Daredevil: The Devil’s Hand

After reading this volume, the rumors that Matt Murdock will die and be replaced as Daredevil by someone else in the “Shadowland” crossover become a lot more credible.  Mainly because I can’t imagine someone this stupid being allowed to have his own title.

To recap:  the last volume of Ed Brubaker’s run had Matt accepting leadership over the evil ninja organization known as the Hand in order to prevent his archnemesis Wilson Fisk from doing the same.  The problem with lording over an organization that is explicitly “evil” is that it’s going to corrupt you whether you want it to or not.  That’s the dilemma facing Matt in this volume as he tries to turn it into a force for good, against the wishes of (martial arts) Master Izo who rightfully calls out the man’s goals as foolish.

The problem with this volume is that Matt’s slow descent into moral ambiguity is so predictable and by-the-numbers in its execution that it sucks all the fun out of this volume.  We get standard “ends justify the means” plot hooks in the way that Bullseye’s role in the mass-murder of protesting apartment tenants serves as justification for Matt’s use of the Hand to wage war on Norman Osborne’s regime.  I also doubt it would surprise anyone to learn that the leaders of the Hand have predicted our hero’s actions to the letter and are laughing to themselves as his every move plays further into their plans.

This is all executed competently by writer Andy Diggle, but it lacks any of the fun or wit that characterized his runs on “The Losers” and “Hellblazer.”  He has some nice moments with Master Izo before he’s written out, but there’s not really anything in this volume that gives the impression that Diggle was allowed to put his own stamp on the character.  Rather, everything here reeks of being editorially-mandated setup for “Shadowland.”  So instead of telling an actual story, Diggle has to get Matt, his supporting cast, and his antagonists into place before the crossover can kick off.  Regrettably, the weak word-of-mouth coming from the issues of the crossover that’ve been released so far suggest that this has all been for naught.  Unless it finishes strongly, it’ll probably wind up being a title I’ll wait until next Comic-Con to buy when I can root through the half-off bins for it.

Still, the thing that sticks with me the most about this volume is how it brings into sharp relief the fact that Matt has been oblivious to how other people have been pulling his strings over the past few years.  Throughout the majority of Brubaker’s run, he was always one step behind his adversaries and usually only won a round when they decided to let him win.  Sometimes this kind of (ahem…) blindness can make for interesting stories, but the writers of “Daredevil” have been back to this well so often that this plot hook ceases to have any interest.  Outside of the fact that he’s being set up to be killed or sacrifice himself in a redemptive, heroic death (before being brought back to life after people have had time to forget about these stories).

Now it could be that Diggle is setting things up for a big reveal that Matt was one step ahead of his enemies all this time.  After reading this, I’m not inclined to think that’s the case as it would take some really imaginative writing to make me believe that he’s been in control of this situation.  So I’m cautiously looking forward to the new era of “Daredevil” which will begin with the forthcoming “Daredevil Reborn” after the crossover.  Marvel have teased the idea of such heroes as Nova, Gambit, or the Black Panther taking over the mantle.  I’m willing to bet it’ll be someone far less known, or a new character altogether, but almost any new face for “Daredevil” will be preferable to the one it has now.