Episode three of Daredevil: Born Again is a courtroom drama instead of a straight up superhero action show that succeeds in its goal of further outlining the differences in public opinion towards vigilantes. The episode ends on a cliffhanger and a tease, that very obviously isn't who the episode wants us to think it is.
SPOILERS BELOW.
Episode three takes place almost exclusively in a courtroom as Matt Murdock defends Hector Ayala, the White Tiger. After all the effort Matt and Cherry went through to keep their star witness, Nicky Torres, a confidential informant that the cops were beating on when Hector intervened, safe, he ends up going against them. We don't know exactly why. Either someone got to him and intimidated him, or being in the room with all those cops who will definitely not be his friends afterwards spooked him. At that point, again, after all the effort Matt went through to hide the fact that Hector is White Tiger as he thought the jury would hate him for it, he decides it's now his only defense and reveals to the jury that Hector White White Tiger. Matt uses it to his advantage and the jury finds Hector not guilty on all accounts.
However, there are some who are not happy with the verdict. All the officers, some of which have Punisher tattoos, seemed to be unhappy with it. It's unknown if every cop in the room is crooked, but they all at least seem to believe Hector Ayala killed their comrade.
There's one man in particular that is very much unhappy with the verdict: Wilson Fisk, the Kingpin and Mayor of New York. He tells BB Urich of the BB Report how unhappy he is with the verdict and that it was a “miscarriage of justice”. Clearly, he wants to do something about it.
The scene cuts to Hector Ayala donning his White Tiger suit and then just sort of taking a stroll through the city, something I found very strange. Why is he just walking around on the sidewalk? Is that how vigilantes look for crime? Put on a white suit that makes them stick out like a sore thumb, then go for a stroll hoping to find some criminals? Anyway, that's beside the point. Hector is shot in the head execution style, then the person who shot him walks at the camera revealing a Punisher logo on what seems to be body armor.
There's no way that's The Punisher. I'm not sure if the show wants us to think that's Frank Castle, but the first thing I said after The episode was, “Well, that's not him.” If it's not The Punisher, who is it?
The cut from Fisk to the scene in which Ayala dies makes me think it could be someone Fisk hired to impersonate The Punisher. This would make sense as Fisk is waging a war against vigilantes in New York. Setting up The Punisher to take the fall for a murder of a vigilante that is moderately well liked accomplishes two things: it takes a vigilante off the streets and demonizes another. This very well may be Fisk's doing, but there’s another option that makes more sense within the story being told.
It's entirely possible that Hector Ayala's death has nothing to do with Wilson Fisk and his killer is a rogue NYPD officer taking up the mantle of The Punisher. As many cops in the city seem to be idolizing The Punisher, one of them could go out of their way to fully realize their idolatry and become “The Punisher”. The officers seem to hate vigilantes except when it comes to Frank Castle as they appreciate and want to adopt his specific brand of brutal judgement. We may even see more than one “Punisher” as the police force morphs into a much more terrifying version of itself.
Another possible identity for the fake Punisher is the villain Muse who was featured in the trailers for Daredevil: Born Again several times, but is a character we are yet to see. For those that don’t know, Muse is a relatively new Daredevil comics villain introduced in 2016 by Charels Soule and Ron Garney. Muse is an incredibly violent character who kills several Inhumans in his debut and sets them up like pieces of artwork. Muse also has superhuman strength, speed, and agility which makes him a tough villain. On top of that, his powers are designed to make him someone Daredevil specifically can’t fight. His body acts as a strange black hole for sensory information meaning it’s nearly impossible for Daredevil to fight him. Technically, he can be seen, but he can move faster than the human eye can comprehend, so he’s still difficult to see. If Muse is impersonating the Punisher, it will be a tough fight for Daredevil which may lead him to enlisting Frank Castle.
Ultimately, I believe the most likely identity for the fake Punisher is an NYPD officer taking up the mantle for himself. Who do you think the killer is? Let me know in the comments!