Matt deals with hard time while Elektra picks up the slack. The Hand looms large in this comic written by Chip Zdarsky, art by Marco Chechetto, colors by Marcio Menyz, and letters by Clayton Cowled.
Vishal Gullapalli: Ahh, last issue of Daredevil was a good time as always, it’s too bad we gotta wait for- wait what? Hey, Justin, I wasn’t expecting to be back again for another month but here we are! How’ve you handled the last 4 days without Daredevil?
Justin Partridge: The Fabled Chip Double-Dip! It RETURNS!
In all seriousness, I think even ONE day without Matt Murdock is a day wasted and it’s even better than we get a kinda weird one right off the heels of a semi-stuffy one! Proceed, Counselors! But know you are on THIN ICE! *Gavel Noises*
Matt Murdock, Two-Time Felon
VG: Okay, I don’t think I need to recap. Matt’s in jail. Unlike the last time he was in jail, when everyone knew he was Matt Murdock but only suspected (they knew) he was Daredevil, this time everyone knows he’s Daredevil but like 5 people in the entire world know he’s Matt Murdock. So of course, one of those 5 people comes to visit him.
This conversation Matt has with Elektra is great for a lot of reasons, some of which we’ll get into later, but the first thing I want to focus on is Matt’s edgiest most self-guilty line in a while: “God gave me darkness so I could understand the light.” Seriously, Matt, you’re better than this. I think. Be better.
JP: ABSOLUTELY and once again, Chip makes a tremendous use of Elektra, who arguably is our lead this issue as most of the action is based around her. But I digress.
But like you said, this is Matt at his most annoyingly pious, having once again played himself into the position of martyr for what he thinks is the “Greater Good”. But the TRULY great thing is Elektra IMMEDIATELY calling him on it, (rightfully) stating that once again he made a unilateral decision in his life with immense ripple effects and didn’t bother to tell anybody that 1. He was even doing it and 2. WHY he did it.
Chip has been placing amazing foils against Matt since the opening of the Zdarsky/Checchetto Era (what we have now dubbed this series), but Elektra really, REALLY shines here. Speaking not only the minds of the audience reading the issue, but also pulling back into the light some hard truths about Matt that he himself isn’t ready to fully explore yet.
VG: There’s also Matt’s constantly frustrating sanctimoniousness that comes through in spades here – “Elektra’s trying. Like I am. But the difference is, I’m a man who’s killed. She’s a killer.” Like, come on! Chip’s doing such a good job getting us into this terrible man’s head and showing exactly why he’s so terrible. Matt Murdock, with his Catholic guilt, with his savior complex, with every trauma he’s dealing with, is such a broken husk of a person he can’t help but condescend towards the one person trying to help him.
JP: And not only that, but in dueling the narration between Matt and Elektra, he is offering a wonderful counter narrative TO Matt’s take on the situation. Which even in turns bores down to the core friction BETWEEN Matt and Elektra’s whole deal; their own personal moralities, both of which are thought to be wholly “correct” in both of their eyes.
Matt being the more idealistic, lofty personality, believing that people, though complex, are capable of a greater good and higher awareness of their moral place in divine creation (which is then further sweetened and complicated by the rich vein of Catholicism running through him). While Elektra stands as the more pragmatic, realistic one. Knowing full well what depths people can and do sink to when the chips are down while being able to make the “hard” choice thanks to her upbringing as a deadly ninja princess. It is a truly amazing new level to their dynamic and one that doesn’t even have to work THAT hard to get there. All this stuff was there to start with, it just has a whole new angle of approach narratively. It really is very engaging stuff and I hope Chip continues to flesh it out as this arc continues.
The Devil Outside
JP: But since we are already talkin’ Nachios, let’s just get into it fully!
So, as Matt and Elektra palaver, Chip and the art team are presenting us silent flashback panels of a sort of side-mission she and Stick had been engaged in prior to her return. It seems while The Hand have been amassing a new push into the civilian world, Stick and Elektra have been tracking down a lead on a counter to the Hand. Something that predates even The Chaste. Something called The Fist. And wouldn’t you know it, she needs Matt to make it work.
