The Attack on the New York Bulletin Building was an assault by Benjamin Poindexter on the New York Bulletin Building in order to stop the reveal of the key witness who could bring down Wilson Fisk's scheme. The assault also resulted in the deaths of several New York Bulletin employees and branding Daredevil as a terrorist across the media.
Background[]
Jasper Evans helps Wilson Fisk to stage an attack on himself
Seeking a way to get out of Rikers Island and rebuild his criminal empire, Wilson Fisk concocted a scheme to manipulate the FBI by giving them intel on Albanian Syndicate in exchange for not charging Vanessa Marianna as his accessory. As Fisk's intel proved to be valuable, Fisk used Jasper Evans to stage an attack on himself and force Ray Nadeem to transfer him to house incarceration to keep him safe. As a part of their agreement, Fisk had Riggle to falsify the paperwork on Evans' solitary confinement and secretly release him out of prison. On the way to Presidential Hotel, the FBI convoy with Fisk was attacked by Albanian Syndicate but Benjamin Poindexter dispatched all of the attackers and Fisk took notice of his skills.[3]
Matt Murdock took it upon himself to investigate Fisk's release and find a way to get him back into prison, so he used Foggy Nelson's ID to get into Rikers Island and find about Fisk's feud with Albanian Syndicate. Fisk found about Murdock's visit and had him attacked by the prisoners and the staff, while watching the footage and confirming his suspicions that Murdock was actually Daredevil. As the conflict progressed into a full-on riot, Murdock was caught by Vic Jusufi, who demanded to know why was he inquiring about Albanian Syndicate. Murdock convinced him that he was Fisk's enemy as well and was the only one who could get him back into prison, so Jusufi told Murdock about Evans and the staged attack.[4]
Benjamin Poindexter succumbs to Wilson Fisk's manipulation
As Murdock managed to survive the attack, Fisk falsely named him as his former criminal associate, so the FBI would pursue him and give Fisk enough room to operate. He needed to divert the public attention away from himself and sought to incriminate Daredevil, choosing Poindexter as his tool to make it happen. Taking advantage of Poindexter's fragile mental state, his admiration of Julie Barnes, and the growing distrust towards him within the FBI, Fisk managed to manipulate Poindexter into siding with him. Poindexter being involuntarily suspended from duty due to the ongoing internal investigation was the final straw that made him fully susceptible to Fisk's manipulation.[5]
Daredevil and Karen Page confront Jasper Evans
Meanwhile, Daredevil reconnected with Karen Page and sought her help to find Evans, and although she was upset at him, she did look into Evans as the FBI was suspecting her and Foggy Nelson to be Murdock's accessories. They managed to find Evans, who was afraid for his son and did not want to go against Fisk, but Page forced Evans to comply by threatening to publish the story regardless. Nelson approached Nadeem and told him that Murdock was willing to surrender on the condition if the FBI would hear Evans out about Fisk's machinations. But as Nadeem told Tammy Hattley about it, Fisk found out as well[6] and Felix Manning drove Poindexter to Melvin Potter's new workshop. With Betsy Beatty's life being threatened, Potter was coerced into make a replica of Daredevil's Suit for Poindexter against his will.[7]
Attack[]
Daredevil saves Foggy Nelson
- "I was stupid enough to think that I had Fisk cornered. He knew I'd find the witness, and I just brought the sheep to slaughter. Jasper Evans is dead. He's dead and he leaves a son behind, and that's on me!"
- ―Matt Murdock[src]
Foggy Nelson and Karen Page brought Jasper Evans to New York Bulletin Building, asking Mitchell Ellison to help them record his statement. As they were waiting for Ray Nadeem to arrive, Matt Murdock heard the commotion, as Benjamin Poindexter in Daredevil's Suit broke into the building, attacking New York Bulletin staff on his way to Evans. Murdock told Nelson to ensure Page's safety and went to suit up, while Poindexter cut the power in the building and proceeded to kill and injure everyone he could get to. With numerous Bulletin employees dead, Poindexter spotted Nelson and attempted to kill him with a Billy Club throw, but Daredevil intervened just in time and stopped him.
Daredevil fights Benjamin Poindexter
Daredevil and Poindexter immediately squared off against each other, while Nelson barricaded himself in the office with Page, Ellison and Evans. As Poindexter claimed himself to be Daredevil, the two emerged into a fight and Daredevil's superior close combat skills gave him a sufficient advantage. Noticing that, Poindexter made the distance between them and used his uncanny accuracy to gain an upper hand by using various objects he could find as projectiles. Daredevil was forced to go into defense, dodging and evading the projectiles, with Poindexter keeping him at the edge and forcing him to stay behind the covers. Daredevil eventually managed to trick Poindexter and close the distance, landing several hard blows on him and putting Poindexter at disadvantage again.
