Daredevil is a 1998 superhero comic book series from Marvel Comics. It is the second series to use the Daredevil title.
The series has been helmed by Kevin Smith, David Mack, Brian Michael Bendis, Bob Gale, Ed Brubaker, Andy Diggle, and Antony Johnston — and a variety of artists including; Joe Quesada, David Mack, Alex Maleev, Michael Lark, Marco Checchetto, Roberto De La Torre, and Billy Tan.
In 1998, right after Marvel's bankruptcy, they contracted Joe Quesada and Jimmy Palmiotti to head an imprint called Marvel Knights, revamping some of Marvel's low-selling books. One of those book was Daredevil (1964). Written by filmmaker Kevin Smith and drawn by Joe Quesada himself, the new volume started with the storyline, Guardian Devil which saw Daredevil tasked with protecting a baby that might be the Antichrist. It also featured the return and death of Karen Page at the hands of Bullseye.
Notable storylines created during this run includes:
- Guardian Devil (1998)
Daredevil (1998) provides examples of:
- Issues: Daredevil vol 2 #1-119, vol 1 #500, Annual #1 (2007), Daredevil: Ninja #1–3, Daredevil: Yellow #1-6, Daredevil: Father #1–6
- Writers: Kevin Smith, David Mack, Brian Michael Bendis, Bob Gale, Ed Brubaker
- Artists: Joe Quesada, David Mack, Alex Maleev, Michael Lark
In 1998, right after Marvel's bankruptcy, they contracted Joe Quesada and Jimmy Palmiotti to head an imprint called Marvel Knights, revamping some of Marvel's low-selling books. One of those book was Daredevil. Quesada decided to draw that book himself and asked a friend of his to write it: Kevin Smith. The new volume started with the storyline, "Guardian Devil," which saw Daredevil tasked with protecting a baby that might be the Antichrist. It also featured the return and death of Karen Page at the hands of Bullseye.
The book was a hit and, even after Kevin Smith left, it still sold well. David Mack took over the book and introduced Maya Lopez/Echo, a deaf Native American vigilante who would become a recurring character. Mack then brought on board Brian Michael Bendis to write "Wake Up" (#16–19) while Mack did the illustrations. Bendis would then take over the book in issue #26 with artist Alex Maleev for a run that would win two Eisner Awards.
Bendis, well known for his crime comics, turned the book into much more of a crime noir drama, with his first arc "Underboss" (#26-31) about a low-level mobster who bites off more than he can chew. The mobster ends up overturning the status quo, however, by selling Daredevil's secret identity to the FBI who then leak it to the press. The secret is out and there's no putting the genie back in the bottle — no matter how hard Matt tries. Bendis also introduced Jessica Jones and Dakota North into the book as recurring characters.
Bendis and Maleev's stories included "The Trial of the Century" (#38-40) where Matt represents White Tiger against a false murder charge; "Lowlife" (#41-45) where Matt meets his new love interest, the blind Milla Donovan; and "Hardcore" (#46-50) where the Kingpin, Typhoid Mary, and Bullseye all return to make Matt's life hell. That story ended with Daredevil beating the Kingpin nearly to death and declaring that Daredevil would be the new Kingpin of Hell's Kitchen now.
Now known as the King of Hell's Kitchen, Matt manages to protect his city for over a year before things go bad. He even marries Milla, but that doesn't end well, either, with her leaving him. Eventually, this all turns out to be one long nervous breakdown caused by the death of Karen Page. After that, Daredevil helps out Black Widow escape the government and fights against Alexander Bont, the first Kingpin of Crime before Fisk, before the book goes more experimental with "Decalogue" (#71-75): a church group meets to exchange stories about Daredevil when he took over as the King of Hell's Kitchen. After that came "The Murdock Papers" (#76-81), Bendis's last story, where the Kingpin agrees to give the FBI a file on Matt Murdock in exchange for his freedom. The entire thing turns out to be a con by the Kingpin to flush Daredevil out and have him arrested. Which is what happens and the storyline ends with Matt going to prison.
So Ed Brubaker and Michael Lark's run begins with "The Devil in Cell Block D" (#82-87), where Matt is exonerated by Iron Fist pretending to be Daredevil and Foggy is "killed" (his death is faked and he is placed in Witness Protection). Matt goes on a worldwide trip to find who was responsible for Foggy's death, eventually finding out the cause of all his problems was Vanessa Fisk, the Kingpin's wife, who wants Matt to spring her husband from jail in exchange for helping exonerate him. He ends up doing it, but forces the Kingpin to give up his US citizenship.