But Matt doesn’t trust Elektra, even with her new rediscovery of his secret identity. This drives her to take drastic measures. Namely donning the Daredevil cowl as Hell’s Kitchen’s new guardian devil. How did this turn grab you, VG?
VG: Elektra’s work to be the new Daredevil is fascinating and I am incredibly excited to see where it goes but there’s also this whole Hand stuff – which I’ve gone back and checked, and yeah, it was seeded when Elektra first showed up in the run. I’ve never been a big Hand fan. I thought the best they’d ever been was in the original Miller stuff and then in Soule’s recent run where they were outshone by dragon priests. The Hand as a concept just aren’t really the most interesting in the Daredevil mythos, because ultimately mystic ninjas are just a bit too trite.
But there’s some new stuff being explored here – Elektra’s got a whole prophecy she’s aiming to fulfill, and wants to get Matt involved without telling him the whole story. Justin, what’s your take on this? Because I feel like the closer we get to Hand nonsense the less confident I am in my takes. My brain is just not wired for it.
JP: NO, I totally get it. I think, especially now after story after story about the Hand, they have definitely lost a bit of their luster. Especially when DD so far until now had been focused on new antagonists and new angles on older antagonists, so it can’t help but feel like a step backward for sure.
That said, however, focusing it solely on Elektra and providing a sizable portion of the page count to her perspective is really interesting. And provided a wonderful narrative and emotional justification to Elektra taking on the Daredevil persona. I think, as an idea, it absolutely has legs and again twists the Matt/Elektra dynamic in such a way that doesn’t limit the title going forward. That said, I would hate for all this to get interesting set up and then just be another “ninja fight” set piece waiting at the end. It is super weird and pulpy which is something I can always appreciate, I just don’t want to see this version of Daredevil take a step back just because “we have to do the Hand again”.
I think the texture this adds to Chip’s takes on Matt and Elektra far outweighs the concern I have for its eventual endgame.
Marco Checchetto
VG: Something I really feel compelled to talk about is Checchetto’s art in this issue. And more generally, Checchetto’s art throughout the run. While he hasn’t done every issue, Marco Checchetto has done the most out of all the artists on the book, and his style has generally defined the aesthetic of the book. Sure we’ve gotten folks like Lalit Kumar Sharma, Jorge Fornés, and Mike Hawthorne, but honestly with no disrespect meant to any of these artists I feel like the book’s sense of identity is strongest when Checchetto is drawing it. This issue has Checchetto create a brand new design for Elektra that looks stunning, alongside drawing some really fantastic layouts for action scenes. I feel really strongly that much like its predecessors of Nocenti/JRJR, Bendis/Maleev, and Waid/Samnee, this run of Daredevil needs to be credited as the Zdarsky/Checchetto run. Because it’s seriously such a great team effort from both of them.
JP: I ABSOLUTELY AGREE.
I referenced this a bit earlier and it probably sounded like a bit, but the more we all talk about the artwork here under his pens, the more convinced we are that we are seeing some All-Timer stuff unfolding in this issue.
I could and would talk for like a week just about the way he renders Elektra’s hair and fashions this time around, but the best example of his powers are the silent flashback sequences with Stick and Elektra. Not a single one of them has a narration caption or spoken dialogue. Hell, they don’t even REALLY have location markers or sound sfx balloons either.
But the action unfolding in the panels is always crystal clear and never once sacrifices kinetics or expressionism just for the flow of the panels. It is really alchemical sequential storytelling and it just gets stronger every single issue. God, don’t even get me STARTED on Elektra’s Daredevil costume. I might instantly fall into vapor-lock.
Marvelous Musings
- We get a fun Stick cameo this round. As well as quick check-ins with Foggy and Kristen, post-Matt fucking his life up again. They kind of take a backseat this issue, but I hope they don’t fall by the wayside as this Handy-centered arc gets kicked up.
- King in Black next time. I am…decidedly NOT looking forward to it having been largely disappointed with the opening issue. Maybe Matt will fight Knull with some super Catholic Guilt.
- Since there is a Lady Daredevil now, what are the odds of Lady Bullseye showing up to test her mettle? Maybe a Stilt-Woman now? I dunno, I’m just spitballing here.
Vishal Gullapalli is highly opinionated and reads way too much.
