Rafael Hernandez is the Department of Homeland Security's Operations Director. During his career, Hernandez recruited and mentored Dinah Madani, following her career while she moved up the ranks in Homeland Security. When Hernandez learned that Madani was investigating Ahmad Zubair's death, he came to ensure she was not making enemies and became involved in her mission to bring William Rawlins into justice. With the aid of the Punisher, Hernandez and Madani had soon uncovered the conspiracy involving Rawlins and Billy Russo, as Hernandez and Marion James had then offered to give the Punisher his freedom in order to repay their debt to him. With Russo in custody, Hernandez had still continued attempting to support Madani as she struggled to cope with the ordeal.

Biography[]

Homeland Agent[]

Recruiting Dinah Madani[]

When Rafael Hernandez was first recruited into Homeland Security, he joined at a time when the agency wanted agents who also spoke different languages such as Arabic to infiltrate terrorist cells.^[1] During his career, Hernandez also met and became good friends with Marion James, who he viewed as one of the good agents working at the CIA.^[2] Hernandez had personally recruited Dinah Madani, a speaker of Farsi, but he felt as Madani had always viewed herself as an American she would be a crucial asset to Homeland Security outside of her speaking her foreign languages, as Hernandez still continued watching and supporting Madani's continuing career.^[1]

Dinah Madani's Promotion[]

In the wake of Carson Wolf's murder, Hernandez was asked who should replace Wolf and recommended Dinah Madani as the acting SAC. Hernandez later visited Madani into her office while she was discussing Wolf's death with Sam Stein, as Madani tried to introduce them as Stein made it clear that he was already aware of who Hernandez was, shaking his hand and noting what a pleasure it was to meet him.

Hernandez called Stein by his first name before requesting a private conversation with Madani, as Stein then left them alone. As the pair hugged, Hernandez noted that Madani had clearly lost weight, while Madani jokingly noted that Hernandez had not, before Hernandez commented on how Madani had just been made the Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security, although Madani insisted that she was still merely the acting SAC following the sudden death of Wolf, while Hernandez had then noted that if she performed well then there was a chance that the position could be offered to her permanently.

While Madani questioned how much influence Hernandez had over her promotion, he had insisted that he had merely put forward his recommendation before turning serious, as Hernandez then informed Madani that the Office of the Inspector General would be taking over the investigation into Wolf's murder. Hernandez noted that there were questions that needed to be answered, as Madani noted how Wolf was a dirty cop who had amassed his thirty-million-dollar fortune, to which Hernandez noted that this put all of Homeland Security under a cloud of doubt following the revelations about Wolf's actions.

As Madani complained that this was her once again being silenced like she had been in Kandahar, Hernandez told her to grow up as he noted how he had recruited her fifteen years earlier to put her in this high-ranking position. Hernandez recommended that Madani focus on earning her stripes as a field agent, telling her that her obsession with Ahmad Zubair's death was becoming an obsession. Hernandez told Madani not to lose sight of the good being done, noting how she would help people by snatching the Greek Mob's supply of guns and ammunition which were soon going to be sold within the city.

Hernandez recommended that Madani focus on her work behind her desk to make a difference, as Madani questioned if he had come all the way from Washington, D.C. just to tell her this. Hernandez then insisted that he had come there to make sure that Madani was aware of the opportunity that lay before her and recommended that this take it, unless she felt that it was not right for her anymore. Madani told Hernandez not to play games with her, as Hernandez then left, noting that Madani did not need a babysitter but had just needed to check her priorities before moving forward with her position.^[1]

Mission Failure[]

In the wake of the failed mission to arrest the Greek Mob, Hernandez then worked with Sam Stein with figuring out exactly who managed to hack into their systems to disrupt the mission, as Hernandez commented that whoever was behind it would face up to thirty years in prison if they had been caught, questioning why they would have left witnesses alive, before Dinah Madani arrived and commented that she was glad that they did leave witnesses like her alive.

Hernandez noted that he had told Farah Madani to keep her home to recover from her injuries, as Madani noted that her mother had tried her best to do as Hernandez requested. Looking at all the pictures of her burnt out car, Madani noted that it was her birthday present from her father, noting that somebody killed it and she could not let that go. Hernandez questioned what evidence Madani had to assist with their investigation, noting that she should not have gotten out of bed if she had nothing to contribute, to which Madani asked Stein to give her and Hernandez a minute to talk alone which Stein agreed to.

