⚠️Spoiler Alert: This article contains spoilers for season 2, episode 6 of Daredevil: Born Again. Reader discretion is advised.
Throughout this week’s episode of Daredevil: Born Again, we’re split between the return of Jessica Jones, Matt Murdock and Karen Page falling out over Matt’s refusal to kill and Wilson Fisk crashing out over the death of his wife Vanessa. But there’s one moment in the season 2 episode “Requiem” that’s easy to miss.
When Jessica Jones and Daredevil attack an Anti-Vigilante Task Force (AVTF) weapons warehouse, Jessica actually hurts her hand when she punches Officer Connor Powell. This is the same woman who can lift up the back of a moving car or kill someone with just a single punch. The combination of her super strength + durability should have been more than enough to knock him out. Instead, Powell is able to hit Jessica in the face with enough force to make her bleed.
Daredevil saves her by hitting Powell in the back of the head with what looks like a bazooka. And yet, Officer Connor Powell walks away like nothing happened. No blood, dizziness, or signs he might have a concussion. Nothing. It’s a small detail, but it could be a subtle hint to something that could be very important in the future.
The Official Explanation Falls Flat
Before the fight in the warehouse, we learn that Jessica’s powers are on the fritz. Ever since she gave birth to her daughter Danielle, her strength and durability will disappear for brief periods of time. Sounds simple enough, right?
But Daredevil: Born Again is good at using red herrings to trick the viewer into believing something that might not be true. We saw this with Vanessa’s death. While it’s clear that her brain injury was the major factor behind her death, her drinking pineapple juice beforehand makes you wonder if an allergic reaction might have been the cause.
Plus, we see Jessica’s fight with Powell from her perspective. Of course, she’s going to think her powers vanished at the worst possible moment. But it doesn’t explain why Powell was injured when Matt attacked him. Powell isn’t described anywhere in the show as having special abilities. He’s simply a corrupt NYPD officer.
So why did he get up like he was never hit in the first place?
Did Powell Want to Settle the Score with Matt?
In the second episode of season 1 of Daredevil: Born Again, Powell and an associate show up to kill a witness. What they find instead is Matt Murdock, who had retired from being Daredevil at that point. After getting the upper hand at first until Matt gives in to his violent urges and beats both Powell and his buddy senseless.
In the next episode “The Hollow of His Hand,” Powell confronts Matt in a courthouse bathroom. He tries to intimidate Matt into backing off by threatening to expose his assault, only for Matt to throw it back in his face. Matt only attacked because Powell tried to intimidate a witness and Matt could frame his actions as self-defense since they tried to shoot him. Powell can’t bring Matt to justice without incriminating himself.
Connor Powell is an arrogant, proud man. And a blind lawyer was able to kick his ass AND taunt him about the incident during his cross-examination. People like Powell don’t get over that kind of humiliation.
Valentina and the CIA
Mr. Charles, a CIA operative played by Matthew Lillard, arrives in New York to keep an eye on Fisk. He’s working for Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, the CIA Director who also runs a private organisation called O.X.E. Valentina’s presence in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is fueled by the goal of recruiting and creating enhanced individuals to serve as her operatives.
She turned Robert “Bob” Reynolds into the Sentry to replace the Avengers in the 2025 film Thunderbolts*. When that failed, she recruited anti-heroes like Yelena Belova, John Walker (U.S. Agent) and Ava Starr (Ghost) to become the New Avengers. Her organisation exists to ensure that powerful people are working for her rather than against her.
You don’t stumble upon a top-secret superhuman research project by accident. You’re either recruited or you know someone who can make you a candidate. If Powell somehow found out about what Mr. Charles and Valentina are up to, it’s possible he offered himself up as a test subject in exchange for his silence.
Later in season 2, we learn that Mr. Charles has been moving weapons through Fisk’s Red Hook port. But what if weapons weren’t the only thing being shipped? If you look closely during the warehouse fight, you’ll see a crate with the O.X.E. logo on the bottom left corner of the screen.
Alt text: a crate with the O.X.E. logo from Daredevil: Born Again season 2, episode 6 “Requiem”
Keep in mind that Valentina was supposed to have shut O.X.E. down when she was facing impeachment over her connections to black ops projects. What if O.X.E. has been running a secret project to give AVTF enhanced physical capabilities and Powell is the result?
The AVTF is the perfect cover because it operates within the NYPD as a part of Fisk’s Safer Streets Initiative. The task force has certain privileges, namely zero oversight into their conduct. Members are NYPD officers who were handpicked by Fisk because of their excessive methods and brutality. They’re a private militia with the sole purpose of apprehending vigilantes, many of whom tend to have superpowers. If you wanted to field-test super soldiers in a real-world environment, the AVTF couldn’t be more perfect.
Jessica herself admitted to Matt that Mr. Charles tried to recruit her to work for the government. Jessica declined the offer, though she alluded that some people she knows accepted. Whatever Mr. Charles is up to, it’s clear that he’s specifically targeting superpowered individuals. He also refuses to take the word “no” as an answer since he sent a team of operatives to Jessica’s house to capture her and her daughter.
What Would This Mean for the MCU?
If Powell did gain super powers like enhanced durability or strength, it would mean the AVTF is not just a corrupt police unit. It’s a squad of modified super soldiers operating in New York City, hiding in plain sight. Valentina would gain her own private army to handle street-level threats that she can control.
It would also explain why she’s willing to shield Fisk from the city and federal government. If you want to stop vigilantes from operating in the city, your task force needs to be just as strong if only to survive a single encounter with one.
And it would set up a threat that Daredevil can’t defeat with his fists or his wits. Powell may just be the beginning. If the AVTF is filled with enhanced officers, Matt Murdock isn’t fighting a corrupt administration anymore. This would be something outside of his depth.
Hell, he doesn’t even know how to remove Fisk from office! How is he going to deal with a secret army of modified, violent corrupt police officers running around the streets of Hell’s Kitchen?
Season 2 of Daredevil: Born Again is streaming now on Disney+, with new episodes dropping every Tuesday at 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT.
