Warning! This post contains SPOILERS for Daredevil: Born Again episode 3White Tiger’s trial inDaredevil: Born Againhelps make up for the fact that we never got to see Matt Murdock representingSpider-Manin court.Daredevil: Born Againepisode 3 sees Murdock representingHector Ayala aka White Tiger, a New York vigilante arrested for a crime he didn’t commit. As such, this new opportunity to see Murdock in action defending his fellow heroes in court is pretty exciting to see (something we missed out on inSpider-Man: No Way Home).
As seen in the episodes ofDaredevil: Born Againreleased thus far, Hector Ayala was arrested for allegedly killing an undercover police officer at a subway station. However, the cop’s death was an accident after Ayala tried to help a man whom this officer and his partner were assaulting.This leads to Matt Murdock taking White Tiger’s case inDaredevil: Born Again, providing an exciting look at how Murdock might have defended Peter Parker had his case escalated inSpider-Man: No Way Home.
Matt Murdock Defends White Tiger In Court, But Hector Ayala Is Not His First Vigilante Client
Punisher and Spider-Man
Believing Hector’s account after using his senses to confirm he was telling the truth, Matt Murdock chooses to represent Hector Ayala despite the reservations held by his law partner, Kirsten McDuffie. Naturally, Murdock and his new client become a source of public controversy in New York, as itlookslike Matt Murdock is defending a cop-killer. However, the stakes are raised even higher when the victim of the assault, a confidential police informant named Nicky Torres, refuses to offer his key testimony on the stand that would have helped exonerate Ayala, the man who saved his life.
Having been threatened by other corrupt police officers before arriving at the courtroom, Torres lies on the stand, saying that he was not present at the subway station. This forces Matthew Murdock’s hand as he chooses to reveal to the jury that Hector Ayala is the White Tiger inDaredevil: Born Againepisode 3, a major bid for Murdock to highlight the strength of Hector’s character and who he truly is: a hero. That said,White Tiger isn’t the first vigilante Matt Murdock has represented in the MCU.
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In Netflix’sDaredevilSeason 2, Nelson & Murdock did what they could to represent Frank Castle’s Punisher, a brutal MCU vigilante believing in lethal justice through firearms. Notably, Frank’s aggression and lack of remorse for his killings led to Castle’s incarceration, and the court battle’s aftermath also led to a long hiatus for Nelson & Murdock (before it would ultimately become Nelson, Murdock & Page as seen at the end ofDaredevilseason 3). However,Matt Murdock also represented Spider-Man after his secret identity was exposedand Peter Parker was arrested at the beginning ofSpider-Man: No Way Home.
Spider-Man’s Case Never Went To Trial
(But Now I Wish It Had)
Following the death of Quentin Beck’s Mysterioand his doctored video meant to incriminate Spider-Man while exposing his secret identity at the end ofSpider-Man: Far From Home, the beginning ofNo Way Homesees Peter Parker arrested by federal agents to be brought in for questioning along with his family and friends. That said, the charges were ultimately dropped and didn’t stick.The majority of Spider-Man’s legal troubles were taken care of thanks to Matt Murdock, who’d been hired to serve as Peter’s lawyer.
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It’s good for Spider-Man that the legal blowback from his secret identity being exposed was minimal. At the same time, I also feel like it would have been very exciting had Spider-Man’s case gone to trial with Murdock representing Parker in court. While the investigation could have continued when/if new evidence was found to warrant a full trial, the point is moot now thatno one remembers who Peter Parker is following Doctor Strange’s spellthat saved reality at the end ofNo Way Home.Now,Daredevil: Born Againmakes me wish even more that a trial could have happened, especially after seeing White Tiger’s trial in the new MCU show.
Daredevil: Born Again Episode 3 Shows How Murdock Would Have Defended Peter Parker
Showing The Man Behind The Mask (Just Like With White Tiger)
After revealing to the court that Hector Ayala was The White Tiger, Matt Murdock shares eyewitness accounts regarding his good deeds and mission to protect New York. Various witnesses take the stand, sharing their experiences where they were saved by the vigilante, including police reports in favor of White Tiger’s assistance and service to his community. Murdock then hammers his argument home with a powerful closing statement, reiterating thatHector wasn’t even wearing his White Tiger suit nor had on his mystical strength-enhancing amuletwhen he jumped in to save Torres, speaking to the strength of Hector’s character with or without his mask.
It feels likely that Murdock would have used similar strategies to defend Spider-Man had his case gone to court.It’s arguably disappointing that we didn’t get to see Murdock fully in his element defending Spider-Man in a full trial setting, though White Tiger’s case is a pretty nice consolation. It shows how Matt Murdock would have presumably used various character arguments and witnesses to similarly show the man behind the mask, proving his client’s innocence not only through evidence but also through their past and proven acts of heroism (which wouldn’t have been too hard considering Spider-Man’s Avenger status).
