Daredevil: Born Again Teases The Return Of A Fan Favorite — But At A Cost
Will justice prevail?
Things aren’t looking too great for vigilantes in Daredevil: Born Again. With New York’s new mayor, Wilson Fisk (Vincent D’Onofrio), cracking down on costumed crimefighting throughout the city, and corrupt cops gaining more power by the day, it’s getting harder to defend the innocent without running into trouble. Hector Ayala (Kamar de los Reyes) learned this the hard way in Born Again Episode 2. By night, he fights crime as the new vigilante White Tiger — but when he finds himself in the wrong place at the wrong time, he quickly becomes a poster child for the city’s worst vices.
Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox) may be the only one capable of truly saving Hector from a fate he doesn’t deserve. Though he previously dabbled in vigilantism as Daredevil, Matt no longer solves problems with his fists. In Born Again, he prefers to fight the good fight in the courtroom — if he can help it, at least — and Episode 3 reminds us all of his capability as a public defender. That said, it also proves just how broken the system has become, paving the way for a familiar, more ruthless brand of justice to rear its head in later episodes.
Spoilers ahead for Daredevil: Born Again Episode 3.
Matt goes to great lengths to prove Hector’s innocence, but his bold strategy comes at a cost.
The latest episode of Born Again follows Matt Murdock and his allies in their efforts to exonerate Hector. He was accused of murdering an undercover cop in cold blood back in Episode 2, and as Matt quickly learns, a cabal of shady police officers will stop at nothing to put Hector away for good. The harder Matt works to defend his client, the closer he gets to uncovering what could be a new conspiracy. But unlike the corrupt cops from past Daredevil adventures — who were loyal to the evil ninja clan known as the Hand, or to Wilson Fisk (Vincent D’Onofrio) — these seem to be fans of The Punisher, aka Frank Castle (Jon Bernthal).
Officer Powell (Hamish Allan-Headley), whose partner perished in his fight with Hector, has a particular affinity for the anti-hero. He sports a skull tattoo that savors strongly of the Punisher’s trademark logo, and he likely isn’t the only one co-opting the vigilante’s “take no prisoners” attitude. Frank Castle has become a symbol of uncompromising justice, no matter who gets in the way, so it makes total sense that a group of dirty cops would use his iconography to justify their own skewed agendas. Episode 3 even suggests that cops like Powell are taking their admiration one step further, dressing up as Punisher copycats to enact the “justice” that they can’t perform in uniform.
Though Matt does win Hector’s case, he has to reveal Hector’s secret identity to do so. His tenure as a hero does help to sway the jury to a unanimous not guilty vote — but it also paints an even bigger target on Hector’s back. Matt tries to convince Hector to hang up the suit, but Hector refuses: with great power comes great responsibility, after all. Unfortunately, it doesn’t take long for someone to lash out against him. While prowling the streets as White Tiger, Hector is fatally shot by a masked figure in a Punisher outfit.
Did Punisher murder White Tiger?
Punisher may not be directly responsible for Hector’s demise, but he does play some role in it.
Hector’s demise is sure to be a shocking blow in future episodes of Born Again — but was he murdered by the actual Punisher? Jon Bernthal is set to reprise his role as Frank Castle in the series, but it’s very hard to believe that he’d have any reason to take Hector out. It’d make much more sense if it were actually Powell (or another cop in his circle) under the mask: this wouldn’t be the first time a dirty cop took their affinity for the Punisher too far. There’s a precedent for that in the comics (not to mention the real-life appropriation of Punisher imagery by neo-Nazis and Proud Boys). But in the comics, Frank is also known to retaliate against those who misinterpret his crusade. Maybe this is what brings the character into Born Again. He could team up with Matt to find Hector’s true murderer, over even expose the corruption festering in the NYPD. Time will tell, but this brutal twist might have just set the stage for an even more brutal anti-hero to return.
