To be or not to be? That is the question that Matt Murdock is asking himself. Is he Daredevil, the avenging hero, or simply Matt Murdock, trying to assuage his Catholic guilt? Minor spoilers for Daredevil #11 follow.
Chip Zdarsky’s run on Daredevil so far has been nothing short of spectacular. The funny thing is about that is that there really hasn’t been many daredevils within his run. It has focused almost entirely on Matt Murdock’s struggles and not the superhero antics of Daredevil. This has made for a compelling read for the past ten issues. With this issue though, the series is looking into the impact that Daredevil has had. Both on Matt Murdock and the community at large. It adds a new dichotomy to the series that adds something that had been missing, even if it didn’t feel like it was necessarily needed, making the series better.
Matt Murdock has always been a man of two worlds. The vigilante and the lawyer. Unlike Batman, there was never one true self and one mask, both identities were Matt’s true selves. Now, he has neither. Matt is lost and the series has shown that so far, but it’s this issue that Matt truly begins to realize that. Everything from Elektra, to Mindy, to copycats, he’s realizing that his world is shattered. Zdarsky does an excellent job with this exploration, at least to begin with because it just feels like the beginning. Matt’s problems aren’t solved in this issue, they are simply manifesting.
Then there’s the Detective Cole aspect of this issue. Spider-Man was an inspired choice to bring into the fold to really nail home the nuance of Cole’s situation. Spider-Man, for as bright and optimistic as he is, has always lived in a world of grays, thus making him the perfect choice to reason with someone. He’s kind, yet uncompromising. Zdarsky simply writes Spider-Man extremely well, as evidenced by Spider-Man: Life Story.
The biggest problem with this issue is that nothing really happens though. There’s a lot of introspection, but nothing. Barely any story momentum, little to no impactful action, and no real plot other than a couple of pages. It’s frustratingly annoying, especially coming off the back of an excellent cliffhanger, for an otherwise solid issue.
Marco Checchetto returns to art duties with this issue though, which is a welcome to return. His version of Hell’s Kitchen is absolutely perfect and captures the essence of the setting incredibly well. Other than that though, everything about his characters is exceptional. His linework is gorgeous and pulls everything bit of emotion out of every panel, no matter how innocuous. He makes every page interesting to look at, bringing out little things that enhance the issue in the best ways.
CHECK OUT: Daredevil #10 Review: The Good, The Bad, and The Dirty
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