Daredevil: Born Again has seen a second shocking death after Foggy’s death at the beginning of the show. While fans of the comics expected the death of Hector Ayala aka the White Tiger at some point in the series, even those fans were dealt with a major change from the comics. The White Tiger’s death in the Marvel show was more satisfying to me than its comic counterpart.
The White Tiger is one of the vigilantes in Hell’s Kitchen who protects innocent people. Hector Ayala’s storyline in the series is also a poignant tribute to actor Kamar de los Reyes, who portrayed him. Reyes passed away on December 24, 2023, at the age of 56 due to cancer.
Daredevil: Born Again changed the White Tiger’s storyline from the comics
Hector Ayala aka the White Tiger was introduced in the second episode of Daredevil: Born Again. Within the short time he appeared on screen, actor Kamar de los Reyes managed to hook me to his character. It was shocking for all of us fans to see the fate of the character in Episode 3.
Hector gets arrested when he accidentally kills a crooked cop, who was beating a man, Nicky Torres. He wasn’t wearing his costume, which kept his identity as the White Tiger hidden. Hector was framed for an unprovoked attack and Matt Murdock appeared in court to defend him. While Matt was able to track down Nicky, he lied on the stand and put their case at risk.
Matt badly wanted to save Hector from jail time. He went against his client’s wish and revealed that Hector is the White Tiger. He was able to bring in people who received help from the vigilante and present a strong case for Hector. In the comics, the jury finds Hector guilty at the end of the trial.
A frantic Hector grabs a gun and points it toward Matt and Foggy, who are representing him. Eventually, he is shot dead by the cops in the courthouse. While comic fans expected the storyline in Daredevil: Born Again to take a similar route, it gave us a more satisfying conclusion to the White Tiger’s arc.
In the series, Matt is eventually successful in proving his client’s innocence. However, he tells Hector that he should not continue his vigilante avatar anymore. Hector doesn’t listen to Matt and suits up the same night to hit the streets. He wants to protect the streets now more than ever since Daredevil is gone.
However, he is shot dead in the darkness of the night before he can even fight off his attacker. The scene ends with the killer walking towards the camera and fans can clearly see the Punisher skull logo on the killer’s vest. The show did two things brilliantly in this episode’s finale.
The show gave the late actor Reyes the utmost respect in the way it killed his character. Unlike the comics where Hector is mercilessly killed as a criminal, the show made him a free man before his death. He was killed doing what he loved—protecting Hell’s Kitchen. The second brilliance was the way they teased Jon Bernthal‘s Frank Castle aka The Punisher.
Did The Punisher actually execute The White Tiger in Daredevil: Born Again?
It would be out of character for the Punisher to execute the White Tiger in cold blood. The Netflix version has built his character over two seasons of Daredevil and two seasons of The Punisher in such a way that he wouldn’t just recklessly kill anyone deemed a criminal.
However, comic books have often featured another group that kills people and flashes around the Punisher logo. The comics featured crooked cops who are Punisher fanboys, in the sense that they kill criminals without the system’s interference. While Frank Castle’s nature as a protagonist or antagonist is debatable, the crooked cops are villains in these storylines.
It is possible that the show has adapted this part of the comics into its story. Since the White Tiger killed one of them, they sought retribution by executing him. I strongly believe that Jon Bernthal’s character’s entry would be to pursue these crooked cops using his name. And that would make the next episodes all the more exciting to watch.
Daredevil: Born Again Episode 3 is now available for streaming on Disney+.
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