DAREDEVIL #14

[ GIVING BIRTH TO A BARGAIN ] 

And now, the end is near. And so I face, the final curtain. My friend, I'll say it clear. I'll state my case, of which I'm certain. I've lived, a life that's full. I travelled each and every highway. And more, much more than this, I did it just like Mark Waid, Chris Samnee, and Marvel Comics, in March, 2015.

To QUOTE Jeff Bezos: 'A brand for a company is like a reputation for a person. You earn a reputation by trying to do hard things well'.

THE STORY:

Back in New York City, Matt Murdock was known as Daredevil: the man without fear, libellous lawyer by day, masked vigilante by night. But now, now that he's living in San Francisco, suddenly, Matt has decided to play things a little differently.

You see, after speaking with Kirsten's Dad about his up and coming book deal, Matt has cottened on to the idea of getting rid of his face mask, and giving himself a new look that comprises of a red tuxedo, a fancy white stick, as well as a crew-cut hair-style Chris O'Donnell sported over on the movie, Batman and Robin.

And then, as soon as Matt starts jumping around again, he teams-up with the daughter of one of his old foe's -- you know, old what's his face -- so together they can find out who's abducted her dear old Dad.

No. Of course I won't tell you who I'm actually referring to. Although what I can say is that he does love a good hoot now and again.     

THE GOOD:

Yes. It's true. As of this issue Matt Murdock does look like a red version of the Riddler. And yes. The writing is still on the wall for this new series coming to an end. But hey! Look on the bright side of things. What a truly magnificent end it's going to be! One full of revelations, twists, turns, and God knows what else Mark and Chris can come up with, in the next couple of months.

So far it does seem like this -- their much anticipated swan song -- is going to be a very fun ride. Matt's new style has jovially been put in place. The master villain and his padwan have put their plans into action. And now, in this very issue, there is a new player on the scene. A new player, I might add, I'm not one hundred percent sold on at the moment.

On the one hand I did like her and her fathers intriguing introduction, even though it did appear fairly coincidental upon the page. What's more, I also enjoyed the way that this tale was clearly a tale divisible by three. Part one was the unveiling of Matt's new look. Part two explained how he bumped into and why he's helping out his special guest star. And part three is basically a set-up of things yet to come.

On the other hand, however...

  

THE BAD:

... I'm not buying that Matt has been taken in by his special guest stars motivations, including the one who appeared last issue as well.

To me, Matt is a very smart cookie when he puts his mind to it. And now, now that he's been ousted, toasted, and busted by the press and his rogues gallery alike, for the life of beans, I can't see him swallowing this whole 'I need to save my father' crap, as well as the token arrival of Mister two-pages-before-the-end.

Also, something else about this story I wasn't too sure of can be seen in that scene where Matt said to Kirsten that thing that he shouldn't have said. I mean, by now Matt must surely know what it is to actually jinx oneself! It means for him to keep his own trap shut or else the sh*t will most definitely hit the fan.   

THE MUSIC:

If you want to know why I'm musically matching up this comic book to the Britney Spears song, 'I Love Rock 'N' Roll', then if I was you, I'd check out the following section for a fuller explanation.

THE COMPARISON:

A large portion of this adventure was dedicated to a rebranding of Matt Murdock. You know. Rebranding, like they did to Mcdonalds, Pepsi, EBay, Burger King, KFC, Wendy's, Starbucks, plus... plus... plus... errr... why do I feel hungry all of a sudden?

  

THE CONCLUSION:

Up above I alluded to something Matt shouldn't have said to Kirsten for fear of any reprisals. So just for fun -- hopefully -- can you guess what he said to her out of the following eight options?

1. Have you ever been with another woman?
2. Sniff-Sniff. Did you sh*t?
3. I slept with your Mother, Kirsten, even though she's a man.
4. Pull my finger.
5. What's the worst that could happen?
6. Has anybody told you that you look like a young Spanish boy?
7. What does that button do? That big red button linked to that humongous exploding device? Here. Let me press it and find out.  
8. No. I'm not the Riddlers brother. But me and Eddie did shag!

Nuff said.