AUSTIN CAO

Real Name: Austin Cao

Identity/Class: Human

Occupation: Case manager

Group Membership: None

Affiliations: Alyssa, Daredevil (Matt Murdock), James, Franklin "Foggy" Nelson, Mr. Randall

Enemies: Agencé Byzantine, A.I.M., Black Spectre, Bruiser, Hydra, Secret Empire, Mr. Zachary

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: New York City, New York

First Appearance: Daredevil III#4 (November, 2011)

Powers/Abilities: Austin Cao speaks 17 languages fluently and another 10 passably. As a blind man, he is proficient in the use of his other senses. Austin brags that he can guess someone's birthplace within 50 miles just by hearing them speak.

Height: 5'9" (by approximation)
Weight: 140 lbs. (by approximation)
Eyes: Unrevealed
Hair: Black

History:
(Daredevil III#4 (fb) ) - A prodigy with languages, Austin Cao, who was blind, graduated Georgetown University and got a job at Midas Investments, a multinational corporation with international dealings. Cao spoke 17 languages fluently and another ten passably, and he constantly impressed his employers with his skills and never missed a day of work. Cao felt valued by his company and his boss, Mr. Randall, had him over for Thanksgiving once. Priding himself on his skills to guess the birthplace of anyone based on their accents, Cao guessed two men in the company were from Latveria, and his supervisor Mr. Randall abruptly fired him afterwards. Claiming wrongful termination, Cao reached out to attorneys Matt Murdock and Foggy Nelson for help.

(Daredevil III#4) - Cao answered the door when Matt Murdock arrived, and he told him about his case, and Murdock believed him.

(Daredevil III#5) - A group of men opened fire on Cao and Murdock, but Murdock got Cao to safety, then he single-handedly defeated all six men. Murdock took Cao back to his apartment, where he helped recreate the office environment at Midas, which aided Cao in recalling the memories of what he'd heard the Latverian men say the day before he was fired. Realizing Midas had connections to Hydra, Murdock left Cao in his apartment, ordering him not to contact anyone, and he said he accepted Cao's case.

(Daredevil III#6 (fb) - BTS) - Cao was found at Murdock's apartment and dragged back to Midas.

(Daredevil III#6) - Cao and Randall were both held by Mr. Zachary of Midas, while agents from A.I.M., Black Spectre, Hydra, Agence Byzantine, and the Secret Empire watched. Daredevil attacked, defeating Bruiser. The criminals killed Zachary, then Daredevil convinced them to let him leave with the Omegadrive, a device containing vast amounts of intelligence. Cao forgave Randall outside, then Daredevil convinced Randall to leave the country. Murdock took Cao back to the office, where he met Foggy Nelson, Alyssa, and James. Austin wondered how Matt would keep the Omegadrive safe.

(Daredevil III#13) - Alyssa and Austin Cao informed Foggy that Matt's appointment had been waiting for 30 minutes.

Comments: Created by Mark Waid (writer) and Marcos Martin (artist).

It is possible that there is a connection between Midas Investments and the Midas Foundation now run by Oubliette Midas.
--Markus Raymond

Profile by Chadman.

CLARIFICATIONS:
Austin Cao should not be confused with:

Mr. Randall

(Daredevil III#4 (fb) - BTS) - Randall valued his employee Austin Cao, a blind language prodigy, and even had him over for Thanksgiving dinner.

(Daredevil III#5 (fb) - BTS) - Randall saw his company get involved with several super-criminal organizations, including Hydra, Black Spectre, and A.I.M., all of whom were using small countries like Latveria to store their money legally. Randall grew concerned but was pressured by his boss, Mr. Zachary, into complying.

(Daredevil III#4 (fb) - BTS) - Randall abruptly fired Austin Cao after Cao successfully guessed that some business investors were from Latveria.

(Daredevil III#5 (fb) - BTS) - Randall realized he had fired Cao in part to protect him, as Zachary was likely to have Cao killed.

(Daredevil III#5 (fb) ) - Zachary realized that Cao had potentially overheard about the Latverian business dealings, and heard that Cao had consulted with attorney Matt Murdock. After questioning Randall, Zachary ordered his men to kill Cao, and Zachary had already had the outspoken Latverians put to death.

(Daredevil III#5) - Realizing his own life was in danger, Randall ordered his spouse to take his kids to live with her sister. Randall boarded a boat to leave town, but Daredevil found Randall, seeking to protect him, and he questioned him about Midas Investments' illegal activities. A boat sped up on Randall's and Bruiser threw himself at the boat, sinking it.

(Daredevil III#6) - Randall was taken by Bruiser back to Midas, where Zachary waited with agents from A.I.M., Black Spectre, Hydra, Agence Byzantine, and the Secret Empire. Austin Cao was brought in and Randall pleaded for the boy to be let go. Just then, Daredevil attacked, defeating Bruiser. The criminals killed Zachary, then Daredevil convinced the criminals to let him leave with the Omegadrive, convincing them they would likely kill each other to get it. Outside, Cao forgave Randall, and Daredevil recommended that Randall get out of the country, saying he wouldn't arrest him for his part in working with the criminals.

--Daredevil III#4 ([Daredevil III#4 (fb)], [5 (fb)], [4 (fb)], [5 (fb)], 5 (fb), 5

Mr. Zachary

(Daredevil III#5 (fb) - BTS) - A higher-up at Midas Investments, Mr. Zachary helped the company form connections with major super-criminal organizations, like Hydra, A.I.M., and Black Spectre, who were laundering money through small countries like Latveria. Over a period of years, Midas arranged for the groups to give over billions of gigs of data regarding confidential operations, and they placed it all on the Omegadrive, an unhackable and indestructible device held on unstable molecules. Zachary got word that one employee, a language prodigy named Austin Cao (who was blind) was fired by Mr. Randall after overhearing some of the Latverians spoke too loudly about illegal activities. Zachary had the Latverians put to death.

(Daredevil III#5 (fb) ) - Zachary questioned Randall, and ordered Cao to be put to death.

(Daredevil III#5) - Getting word that the men had failed to kill Cao and Murdock, Zachary had Bruiser hired to kill Daredevil. He later put a hit out on Randall himself.

(Daredevil III#6) - Bruiser brought Randall back to Zachary, who also had Austin Cao brought in. Agents from A.I.M., Black Spectre, Hydra, Agence Byzantine, and the Secret Empire stood by as Daredevil attacked, soon defeating Bruiser as Zachary rushed to secure the Omegadrive. When Daredevil got the drive, the five criminal agents shot Zachary to death.

--Daredevil III#5 ([Daredevil III#5 (fb)], 5 (fb), 5-6

images: (without ads)
Daredevil III#4, p18, pan1 (main)
Daredevil III#4, p17, pan6 (2nd)
Daredevil III#5, p18, pan3 pan3 (Mr. Randall)
Daredevil III#5, p1, pan1 (Mr. Zachary)

Appearances:
Daredevil III#4-6 (November, 2011-January, 2012) - Mark Waid (writer), Marcos Martin (artist), Stephen Wacker (editor)
Daredevil III#13 (July, 2012) - Mark Waid (writer), Khoi Pham (penciler), Tom Palmer (inker), Stephen Wacker (editor)

First Posted: 12/26/2019
Last updated: 12/26/2019

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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