Once alone, Madani then noted how she had just led her Homeland Security team into an unexpected ambush, and now she refused to go back to the Madani Residence to simply feel sorry for herself as she noted that her team would never respect her if she left them to continue their investigation without her. Hernandez, however, simply commented that somethings things went wrong, telling Madani that her planning was solid, and she had run it well until she had tried to chase down the person who had hijacked their mission which had resulted in Madani being injured due to a brutal car wreck.

Hernandez then informed Madani that she and Stein would soon be questioned by OIG to understand what had happened to the Greek's guns and how the operation had gone so wrong, as Hernandez then recommended that Madani cooperate fully with their investigation. As he prepared to leave, Hernandez had a final word with Madani as he questioned if she really wanted to know what her agents thought of her, picking up a photograph of Madani's burned out car and telling her that her team viewed her as a badass, before Hernandez touched Madani's arm and asked if she was keeping any more secrets.^[3]

Terrorist Bombings[]

Following another failed mission, Hernandez was informed that Sam Stein had died. As a result of Stein's death, Dinah Madani fell into a dark depression which she could not get out of, as Hernandez was forced to visit the Madani Residence to convince her to come back. Once he arrived, Hernandez spoke with Farah Madani who asked him how things were going in the wake of the recent Bombings of New York City as Hernandez gave her a brief reassuring comment.

Hernandez asked how Madani was doing, as Farah insisted that she would not allow him to speak with her daughter, claiming that Madani was an emotional wreck following Stein's death. However, Madani revealed that she had been listening the entire time and insisted that she was okay to speak to him. Once they were alone, Hernandez had then told Madani that while he wanted her to have recovery time, she had left Homeland Security unprepared for the recent bombings, as well as leaving Hernandez with several dead agents with no idea why they died, to which Madani noted that he might not want to know.

Hernandez noted that Madani refused to name her target and filed a false tactical plan; however, Madani questioned if Hernandez and his team identified all of those men they killed and who they worked for; however, Hernandez had still insisted that Madani needed to answer questions and not continue asking them. Madani then explained how she was haunted by the image of Stein as he bled out, noting how he looked surprised in his final moments. Hernandez questioned if this was connected to Ahmad Zubair and Kandahar, noting that he could not protect her if Madani did not begin to finally tell him the truth.^[4]

Target: William Rawlins[]

Hernandez took up the position of Acting Special Agent in Charge, as he sat in his new office and read a New York Bulletin discussing the recent attacks which were being reported to have been caused by both Frank Castle and Lewis Wilson. While he was reading the paper, Hernandez looked up and saw Dinah Madani had finally returned to the office, as Hernandez presented her with her badge back and showed her the paper with Castle's picture printed on it.

Hernandez had questioned if Madani believed that Castle being alive vindicated everything that had happened, to which Madani had then noted that men had died and nothing would vindicate that: However, she claimed that if Homeland Security listened to her, then perhaps they would all still be alive. Hernandez, however, insisted that Madani was to blame for the Ambush at the Abandoned Warehouse and had questioned what she had been hiding, as Madani closed the door to her office and then told Hernandez that she knew that Castle was still alive, and he had stolen the Greek Mob's weapons from them.

As Hernandez questioned why Madani would not have told her this, to which she finally explained that Castle was connected to Ahmad Zubair's death in Kandahar and every lead she found had turned up dead, before revealing that she had found a bug inside of her office which she then ripped out and gave it to Hernandez. Madani went on to explain that she and Sam Stein had quietly given false information to whoever was listening to the bug and waited to see who turned up in order to kill Castle. Hernandez asked why it was not reported but Madani claimed she could not trust the chain of command.

Hernandez cursed Madani as he noted that she could have come to him, while Madani insisted that whoever was behind this could be connected to the CIA or the NSA, noting that they had fought against well trained soldiers in the Abandoned Warehouse. Hernandez asked what evidence Madani had of these theories, noting that half the city was attempting to kill Castle, noting that her witness was a terrorist seeking to bomb New York City. Madani then informed Hernandez that she still had one other witness, William Rawlins, which horrified Hernandez, noting that Rawlins was a high-ranking CIA agent.

