Daredevil No. 98, a Compelling Story of Fear (Book Review)

This time, it's personal.

This is where I read comic books now. Actually, this is where I read pretty much all books now.

Ever since I've heard of him, I've had a soft spot for Daredevil. Sure, Spider-Man might take my top spot and Batman has cooler gadgets, but it's hard not to like Matt Murdock. Heck, I even liked the sub-par Ben Affleck movie. (A little.)

Touted as "the man without fear" due to his death-defying leaps and balance, Marvel gave us the first Superhero with a major disability. If you don't know, Matt Murdock is blind, due to an accident when he was a child. The accident did leave him a second sight, though, in the form of the his other enhanced senses acting like a radar, allowing him to do things that would make Cirque du Soleil performers' jaws drop.

And regardless of "without fear" gracing the cover, Marvel finds many opportunities to remind us that his fearlessness is of those aerial stunts. At the end of the day, Murdock is afraid of the same things as everyone else, particularly super heroes: the safety of their loved ones.

The Devil His Due

As we open, we find that Matt Murdock has returned to Hell's Kitchen, but the community he once protected has fallen into shambles. He's committed to cleaning up the veritable hellhole, but an unknown enemy launches a counter-attack, freeing from prison a former villain known as Gladiator and kidnapping his wife.

Matt Murdock, unfortunately, must first escape police custody before he can find his apartment, and by the time he arrives there they're already gone. His enhanced senses tell him of the smell of Gladiator - and the smell of blood to indicate his wife's danger. His tracking is unnecessary, though, as Gladiator eventually hangs his wife from a rooftop, cruelly forcing her to scream for his help.

When he does come, the inevitable battle occurs, but we see a twist in that he gets carried away with his anger. Without spoiling too much, I'll say that the ending appears to resolve this particular problem in a fairly clean way, but hints that Murdock's troubles are far from over.

Of course, as a serial, we are left wondering who the ultimate threat in Hell's Kitchen is. But that is a question for another day...

Art and Writing

As a story, this is fairly rote. It seems a superhero always has a wife, friend, confidant, grandmother, or coworker that's kidnapped and held ransom. I can't say that the plot itself is entirely inspired.

The method of delivery, on the other hand, is pretty enjoyable regardless. Daredevil is very similar to Batman, in that much of the writing involves inner monologue. As Daredevil chases down his wife's captor and ultimately confronts Gladiator, we see through his innermost thoughts the very real fears he has of losing his wife, especially when confronted with the memory of past women that he's had to bury.

The ultimate confrontation with Gladiator eventually makes Matt uncharacteristically brutal in his approach, which gives us insight to how his fear has, in the immortal words of Yoda, turned to anger and hate. This wouldn't have been nearly as effective as spoken dialogue - or even if the inner thoughts were written less competently, so I have to give credit to writer Ed Brubaker for pulling off the task of making a confrontation that we've seen hundreds of times before feel new and interesting.

The art, in direct contrast to my recent Punisher review, is very realistically proportioned and the colors are toned down and muted, giving us a great vision of New York's night time. Though some of the panel placement becomes redundant, it is regardless a straightforward method that lets us follow the story easily.

My Superhero Is Better Than Your Superhero Series

As part of a mini-series on comics that I'm writing with two fellow Viners, we're ending each comic book review with thoughts on how their Superheroing prowess stacks up against the competition. Daredevil, despite his movie adaptation, is a pretty formidable hero. He has strength and agility, and enhanced senses that border on precognition. One could argue that he's an upgraded Batman, having many of the same moves, and superpowers to boot.

Unfortunately, his senses come with a price. He is susceptible to loud noises, as they blur his inner "radar." And unlike some heroes, he is unable to turn his powers off. This may not seem like a problem, but the character is often tormented by hearing cries for help in the middle of the night when he wants to relax or get some sleep.

So to open the question: how would Daredevil fare in a fight against the following opponents?

• Catwoman Comes of Age: A review of Catwoman #68, "Catwoman Dies"
• Reconsidering Spiderman: Review of The Sensational Spiderman, The Strange Case of... #3
• John Constantine Confronts His Inner Demons...Again: Review of Hellblazer # 233
• Book Review - Superman/Batman #37 - Torment
• The Roots of Green Arrow: Review of Year One, #1
• Book Review - Fallen Son, The Death of Captain America - Iron Man (2007)
• How Wonder Woman Restored My Faith

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