Daredevil: Born Again Episode 3 Is A Direct Adaptation Of A Classic Marvel Comic

Spoilers for "Daredevil: Born Again" to follow.

As star Charlie Cox has stressed, "Daredevil: Born Again" is named that because it's a revival of the previous "Daredevil" TV show, not because it's adapting Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli's "Born Again" story. (It isn't.) Mind you, that's not to say the series is ignoring the "Daredevil" comics either.

Unlike some Marvel premieres, "Daredevil" writers and artists got to stroll the "Born Again" red carpet, including Charles Soule, Ron Garney, Chip Zdarsky, Alex Maleev, Michael Lark, David Mack, and the aforementioned Mr. Miller. Absent, though, was Brian Michael Bendis (who wrote "Daredevil" from 2001 to 2006), even though "Born Again" is adapting one of his key stories, "Trial of the Century" ("Daredevil" Volume 2 #38-40).

"Daredevil: Born Again" episode 2 featured Hector Ayala aka White Tiger (Kamar de los Reyes) being arrested for the murder of a police officer. He's innocent, of course; he saw two men roughing up a lone individual in the subway and went to help. Unfortunately, it turned out the two attackers — Powell (Hamish Allan-Headley) and Shanahan (Jefferson Cox) — were police officers who were roughing up an informant named Nicky Torres (Nick Jordan), as opposed to mugging or assaulting the man. Tragically, during the ensuing scuffle with Hector, Shanahan fell in front of a passing subway train, although Powell later accuses Hector of pushing his partner to his death.

Matt Murdock (Cox), naturally, is Hector's defense attorney; he's now a superhero attorney in two ways, the same way Saul Goodman (Bob Odenkirk) is a criminal lawyer. Episode 3 of "Born Again" is thereafore all about Hector's trial. The defense's star witness, Torres, is intimidated into silence by the NYPD, so Matt makes the dramatic move of revealing in open court that Hector is the White Tiger. Recognized as the community hero he is, Hector is found not guilty. However, the next time he goes out as White Tiger, a masked man wearing the Punisher's logo shoots him in the head.

The episode has the same premise and major beats as "Trial of the Century," but dive into the details and you'll find lots of differences.

Before we compare them, let's dig into what makes "Trial of the Century" work. Most of Bendis' "Daredevil" was drawn by Alex Maleev, who used sharply-pencilled and watercolor art with a beautifully grainy look. Maleev abstains for "Trial," which has a brighter palette courtesy of Manuel Gutierrez (issues #38-39) and Terry Dodson (#40).

What isn't different is the writing. Bendis is a dialogue-focused writer, and makes meals out of long, sometimes repetitive conversations. He's cited David Mamet as one of his key influences, which has led to critics and fans labeling him the Mamet of Marvel. Bendis' comics have also been both praised and take to task for their decompression. Whereas a compressed comic might stuff a conversation into a single panel, a decompressed comic will give each reply its own panel. It's a more cinematic way of pacing a comic — one that emphasizes character interactions and expressions, sometimes with a series of repetitive panels.

Bendis' style means that a courtroom drama fits him like a snug glove. A trial is a pressure cooker of a setting, because everyone's emotions are high but they have to sit in place and in silence. Most of a trial is people talking back and forth, with lawyers asking questions and witnesses giving answers. All dialogue, no action lets Bendis do what he does best. The double spread pages in "Trial of the Century" aren't a single, dramatic illustration of Daredevil punching someone; they're scenes of lawyers questioning witnesses, broken up into small and thin panels.

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The characters barely move, but the story sure does. Bendis has a reputation for dragging narratives out; if he wanted to, I know he could've made "Trial of the Century" into six issues, enough for a full trade paperback. But he understood that the longer a trial lasts, the more your audience will tune out until the verdict finally comes. So, why keep them waiting? "Born Again," too, proves it only needed two episodes to tell White Tiger's story.

In "Trial of the Century," Matt represents Hector with his longtime partner Foggy Nelson. That's not possible after the shocking premiere of "Born Again," so Matt's partner is instead Kirsten McDuffie (Nikki M. James).

Then there's the prosecutor. In "Born Again," it's District Attorney Benjamin Hochberg (John Benjamin Hickey). He's ruthless enough, and nicknamed "the Hawk," but he doesn't have an agenda beyond winning his case in the way any lawyer wants to. In "Trial of the Century," the prosecutor was named Paul Delacourt, and he made Hawk look like a sparrow.

Delacourt was out to convict Hector so as to delegitimize vigilantes and superheroes; the trial was about sending a message (and boosting Delacourt's political career). In case there's any doubt you aren't supposed to like Delacourt, Gutierrez draws him like an ogre, complete with soulless shades for eyes. He ends up looking like the monstrous mob boss Herr Wallenquist from "Sin City."

And therein lies another major change. Hector Ayala's trial is incendiary in both versions, but in the comic, he was arrested as White Tiger. Two young drug addicts robbed an electronics store and a cop responded. Then, White Tiger arrived and tried to help. Instead, the cop was shot and the crooks' stolen TV landed in White Tiger's hands, making him look guilty when more police officers arrived.

Adjusting Hector's crime, and emphasizing more how the NYPD wants blood for blood, is part of a broader point in "Daredevil: Born Again." Cops are bullies with too many guns and far too little regulation, terrified of and violent against the people that their motto claims they protect and serve. That's why so many cops, in both the real world and the Marvel Cinematic Universe, love the Punisher. They see themselves as Frank Castle, i.e. a "badass" who doesn't listen to the law and violently kills the "trash" who deserves it.

"Trial of the Century" also comes right off of "Out" when Matt's identity was leaked by the FBI and ran on the front page of the Daily Globe. Matt, the self-flagellating martyr that he is, decides Hector's case was doomed by him coming on board; it looked like the superheroes closing ranks to defend each other. Sad thing is, Matt's Catholic guilt has some weight this time.

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Then, the final change to the trial: Hector is found guilty in the comic, which leads to him bursting from the courtroom and choosing to die by suicide at the hands of a cop. "Born Again" sets him free yet gives him even less agency than the comic did. The show is definitely making a point by having the police unjustly target and harm an innocent Latino man, yet saying that Hector was doomed either way means this "Born Again" episode ends on a dispiriting note. Then again, maybe it's a note that some still needed to hear.

"Daredevil: Born Again" is streaming on Disney+.