The memorable opening sequence from last week’s series premiere of Daredevil: Born Again drew the ire of many Marvel fans and viewers—and it wasn’t even because of the death of Foggy Nelson. Instead, it was because of the show’s shoddy use of CGI in the conflict that surrounded the character’s shocking demise. The one-shot action sequence was meant to honor the work of the original Netflix series, but the noticeable element of CGI was also a reminder for many that this TV show is now produced by Marvel Studios, for better or worse.
Much of Netflix’s Daredevil was a balancing act between its bloody superhero action and its slow-burn legal drama. After Born Again started and ended its two-episode premiere with fight scenes, Episode 3 dampens the spectacle to ground the revival series in the courtroom.
In “The Hollow of His Hand,” directed by Michael Cuesta, Hector Ayala’s trial takes center stage. After an undercover cop was killed by a train during a brawl with Ayala in Episode 2, Ayala faces life in prison, all for trying to save a man whom the police allege was never there. But when Ayala’s lawyer, Matt Murdock, reveals Ayala’s secret identity as the vigilante known as the White Tiger to the public, his innocence isn’t the only matter on trial anymore. Born Again uses this sudden development (for the series and for Murdock) to examine the very nature of vigilantism and the costs that come with it.
While Born Again may not have the same level of action as its Netflix predecessor, it makes up for it with its storytelling. “The Hollow of His Hand” uses Ayala’s case—and its devastating aftermath—to continue laying the foundation for the show’s exploration of Murdock’s eternal internal conflict. No matter how much he wants to move forward with his life, the world keeps testing Murdock’s faith in the system, finding new ways to tempt him into fighting for justice on his own terms as Daredevil.
The Brief
“The Hollow of His Hand” begins with Murdock meeting Ayala in a holding cell—and Ayala has seen better days. Wearing his suit for court, he is beaten and bruised, both physically and emotionally. He reminisces about Luquillo, the beach near where he’s from in Puerto Rico, and the coqui—little tree frogs—that serenade the locals at every sunset. Ayala has all but given up hope that he’ll ever see that beach again. But Murdock is dedicated to saving Ayala—without wearing a mask.
Although Episode 3 is almost entirely dedicated to Ayala’s trial, it also spends some time focusing on Wilson Fisk as he deals with the growing pains of becoming mayor. Ironically, Kingpin is having issues with the city’s organized crime, particularly after a truck hijacking turned into a double homicide at the Red Hook port. Vanessa suggests to him that the Five Families are acting up as a direct result of Fisk’s decision to turn to politics.
“They’re misbehaving because there’s no one at the head of the table,” she says. “Without you or me there, they’ll turn on each other.”
The gap between Wilson and Vanessa is widening as the season progresses. They’re still attending joint therapy sessions with Heather Glenn, but Vanessa is resentful that she’s been sidelined by her husband after she effectively ran the Fisk family business in his absence. She sends Fisk’s shadow, Buck, to squash the emergent beef between two of the Five Families, forcing Luca and his Tracksuit Mafia to pay Viktor $1.8 million in restitution for the truck hijacking. Except she does so behind Wilson’s back. When Vanessa explains her actions to her husband before their therapy session, Wilson warns her that she may lose his trust if this behavior continues.
More on ‘Daredevil: Born Again’
Meanwhile, as the Ayala trial commences, Officer Powell takes the witness stand to spew his lies about the night the defendant allegedly murdered his partner. During Murdock’s cross-examination, he gets Powell to double down on his claim that he and his partner, Officer Shanahan, were alone on the subway platform when Ayala supposedly attacked them. Powell swears under oath that they definitely weren’t there to meet with a confidential informant for the NYPD named Nicky Torres. Murdock successfully sets the stage for his star witness—Torres—to discredit Powell’s story when he takes the stand. However, he overhears a cop in the gallery whispering that they can’t let Torres testify.
Torres, whom Murdock saved from Powell and his new partner at the end of the previous episode, had been safely hidden away with the help of Cherry, Matt’s investigator. Cherry does some nifty maneuvering to ensure that Torres arrives at the courthouse unharmed, despite Powell’s best efforts. However, when Torres finally sits down before the judge and jury, he wavers, wasting his opportunity to repay Ayala for defending him that night. Feeling the pressure from all the cops watching him from the gallery, Torres supports Murdock’s story about being a confidential informant for the police and lies about the rest. Torres claims that he wasn’t even on the platform at the time of the incident.
With few alternatives left, Murdock calls an audible at court the following day without consulting his partner, Kirsten McDuffie; Cherry; or Ayala. While Ayala is on the stand, Murdock reveals to the courtroom—and to the general public—that Ayala was a hero not just on the night he saved Torres, but on every night that he suited up as the White Tiger. He dramatically pulls Ayala’s mask from his briefcase, raising it for everyone in the courtroom to see:
Naturally, Judge Cooper and District Attorney Hochberg don’t appreciate this stunning turn of events, especially since Murdock had been the one who originally advocated that Ayala’s alter ego shouldn’t surface in the trial in any way. Ayala isn’t too pleased, either. He later tells his attorney that his superhero identity wasn’t his secret to tell. Unmoved, Murdock says that he did what he had to in order to improve their chances, and he goes a step further by telling Ayala that he’ll have to leave his crime-fighting days behind if and when he gets acquitted of his charges.
