Daredevil Message Board

[LightningandIce]

As of a couple issues ago, Matt Murdock, who has lived most of his life in New York City with the secret alter ego of Daredevil, is now publicly known, barred from practicing law, and has moved to San Francisco. Now these are comic books we're talking about here, so it's pretty much given that sooner or later, all of that is going to be reversed and business will resume as normal.

What I'm curious about is, how would you go about doing that? If Marvel hired you as the writer of Daredevil tomorrow, what kind of story would you craft to return everything back to how it was before the Sons of Serpent came in?

I have my own ideas for how I would do it, but I want to know how other people feel first. What do you think?

[Daredevil24]

I don't know anyway to reverse it without taking a page out of Spider-man's book? But I would love to hear your ideas.

[DesignDevil]

I will state up front that, overall, I have really enjoyed Mark Waid's run. That said…

The last 3+ years of stories have been a drug and torture induced hallucination. Matt is chained in a dungeon/temple/whatever in Japan going through the trials of becoming leader of The Hand. Foggy, Dakota, and Becky are frantically trying to investigate what happened to Matt. Basically everything since Brubaker's last issue didn't happen. Now we can have any of the infinite number of GOOD stories that should have come about with Matt Murdock as the leader of The Hand and his long road to redemption.

[Daredevil24]

That would be awesome!!!

[Ash-n-Bone]

I would probably have Matt travel abut until he returns to NY by chance. E.g one giant arc where he goes from San Fran to maybe South America to investigate a case which gives him a lead to Asia which then takes him to Italy, etc...and finally the lead he chases takes him back home. And this wouldn't be a quick story line but something that lasts for a while so that you feel Matts mental and physical exhaustion and then he finally arrives back in NY he's too worn out to fight at his best. Not unlike Batman going through the gauntlet until he finds Bane.

[beneverett]

I would leave it right alone. I think it's great that DD's secret ID is out and I like the way it was revealed. I think that considering all that Matt has been through (practically since the beginning) in terms of having to protect it, that it was a brave choice to finally come out and have it over. I'm not saying that the whole matter should be dropped and that there should not be repercussions from his decision, nor do I feel that the overall tone of the book be sacrificed. Honestly, I think that Waid has struck the perfect balance between the more fantastic elements of the MU and the urban grittiness of DD in his run so far. Doing something like this forces his story into new directions dramatically, and it is nice that future writers will not have the "my secret ID has been compromised again" angle to fall back on. I could wind up changing my mind on the whole thing when all is said and done, but right now, I'm happy with the status quo.

[Dimetre]

When Bendis outed Matt in Volume 2, he did so without any plan to restore the status quo. Brubaker kind of restored things through Matt's arrangement with Vanessa Fisk, but the genie was still out of the bottle. Mr. Fear would call him Murdock while he was in costume, and Daredevil wouldn't work hard to deny it.

So much time has passed since then that it now seems pointless to restore Daredevil's secret identity, which is probably why Foggy's death is being faked (which makes me tremendously uncomfortable) and puts Kristen's life in jeopardy. I don't know how he can practise law in California with both of his identities known.

We've already gone through him faking his death during Chichester's run in the 90s. I can't imagine anyone believing a Mike Murdock stunt if Matt were to try and bring that back, especially since Mike Murdock is supposed to be dead. And I would hate for some deal with Mephisto to fix things. So we might as well embrace the new status quo.

[Daredevil24]

They will find a way to restore it when the Netflix series starts

[james castle]

What annoys me is that Waid, like Bendis before him, doesn't seem to have a plan with regard to how to put the genie back in the bottle. Assuming he doesn't (and I'd be impressed if he does) I'm not sure hold bold or interesting outing Matt is.

First off, outing Matt is now an even worse cliche than having him broken down only to see him build himself back up (The Miller, I think they call it). Chichester did it, Bendis did it, whoever wrote the terrible "Playing to the Camera" did it and now Waid has done it. How is anyone not rolling their eyes by this point?

Second, it's pretty easy and cheap to just break something. So and so is dead! The identity is out! It's all so shocking and all so normal at this point.

As terrible as it is, I don't think there really is a way to restore it short of magic. Even more terrible is that I think the status quo, at some point, has to be restored. I hate the battle cry of "what great new stories can now be written" because it ignores what has been lost. Having and keeping a secret identity is central to DD's character. He's a super hero AND a lawyer. Without his secret identify he's just a super hero lawyer. Him not having a secret identity anymore also just makes things silly. Why, at the end of Vol. 3 did he change into his costume on the stand after outing himself? It makes him fight better? Okay but why the mask?

The point of comics is to have an ever changing but ever constant status quo. You want the X-Men changing sides and dying and coming back and whatever but at the end of the day they're all just hanging out in the mansion and the next writer can take them on an adventure. Waid may have opened up some opportunities but he's also kneecapped a bunch of other ones.

Again, I'll be super happy if Waid does have a master plan. I'm not reading it but it seems like Slott is doing the right thing over in Spider-man. Kill off Peter, have a crazy time with Doc Ock but then put Peter back in charge. I'd like to see Waid do the same sort of thing where he restores the status quo before he leaves.
_________________
JC

So why can't you see the funny side?
Why aren't you laughing?

[Ronald]

Maybe Matt is still in Latveria, bereft of his senses. The "Bullseye in a Jar" story was his subconscious warning him of his own state. Of course, this doesn't explain how DD could still appear in other books in the meantime, but it resolves the identity issue without completely invalidating Waid's entire run.