After that, in "Without Fear" (#100-105), Matt's wife Milla is driven to insanity by Mister Fear. Even after Daredevil beats him, Mister Fear reveals there's no cure and Milla is confined indefinitely to a mental institution. In "Lady Bullseye" (#111-115), Daredevil confronts a new Hand assassin called, well, Lady Bullseye.
Brubaker's run ended with "The Return of the King" (#116-#119, vol 1 #500), where Lady Bullseye and the Hand force Wilson Fisk to return to New York City by killing his new lover. Fisk decides to team up with Daredevil to stop the Hand, but also might be working with the Hand. The entire thing ends up being a Gambit Pileup as the Hand, Fisk, and Daredevil all betray and cross the other in an attempt to take control of the city. Finally, it ends with Daredevil beating Fisk and Lady Bullseye and telling the Hand that he will lead the Hand now.
Tropes from the Marvel Knights era:
- Backstory Horror: Remember how Matt was blinded in a chemical accident saving an old man? The miniseries Daredevil: Father retconned that the old man was molesting his own daughter. In other words, Matt was blinded unknowingly saving a monster.
- Batman Gambit: Vanessa Fisk's plan to get her husband out of prison is, basically, get Daredevil to do it by weighing on his guilt.
- Downer Ending: The end of one of Ed Brubaker's arcs has DD's wife being committed to a mental hospital, Mr. Fear in control of Ryker's (with nobody knowing) and the Hood having both his organisation and Mr. Fear's to use to control Hell's Kitchen.
- Embarrassing Hospital Gown: In issue #15, Matt is visiting Black Widow / Natasha in the hospital as she's about to check out, and she's still wearing a skimpy hospital gown. She rants to Matt about she hates these gowns as she takes it off in a hurry, while also giving him a joking "No Peeking!" Request, which he responds with a dry "Very funny".
- False Prophet: Not a deliberate version on the part of the individual in question, but Matt spends most of Guardian Devil trying to establish if a baby really is the second coming of Christ or the Antichrist, eventually turning to Doctor Strange for a definite answer.
- Gambit Pileup: The last story in Brubaker's run has the Kingpin's plans, the Hand's plans, and Daredevil's plans all collide at once.
- Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: In Guardian Devil, Karen Page is killed when Bullseye throws Daredevil's own club at him and Karen takes the blow herself.
- Trauma Conga Line: Basically Brubaker's entire run is this to Matt, from him going to jail, to his wife going insane, to finally breaking down completely and deciding to lead an evil ninja cult.
- "The Villain Knows" Moment: During the Kevin Smith run on Daredevil, Matt asks Doctor Strange to help him figure out who has been trying to mess with him and his friends. Strange summons Mephisto, and asks him what he knows. Mephisto is summoned in a position where he's bound and blindfolded, and Strange asks him if he knows anything about the returning of the Messiah as an infant. Mephisto points out that in The Bible, Jesus will return as an adult, the way he left, then grins evilly, asking how the person who wants to know can be so blind. It is at that moment that Matt knows Mephisto is aware of his presence.
- Issues: Daredevil #501-512, Shadowland #1-5, Daredevil Reborn #1-4
- Writers: Andy Diggle, Antony Johnston
- Artists: Marco Checchetto, Roberto De La Torre, Billy Tan
Andy Diggle took over the book and immediately launched it into the crossover Shadowland. Since Matt was now the leader of the Hand, it was his turn to take over New York City. "The Devil's Hand" (#501-504) shows him taking over Hell's Kitchen again and using the Hand as his enforcers, before the main Shadowland crossover begins. Matt slowly begins to show that he's Jumped Off The Slippery Slope, first by building a temple/prison in Hell's Kitchen (the eponymous "Shadowland") and then by killing Bullseye. Eventually, it's revealed that Daredevil has actually been possessed by a demon called "the Beast." When Iron Fist manages to exorcise it from Matt's body, Matt kills himself before it can take control again. In the aftermath, Elektra steals his body to resurrect him like she was once resurrected.
This leads into Daredevil: Reborn, a four-issue mini-series by Diggle and Antony Johnston, where Matt hides out in Mexico trying to figure out his life. While there, he gets into a conflict with the local corrupt police and drug smugglers. After dealing with the situation, he decides to move back to Hell's Kitchen and restart his life.
(Meanwhile, Daredevil's own book was taken over by Black Panther and renamed Black Panther: The Man Without Fear.)
