Posted in: Comics, Marvel Comics | Tagged: Blindspot, charles soule, daredevil, Kingpin, Marvel Comics, matt murdock, stefano landini, the avengers, the defenders, Wilson Fisk

Daredevil #596 Review: Battle for the Soul of New York City

After their encounter and Daredevil jumping out the window, Mayor Wilson Fisk has ordered the NYPD to hunt down and apprehend the Man Without Fear. Worse yet, he has mobilized hero-hunter units with special equipment designed for the powered heroes of New York. Can Daredevil escape capture?

The vast majority of the plot is Daredevil running away from the police. I would gripe about how thin the resulting comic is on plot, but, honestly, it actually works. It gives a good image of how low this could put Daredevil, and it makes for a pretty tense situation. This is partially thanks to how far Matt Murdock has been pushed in the past and how willing writers have been to dramatically shake up the Hornhead status quo.

One of the pursuing helicopters has a sonic cannon that almost puts DD down and out, so these guys are genuine threats for Daredevil. The comparisons to Mark Millar's Civil War are still notable, but Charles Soule keeps the plot tight and focused enough that it doesn't get lost in trying to make the events overly dramatized.

At one point, a police officer makes a comment about how he would never expect Daredevil to go bad. That does leave me wondering if Shadowland is still canon in All-New, All-Different Marvel/Marvel Legacy.

Some foreshadowing of what is to come is given in the last few pages, and that effectively leaves me excited for what's to come next in DD. A relatively new yet intimidating villain will be making a return, and Matt Murdock may have an exciting new job.

Stefano Landini's artwork is damn good. It maintains a difficult balance of sleekness and grit which not many artists can accomplish. It feels what can only be described as distinctly Daredevil. Matt Milla supports that with some great colorwork which is similarly balanced with especially dark and light shades.

Despite having a fairly succinct plot, Daredevil #596 is a compelling chapter in the saga of the Man Without Fear. He is being chased and brought low by his worst enemy, and now that enemy has the law on his side. "Mayor Fisk" is showing itself to be a promising arc for Matt Murdock, and I look forward to what follows. This one gets a recommendation. Give it a read.

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