While Madani still called Rawlins the murderer who had killed Zubair, Hernandez changed the subject and handed Madani the paperwork on the men killed during the recent ambush, including Tom Weems and Spencer Geiger, who Hernandez noted her all ex special forces and now working as mercenaries, with Madani taking note that they had all worked for Anvil. As he then prepared to leave, Hernandez gave Madani her badge back, telling her that she would need it as she had continued her investigation and attempted to find some evidence which could actually link back to Rawlins.^[5]

Russo's Interrogation[]

Hernandez was called into Dinah Madani office where they watched the film of Madani's interrogation of Billy Russo, who she suspected of working with William Rawlins and killing Sam Stein. However, as Hernandez saw Russo was able to manipulate Madani throughout the questioning and suggested many of the deaths were her fault, Hernandez told her to turn off the tape, as he claimed that Madani had let Russo get her angry and build a conflict-of-interest case against her due to her and Russo's previous sexual relationship.

As Hernandez questioned what all this was aiming for, Madani then confessed that she had screwed up by allowing Russo to get close to her, noting that she had trusted Russo while Hernandez told her that she had let it get personal. Madani, however, asked Hernandez if he expected her to apologize for this before questioning if he was willing to allow Russo to get away with killing Sam Stein, noting that Russo had pretty much confessed it following his attempted murder of Frank Castle. Hernandez then finally questioned if Madani actually knew where Castle and Micro were, and told her to find them.^[2]

Interview with James[]

Continuing their investigation, Hernandez invited Marion James to come to the Homeland Security Headquarters for an interview, with Hernandez greeting his old friend with a hug before leading her into the interrogation room, introducing James to Dinah Madani who got straight to the point. Hernandez thanked James for coming to speak with them, to which James noted that since Hernandez had contacted her on her own personal cell phone, she had assumed it must be important enough.

James asked if this was about the Bombings of New York City, while Hernandez explained that it was not as they had evidence that a CIA agent ran an illegal Assassination Operation which was funded by heroin sales in Kandahar. James then noted that this was a serious accusation, as Madani noted how Ahmad Zubair had been captured, tortured and killed by this Operation. While James questioned what evidence there was and Madani told her that there was a video tape, Hernandez explained that William Rawlins was the agent in question which James scoffed at, explaining how respected Rawlins was.

While James promised that the CIA would look into this accusation, Madani claimed it would be a Homeland Security investigation which James argued against. Hernandez, however, explained that several Homeland Security agents had already been killed while investigating Rawlins, to which James asked to see the tape Madani mentioned. Hernandez went on to explain that Rawlins had gone rogue and was now seemingly doing whatever he could to cover his own tracks, no matter how many people got killed. Hernandez then told James that he had asked her there so they could resolve the matter.

Madani asked James to give up Rawlins, to which James noted that if Rawlins' actions came to light, then their foreign policy would be thrown backwards by at least ten years, to which Madani claimed that the public would not likely be surprised by many of the illegal actions committed by the CIA, to which James demanded to get at least some respect from Madani. James furiously ranted that she and Hernandez had been in their business long enough to know how to deal with these situations, leaving to go onto the United Nations and ignoring Hernandez's request for her to stay to discuss this.

Once they were alone, Hernandez and Madani discussed James, as Madani referred to her as a piece of work and jokingly claimed that the meeting had gone well, to which Hernandez noted that he had known James for a long time, and she was one of the good ones. Hernandez claimed that Madani had always reminded him of James, assuring her that this was meant as a compliment. Madani had then questioned what they should do next, to which Hernandez used one of Madani's metaphors and then calmly claimed that they now just needed to wait and see what the consequences would be.^[2]

Hunt for the Punisher[]

Their rattling of the cage proved successful as Hernandez had later joined Marion James as they personally went to Micro's Hideout and found the aftermath of a battle involving Anvil unsuccessfully going against the Punisher. While the bodies were taken away, Hernandez saw William Rawlins' brutalized corpse being put into a body bag, as James noted that Rawlins looked like he had been hit by a train, while Hernandez commented on how little sympathy he had.

