If you thought Daredevil: Born Again was done with the shocking deaths after — spoilers past this point — killing Foggy Nelson (Elden Henson) in the opening minutes of the premiere episode? Well, think again. In tonight’s third episode, we get another jaw-dropping character death in the closing shot (no pun intended), and it sure looks like The Punisher killed White Tiger. But is that what’s really going on?
To jump back a few steps here, White Tiger, aka Hector Ayala (Kamar de Los Reyes), has been on trial for murdering a cop. He didn’t do it, of course. Instead he was trying to break up a fight between two undercover cops and an informant when one of the cops tripped and fell in front of the subway.
When nothing else works, and the informant is coerced by the cops into lying on the stand, Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox) reveals that Hector is the White Tiger as a way of proving he didn’t do it. “The mask doesn’t make the man,” Matt says, talking about Hector but also himself. “And whether Hector Ayala is wearing the White Tiger suit or not, he’s a hero.”
Matt is successful, Hector is found not guilty on all counts. Though Matt told him that he can never put on the costume again? With NYC in trouble and people disappearing from the streets, Hector becomes White Tiger and patrols the neighborhood that very night. Unfortunately for him, a man steps out of the shadows and shoots him right in the head, killing him. And when that man turns towards the camera, he’s wearing the distinct bulletproof vest of The Punisher. Uh-oh!
So is Frank Castle (Jon Bernthal) responsible for the death of White Tiger? Probably not, but let’s explore three possible theories of who is behind the execution-style murder.
Theory #1: The Punisher Killed White Tiger
Let’s say this is how The Punisher returns to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) in Daredevil: Born Again. When we last left Frank at the end of The Punisher Season 2, he had fully embraced his antihero identity, skull-vest and all. Is it possible that Frank saw the not guilty verdict, and decided in his own twisted way that Hector was guilty of killing a cop?
To add fuel to the fire, the footage of The Punisher in the Born Again trailer shows Frank worse for the wear, with a big, scraggly beard and a bit of madness in his eyes. So maybe part of the plot of the season is that The Punisher has lost it, and is offing vigilantes.
That said? It just doesn’t track for The Punisher, a character who has an unearthly sense of justice and just seems to know whether people are guilty or not. Sure he kills people all the time, but he only kills guilty people. And Hector was not only declared “not guilty,” he actually is not guilty. Plus, Frank knows Matt, and would likely have checked with him first. While we’re supposed to think Frank killed Hector, this is likely a red herring… Particularly because they never show The Punisher’s face on screen.
Theory #2: The Kingpin Killed White Tiger
The scene of Hector on patrol, and being killed, is interspersed with Wilson Fisk (Vincent D’Onofrio) giving an interview to BB Urich (Genneya Walton) about the results of the trial. Fisk calls all vigilantes cop killers, and as he says “The rule of law must prevail,” we cut to Hector getting shot in the head.
While Fisk has — as far as the audience has seen — stuck to the rule of law himself… Come on, he’s the Kingpin of Crime, not the Kingpin of Law. The juxtaposition of these two scenes clearly seems to indicate they’re connected. How? We don’t know, but it seems far more likely that Mayor Fisk is somehow responsible for the death of Hector, versus Frank Castle.
Theory #3: The Police Killed White Tiger
It’s possible this may tie into the above theory, but everything the show has been telling us so far is that the NYPD is responsible for the death of Hector Ayala. We’ve seen police officers throughout the first three episodes sporting Punisher tattoos. Even though some of the cops in attendance at the trials seemed moved by Hector’s testimony, once it was revealed he is White Tiger… Not all of them were. And Powell (Hamish Allan-Headley), whose partner was killed in the subway accident, seems downright bad news.
It’s far more likely that one of these cops inspired by The Punisher — a storyline in the show that is riffing on real-life cops erroneously inspired by the fictional Marvel Comics character — killed Hector to dish out their own brand of justice. It makes a lot more sense that a cop with a sketchy moral code would kill Hector, thinking they were doing what The Punisher would do; rather than The Punisher doing it himself.
Whether it was Frank Castle, The Kingpin, an NYPD officer, or just some random guy in a Punisher vest? We’ll know soon enough.
Daredevil: Born Again Premiere Dates And Episode Guide:
New episodes of Daredevil: Born Again premiere on Tuesdays on Disney+ at 9pm ET / 6pm PT.
Here’s the full list of episodes in Daredevil: Born Again Season 1 with premiere dates:
- Tuesday, March 4, 2025: Daredevil: Born Again, Season 1, Episode 1
- Tuesday, March 4, 2025: Daredevil: Born Again, Season 1, Episode 2
- Tuesday, March 11, 2025: Daredevil: Born Again, Season 1, Episode 3
- Tuesday, March 18, 2025: Daredevil: Born Again, Season 1, Episode 4
- Tuesday, March 25, 2025: Daredevil: Born Again, Season 1, Episode 5
- Tuesday, March 25, 2025: Daredevil: Born Again, Season 1, Episode 6
- TBA: Daredevil: Born Again, Season 1, Episode 7
- TBA: Daredevil: Born Again, Season 1, Episode 8
- TBA: Daredevil: Born Again, Season 1, Episode 9 *Season Finale*
Where To Watch Daredevil: Born Again
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I think it was a mercenary or cop (Possibly Devlin or Powell) hired by Kingpin, since right after Kingpin’s interview about taking care of the vigilante problem, they showed Hector being shot