Anti-Vigilante Task Force Explained – ‘Daredevil: Born Again’

During Episode 6 of Daredevil: Born Again, in the midst of a serial killer vigilante emerging with a supposed kill count exceeding 60, Fisk enacts his plan to capture Muse. Fisk presents his plan for an anti-vigilante task force hand-picked by him to go after masked “criminals.”

Fisk’s Plan

Fisk ran his entire campaign based on an anti-vigilante stance. He promised New York a better future—one without vigilantes in it. He claims they’re the reason for the rampant lawlessness in New York City and ridding the city of them will fix it. 

Even after getting elected, he has pushed forward that stance multiple times, including when he bashed Hector Ayala for being allowed to roam the streets as White Tiger because the justice system failed in Episode 3. He claimed any man who wears a mask to cover his face is a coward. This in many ways hints at Fisk’s belief that Daredevil, White Tiger, or Spider-Man are equivalant to someone like Muse despite their vast differences in both intent and impact. 

Fisk, as long as we have known him, has always wanted power—he thirsts for control of every situation whether it be from behind the scenes in Season 1 of the Netflix series, behind a jail cell in Season 3, or from the position of mayor in Born Again. 

Vigilantes are a threat to his power and influence. That’s why he wants to get rid of all the vigilantes, and Muse is what brings forth the perfect excuse to create a team to do so.

Anti-Vigilante Task Force

In conversation with Fisk, Commissioner Gallo looks at the files of the officers picked and calls them all bad apples. 

Wilson Fisk states that “people like to use the word gang, I prefer motivated individuals.”

Fisk says the task force will have special powers and privileges. These privileges will include no body cameras and overtime. Fisk himself will oversee them. They report directly to him.

Fisk brings them together at a warehouse. The entire Punisher gang, including Officer Powell, is there. Fisk calls out Sergeant Cole North by name and is impressed by his accomplishments. Fisk calls them his Anti-Vigilante Task Force, telling them the city is theirs and to not let masked criminals get away.

The Punisher gang is comprised of police officers obsessed with the Punisher. They have tattoos of the skull emblem and use it to represent their ideas. Like Frank says in episode 4, they’re fanboys—ones who misunderstand The Punisher, and the meaning of the symbol. 

They were chosen because of their twisted sense of justice, which is apparent from what we’ve seen in the show. They will follow what Fisk says while feeling like they’re doing the right thing.

The Task Force is set to go after Muse using their special privileges, which is basically key word for free rein. They are being handed more power than ever to do whatever Fisk wants them to do, which at this point in time is to go after vigilantes.

Anti-Vigilante Task Force in the Comics

While the Anti-Vigilante Task Force doesn’t exist in name in the comics, there are similarities to some Daredevil comic runs.

In Daredevil (Vol. 6) in 2019, Wilson Fisk as mayor, instructed all police to go after vigilantes. There wasn’t a specific task force, but there are some similar members involved.

Cole North, explicitly introduced by name in Episode 6, is a major part of that comic run. He is a police officer in the comics so he ends up having to track down and catch vigilantes just like the show. None of the other characters in the task force thus far are comic characters. They’re all original, including Officer Powell.

The Punisher gang somewhat exists in the comics, but it is also inspired by real life. In a lot of places in America (and even overseas), cops have taken up the Punisher symbol as their own.

There are, in fact, Punisher groups out there like the ones we see in the show. For example, one case in Milwaukee involved rogue cops who wore Punisher skull-branded caps and gloves that were reportedly brutal and abusive.

In The Punisher (2019) #13, there are a few cops who wear the emblem that tell Frank they’re fans of his. Frank tells them that cops should help people, and if they want a role model, they should look at Captain America, not him. They aren’t quite like how the cops in Born Again appear to be, but they do exist.

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