Tag: elektra

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Daredevil Omnibus by Frank Miller and Klaus Janson. Part One.

This is a review of Daredevil Omnibus by Frank Miller (artist/writer) and Klaus Janson (artist/inker), which consists of Frank Miller’s legendary run on Daredevil, from issue #158 – 191. This review covers the first half of the omnibus, from 158 – 175. Wow, that’s a lot of exposition! Are these comics any good? Well, yes, they sure are. Mr. Miller made such an imprint on Daredevil that creative teams have tried – and mostly failed – to imitate this run for years.

Frank Miller’s run began when he took over the art duties for writer Roger McKenzie. The highlights of Mr. McKenzie’s run in this omnibus are a three-issue fight with Bullseye, with the final battle set in Coney Island; and an encounter with the Hulk, which is a homage to the Man Without Fear’s fight with the Sub-Mariner way back in Daredevil #7. When Mr. Miller takes over the writing duties, Daredevil makes a seismic leap in quality. He writes the Black Widow out of the comic and introduces Matt’s crazy ex-girlfriend/assassin Elektra, who was created for one reason, which I will not mention here because spoilers. The stories themselves are shorter, punchier (literally!), and have a harder, grittier edge.

Mr. Miller stretches Daredevil to his limits, beefing up his rogue’s gallery by adding crime boss The Kingpin as the big baddie. In their first encounter, Daredevil dances around the Kingpin like a ballet diva, until the Big Man ends the fight with a single punch to Hornhead’s face. Having your villain be stronger and arguably smarter than your hero is something not many creative teams have the guts to do.

The creative team also puts Daredevil through the emotional wringer. When arch-nemesis Bullseye goes crazy because of a brain tumor and embarks on a killing spree, Daredevil beats the crap out of him in the subway. Bullseye lies unconscious on the tracks, directly in the path of an approaching train. Daredevil saves him because he believes in the law, i.e. that nobody is above the law. This ranks as the single biggest mistake of his crimefighting career, because after the doctor removes the tumor Bullseye goes back to killing people. Is Daredevil responsible? You can argue either way. There’s another reason letting Bullseye live was a mistake, but no need to go into that here.

Normally, I am not crazy about testing a character’s values in this way, because the writer holds all the cards. I believe it was writer Dan Slott who was asked who would win a fight between Hulk and Thor. His answer: whoever the writer wants to win. That being said, the way Mr. Miller tests Daredevil’s belief system is organic and believable. Some would say it is inevitable.

I hated these issues when they came out in the early 1980’s, because I thought the art was ugly. It was different from anything I’d read before, and I had trouble processing. Now I will say that the art is dynamic, emphasizing the human form and giving readers Mr. Miller’s wonderful take on New York City (look at all that grit, kids!). This is one of the best superhero runs of all time, period. Recommended for fans of superhero comics; if you are a Daredevil fan, what are you waiting for?

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Daredevil: End of Days

Daredevil: End of Days

WARNING: contains spoilers.

The plot of Daredevil: End of Days is simple. Years in the future Matt Murdock, aka Daredevil, is killed in a brawl with his archenemy Bullseye. Before he dies, he says ‘Mapone’ to Bullseye. Perhaps Murdock says this because of the beating he’s taken from Bullseye, or the brain damage he’s undoubtedly suffering from, or it could mean something else. Nobody cares but Daredevil, Bullseye, and beat reporter Ben Urich. This is a potential problem, because I didn’t care what Mapone means either. What made Matt Murdock lose his sanity is a lot more interesting, in a car crash sort of way.

Urich is a strange choice for a narrator. He has a compulsion to know what happened, all the while understanding that the picture he paints won’t be pretty. He’s the picture-perfect portrait of the grizzled beat reporter, so much so that a cynic might say that he’s a parody of himself, especially when he does things like standing in a downpour (because it’s always either dark or raining in Hell’s Kitchen).

Urich decides to retrace Murdock’s last years. The last time Matt was seen in public as Daredevil, he killed the Kingpin in a brawl. This is the type of thing that is frowned upon by a civilized society, and there’s also the undeniable truth that pummeling a man to death with your bare hands in public is a clear sign that you have lost it.

So begins the journey of discovery. Even though Ben Urich has no social skills, we learn things. A man dressed as Daredevil is tailing Urich. The Black Widow is dead, either in a cosmic skirmish (according to Nick Fury) or murdered in a bathtub (according to the cover of Issue #6). Urich’s adopted son, Timmy, idolizes Daredevil. Former assassin Elektra is now a soccer mom. Bullseye kills himself a few days after murdering Murdock. Daredevil’s ex-foe Gladiator makes costumes for fetish parties. Oh, and all of Matt’s ex-girlfriends have children with red hair. This was funny the first time, but after the third or fourth child with red hair, it veered into eye-rolling territory. 

Urich reaches a dead-end when he visits the Punisher in prison. Old, grizzled Frank Castle gives the plot away, but Urich is either too dogged or too stupid to quit. He keeps on plugging away, scraping the bottom of Murdock’s rogue gallery, until he’s killed by the Hand. At which point we learn that the new Daredevil is Urich’s adopted son, Timmy, who was trained by none other than Murdock himself! We also learn that Mapone is the name of Matt Murdock’s and the Black Widow’s daughter. She may also be Murdock’s reincarnated teacher, Stick. 

We never learn what made Matt Murdock lose it, and what he was doing all those years in hiding. We also never learn why the name Mapone makes Bullseye kill himself. I have searched teh Googles in vain, but have found no answer as of yet. EDIT: it turns out Bullseye didn’t know what Mapone meant, but the fact that Murdock got in the last word tipped him over the edge. This is according to the writer’s blog, but I am unsure if the writer is trolling, because his answer makes no sense. I think it’s fair to say that the linking of Bullseye and Mapone as a plot point doesn’t work. The other thing that confused me are the covers, which depict the deaths of Daredevil & various Daredevil cast members, some of whom were still alive when I read the book. 

Overall, I enjoyed Daredevil: End of Days, even though plot-wise the book falls apart in the final issue.