Alexander Bont is a character appearing in

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s published by

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. Created by writer

Brian Michael Bendis Brian Michael Bendis (; born August 18, 1967) is an Americans, American comic book writer and artist. Starting with crime fiction, crime and hardboiled, noir comics, Bendis eventually moved to mainstream superhero fiction, superhero work. While a ...

and artist

Alex Maleev Alex Maleev (Bulgarian language, Bulgarian: Алекс Малеев) is a Bulgarian comic book illustrator, best known for the Marvel Comics' series ''Daredevil (Marvel Comics series), Daredevil'' (vol. 2) with frequent collaborator Brian Michael ...

, the character

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in '' Daredevil'' vol. 2 #66 (December 2004). Bont is one of the first villains encountered by the

superhero A superhero or superheroine is a fictional character who typically possesses ''superpowers'' or abilities beyond those of ordinary people, is frequently costumed concealing their identity, and fits the role of the hero, typically using their ...

Matt Murdock / Daredevil. Once the Kingpin of New York's criminal underworld prior to

Wilson Fisk The Kingpin (Wilson Grant Fisk) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by Stan Lee and John Romita Sr., and first appeared in ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' #50 (cover-dated July 196 ...

's ascent, Bont also employed the man responsible for murdering Jack Murdock. Following his release from prison, Bont returned to a New York City vastly changed from the one he had once ruled. The traditional gangsters of his era had been replaced by costumed criminals with superpowers and theatrical personas. Enraged by this shift and seeking revenge against Daredevil—the hero responsible for his imprisonment—Bont resorted to the dangerously unstable Mutant Growth Hormone. A gender-swapped version of Alexander Bont, known as Alexandra, is portrayed by Sigourney Weaver in the 2017

miniseries In the United States, a miniseries or mini-series is a television show or series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. Many miniseries can also be referred to, and shown, as a television film. " Limited series" is ...

''The Defenders'', a

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of Marvel's Netflix series set within the

Marvel Cinematic Universe The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on List of Marvel Cinematic Universe films, a series of superhero films produced by Marvel Studios. The films are based on characters that appe ...

(MCU). In the series, Alexandra is depicted as the leader of the Hand and one of its five "fingers."

Publication history

Alexander Bont debuted in '' Daredevil'' vol. 2 #66 (December 2004), created by

and

Fictional character biography

The First Kingpin

Alexander Bont first made a name for himself when he killed the hero known as the Defender.Daredevil vol. 2, #67 After that, he soon rose up the ranks and became the head of organized crime. The Fixer, the man who ordered the hit on Jack Murdock, paid up to Bont. When Daredevil found this out, he confronted Bont and got him arrested. Bont got out on bail. He later asked Matt Murdock for legal help, but was refused. When he got out, he paid a visit to the

Gladiator A gladiator ( , ) was an armed combatant who entertained audiences in the Roman Republic and Roman Empire in violent confrontations with other gladiators, wild animals, and condemned criminals. Some gladiators were volunteers who risked their ...

who had worked for Bont in the past. He ordered Potter to kill Daredevil. "I made my rep on the blood of one masked mystery man...I'm not--I am ''not'' going to lose it over another one." The Gladiator attacked Daredevil, but was defeated. Daredevil found out that Bont had hired him, and told Bont that he'd see him in jail for this. Bont was found guilty and sent to prison. The last thing he saw before being loaded into the bus was Daredevil perched on top of a nearby building, smirking at him.

Bont's Revenge

When Bont was released from jail, he was now a bitter old man. He had found out that Daredevil was really Matt Murdock from ''The Globe'' and had acquired a possession of Mutant Growth Hormone. The world had changed a lot in his absence. Places had changed and his beloved wife died while he was imprisoned. Furious, Bont set out to get revenge on Daredevil. He met up with Melvin Potter again, who refused to work with him. Bont threatened him with the death of his daughter. "I've arranged for the murder of your four-year-old daughter. She's never ''met'' you, but she'll die ''because'' of you. ''You'' do what ''I'' say." Potter kidnapped Matt Murdock, and was forced to beat him while Bont videotaped it. He then dragged Matt out (in his Daredevil costume) to show the public. When the new

White Tiger The white tiger (ashy tiger) is a leucistic morph of the tiger, typically the Bengal tiger. It is occasionally reported in the Indian wilderness. It has the typical black stripes of a tiger, but its coat is otherwise white or near-white, and ...

arrived on the scene and defeated Melvin Potter, Bont took some MGH and threw Matt into a window, savagely beating him and telling him that this was where his father was killed. However, the action, coupled with the overdose of MGH, proved to be too much for Bont. His heart exploded, killing him.

Powers and abilities

Bont possesses no superhuman abilities, but he occasionally used Mutant Growth Hormone, a substance that temporarily enhanced his speed and strength and caused his eyes to emit a green glow.

In other media

Sigourney Weaver Susan Alexandra ( ; born October 8, 1949), better known by her stage name Sigourney Weaver, is an American actress. Prolific in film since the late 1970s, she is known for her pioneering portrayals of action heroines in Blockbuster (entertainme ...

portrays a female version of Bont, primarily known as Alexandra, in the

(MCU)

''The Defenders'' (2017), a

between

Marvel's Netflix television series Marvel's Netflix television series are a set of interconnected American television series created for the streaming service Netflix, based on characters that appear in publications by Marvel Comics. Produced by Marvel Television and ABC Studios ...

