Something bad happens every time I feel settled somewhere. I’m twenty-five and I have never spent more than two years anywhere. The second I made friends at the orphanage; gone. God forbid I called a foster family home, it was “pack your bags.” I got the news on my birthday once, which is a complete farce because I don’t even know when I was born.
If you have read it, let's get back to the characters... and there are still serious spoilers
Daredevil/ Elektra
This lady is working towards her redemption. After she showed up to help Matt and recruit him for The Fist to (be the king!), she gave him a chance to go to prison. It sounds bad but in their world, I guess, it was a good thing. She gives him the opportunity to decide whether he wants to pay for his crime by taking it upon herself to protect Hell’s Kitchen. I was legitimately audibly surprised when she showed up at the hearing and let Matt know that she both knew his identity and bought 90% of the neighborhood.
She had ulterior motives, of course, but it still felt genuine. It’s something she would never have done before and something that shows us and Matt that she’s ready for change. Speaking of, this run is full of wow moments. The next one actually comes right after, when Elektra becomes the new Daredevil. She wanted to earn Matt’s trust so she not only took care of his neighborhood but stuck around to do his job while he was resting in a cell block. With the costume and everything.
The detail I loved most was how she modified her sai to be blunt. It’s a small thing that I hadn’t noticed right away but it just proves the point – she wants to step away from being an assassin and do something good for a change.
She goes full Bruce Wayne too, she gives away jewelry and adopts a kid. That doesn’t last because, unlike Bats, she realizes quickly that all the violence and “channeling your anger” don’t do any good for a kid.
Elektra makes a pretty great Daredevil. She feels like a more solid fighter, more likely to win. “Without fear” applies to her more because she’s done it all: died, killed, came back, succumbed to darkness, fought it. She has nothing to fear but her own limitations. Which she does, it’s quite a change for her to limit the violence and refrain from killing. But she is wearing the DD logo and she is representing him. She shows the people of Hell’s Kitchen that even without him on the streets, they are protected. That’s a hell of a thing.
Elektra is new at that and is looking for her own take on Daredevil. She isn’t like Matt at all.
Cole North
Now he’s a new character and one of the best ones in a while. Plus, he’s also a narrator in the run. He arrives as a cop from Chicago who has to catch and arrest Daredevil. He’s a very by-the-book detective, he believes in the procedure and well, he’s in for a ride. Right away he encounters crooked police on one side, a criminal mayor on another, the whole criminal underground, and vigilantes to top it off.
He sees Daredevil as someone who positions himself above the law, which comes at a time when Matt is starting to doubt said law. And they make for an interesting dynamic. Daredevil saves North from a bunch of his colleagues and kickstarts North’s downfall as a cop. Which is hey, also his rise as a decent person. Cole North is a fantastic addition, truly. He’s something that Daredevil’s been needing for a while since he never listens to Foggy or his girlfriends. He even, and again I’m jumping ahead, appoints Cole as his moral compass. A pretty decent idea, although Matt will probably mess that up too.
Back to Cole North though. He goes through a transformation that’s masterfully shown through his thoughts (and let me tell you again, how much I appreciate different perspectives) and actions. It’s not his book but he’s one of the most memorable characters there. And despite never learning Daredevil’s true identity, he stands by his side, believing it’s possible to change the world.
The next step is actually leading towards what seems to be a massive event. But I’ll be ready to talk about that after I finish it.
This, Zdarsky’s run and Devil’s Reign - an event dedicated to heroes battling Fisk, are some of the best Daredevil comics out there. They don’t play around with Matt’s lighter side anymore and I, personally, like it. There’s something incredibly stylish and dramatic about Daredevil’s life going all the way off the rails.
It leads to darker art and atmosphere, to more mature stories - I like that and that, to me fits the character.
Zdarsky carefully navigates his way through further character development steps to lead to a relevant discussion of social/political issues. It feels well-paced and allows the narrative to flow freely.
The fact that he introduces multiple narrators makes the story richer. We don’t just get one perspective and thus, one point of view, we are forced to at least attempt to sympathize with everyone. This pushes readers out of their comfort zone and gives additional depth to the villains.
Meanwhile, Daredevil himself gets something new, something he hasn’t done or tried before. And even then, he still can’t escape his patterns. It’s as beautiful and entertaining as it is frustrating. But this is the kind of frustration you’d experience towards a friend who keeps making mistakes. That feels familiar and in a way, nice.
The main artist on this run is Marco Chechetto. His work feels heavily inspired by manga but at the same time, it utilizes the best elements of Western comic book art. This symbiosis works well for this specific run. Chechetto’s ability to brighten up the color palette and darken the image when needed is something that allows the stories to play out both in text bubbles and in frames. It adds emotions and even adjusts them. Splash pages and dynamic battle scenes feel like real action. Throw in some street views and pretty epic full-height shots and you get a truly epic book.
There are temporary artists, who take over for one or more issues like Mike Hawthorne. In his case, the change was hardly noticeable because the main color scheme was still followed. I believe in terms of style, there were just a couple issues by another artist that felt off to me.
All in all, like I said, one of the best Daredevil runs.
Quality isn't great but this scene from the leaked Daredevil trailer (which looks amazing!!) really reminded me of the Matt/Elektra scene in the same place! Another reluctant alliance maybe? :P
Please like/reblog this if you're willing to roleplay with villain characters without acting like the mun is a terrible person.
I writing evil or nearly evil characters more fun than writing good guys. I’m sick of feeling like people are going to judge me for my characters. I have a right to rp what I want and explain my characters actions, but not try to justify them. Because I know why a character acts a certain way doesn’t mean I think they are excused. The world isn’t black and white.
Elektra Natchios @immoralcrimson - Tumblr Blog | Tumgag
