DAREDEVIL #6 & #7

[ DARE TO DIE ] 

There once was a very blind man, who went missing in Azerbaijan. Until, one night, by sheer, delight, he turned up dancing to the can-can. Want to know more? Then please ignore the following adventure created by Chip Zdarsky, Lalit Kumar Sharma, and published by Marvel Comics in July, 2019.

TO QUOTE Whitney Wolfe Herd: ‘Life is about perspective and how you look at something. Ultimately, you have to zoom out’. 

THE REVIEW:

Eight weeks ago, Matt Murdock decided to stop being Daredevil due to an unfortunate death, and since then, he seems to be a fairly happy person. Well, not only does he still enjoy chatting up the ladies and mingling with the locals, but in addition to this, he's also gotten himself a brand new job as a parole officer.

Yes. That's right. I said 'a parole officer', not 'a lawyer', even though some of Matt's former associates don’t seem to be so lucky. People like Detective Cole North, for instance, who suddenly gets harassed by his fellow police officers; or Wilson Fisk, who has anger issues because of the loss of his old foe. Want to know more? Then please pick up episode 6 and 7 of Daredevil today. In the meantime though, here, check this out…

Part One) MAN WITHOUT BEER:   Before we begin, please allow me to address the pink elephant in the room. Namely, how long will Matt Murdock refrain from being Daredevil? Four weeks, perhaps? Six months? Or how about an entire year? Well, however long he decides to act 'normal', I’m sure there’s a distinct possibility someone could replace him, or at the very least, tarnish his legacy. After all, this sort of thing has been done many times in the past, most notably in the Batman titles as well as the Spider-Man series of books.  So, with this in mind, we now have to ask ourselves one very important question: Who could possibly replace him and what would their motivations be? And no, (Spoiler Alert!) I’m not referring to that lady who appeared at the end of issue 7.  But rather, someone else, someone a lot closer to home, like Wilson Fisk, for instance.

Well, who wouldn’t want to see a king-sized version of The Man Without Fear, especially if Wilson tries to pervert Matt's reputation through sheer spite! And if not him, then maybe Detective Cole could have a bash instead? Largely due to him being shafted by his work colleagues and desperately needing some form of revenge. Which, to be fair, seems like a plausible idea for a new direction, regardless of its duration, and somewhat entertaining too.

In the meantime, though, where does that leave Matt? Apart from him dealing with his new job I mean -- being a parole officer -- which for all intents and purposes does seem to suit his personality! Well, he’s always been a bit of a ‘liberal crusader’ and ‘a man of the people’! So with a little luck, touch wood, working in the 'social arena' might give him a different perspective for when he eventually gets back to fighting crime again.

What do you think, dear reader? What do you think of Matt’s new role as a parole officer? Are you a bit like me? Interested to see how this will develop! Or can’t you wait until he slips into his red pajamas again and goes back to practicing the law?  Also, what do you think of my suggestions for Wilson and Cole?  Keeping in mind that they’re both in a very strange place and probably geared up to doing something new! Either way, please feel free to leave your thoughts in the comment section below. 

Part Two) TWO QUESTIONS:   Now, before we proceed, I best mention that what now follows may spoil your enjoyment of issues 7. So, if you haven’t read it yet, please click away now. Or alternatively, take a look at the subsequent two questions that sprang out of this episode. 

- Question One: Will Wilson Fisk quit crime for good? Yes! That’s correct! Wilson wants to retire from being a criminal but still wants to continue being the Mayor.  Well, according to his big, bad, self, he doesn’t see the point of being a villain since Daredevil is, coff-coff, no longer with us, and he would rather see where life takes him given his new change of heart. But, my question to you, dear reader, is can we truly believe Wilson’s abrupt epiphany? And if we can, what will he do from this moment onwards? I mean, will he take on the mantle of Daredevil? (As I alluded to previously) Or will he try to be a legitimate businessman and do well by others? (Fingers crossed) Either way, it’s really nice to see the parallels echoing between Wilson’s life and Matt’s life, that’s for sure, and even though I don’t think either of them will be gone for good, I’m still intrigued to see how their joint rebirths will ultimately play out.

- Question Two: Can Matt cope with his anxiety? Halfway through issue 7, Matt suddenly comes face-to-face with Joey, Joey the parolee, who just so happens to be the brother of the thief he accidentally killed way back in issue 1. Yes. Him. So as you can imagine, seeing Joey up close and personal like this takes Matt by surprise. So much so, in fact, that he starts having heart palpitations which affect his mind, causes him to lose focus, and results in him going to church for some guidance and respite. After all, he previously used his Daredevil persona to vent most of his personal problems.  Plus to some extent, he’s never really been able to cope with a dilemma solely as a civilian. But now, well, what can he do now? What can he do for the sake of his own sanity?  Pray to God?  Speak to Foggy? Or does he attempt to do something outside of his comfort zone? Which in this case, Ka-Pow!, is precisely what he attempts to do, but with mixed results! Still, that doesn’t necessarily mean that Matt is out for the count yet, and to me, personally, this is something I’m looking forward to seeing play out over the next couple of months.

In conclusion, I would just like to say that I really did enjoy reading these two episodes of Daredevil. Not only because each issue was thought-provoking and had something to say, but in addition to this, it was nice seeing the similarities between the three principal characters, namely, Matt, Wilson, and Cole.  I would also like to congratulate this month’s guest artist, Lalit Kumar Sharma, due to his style being lively and somewhat down-to-earth, particularly during those scenes in which he illustrates everyday life in a somewhat colorful fashion. Good job.

THE MUSIC:

For this month’s musical match-up, I’m going to align this adventure with the Johnny Nash song, ‘I Can See Clearly Now’, because they’re both about being reborn and having a new perspective.

THE COMPARISON:

Following on from my last point, and I'm now going to compare this comic book to a new pair of glasses for exactly the same reason. 

A new perspective, and a new comparison being made.  

THE CONCLUSION:

At the end of issue 7, we see Matt Murdock gazing out of his window and using his abilities in a fairly innovative fashion. So, out of the following five options, let’s see if you can guess what power he uses and in what capacity?  I mean, could he be using...

1. His heightened sense of smell: In order to detect who farted.
2. His ability to tell if someone is lying: In order to appear on the next season of ‘Judge Judy’. 
3. His radar senses: In order to detect crime and then inform the police by phone.
4. His martial arts prowess: In order to teach people how to defend themselves.
5. His singing ability: In order to get on ‘American Idol’, just in case he can’t get on ‘Judge Judy’.

Nuff said.