“I don’t think you understand,” Hector responds. “Being the White Tiger is more than just putting on a suit. It’s who I am. It’s a calling. I didn’t choose it. It chose me. Might as well ask me to stop breathing.”
“There are other ways to help,” Matt replies, trying to convince himself as well as Hector. “Other ways to contribute. Ways that don’t require a mask. You have to think about your family now. They need you. And for what it’s worth, I think you might be surprised at how much you don’t miss being him.”
Ayala refers to his vigilantism as a “calling,” a common theme in superhero narratives, but Murdock dismisses it. For Matt, Daredevil has become almost like an addiction—one that he’s desperately trying to kick even as he edges closer to relapsing. Ayala still has pride and belief in the good that he does as the White Tiger, and Murdock—who’s still mourning his friend’s death—has grown too cynical about his own alter ego.
With the cat—or should I say, White Tiger—out of the bag, the trajectory of the whole trial shifts. It’s no longer just a case about Ayala or his actions on the subway platform that night, but one about vigilantism in general. The topic has become something of a hot-button issue after Fisk preached that vigilantes should be held in check during his campaign and in his opening address as mayor, turning this trial into more of a spectacle than it already was.
The defense calls to the stand character witnesses who share stories of the White Tiger’s heroism, and McDuffie reads additional testimonies from police officers who claimed that the White Tiger helped them perform their duties in protecting and upholding the law. The prosecution, however, argues that even good people are capable of doing bad things. Hochberg draws attention to the fact that Ayala felt the need to dress up in a costume and hide his identity to save people, unlike the members of the NYPD.
“These men and women you see sitting here, they’re officers of the law,” Hochberg tells the jury. “They took an oath to protect even in the face of danger. And every single day, these brave men and women show up to serve the people of this city, to serve you, to serve me, and they do all that without a mask. If Hector’s sole intent was to do good for his community, why is he hiding? Because the last time I checked, real heroes don’t need to hide.”
In truth, Hochberg does a pitiful job here. Murdock and McDuffie bring in a witness whom Ayala saved from a burning vehicle, even providing photos for the jury to see the risk the White Tiger put himself in. Hochberg’s rebuttal is to compare his own good deeds—such as giving money to the church and visiting his mother—to the guy who did all that and more, and he suggests that Ayala has something to hide without providing any meaningful evidence that he does. While I’m glad that Born Again didn’t take the more traditional Marvel Studios route of weaving the entire history of the MCU into this trial, in moments like these, it’s a little difficult to ignore that this series has joined a cinematic universe where there’s an awful lot of precedent for heroes making costly mistakes or breaking bad. Hochberg could’ve taken this case in so many directions, yet he chose to do little more than appeal to the jury’s faith in the NYPD.
It doesn’t come as much of a surprise when the jury finds Hector not guilty on every count. Ayala is free to go home, and there’s a sense of hope as justice prevails: Hector and his wife, Soledad, share a smiling glance from across the courtroom, grateful for the chance to salvage their marriage in their new apartment. Even Murdock celebrates that night, feeling vindicated because the legal system worked for once. But the joy of their victory is fleeting.
In the final moments of the episode, Ayala suits up as the White Tiger for the first—and last—time after the trial. As Fisk sits down for an interview with journalist BB Urich to discuss the “miscarriage of justice” on display in the Ayala verdict, he ominously speaks about the threat that vigilantes pose to society. He vows to keep his promise to allow the rule of law to prevail once again. And as Kingpin’s words fade into the background, transitioning to a voiceover, Ayala is shot in the head by a dimly lit figure with the Punisher logo emblazoned across their chest.
The shooter’s face is never revealed, and it’s difficult to believe that this would be the work of Frank Castle himself. The Punisher may be a violent, ruthless killer, but he targets only those who live in the criminal underworld. (If anything, Castle would be going after someone like Officer Powell.) Given the emergence of multiple dirty cops bearing the same Punisher-inspired tattoo, it seems clear enough that someone on the police force has taken matters into their own hands after Ayala, the cop killer, walked free.
But more important than the identity of the shooter is that of the victim, Hector Ayala. There’s a tragic undertone to this devastating TV moment due to the real-world circumstances surrounding the actor, Kamar de los Reyes, who died in late 2023 shortly after being diagnosed with cancer. Reyes’s time on Born Again was brief but impactful, as he delivered a wonderful performance as Ayala. His character was resolute in his belief that he had a higher calling to protect the innocent, reflecting how Murdock once viewed his own sense of duty as Daredevil. In discovering Hector’s death, Matt will be given yet another reminder of a broken system that remains unchanged.
