Daredevil Message Board

[Mike Murdock]

So we should be at part three now. I'm sorry, that's my fault:

Next up: Guardian Devil pt. 3: Distopia


Due 10/19
_________________
Matt Murdock's cooler twin brother

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I'd give the Devil benefit of law, for my own safety's sake!
Thomas More - A Man for All Seasons

[james castle]

WHAT IS THE BAD GUY DOING AND WHAT DOES HE WANT? ISSUE 3.

At this stage we’re not sure who the bad guy is or how many bad guys there are. So far the list of suspects contains:

The Putter who is definitely a bad guy. No Putter news this issue.

Tiny Colonel Sanders who might be a bad guy. When talking to Karen he refers to her “species�; strongly implying he’s not human.

NEW: Baal, a dude who looks like a Demon and dresses like Bullet. He claims to have been on “this man’s earth for fifty-three years�. Demon Bullet says that his sole purpose is to prepare the world for the coming of someone important whose name he won’t speak. Presumably the next Christ (baby) or the anti-Christ (baby). He explains that he is part of a yet unnamed organization that is charged with protecting the world. He says that he knows that “they� (his enemies) have contacted DD and that DD has been misinformed. Unfortunately the high pitched sound that block’s DD’s senses also blocks our ability to learn Demon Bullet’s true allegiance. All we learn about him is that he wants to know where the baby is an also employs some human dudes with guns. He’s a bad guy for now because he kidnapped DD.

1. Presumable a bad guy blew up a maternity ward. We still don’t know who did this or why. Demon Bullet is added to the list of The Putter and Tiny Colonel Sanders as a possible suspect.

2. FACT: The Putter hired two rude dudes to kill Gwen's parents. This is basically a fact now but we still don’t know why he did it.

3. The Putter hired the two rude dudes to "eliminate" "the quarry". Still not clear who the quarry is and why she has to be eliminated. No news this issue on Gwen. Tiny Colonel Sanders is still driving pretty strong to the hoop with his efforts to eliminate the baby though. Why “the quarry� has to be “eliminated?� Unknown.

4. The Putter did not have anything to do with the apparently miraculous birth. We don’t know if Tiny Colonel Sanders or Demon Bullet did.

5. The Putter plans to intercede in a more direct way. Still unclear how he is going to or has interceded and why.

6. The Putter plans to appeal to Daredevil's humanity. It’s still unclear what this means. Now three people have appealed to DD’s humanity: Gwen when she begs him to help the baby and tiny Colonel Sanders when he begs him to kill the baby and Demon Bullet when he asks where the baby is. Is The Putter behind one or all of these? Why is he appealing to DD’s humanity? Unknown.

7. Tiny Colonel Sanders, tells Matt the baby is the anti-Christ and has to be killed. He gives Matt 48 hours to deliver the baby to them and warns that while he has the baby bad things will happen to him. Tiny Colonel Sanders leaves behind a cross thing in Matt’s hand.

8. Tiny Colonel Sanders wants to kill the baby because it’s the anti-Christ. This is according to him.

9. Tiny Colonel Sanders visits a smoking Karen in Matt’s apartment when Matt is out. He tells Karen that she has AIDS, in part, because of the baby and tries to get Karen to help. He strongly implies that if the baby isn’t killed Matt will also come down with AIDS.

10. Demon Bullet wants to know the whereabouts of the baby. We don’t know why other than it is very important and concerns the safety of the world.

11. Demon Bullet, who like everyone else, knows DD is actually Matt Murdock, does not want to even risk harming DD.

STRANGE DOINGS AND MYSTERIES SO FAR

The Lord appears before Gwen and tells her to seek out Matt Murdock/Daredevil. She tells him that the baby is the result of a virgin birth and that he has to protect it to save the world. Interestingly, Tiny Colonel Sanders knows this because he knows what Gwen told Matt in the office. How or why he knows this is unclear. Interestingly, the art in the background when Demon Bullet pumps the angel music into the white room is extremely similar to the art in the background that we saw when “The Lord� or “an angel� spoke to Gwen in issue 1..

Foggy is weirdly in love with Lydia. Lydia invites Foggy into her apartment for some hanky panky while someone dressed in a Dick Tracy outfit lingers in the hall. UPDATE: after said hanky panky Lydia smokes a cigarette, turns into a demon, attacks Foggy and then jumps out the window and all the way to hell when she dies and turns back into Lydia. Foggy is arrested for murder!

Matt uncharacteristically beats up a mugger in a particularly over the top way.

Matt tries to throw the baby off with the roof water.

Karen shows up with AIDS.

