The 250 copies limited edition (ISBN 9781613773437) was exclusively available only for pre-ordering; this version includes a colorful slipcase, a variant design of the front cover, and Mazzucchelli's personal signature printed in an interior page.

The "Last Rites" story arc in Daredevil #297–300, though written and drawn by an entirely different set of creators (except for colorist Christie Scheele), is to an extent a thematic sequel to "Born Again".

The story also sees Murdock finally unraveling the frame job from "Born Again", winning back his attorney's license.

When writer Frank Miller left the series, this plot thread was temporarily abandoned, before finally being resolved in Daredevil #248–256.