DAREDEVIL {5th Series} #1
“” (20 pages)
Writer: Charles Soule
Artist: Ron Garney
Color Artist: Matt Milla
Letterer & Production: VC’s Clayton Cowles
Covers by: Ron Garney & Matt Milla; Joe Quesada; John Tyler Christopher; Tim Sale & Dave Stewart; Larry Stroman, Tom Palmer & Rachelle Rosenberg; Alex Maleev; cosplay variant by Patrick ‘Rick’ Lance, photography by Judy Stephens
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
Take 2,905 steps back to the norm but with radical improvement! That’s the driving distance between San Fran and NYC. Matt Murdock and Daredevil have reconciled their respective halves. The costume colour change isn’t the only indicator that, now more than ever, DD is an un-daunting deliverer of urban justice.
The agility and aerial acrobatics encompass the entire first page. DD dives into danger but not in the way you think. He plunges into the East River to snatch a snitch. Being immersed in H20 is not a common thing for the hyper-sensitive hero. Disorientation kicks in since sound moves four times faster underwater. Firing off his Billy club blindly (more than usual), DD eventually nabs his quarry when the echo effect of hitting a VW Beetle produces the sound waves sufficient to appear on his radar.
A new group of gangbangers have slithered on to the streets. Daredevil reappears to emphasize that he is the city’s protector. He does his best boogeyman impression before rushing them. A bullet grazes his right tricep since the dip has affected his senses. Never fear, Mr. Man Without!! Your apprentice is here! Blindspot lives up to his name. He plows through the thugs. Rookie done real good!
The one constant in the two worlds is Foggy Nelson. He’s less than thrilled that informant Billy Li is crashing on his crouch in his cozy apartment. Foggy is even more irate at being the only individual burdened with his best friend’s secret. Matt/Daredevil resorted to extreme measures to keep his identity unknown to the rest of the world. He had to make every citizen of the planet believe that a blind lawyer and a ruthless vigilante are not one and the same. Foggy is resentful of this even more. He no longer wants to be the go-to guy, the saviour, the Jiminy Cricket. Despite all these feelings, Foggy wants to ensure that Matt can trust his student. His partner-above-crime vouches for his choice candidate.
Matt Murdock’s profession has taken a 360: he is now a prosecutor for the NY County D.A.’s Office. WOW!! Stone cold. After bantering with his rival Ellen King, MM stonewalls his client Billy Li – the testimony will indict of the group’s top dogs. If he doesn’t comply, a lengthy stint on Ryker’s Island awaits. Encouragement is given when MM tells Billy to bank on DD, who happens to be in his service. Murdock can tell the Devil to give up the protection. Loosening his grip a bit, Murdock tells Billy that he has embraced his disability and lives his life to the fullest. This clinches Billy’s decision.
The newest big bad goes by Tenfingers. He is so harsh and extreme in his ways that he demands digits from his underlings. Success means losing some parts of your hand; failure is obviously worse. Onehand prevents the lieutenant from presenting an offering. Billy Li has to die for his big mouth but now it must be a grand gesture – during his testimony. Tenfingers has his moniker for a reason. Take a look at his hands :0 He orders his errand boy Sam (Chung) to kill our beloved protagonist. Sam is also DD’s protégé Blindspot!! Betrayal!!! :|
Emulating Eminem: “I am not afraid.” This phrase is uttered twice: once by Daredevil; once by Matt Murdock. One is for self-affirmation; the other is for pep talk.
Ultimate sway: “Just because you let me remember doesn’t change what you did to make everyone else forget.” What hocus-pocus was used to make 6,999,998 people oblivious to associating the visually-impaired attorney with the scarlet swashbuckler? Doc Strange had to be involved!!
Conquering the divide: “I had to. Foggy, Daredevil and Matt Murdock…they were each other’s worst enemies.”
Blind trust: The situation is ironic in one major way!! DD implicitly believes in his student, totally unaware that he is in cahoots with the maleficent mover-and-shaker.
A real-life lawyer writing about a fictional lawyer. Imagine that!! No one knows the law better than Charles Soule!! There will be an accurate depiction of Mr. Murdock’s profession. Re-establishing the status quo is a bit surprising but signifies major growth within Matt. Forgoing defense to focus on the guilty makes him much more effective in the legal system and attunes with his alter ego’s approach. There are more law-abiding citizens than law-breaking ones. Matt and DD can have it both ways since the dual persona no longer has to endure inner conflict.
Other changes big and small are quite notable. The billy club now holds a blade. Foggy remains his BFF but begrudgingly. Murdock’s position at the bottom of the totem pole and within a confined office space doesn’t faze him. There’s potential love interest in his opposition. DD has taken on a trainee, completely unheard of and unprecedented throughout his lengthy crime-fighting career.
The 51-year-old character has gone through several phases going back full circle with a slight deviation — from happy-go-lucky to moribund to ebullient to hardened. The sunny bright days of San Fran (as well as the blazing red costume) have been traded for overcast skies, grim(y) and gritty streets, and an outfit that screams no-nonsense.
This initial issue is Ron Garney’s crowning achievement!! He has progressed immensely from his earlier days. The many faces are so life-like. They are sketches ready to bounce off the pages!! The close-ups of Hornhead strike fear into the hearts of men, myself included! The red lenses do nothing to mask the seething intensity. The multiple panels while DD is submerged in the river are Polaroid snapshots pointing out his disorientation and highlighting his desperate resolve. The design on Sam’s T-shirt is an intricate trompe-l’œil: I see a woman’s visage as well as two locked hands. Perhaps I’m mistaken.
Matt Milla beautifully emphasizes the hardboiled genre. Noir is not just a subgenre!! The shifting between sepia, damask, and pitch black are evocative of Sin City. The first primary colour is the only prevalent one. I missed this the first time but upon several flips, I noticed that Matt Murdock is sporting a red tie when he speaks to his client.
Clayton Cowles is not the same letterer as the rest of the creative team. No matter. No space is wasted in the balloons nor the boxes. Every word counts. As with countless other stories, the sound effects are the most amusing.
A few questions hover over me. Is Tenfingers a mutant? Does he attach other’s digits to his hands? How long has he been operating? Is Blindspot an inside man? Is he really on the side of angels or is he serving a completely different devil? Will the partnership end before it began?
If you are immensely intrigued about Blindspot, his first appearance was in ALL-NEW ALL-DIFFERENT MARVEL POINT ONE. Pick up a copy quick time!
This debut issue is visually stunning from cover-to-cover!! This feels like Season 2 of the Netflix series. Speaking of which…it’s not accidental that Mr. Garney created a reasonable resemblance to Charlie Cox, the live action representation of MM.
I thoroughly enjoyed Mark Waid’s seminal run. I’m extremely confident that Mr. Soule will propel DD to greater heights. Daredevil has nine letters. Thus, I give this book 8 stars out of 9 (88.8%)
Endless appreciation to my local comic shop for the purchase of this all-new all-different title.