Matt mistakenly jumps in front of a truck. Presumably because someone told Smith that superhero comics are meant to end with cliffhangers.
_________________
JC

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

[Mike Murdock]

Wow, that's a good way to start off a story. I said last time I didn't think I would get many opportunities to comment on legal stuff. It looks like, thankfully, I was wrong. And what a way to be wrong (i.e., poor Foggy). While I'm not convinced Kevin Smith has perfectly captured all aspects of Daredevil, I do think he loves all aspects of him. He's going to make sure it all shines through. As I said the first time, I've apparently missed a lot in Daredevil skipping to Volume 2. Rosalind Sharpe is a big one (I had no idea she was still around). Cold-blooded how she treats her son. But a good moment overall. The cover is great. To me, it's one of the iconic ones. I wish my TPB came with it on its cover.

The plot is getting better, I have to say. While it was clear there's more at work than meets the eye, Macabes definitely set aside the obvious (but once thought about, nonsensical) implication that Karen's past was the cause of her being HIV Positive. His explanation isn't necessarily more rational, but his position is one that wants us to reject rationality. And the introduction of Baal is quite cool. OK, not him, really, but that scene. It was a tense bit of action leading to a ... to a cliffhanger?!!! Oh come on. Just as it was getting good, it ends. This is one problem with reviewing a single issue a week. How am I supposed to wait a week?

I've been typically coming in later to give a rating, but it should be apparent here I like this issue a lot more (plus, we're down on the wire). It may be that it just has more action, but it sells the action well. I'm going to give it four and a half out of five.
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Matt Murdock's cooler twin brother

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I'd give the Devil benefit of law, for my own safety's sake!
Thomas More - A Man for All Seasons

[Dragonbat]

Very good issue. I still don't like the art and, while something about Karen smoking in the home of the man with the super-keen senses bugs me (though given her frame of mind, I'm pretty sure Matt would forgive her; he's forgiven her FAR worse), the pacing is strong, the writing is charged, and I'm enjoying the ride for now.

Has Matt's radar always been 360 degrees, though? Because if so, the woman getting the drop on him with the trank gun seems a little too easy, considering Matt only had one other opponent to deal with. Still, this is minor.

4 stars.

[Mike Murdock]

Yeah, he can "see" 360 degrees, but he has to be paying attention. He had a lot on his mind and then focused on the one guy. If the lady behind him kept movement to a minimum, he might not notice it (although he'd probably smell the chemicals used in the tranquilizer had he been paying attention).

Karen's smoked before. It makes sense for someone who's lived such a stressful life. I suspect she doesn't make a habit of it, though. I don't recall seeing her smoke since Born Again.
_________________
Matt Murdock's cooler twin brother

Not sure what to read next? Check out the Book Club for some ideas!

I'd give the Devil benefit of law, for my own safety's sake!
Thomas More - A Man for All Seasons

[Foggy's Pal]

This was certainly my favorite issue of the story so far. The mystery has deepened, Baal is a cool new character. As others have said most everything I feel about the issue, I will be brief. My only complaint is the cliffhanger. It doesn't affect the story, so it doesn't ruin the story, but it really has no part in the story. That's the problem. A cliffhanger should be integral to the story. It should raise questions about what we already know, or throw us a new twist. Not just throw Matt in front of traffic, "hey, look, Matt's in front of a truck again." Seems a lazy ending to me.
Other than that minor quibble, I would give this issue a solid 4/5.

[Mike Murdock]

But what if he dies?!!!
_________________
Matt Murdock's cooler twin brother

Not sure what to read next? Check out the Book Club for some ideas!

I'd give the Devil benefit of law, for my own safety's sake!
Thomas More - A Man for All Seasons

[Foggy's Pal]

I stand corrected Mike. And next time when you have brilliant insight like this, perhaps spoiler tags would be appropriate😃

[james castle]

[Dragonbat]

I think it was more that she was smoking in Matt's place that bugged me, though on reread, I do see that she started in front of an open window. (And tbh, if I were an addict in recovery who had been clean for years and G-d forbid got the news that she'd received, I don't think I could swear I wouldn't have been looking for a fix of something a good deal less legal than nicotine.) So, not the fact that she was smoking, but the fact that she was smoking in the living quarters of someone very sensitive to smells.

Then again, I live in Canada in 2014, where my synagogue and past workplaces have issued alerts asking people not to wear perfumes/colognes due to such sensitivities. This story is a few years old and maybe the smoking would have barely pinged my "story radar" had I read it when it came out.

[Mike Murdock]

Next up, Guardian Devil pt. 4 - The Devil's Distaff



Due 10/26
_________________
Matt Murdock's cooler twin brother

Not sure what to read next? Check out the Book Club for some ideas!