As the credits roll at the end of the episode, the calls of the coqui—the music of the island, as Hector described them—and the sounds of crashing waves provide a quiet, somber moment of remembrance for Reyes and the character he brought to life.
Superhero Spotlight: The White Tiger
The heartbreaking fate of Ayala is another early-season shocker, following Foggy’s death in the opening minutes of the series. We caught only glimpses of Ayala as the White Tiger on a tiny TV at Josie’s in the premiere, along with the few moments leading up to his killing in Episode 3. But the character’s comic book origins date back to 1975, just 11 years after the Man Without Fear made his own debut.
Created by writer Bill Mantlo and artist George Pérez, the White Tiger first appeared in Deadly Hands of Kung Fu no. 19, becoming Marvel’s first Latino superhero. Ayala found a trio of mystical tiger amulets—which had been left behind by the Sons of the Tiger, a disbanded group of three martial arts heroes—while attending Empire State University in New York City. Wearing the amulets granted Ayala superhuman strength, along with a sudden knack for the martial arts, and he soon turned his gift into a life of fighting crime.
“As best as I can remember, the idea of creating the White Tiger was initially brought up by my Sons of the Tiger writer and collaborator Bill Mantlo during a weekend somewhere in Long Island, NY,” Pérez told Marvel.com in 2019. “Figuring that we had pretty much dredged the well of ideas for the Tiger Sons, we wanted to go in a different direction and, since he was working with a Puerto Rican artist from the Bronx, Bill suggested creating a character utilizing my experience and background. And, as simply as that, the White Tiger was born.”
In the years to follow, Ayala went on to make guest appearances in other titles, including The Spectacular Spider-Man and The Defenders. But just like in Born Again, the character’s tragic ending arrived in a Daredevil story.
Episodes 2 and 3 of Born Again draw inspiration from a three-issue arc in Daredevil (1998), written by Brian Michael Bendis and illustrated by Manuel Gutierrez. “The Trial of the Century” was published across three months, beginning in late 2002 and ending in early 2003. Although the finer details of Ayala’s alleged crimes and the nature of the trial itself were altered for the purposes of the Marvel Studios series (for example, the comics featured celebrity witnesses like the Fantastic Four’s Reed Richards), the broader strokes of the story remain unchanged.
The biggest (and best) alteration that Born Again makes is the result of Ayala’s trial itself. In the comics, Hector loses his trial, and he responds with sheer panic. He tries to escape, fighting his way out of the courtroom and grabbing a gun off a bailiff as he flees the scene. And on the steps of the courthouse, he gets gunned down for the whole world to see:
In contrast, Born Again at least allows the hero to go out with some grace. As in the comics, there’s still room for someone to follow in Ayala’s footsteps and take up the mantle of the White Tiger. In the comics, Hector was succeeded by both his sister, Ava, and his niece, Angela del Toro, as later versions of the White Tiger. And in Born Again, Angela was sitting in the crowd when Murdock revealed her uncle’s superhero identity for everyone to see.
It’s a tremendous shame that we won’t be able to watch Reyes continue in the role of Hector Ayala after such limited screen time, especially since he never had a real action sequence as the White Tiger, either. But the late actor played a huge part in a strong episode to help Born Again gain surer footing at the start of its multi-season run.
Easter Eggs
The first Easter egg that I’ll highlight from Episode 3 comes from a courtroom scene where Murdock lists a number of police officers who filed reports stating that White Tiger came to their aid. And one of those officers has a familiar name:
Officer Morales is likely a reference to Jefferson Morales, formerly Jefferson Davis, who’s better known as the father of Miles Morales. Of course, Morales is a common name and this could just be a coincidence. However, the creators of Born Again are surely well aware of the fact that many Marvel fans would perk up at this mention. Even with all the success of Sony’s animated Spider-Verse franchise, Miles has yet to be introduced in the live-action world of the MCU. This potential acknowledgment of his existence could be the tiniest step toward his inevitable arrival.
The second Easter egg isn’t really an Easter egg at all. But I still have to call out Officer Powell’s reference to the New York Knicks:
During his testimony, Powell spun a false narrative about how Ayala murdered his partner, Officer Shanahan, who was his best friend for the eight years they served on the force together. “That’s eight years of beers, and kids, and just talking about how shitty the Knicks are,” Powell says.
Now, I know that this episode’s script was written several years ago, and the Knicks have not exactly been a model of consistency in the NBA during the 21st century. But as a Knicks fan who has very much been enjoying the team’s return to relevancy in recent years, I have to ask: What the hell?
Did Jalen Brunson lose his basketball abilities during the Blip? Did half of the NBA vanish at the time of the Snap, shifting the power dynamics in the league as some players aged while others were lost in the void for five years? Born Again has opened the door for so many (extremely dumb) world-building questions that are going to keep me wondering until next week’s episode arrives.