While all of the other corpses were taken away by their teams, James then questioned where Dinah Madani was, as Hernandez claimed that he did not know, to which James had noted that Billy Russo was now on the run and on a killing spree while Hernandez's pet agent Madani had just disappeared with Frank Castle, who was now the most wanted man in New York City. Hernandez, however, insisted that they were still unsure if Madani had assisted the Punisher, but James still remained convinced, questioning if Hernandez actually had any doubts that Madani could have helped the Punisher to escape.

Back at the Homeland Security Headquarters, Hernandez and James sat down with Madani as Hernandez insisted that she had let Castle go, although Madani noted that it had taken the combined efforts of both the Punisher and Micro to do what Homeland Security as well as the CIA had failed to do with bringing down Rawlins and exposing the conspiracy behind him. Although James claimed that they did not know of Rawlins' deception, Madani claimed that they merely did not want to know, noting that Castle had just risked his life to bring in all of the evidence that they would ever need for their investigation.

Hernandez asked Madani where Castle was, as she claimed that she was overpowered while trying to arrest Castle, although Hernandez noted that Castle could barely stand following Rawlins' torture. While Hernandez asked her to be honest, James claimed that Madani had assisted a wanted terrorist with his escape, although Madani turned its back on her, reminding her how she did not believe the accusations about Operation Cerberus and all Rawlins' illegal dealings, noting the CIA colluded to keep that information secret. Hernandez asked what Madani had done, as she claimed she had done what was right.

Hernandez and James chose not to arrest Madani for what she had done and let her walk out to continue her work, having once again confirmed that Madani did not know where Castle was, noting that this might be for the best as they might not want Castle telling his own side of the story to the authorities, which Hernandez knew was right. Hernandez ordered Madani to write up her report, noting that Madani was on her final warning. Once alone, James had noted that Madani was a piece of work, which Hernandez agreed with, before James noted that she liked her, which Hernandez smiled at.

As Hernandez allowed Madani to stay in her office and write up her report about how she and her Homeland Security team had found the aftermath of the Ambush in Micro's Hideout as well as finding the brutalized corpse of Rawlins who had been beaten to death by the Punisher, Hernandez later saw Madani choosing to stop writing up her report and instead stepped out of her office and stormed out of the building. Hernandez questioned where Madani was going, only to find that Madani completely ignored him as she went to the elevator and left the building, with no comment on where she was going.^[6]

Aiding Frank Castle[]

Hernandez later joined Dinah Madani as she recovered in the hospital having been shot in the head by Billy Russo. When Madani had just recovered from her recent head wound enough to sit up and speak, Hernandez had Frank Castle, who saved her life, brought into the room to speak with them, as Hernandez first ordering Castle's handcuffs be taken off. Castle commented on Madani's survival and questioned if she saved his life, Marion James had stepped forward and commented that they would not take Castle's life from him.

James told Castle that he would be getting a free pass due to the debt the country owed to him due to William Rawlins' betrayal, as Castle confirmed if this was a pay off in order to ensure that he kept his mouth shut about Rawlins and the CIA, which James confirmed. Hernandez and James then explained that as far as the public was aware, Lewis Wilson and Russo were the only ones involved with the recent terrorist attacks, as Hernandez noted that his prints and DNA had been wiped from the system and replaced with those of a dead man, which would finally allow Castle to start his new life.

As Castle questioned if they had considered having him killed when they found him at Central Park, Hernandez noted that this is what Madani had wanted for him, with Madani noting that everyone who she wanted to bring to justice for Ahmad Zubair's murder were now dead, as she had found some peace in that. While James wished him the best with his freedom, Castle asked Hernandez what happened to Russo following his brutal disfigurement, Hernandez explained that he was currently in a coma and doctors were unsure how much damage his brain had actually suffered during the attack.^[6]

Advising Madani[]

Discussing Billy Russo[]

Unsure of her state of mind, Hernandez invited Dinah Madani to join him for dinner while he was in New York City, as Madani questioned what she had done to disappoint him, noting the look in his eye. Hernandez explained that he had received another complaint from Sacred Saints Hospital about Madani's twice a day visits into Billy Russo's room, although Madani showed no remorse about this, noting that it simply meant that she was just getting to Russo, despite Hernandez insisting that Russo should no longer be her concern.

