Paired with Episode 2, the third episode of Daredevil: Born Again adapted writer Brian Michael Bendis‘ “The Trial of the Century” arc from his early 2000s time on Marvel Knights Daredevil: The Man Without Fear. It’s rare for Marvel Studios to do direct adaptations of comic books storylines and the studio didn’t do that here. Instead, with Bendis‘ serving as a Consulting Producer on the two episodes, Marvel did something even more rare: they made a great comic book story better.
Elevated by an incredible performance by the late Kamar de los Reyes, “In the Hollow of His Hand” allowed Daredevil: Born Again time for Matt Murdock to do his day job and put on display just exactly what it is that makes him a really good lawyer. Though he probably is the “slippery shit” he was accused of being, Murdock’s instincts to let Hector Ayala take the stand as White Tiger and put the ethos of the Boricua spirit on trial served him well as Hector’s known standing as an ally to the cops and strong member of his community were more than enough to exonerate the hero. Unfortunately, wins don’t last for long in this show.
As in the comics, however, the legacies of Ayala and the White Tiger will live on. Sharp-eared viewers probably heard that Hector was living with his sister and niece and, if those same viewers were eagle-eyed during the trial, they saw his niece, Angela, in the courtroom. Created by Bendis, Angela del Toro showed up 20 issues or so after Hector’s trial and ultimately took up the mantle of White Tiger. Will Angela look to make Hector’s fight her own in Daredevil: Born Again?
Of course, what’s truly fascinating about the episode(s), which were originally set to be the series two-episode debut, is how strongly subversive they were to the pathos established by Netflix’s Daredevil. Despite serious tension in the courtroom and on the streets, a brutal, bloody battle wasn’t necessary in order to make a pair of episodes that are nothing short of must see DD…that take place almost entirely during the day.
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