I'd give the Devil benefit of law, for my own safety's sake!
Thomas More - A Man for All Seasons

[Mike Murdock]

I hope we're not tiring of this already!

---

As much as I'm not sure I want a supernatural element, I kind of do want one with the way Matt's mind has shifted. I didn't buy him chucking a baby and I don't really buy how quickly he turns on Natasha. Now if the baby actually is the equivalent of Loki's staff, it makes sense. But, if this is pure psychological manipulation, then it's moving at too quick a pace (the scene at the end with Karen is a touch more plausible, but still only a touch). I mean, Matt went to this state in Born Again, but the shock he received was greater and I still think it took far longer. However, I do like the art for evil Daredevil. Quesada draws him so the suit envelops him. There is no man, only devil with nashing teeth. That's at least quite effective.

Speaking of art, there's a quite nice full page shot. I like it, but I'll be honest. When I saw it, I thought the issue was ending so my reaction was "that's it?!" But Daredevil in Sister Maggie's arms in a Pieta (with baby on top) is a nice shot. Hopefully she'll give some much needed clarity ... or a fight over religion. Actually, I like this one the most. Frank Miller invented Sister Maggie, but he only used her as a symbol of hope. But let's face it, she still abandoned her son (in his eyes). This fight feels like it's been building up for thirty years. And let's face it, Matt needs a slap in the face. Unlike other times religion has been brought up, it's easier to accept when one of the people discussing it is a Nun.

Now the mystery: We're back to the putter as I guess we're calling him (although I guess that'll be redundant by the end of the issue). A good small fakeout there with it almost seeming like it's the Kingpin before quickly making it clear it's not the Kingpin. Seems to be a Spider-Man connection. The goal of destroying Daredevil's faith is fine. It is technically different than the previous times he's been brought down, but still in the same mold as Born Again and Typhoid Mary. But it isn't clear it leads to the name recognition he thinks it will. And then Bullseye appears (full disclosure, I did know he would be here). I don't think I've realized before how much the white gloves sell it for me. While there's a tendency to shy away from villains with costumes, I really think he works best with one. And anything in his hands is a deadly weapon, or a bookmark I guess.

Sister Maggie brings this one up, other parts bring it down. I'll give it Three and a half stars.
_________________
Matt Murdock's cooler twin brother

Not sure what to read next? Check out the Book Club for some ideas!

I'd give the Devil benefit of law, for my own safety's sake!
Thomas More - A Man for All Seasons

[Foggy's Pal]

This was easily my least favorite issue. Matt's characterization is off. He is so quick to jump to the baby being some portent of bad things. This is the second time he's gone off the deep end. As we talked about earlier in the thread, Matt has a religious background, the level of which is debatable, but I think we would all agree that he is not a zealot that would jump so quickly to the conclusions he does. He is a lawyer after all and would most likely use more common sense here.
Another part I don't like about his characterization is related to the art. Every time he gets angry about the baby and Natasha, Quesada draws him like a demon, his teeth fully shown practically growling. I understand the supernatural aspect that this story is supposed to be carrying, but Matt is a street level character, so this bothers me a bit.
I did like the reveal that the putter was indeed Macabes. (I wonder if there is some connection to his name and the book of Macabees.). Not only is this villain a Spider-Man villain, but he appears to be a second rate villain as he says he is laughed at.
- I was really hoping that the meeting with Sister Maggie would redeem this issue. It was ok, but I was less than moved by the story that she told him. I was hoping that it would be something moving, maybe something I hadn't heard. Smith went the easy route here with the "what if you die and you find out there is a God.". No emotional weight with that story. It certainly shouldn't be effective with a kid who was apparently raised Catholic. And, the message would then be, "have faith just in case," not for some deeper reason that would actually have meaning.
- Oh well, the ending of this issue was the bright spot for me. An appearance by Bullseye. That is a much better cliffhanger than falling in front of a truck and being saved off panel.
-Overall, I would give this issue a 2.5 out of 5.

[Mike Murdock]

Aw, I liked the demon Daredevil. Quesada is cartoonish so it's ok when caricature is embraced.

I think we're on the same page while I'm more charitable. Sister Maggie's scenes at least seemed less irrational than everything that surrounded it on both sides. Plus, it's cool to see it finally acknowledged that she's Matt's mother. Not well-done, but it saves the issue from being terrible.
_________________
Matt Murdock's cooler twin brother

Not sure what to read next? Check out the Book Club for some ideas!

I'd give the Devil benefit of law, for my own safety's sake!
Thomas More - A Man for All Seasons

[Foggy's Pal]