Daredevil #105
Written by Ed Brubaker
Art by Michael Lark, Paul, Azaceta, and Stefano Gaudiano
Review by Ryan Stevens
Now, I know what you‘re thinking, and no, that’s not some mix between Darth Vader and Ghost Rider on the cover. That, my friends, is an old-school D-list Daredevil villain called Mr. Fear, who shares some credit of his existence to a certain straw-filled Batman villain. But Mr. Fear has had it with being a laughing-stock in the villain world and never getting invited to Dr. Doom’s Christmas party. Mr. Fear has devised a cunning scheme to finally overthrow his archenemy Daredevil, and in the process break through to super-villain stardom.
His evil plan, consisting mainly of driving Matt Murdock’s wife, Milla, completely bat-snit crazy, has been going on since issue 94, give or take, and now we’ve reached the boiling point: The final showdown between Daredevil and Mr. Fear, and the subsequent fall-out. Daredevil believes that since Fear poisoned Milla, he must surely have an antidote for her condition, because, hey, this is a comic book, and the villains ALWAYS have an antidote. They’re funny that way. And thus Daredevil heads into this battle with absolutely the least amount of mercy Daredevil has ever used in recent memory. **SPOILER**: He freakin’ tosses Mr. Fear off a roof, that’s how brutal DD is.
Ed Brubaker is not hesitating in making Daredevil one of the most tough-as-nails, pull-no-punches, rip-your-arm-off-and-beat-you-with-it books out there on the rack today. Matt Murdock is being written into his own personal nightmare, and Brubaker seems to want to keep digging deeper. Just when you think Matt‘s hit rock bottom, BOOM, another layer of tragedy strikes. While it does make for a good realistic read, in a world where not every story has a happy ending, it is a bit unsettling. How far can Matt go before he would logically just go for a cyanide capsule or string himself up with his billy club? I’m all for grim-n-gritty stories, but Brubaker needs to learn about too much of a good thing. Also, when Fear finally confesses for his sins, his motivation for assaulting Murdock so ruthlessly is…flimsy to say the least. Any police officer or lawyer who accepts what Fear says as the truth, then I’ve got some oceanfront property in Arkansas they might be interested in.
The art, by Michael Lark, Paul, Azaceta, and Stefano Gaudiano, is spot-on for the dark and murky subject matter it conveys. Fear’s outfit is menacing and fearsome, and even the man behind the mask is creepy and unsettling in his design. Daredevil’s unquenchable rage practically bleeds through the page, and you know this guy will beat you down if you oppose him. However, it is just a bit too smudgy at certain spots, but these rare flaws hardly detract from the overall package.
In conclusion, the darkness may be creeping in on Matt Murdock, but I’ll be there to watch him make it to the light. Daredevil, while maxing out in the “edgy” department is still a fun “noir” super-hero book that always delivers in surprising twists, turns, and great stories.
8 out of 10.
