It Makes No Sense That This Vile MCU Villain Hasn’t Been Stopped, And Keeps Stacking Wins

The Marvel Cinematic Universe often gets criticized for the way it treats its villain characters. Some of them are underdeveloped and one-note, others are killed off too fast, or get ignored too long to be relevant anymore. Even the rare few that have been compelling antagonists with good arcs have inevitably either turned good (The Winter Soldier) or reached fittingly epic conclusions to their story (Thanos).

And yet, on the street level of the MCU, one villain has not only survived longer than anyone would’ve expected, but also been stacking wins like few other evildoers can claim to. And it’s becoming something of a problem, if we’re being honest, because with all the justice that has been dealt by the heroes of the MCU, how has this guy been left unpunished?

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Officer Powell Is An MCU Villain MVP

Officer Connor Powell (Hamish Allan-Headley) is as dirty a cop as they come, as denoted by the Punisher logo he co-opted. He was directly involved in the wrongful arrest, triak, and eventual murder of Hector Ayala/White Tiger – which is exactly what qualified him to join Wilson Fisk’s (Vincent D’Onofrio’s) Anti-Vigilante Task Force. Powell’s brutal disregard for procedure and unwavering loyalty to Wilson Fisk made him the perfect (wrong) choice to lead the task force, and Powell wasted no time embracing his new reality as an attack dog with no chain.

Since being introduced in Daredevil: Born Again Season 1, Officer Powell has racked up some of the biggest wins of any MCU villain out there. He had one street-level hero killed (White Tiger); he ambushed, beat down, and captured Frank Castle/The Punisher (and presumably others, like Swordsman, who ended up Fisk’s secret prison); he’s gone several rounds with Daredevil and held his own, and he’s almost taken out both Bullseye and Jessica Jones in their respective moments of weakness. Powell has also killed AVTF agent-turned-informant, Alan Saunders (Felix Torrez-Ponce), captured Karen Page (Deborah Ann Woll), and helped capture and torture Achilleo Kyriaco (Thomas Cokenias), the ship captain at the center of a major controversy concerning Fisk and illegal weapons shipments. In that same time frame, Powell has only suffered the “consequence” of taking a few lumps from Daredevil and The Punisher.

What’s wild about all this is the fact that Powell, a henchman-level enforcer for a much bigger villain (Kingpin), has gone this long and caused so much harm, without any of the heroes taking him down. It seems like an especially big plothole that The Punisher hasn’t shown up for a little payback against Powell, after the two collided in such a major way during the Season 1 finale. It also feels like a bit of a plothole that Daredevil and his allies would be focused on plans to take Mayor Fisk down that don’t involve taking figures like Powell off the gameboard, early.

Daredevil: Born Again has an obligation to make Powell face some retribution for all of the pain, suffering, and death he caused. Not only because the rules of superhero storytelling demand it, but also because fans need the real-life catharsis of knowing that a rotten apple like Powell can be defeated – and so can everything he stands for.

Daredevil: Born Again Season 2 is now streaming on Disney+. Want to talk about where the MCU is going after Avengers: Secret Wars? Join our discussion!