. At

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in October 2016, Weaver was announced to be playing the main

antagonist An antagonist is a character in a story who is presented as the main enemy or rival of the protagonist and is often depicted as a villain. later revealed to be Alexandra. The producers had referred to the character as "a Sigourney Weaver type" for four months before

Jeph Loeb Joseph "Jeph" Loeb III () is an American film and television writer, producer and comic book writer. Loeb was a producer/writer on the TV series ''Smallville (TV series), Smallville'' and ''Lost (2004 TV series), Lost'', writer for the films ''C ...

contacted Weaver about the project. Described as one of the five "fingers" of the Hand and its leader, Weaver called the character "really smart", "very in charge", and more of an adversary than a villain.

Showrunner A showrunner is the top-level executive producer of a television series. The position outranks other creative and management personnel, including episode directors, in contrast to feature films, in which the director has creative control over th ...

Marco Ramirez described her as "a survivor" and "a very powerful force in New York City", adding, "She's everything Sigourney is: sophisticated, intellectual, dangerous"; the antagonist of the series had to be "something massive to pull these four erocharacters from their individual worlds to work together". Alexandra is "charmed" by the four heroes teaming up against her, having "never met four people who are seemingly just interested in taking care of this one little part of New York ... they're unlike anybody she's ever faced off against before". Weaver worked with the writers to avoid a cliché portrayal, specifically "terms like 'ice queen' that are often thrown at women who aren't completely sympathetic". It was important to Ramirez and Weaver to introduce Alexandra sympathetically. The character is ultimately a

supporting character A supporting character is a character in a narrative that is not the focus of the primary storyline, but is important to the plot/protagonist, and appears or is mentioned in the story enough to be more than just a minor character or a cameo a ...

in Elektra Natchios' overall story, with Ramirez saying that the writers were able to create a "really fun cool character" for Weaver to portray, but they did so in service of Natchios and the journey that she goes on. Thousands of years before the events of the series, the elders of K'un-Lun came together to study the healing powers of '' qi''. After five among their number to use this power to become

immortal Immortality is the ability to live forever, or eternal life. Immortal or Immortality may also refer to: Film * ''The Immortals'' (1995 film), an American crime film * ''Immortality'', an alternate title for the 1998 British film '' The Wisdom of ...

by sacrificing a

dragon A dragon is a Magic (supernatural), magical legendary creature that appears in the folklore of multiple cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but European dragon, dragons in Western cultures since the Hi ...

, they are cast out, becoming the five "fingers" of the secret organization the Hand, led by a woman known as Alexandra in modern times, alongside Madame Gao, Sowande, Murakami, and

Bakuto ''Bakuto'' (博徒) were itinerant gamblers active in Japan from the 18th century to the mid-20th century. They were one of two forerunners (the other being ''tekiya'', or peddlers) to modern Japanese organized crime syndicates called ''yakuza'' ...

. In the series, the Hand having defeated all that oppose them except for

Stick Stick, sticks or the stick may refer to: Thin elongated objects * Twig or branch * Walking stick, a device to facilitate balancing while walking * Shepherd's crook * Shillelagh * Swagger stick * Digging stick * Swizzle stick, used to stir drinks ...

(events depicted during the events of ''Daredevil'') and the

Immortal Iron Fist ''The Immortal Iron Fist'' was a comic book series published by Marvel Comics and starring the superhero Iron Fist. Publication history The series was written jointly by Ed Brubaker and Matt Fraction from issues #1-14 with artists Travel Foreman ...

(events depicted during the events of ''Iron Fist''). In modern times, with their immortality waning, Alexandra seeks to tunnel to dragon bones buried behind a mystical door beneath

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

to renew it, the process of which destroying will result in a series of

earthquake An earthquakealso called a quake, tremor, or tembloris the shaking of the Earth's surface resulting from a sudden release of energy in the lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from those so weak they ...

s decimating the city, leading her to become opposed by the Defenders. Following the death of Elektra, Alexandra resurrects her body with the last of their resources to bring the ancient weapon known as Black Sky into existence, prophesied to destroy all enemies of the Hand, seeking to use her to steal the Iron Fist from Danny Rand. Criticized by the other "fingers" Under Alexandra's tutelage, Murakami questions Alexandra's reliance on the Black Sky suggests that they devise a new plan without Alexandra. After Sowande is killed by Stick, the other Hand leaders continue losing faith in Alexandra, as Elektra begins to regain memories of her previous life, before killing Stick on Alexandra's orders. As Alexandra gloats to the other leaders about this victory, she is killed herself by Elektra (after attempting to order

Matt Murdock Daredevil is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Bill Everett, with some input from Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in '' Daredevil'' #1 (April 1964). ...

killed, whom Elektra had been romantically involved with in her original life), who claims leadership of the Hand.

References

External links

*http://www.marvunapp.com/Appendix4/bontalexander.htm *http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1784594/ {{DEFAULTSORT:Bont, Alexander Characters created by Brian Michael Bendis Characters created by Alex Maleev Comics characters introduced in 2004 Fictional gangsters Marvel Comics characters with superhuman strength Marvel Comics supervillains Daredevil (Marvel Comics) characters