Daredevil: Born Again's Kamar De Los Reyes Tribute, Explained

This article contains spoilers for "Daredevil: Born Again" season 1, episode 2.

"Daredevil: Born Again" season 1, episode 2 introduces a brand new street-level vigilante superhero in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Unfortunately, Hector "White Tiger" Ayala (Kamar de los Reyes) finds himself in a world of trouble when a subway station confrontation between two violent plain-clothes police officers and the civilian-garbed Hector causes one of the cops to fatally stumble in front of an oncoming train ... and Hector is accused of his murder. Fortunately, a certain inactive secret vigilante just so happens to be a lawyer and offers to take Hector's seemingly impossible case. 

The episode dives deep into the courtroom side of Matt "Daredevil" Murdock (Charlie Cox)'s life, and the tactics he's willing to use in order to prove to the world what his super senses have already confirmed to him: Hector is innocent. It's an episode full of calamity, but before the story even begins, an onscreen dedication to a performer marks an even bigger real-life tragedy. "In loving memory of Kamar de los Reyes," the tribute card reads, referring to the actor's untimely death on December 24, 2023.

Kamar de los Reyes died of cancer at age 56, so he never got to see the MCU fans' reactions to his amazing portrayal of a well-meaning vigilante caught in terrible circumstances. However, even before "Daredevil: Born Again," de los Reyes made his mark in a number of high-profile roles. 

Hailing from Puerto Rico, de los Reyes moved to Las Vegas at an early age and started his screen acting career in the late 1980s. In 1995, he joined the cast of popular ABC daytime drama "One Life to Live," portraying major character Antonio Vega until 2009 (save for a brief break in May 2007, during which Robert Montano played the role). In 2017, he portrayed the demonic Jobe in season 4 of the Fox supernatural show "Sleepy Hollow," and he's also played recurring characters in the ABC crime drama "The Rookie" (where he played Ryan Caradine) and The CW's sports drama "All American" (as Coach Montes). On the film side of things, he's appeared in major movies like Oliver Stone's "Nixon" (1995) and Tarsem Singh's "The Cell" (2000). Fans of the "Call of Duty: Black Ops" video game series are also very familiar with de los Reyes, who provided the voice, face, and motion capture for the major series antagonist Raul Menendez. Rest in peace, sir.