Mark Waid has the distinction of writing the longest unbroken run on Daredevil, surpassing even luminaries like Brian Michael Bendis and Frank Miller. It’s a run that’s been characterized by Waid’s efforts to return Matt Murdock to his swashbuckling roots and veer away from the darkness that’s permeated the hero’s life over the past decade. Even so, things have grown pretty dark for Matt these past few months as he’s faced the all-seeing eyes of the Owl and the return of the one and only Kingpin. Despite an overcrowded cast of villains, this finale issue wraps up this final conflict in a way that remains true to the book’s optimistic spirit.
Strange as it may sound for such an iconic villain, I’m not convinced bringing the Kingpin into the picture was the best course of action for the series. The one flaw with this volume of Daredevil is the brisk way Waid has cycled through most of the villains. Here the conflict hinges on Fisk, the Shroud, Ikari and both the Owl and his daughter, leaving the plot feeling a little overstuffed. Kingpin’s presence still seems a bit random considering that he played no part in Waid’s run until this late hour.
Still, most of those characters are incidental to the real crux of the story – the idea that Matt is forced to pay the piper for putting himself and his life completely out in the open. This issue is great about laying everything on the line and putting Matt in a place where he has to prove once and for all whether Matt Murdock and Daredevil can truly co-exist. The conflict is laid out almost like a courtroom scenario, with Fisk as the judge and Matt’s captive friends as the jury. There’s ample action here, but it’s more a psychological confrontation between Daredevil and Kingpin at the end of the day. It goes without saying that Chris Samnee caps off the series with another gorgeous issue. Samnee’s storytelling – from the dynamic action to the engaging page layouts to his clean, impeccable facial work – is every bit as vital to the book’s success as Waid’s scripting.
Most importantly, the resolution to Waid and Samnee’s saga is fitting and emotionally resonant. Waid delivers the final word on themes he’s been exploring from day one – depression, transparency and honesty, the redemptive power of friendship, and so on. This issue doesn’t waste energy on unnecessary plot twists or setting the stage for the next relaunch. It’s not melodramatic or overly sentimental in its final pages. It just focuses on delivering a fitting close to the bumpy saga of Matt Murdock, Foggy Nelson and Kirsten McDuffie. And it accomplishes that goal as well as any DD fan could hope for.