However, Madani insisted that Russo would always be her concern, to which Hernandez noted that she would never change the fact that Russo managed to fool her, which pissed her off as she insisted that Hernandez would never understand that pain. As the waiter brought over their food, Hernandez reminded Madani how they had worked extremely hard to keep Homeland Security out of the Russo situation as it was now the New York City Police Department's case to handle, noting that if she continued, she would risk compromising the results of any trial if Russo were to be ever deemed fit enough to stand.

As Madani continued to insist that everything Russo was doing was actually an act, telling Hernandez that she believed Russo was fully recovered and was merely laughing at them all while waiting for the perfect opportunity to escape. Upon hearing all this, Hernandez had then expressed his regret that Frank Castle had not finished the job and killed Russo at their last encounter instead of horrifically scarring his face, although Madani had noted that if Castle did this, then she would never have had the opportunity to torment him afterwards, and Russo would have died believing that he successfully killed her.

Frustrated by her attitude, Hernandez told Madani that she now had to stay away from Russo from now on as she was the Special Agent in Charge for Homeland Security's New York division, and her job no longer had involved Russo. However, Madani was highly insulted by Hernandez's comments and instead decided to skip dinner with him, noting that he had accomplished his mission to talk to her all about Russo. Despite Hernandez trying to get her to stay so that they could talk about something else, Madani told him that they could do this at another time as she had grabbed her jacket and then walked out.^[7]

Frank Castle's Return[]

Hernandez was later invited for coffee with Dinah Madani, as she had informed him that she encountered Frank Castle again recently, when Castle had called her in order to get him freed from the Larkville Police Department. Hernandez had complained that the terms of the deal they had made with Castle had been extremely clear that he was on his own, to which Madani noted that Castle had threatened to expose all of their lies if they had left him in the police's custody.

Although Hernandez claimed that their cover up was done to protect Madani, she insisted that he not pretend that it was done only for her benefit, knowing he had protected Homeland Security. As Hernandez then questioned where Castle was now, Madani claimed that he had been dropped off just outside of New York City. As Hernandez then questioned why she did not leave him in Ohio, Madani explained that Castle insisted upon coming to New York, as Hernandez questioned if Castle returned to New York City due to Billy Russo having recently escaped from the Sacred Saints Hospital, which Madani denied.

Madani claimed that she had not actually told Castle about Russo's escape, which Hernandez remained doubtful of. Hernandez had then changed the conversation and noted how Farah Madani had told him that Madani was still not talking to anyway about her mental health in the wake of her head injuries, to which Madani questioned how often Hernandez spoke to her mother, while he simply asked her the same question. Hernandez had still insisted that Madani needed to speak to someone, regardless of the fact that she completed their required amount of counselling that was demanded by the department.

However, Hernandez simply noted that once she had completed this counselling, she had started standing at the end of Russo's hospital bed twice a day, before he had then questioned if Madani planned on going after Russo, to which she noted that he had told her not to and she would respect that. Hernandez had then questioned what would happen once Castle finally learnt of Russo's escape from the hospital and decided to go after him again, as Hernandez noted that Madani might have brought that war between Castle and Russo right back to their door, although Madani did not respond to these comments.^[8]

Personality[]

This section requires expansion

To be added

Abilities[]

This section requires expansion

To be added

Facilities[]

This section requires expansion

• Homeland Security Headquarters: To be added

Relationships[]

Allies[] United States Department of Homeland Security Sam Stein † - Former Subordinate CIA Marion James - Friend Dinah Madani - Protegeè and Former Subordinate Farah Madani Frank Castle/Punisher

Enemies[] Carson Wolf † - Former Colleague William Rawlins † Billy Russo †

Appearances[]

Appearance for Rafael Hernandez

In chronological order: The Punisher | Episode 1.04: Resupply The Punisher | Episode 1.05: Gunner The Punisher | Episode 1.08: Cold Steel (mentioned) The Punisher | Episode 1.09: Front Towards Enemy The Punisher | Episode 1.10: Virtue of the Vicious The Punisher | Episode 1.11: Danger Close The Punisher | Episode 1.13: Memento Mori The Punisher | Episode 2.07: One Bad Day (mentioned; flashbacks) The Punisher | Episode 2.02: Fight or Flight The Punisher | Episode 2.03: Trouble the Water (mentioned) The Punisher | Episode 2.04: Scar Tissue

Trivia[]

• In the episode, Scar Tissue, the Disney+ closed captions mistakenly refer to Hernandez as "Gunner."

References[]