Daredevil Message Board

[Kuljit Mithra]

DAREDEVIL #21 by Soule, Sudzuka and Milla ships June 7th and here is a preview!



http://www.manwithoutfear.com/gallery/Daredevil-V5-021

Please use this thread for all discussion next week!
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Kuljit Mithra
www.manwithoutfear.com

[Dimetre]

This is clearly leading up to something.

Matt keeps emphasizing that everything... "keeping my secret identity, coming to the D.A.'s office, losing Kirsten, losing Foggy... all of it.. was about this moment."

Similarly, Charles Soule has been laying the groundwork for this story for a while. You can trace this story's roots back to when Daredevil and Spider-Man did that raid in Macau twelve issues ago.

In any event, that immediately gives me high hopes for this story. We don't have the particulars of Matt's plan. It's kind of odd that this story is coming out at the same time as Secret Empire, which sees Captain America heading a military junta across the United States. But even if I'm enjoying Secret Empire (which I am), I like it when Daredevil is allowed to ignore company-wide crossover events. However, somewhat ironically, I don't see how you can completely end crime in New York without imposing martial law.

I'm glad to see Goran Sudzuka on art. I think he's my favourite artist to come out of Volume 5.

I also think the story is smart. Because of Soule's legal background, he's aware of complications of which other writers wouldn't be aware. So it's smart how Echo was utilized.

However, as thrilling as it is to see Matt and Luke working together for those of us anticipating Defenders, Luke's presence here lowers the sense of danger we feel for Matt and Maya.

Also, I have to reiterate a criticism from last issue. Soule didn't show us Foggy getting angry at Matt. Seriously, is Foggy freezing Matt out because Matt told him who he was, and Foggy feels endangered? Foggy and Matt have been best friends for decades. We're supposed to believe Foggy won't listen? I guess so, since, as stated above, we're told Matt has lost Foggy. I don't buy it.

The last page sees Matt dressed in his classic red costume, and that's great to see. However, we weren't really told why he's been dressed in black all this time. I have my theories, but is Soule going to tell us why?

If Matt has to blow his secret identity again, that is going to be awful. He just got the genie back in the bottle after so many years. I wish the secret identity being threatened wasn't a device that was being used for this story.

I would like to see Matt and Maya have a chance at a romance. I've liked her ever since her first appearance. However, it's my understanding she was killed in Secret Invasion. Is that true? Do we know how she came back to life?

Anyway, it's definitely got me excited for the next issue. I'll give it a four out of five.

[Mike Murdock]

^ My memory is she was actually killed in Bendis's Moon Knight and she came back to life due to the power of "I want to use her in an Annual." I can't recall it being explained in that Annual. Frankly, while I suppose it's useful to know these things, it was a mistake to kill her off (particularly in a non-Daredevil book nobody read) and I'd rather Soule not waste time (in his already not overly dense stories) to have to explain that if it requires detail. She got better.

Spoiler alert:

This issue definitely feels like the playoff for a very long game Soule has been playing.The fact that it references stuff going back to the Hong Kong story arc is key. Little things are building up to a big moment. It starts off pretty simple, though, with a fight against Ammo and his crew. I enjoy it for the most part, but I didn't love DD motion capturing Echo's moves. I feel Echo is a competent fighter who could have done it on her own.

I like the twist that they were just a distraction. I like how Matt followed his nose to solve the problem. Most of all, I like that Soule is starting to slip in the actual law. In this case, the use of covert informants and defense motions to reveal their identity (something I need to do a better job looking at when it's actually required and when it isn't). Of course, that's all leading up to the ending with Daredevil testifying in his old outfit!

Stray Thoughts:
The Radar Sense is different than how it was in the first few issues of this book. It's much more traditional, with the concentric circles and all. That's probably for the best.

Ammo now has thematically appropriate friends? He also looks older. IIRC, he was a skinny dude. Now he's kind of buff.

Glad to see someone remembered that Echo can't hear you if she can't read your lips. Frankly, I think I added a half point based on that alone.

Good start to this story. I'm going Four Stars.
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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

[Sunni]

I enjoyed this action-packed start to the arc. Soule’s been setting this up from the beginning of his run with Matt’s job as a prosecutor, so I really like that Soule’s build is dovetailing with Matt kicking off his plan. It’s also nice to see him spend some time with his boss.

[LightningandIce]

It would be a horrible mistake to have Matt reveal his identity again. My guess is that this is some kind gambit by Matt. There is somebody else in the suit or something. I am curious to see where this build up is going.

Other than the hints about Matt's overarching plan, the rest is just standard action stuff. Not bad but nothing that we haven't seen a thousand times before. It's cool to see Echo again. I'm not sure about her combat skills used here though. Having her mime Matt's actions is pretty unnecessary. She has fought several skilled fighters, including Matt himself, to a standstill, and was even on the Avengers once. I'm pretty sure she could have beaten the piss out of those thugs without Matt having to guide her like a puppet. So it was a clever use of her skills but the only real purpose it served was a token demonstration of her powers, probably to fill in new readers.

Also, Ammo is a very bizarre choice of villain for this story. He was just a one off character from Nocenti's run that only made a couple minor appearances and hasn't been seen since.

Overall this issue was decent. It had some oddities but nothing bad. Pretty standard action stuff leading to a bigger storyline.

[Mike Murdock]

I'm not worried that his identity will become public again. Let's face it. While they might be able to come up with an in-story reason for why Matt wants his secret identity to be secret again, the real world reason is they want it to be secret again.
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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

[Kuljit Mithra]

Someone asked Charles Soule on Twitter about Luke Cage and Echo not knowing each other, since they have met in the past in NEW AVENGERS... his answer was "Secret Wars".
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Kuljit Mithra
www.manwithoutfear.com