Daredevil Message Board

[Mike Murdock]

This assassin talks like people only talk in a Bendis comic. It's not entirely clear what he's talking for. He's narrating the way someone would narrate in a silver age comic. Last issue implied that Matt smelled the gunpowder, but he probably could hear this jackass narrate what he was going to do. Still, it's an impressive display of Daredevil being awesome how he's able to recognize the guy two blocks away and get there instantaneously. I like that Matt moved so fast that the guy isn't even convinced it was Matt.

Unfortunately, there's a lot of emphasis on how everyone know's Daredevil's abilities and that includes his supersenses being a weakness as well as a strength. In this two-page spread, Alex Maleev gets fancy and symbolic with both shots of the guy's heart (to show he's telling the truth?) and lots of shots of Matt's mouth and ear. The latter I hate because I hate Maleev's emphasis on teeth. The whole right side and bottom of the page is exactly what I hate. There's a later page that does this better that focuses on moments in time of the bad guy trying to shoot the Black Widow. That's a good way to slow down a moment to create a bigger impact. I'll also note that the scene involves Natasha getting shot and then the art seems to forget about it for almost two pages before remembering that she's bleeding once again.

I've complained a bit about Maleev's teeth in this issue (although I mostly like what he's done), but I can't let Bendis get away with that massive wall of text that is Black Widow's explanation for everything going on. It's basically his way of changing the narrative from what he was teasing the last two issues. This isn't really about whether Matt and Natasha get back together. It's just that she's using his life as a cover for her. Does it make sense? Not really. But we have a giant monologue papering over that to make it all better.

The action moments are solid in this issue, the rest is pretty weak. I will give him credit - there could have been an opportunity to end the Matt Murdock's identity is revealed plot with the successful lawsuit, but he is living with those consequences. But I don't really see the point of the story overall. Maybe if Natasha wasn't in the Out storyline, this would have greater impact, I don't know.

Three Stars.
_________________
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

[Mike Murdock]

Sorry about the delay, just finishing this up now:

Daredevil Vol. 2 #64 - The Widow Part 4

[Dimetre]

After depicting Natasha with a bit more respect last issue, Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev amp up the sexual objectification of the Black Widow to new heights. Exhibit A is the cover, where Natasha greets us butt first. I wonder if Maleev took a lesson from Greg Land and traced the image from a porno. Natasha's facial expression would suggest he did.

It doesn't stop inside. Natasha emerges from the shower dripping wet and wearing only a towel to take on Jigsaw and his henchmen. A cop calls her "one piece of woman." She bids Matt goodbye, but only after telling him, "...you should have slept with me when you had the chance."

This can't be the Black Widow. It certainly doesn't resemble her in any way to me. This is more like some half-baked character from some straight-to-VHS erotic thriller that was written for Pamela Anderson in the 90s. The woman in this comic's first duty is to titillate the reader, and, to me, that's not what the Widow is about. The Black Widow is the most lethal and determined spy in the world. She will do whatever it takes to fulfill her mission and to get at the truth. Her sexuality is only one of the methods she'll use to do that. Writers who focus purely on her hotness clearly have some issues that need clearing up.

Other than that, there isn't much on which to comment. Matt's narration explains why he can't do anything to help the Widow take down Jigsaw. Sure, it has to do with Bendis' larger story about how Daredevil's secret identity has been outed. That doesn't help it be thrilling.

There is some humour to be found in Natasha's french dialogue, and how Matt calls her Babette.

As for Quinn, I don't know why he was brought back in this issue, only to be taken out by Fury and some generic S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. Why have him elude Daredevil and Black Widow, and not give them the opportunity to win the day? It wouldn't be hard. Widow could have disabled the radio wave device while Daredevil beats Quinn unconscious. No, instead we get an anti-climax with S.H.I.E.L.D. shooting him with a tranquilizer dart. Yay.

As for the reveal that the Red Guardian was involved in the exchange of Widow for Madame Masque, I got nothing out of that. I don't know much at all about the Red Guardian, but I could have sworn he loved Natasha. Here, he just repeats that he doesn't like her, and that's his whole motivation for this entire plot. She mentions that she thought he was dead. I'm wondering if this is another case of Bendis disregarding existing continuity, and editor Jennifer Lee struggling to make this work within it.

As for the final scene, I can't take Milla's open-mouthed reaction seriously. Matt tells her that he loves her enough to give her something he doesn't want to give her. That... amazes her? Shocks her? Stuns her? Why would it have that effect on her? I think it would make her stop and think. Perhaps this is another case of Bendis believing the line he just wrote is much more explosive and revolutionary than it actually is, and so a character in the story reacts to it accordingly. As for me, that facial expression ruined what would otherwise be a touching scene.

I have to give this issue a failing grade. I love the Black Widow, and this may be the most disrespectfully I've ever seen her treated. Yes, worse than when Matt spanked her on the butt in the seventies. Other than that, nothing that was built up in the previous three issues amounts to anything. Natasha and the cops stop Jigsaw because of course they do. Quinn is taken out of the story in a way that makes you wonder why he was there in the first place. The Red Guardian scene is a big "so what" moment, and the final scene shows Bendis to be unjustifiably impressed with his own writing.

I'm giving it a two, because some of the art is nice, but even that might be charitable. Anyone who hangs out at this board knows that Bendis drives me up the wall. I honestly do try to read Bendis issues objectively. I actually do try to give him a chance, but in the end I have to call it like I see it. This Widow arc is insulting, lame and pointless.

[Mike Murdock]

The premise of this issue is an interesting one. Matt Murdock doesn't want his identity discovered and can't change into his Daredevil costume or else it will be. I think there have been clever ways around it in the past, but subverting it through calling the cops is more thematic with what Bendis is doing. I'd argue it makes for a bad comic book (especially here where all Matt is doing is staying out of the way - as opposed to running for his life or something), but I'm glad we have the Black Widow to help make up for that.

Now is Bendis and Maleev still playing up her sex appeal by having her fight in a towel? Absolutely. It also looks like she flashes them (unless it's just inconsistently drawn). She says "you are very ugly, you stink worse than you look, and you are more stupid than you are ugly" in case anyone cares. It's fun, but the whole thing is basically solved by the police showing up and everyone running, which just undercuts the action.

I just want to make sure I didn't miss anything. Alexi Shostakov comes completely out of nowhere, right? I don't recall him appearing in the previous issues and I'm not sure why he fits in. The last scene with Milla is nice. That was sort of thematically the point of the story early on, although it felt like it changed directions and never came back to it. I wonder what Bendis's plan was since he married them and separated them so quickly. Was he planning on having them date like normal people? Was he planning on writing her out of the book? If it's the latter, did he just think the whole thing was a mistake? It seems like a dead end plot overall.

I hate that there is a line of monologue in this issue where Matt Murdock says "genital ambition." Probably my biggest Bendis complaint of the issue.

I want to say, I really like the colors in this issue. The opening with the greens and blues looks really good. There's also a nice set of panels with knock out colors of red that look pretty cool.

Two and a Half Stars. The art is pretty, but there's not a ton to this issue. I wish a Bendis fan would jump in since I'm lukewarm on Bendis and that'll probably make my review the more positive review, but this is a disappointing issue.
_________________
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