Given that Daredevil's enemies tend to be a ruthless bunch, Matt would be better off keeping his identity under wraps. Besides, if he wants a public identity, why keep wearing a mask?

Ron

[Skaughtto]

Rather than asking how Matt can go backward, I would focus on how he can go forward. I like that Daredevil's getting some new wrinkles in his character...

He's still practicing law in San Fran, but when should he stop? It has always felt like being a vigilante is his career and being a lawyer is a distraction. Frequently he ignores the lawyer side of his life and leaves the work to someone else. Perhaps he should join some sort of law enforcement group? I need to re-read that "What If?" issue where he was an agent of SHIELD... DD #1.50 alluded to an upcoming career change that I won't spoil.

I do think his home is in New York. He has so much history there and a real connection, which leads to good stories. It wouldn't hurt him to travel more often, but he should return home once in a while. I've enjoyed the stories where he's gone to Japan and wherever Blackheart was(hell?) - he could explore the sci-fi a lil' more, "Daredevil: Man Without Fear & Galactic Attorney at Law".

His identity being revealed certainly makes Matt Murdock and those who know him more exposed. I'd hate to see a bunch of stories where those near him are being held hostage all the time, but it wouldn't be a bad idea for him to move somewhere that keeps him and his lady friends a little more insulated from outsiders... Is Daredevil part of a small group of heroes who don't hook up as after with super powered ladies or at least ones that know martial arts? Karen Page, Mila Donovan, Glorianna O'Brien, Heather Glenn, Kirsten McDuffie...

I could see a career change, a move back to New York(or at least frequent visits) and more supporting characters now that his identity is known. I wouldn't want to see him revert back to what he was - been there, done that.

[Ryu Murdock]

My recipe for bringing back the status quo or at least have Matt's identity under wraps again?

1) Kingspin's death
2) whatever the Ringmaster used in "Playing To The Camera"
and 3) my favorite DD villain Purple Man
_________________
"I'm only a DEVIL to those who are demonic."

[admiralpetty]

I'll start by saying I actually like the current status quo quite a bit, however here's my take

Mephisto approaches Foggy and states he can cure his cancer, but he wants one thing first, he and Matt's Pure Friendship, as he rarely sees such a strong bond between friends. Thus proceeds several issues of them agonizing over what to do, and then finally accepting Mephisto's deal. The run could be called ANOTHER DAY...

[LightningandIce]

That's interesting. Most people were livid over One More Day in Spider-Man, yet in DD's case, they are clamoring for it.

Anyway, it occurs to me that despite being the thread creator, I never actually shared my own thoughts on the topic. I have a few ideas myself. They couldn't instantly fix every aspect, but I know how I would do it without resorting to magical reset buttons. To note, this wouldn't happen in a single story arc. It would have to be spread out across several arcs, likely with others between them, to allow the book to breathe.

Anyway, I would start by creating another Daredevil back in New York. A guy who is sick of the way crime went up around Hell's Kitchen after Matt left, so he decides to take up the mantle of Daredevil for himself and fight crime under a secret identity. Maybe he could have powers of his own, or just be really good at martial arts or something. I would lead this into a story arc where Matt meets this guy (let's call him DD2) and they have some conflict over whether it's right to fight crime or something, and it would end with DD2 now fighting crime in NY as Daredevil (under a secret identity) while Matt continues to be Daredevil back in San Fran.

The big change would come with the return of a big villain. Bullseye is always a good candidate, but I think that Death Stalker would be best, as he is a fan favorite, hasn't been seen in a long time, and has a good reason in-story for being absent during Matt's big reveal. Death Stalker would return to NY looking for vengeance against Matt. He would then wreak havoc on the city's underworld: re-instating the animal guys to be his enforcers, declaring war on law enforcement, possibly usurping the Kingpin, and in general ushering in a new golden age for organized crime. In the middle of this, he capture DD2 and (privately) use him as bait to bring Matt back to NY.

Matt would go home, fight Death Stalker, rescue DD2, and decide to stick around for a while to clean up Death Stalker's mess. This would allow Matt to operate in NY as Daredevil under a secret identity, as the public wouldn't know the difference between him and the imitator, and would also assume Matt is still in San Francisco. Just to cement this, I would have DD2 trade places with Matt and start acting as Daredevil over in California to help uphold the illusion. During this time, Matt would begin to realize that he likes New York more than San Francisco and that he is better off for having his identity secret again.

In order for Matt to keep up his charade, he would have to go back and forth between NY and CA. While DD2 would be covering for him on the super hero front, he would need to go back for work. After a while of this, it would start to take its toll physically and emotionally. I think that would be grounds for a conflict and breakup with Kirsten. With nothing keeping him in San Fran anymore, Matt would publicly announce his retirement from lawyering and (along with Foggy) quietly move back to New York City. He wouldn't be able to go back to practicing law, but maybe he would find another job. Maybe he would be a professor at a law school or something.

That is my idea. It doesn't fix everything, and a lot of solutions here are pretty contrived. The point is that having an imitator allows Matt to assume the Daredevil mask in New York without being suspicious. It also gives Matt a reason to return there, and deciding to stay would be a gradual decision that he makes over the course of a couple story arcs. As an added bonus, Death Stalker is now returned to being active in his rogue's gallery.

So there you go. What does everyone think?

[jriddle]