Benjamin Poindexter defeats Daredevil
Poindexter made another attempt to use ranged combat to give himself an edge, but Daredevil managed to get to him and take Poindexter in a headlock, however, he freed himself by throwing scissors into his shoulder. With Daredevil losing his footing, Poindexter smashed a bookcase on top of him and knocked him out with a kick in the head. With Daredevil out of the fight, Poindexter broke into the office where Nelson and others were hiding and saw Page pointing her gun at him to defend Evans. Poindexter quickly disarmed her with his Billy Club and subdued Nelson, who ran towards him and attempted to punch him, which did not work. Ellison also attempted to block his path, so Poindexter stabbed him in the gut with a Billy Club, severely injuring him.
With nothing standing in his way, Poindexter picked up Page's gun and pointed it at her, while she desperately pleaded for their lives. Poindexter then shot Evans in the face and pulled the gun apart, telling Page that it was nice to see her and walked out of the office. With his mission completed, Poindexter tried to escape through the back stairs, but was confronted by Nadeem and the FBI agents, so he had to engage and take them out to make his exit. Daredevil managed to regain consciousness and evade the FBI agents, escaping from the building as well, as Nadeem witnessed the massacre that occurred there and claimed the lives of multiple civilians.[6] With the media arriving on the scene and reporting on what happened, all accounts claimed that Daredevil was the perpetrator, so he was branded as a terrorist and a murderer.[7]
Aftermath[]
The New York Bulletin report on the massacre, holding Daredevil responsible
In the subsequent chaos following the attack, Benjamin Poindexter made it back to his apartment, where he almost had a breakdown and had to listen to Eileen Mercer's tapes to collect himself.[8] Matt Murdock also managed to avoid the pursuit and returned to Clinton Church, telling Maggie Grace about what happened and blaming himself for setting Jasper Evans up for his death.
Karen Page testifies to the FBI
Karen Page was brought over to the FBI to testify about the attack as a witness, with Ray Nadeem questioning her claims that the attacker was not the actual Daredevil. Page and Foggy Nelson kept trying to convince him that Wilson Fisk was manipulating the FBI and Nadeem himself, but he dismissed their claims. Page later visited Mitchell Ellison at the hospital and tried to convince him that Daredevil was not the one who killed their colleagues, which made Ellison realize that Page knew his real identity all along. As she refused to give out his name, Ellison became furious and fired her from New York Bulletin, as he could not bear with her withholding such important information from him.
Taking a note of Poindexter's identical replica of his old suit, Daredevil approached Melvin Potter, who was the only person he knew who could have made it. Potter admitted that although he did not want to work for Fisk, he threatened Betsy Beatty and forced Potter to create a replica for Poindexter, whose name Potter did not know. Potter agreed to bring Daredevil to his new workshop but it turned out to be a trap planned by Fisk in advance as the FBI agents surrounded them. Potter initially tried to keep Daredevil restrained, so he could ensure Beatty's safety but soon repelled and told Daredevil that the impostor was an FBI agent.
Despite his skepticism, Nadeem decided to look into the leads Page and Nelson were insisting on and inquired Riggle on how could Evans be found dead at New York Bulletin Building, while he was supposed to be at Rikers Island. Riggle refused to cooperate with the FBI and lawyered up, which made Nadeem suspicious and he opened up to Tammy Hattley that their operation could be compromised. Nadeem even attempted to confront Fisk directly and asked if he let Evans out of prison to pay him back for a staged attack, to which Fisk replied dismissively, not denying anything. Later, Nadeem encountered Daredevil who claimed that he was not responsible for the attack and Fisk recruited an FBI agent to impersonate him.[7]
Ray Nadeem joins forces with Daredevil
Nadeem reluctantly followed Daredevil's lead and looked into his colleagues, coming to a realization that Poindexter was likely the one responsible, which he shared with Daredevil. While Nadeem distracted Poindexter with Andrea Morales' help, he and Daredevil broke into his apartment, and although they did not find the suit, they found the tapes that revealed disturbing details about Poindexter's psyche. As they were attacked by Poindexter who returned too early, Nadeem became convinced that he had been playing into Fisk's plans all along and tried to put a stop to it.[8] He arranged a meeting with Hattley and Winn to testify about Poindexter being recruited by Fisk, but when Hattley killed Winn and forged an evidence that Nadeem was the one who did, he realized the depth of Fisk's grip on the FBI, being forced into working for him as well.[9]
References[]
- ↑ Daredevil: 3.11: Reunion
- ↑ Daredevil: 3.12: One Last Shot
- ↑ Daredevil: 3.02: Please
- ↑ Daredevil: 3.04: Blindsided
- ↑ Daredevil: 3.05: The Perfect Game
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Daredevil: 3.06: The Devil You Know
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Daredevil: 3.07: Aftermath
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Daredevil: 3.08: Upstairs/Downstairs
- ↑ Daredevil: 3.09: Revelations