Daredevil season 3 contains a subtle link to Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. season 4, helping to tie the various Marvel Television series together. Marvel has always insisted that “it’s all connected,” but often the most exciting links are subtle Easter eggs that create a sense of shared continuity.
There’s always been a pretty loose relationship between the Marvel Netflix TV shows and the rest of the wider Marvel Cinematic Universe. To date, there have really been two explicit connections between Marvel’s flagship TV series, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., and the various Marvel Netflix shows. The first was a news tickertape in the season 3 episode “Watchdogs,” which described riots in Hell’s Kitchen and was probably referencing Frank Castle’s killing spree in Daredevil season 2; the second was the Judas Bullet, a weapon used both in Luke Cage season 1 and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. season 4.
Now we can add another Easter egg to that list. There are a number of scenes in Daredevil season 3 set in the New York Bulletin, where Karen Page works. The walls of the Bulletin contains framed copies of the front page or major stories that the Bulletin staff are particularly proud of; these have always been a rich source of Easter eggs, with one famous example showing the Hulk rampaging through Harlem. A new article has been added to the wall, quite close to Karen’s desk. The headline reads, “Blackout cripples NY.” Given this wasn’t visible in previous seasons, it seem to be a recent story.
With Daredevil season 3 set in 2017, it’s tempting to conclude that the headline refers to the March blackouts of that year, associated with a severe thunderstorm. Given this is an MCU TV show, though, it’s far more likely that it’s an Easter egg to a major plot in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. season 4. The episode “Uprising” saw an anti-Inhuman terrorist group known as the Watchdogs launch a wave of attacks across the globe. They used electromagnetic pulses to shut down power in cities where S.H.I.E.L.D. had settled known Inhumans, and they pretended the Inhumans themselves were responsible. New York City was mentioned as being one of their targets in the episode. S.H.I.E.L.D. was ultimately forced to go public again in order to reveal the truth about the attacks.
The national news would have really been focusing on the question of whether or not S.H.I.E.L.D. could be believed. In contrast, the New York Bulletin - a prestigious local paper - would have honed in on how the power outages affected New York City. It looks as though they were particularly proud of their coverage, and decided to frame the story.
