Bumping Off the Blind Superhero: A Review of Daredevil - End of Days

So, I promised that I'd do this and it's taken me longer than I had hoped, but here we go.  Marvel recently published an eight-part mini-series starring the man without fear, Daredevil.  However, I think it "starring" might be an overstatement.

Daredevil: End of Days is the most recent effort by Marvel to break from the on-going series canon (though writer Brian Bendis asserts that this is part of the continuity) and jump to the end of the line for a given character.  Marvel has been doing this type of thing since the late 90's for various characters.  Sometimes the story takes the mini-series format, as it has with Daredevil, and sometimes the story is confined to a one-shot (single issue).

While the concept isn't new, Brian Bendis and David Mack take this story further than most "the end" stories go. The length of the mini-series (8 issues) is longer than most of Marvel's similar works.  Honestly, the length of the story appealed to me.  As I've said before, I like Daredevil and think that he's underrated by many readers.  Bendis and Mack took time to develop a solid story.

The story itself follows a complex series of twists.  I mentioned earlier that it may be a stretch to say that Daredevil "stars" in this mini-series.  While his name is on the cover, he's also dead before the middle of the first issue.

Not what one might expect of a title character

Daredevil's death, rather than serving as the culmination of the series, is the catalyst of the events that follow. The real focal point of the series is Daily Bugle reporter Ben Urich, one of a very few people who actually knew that Matt Murdock was Daredevil.  While Urich has played a key role in several of Marvel's titles and interacts with a number of superheroes, he's not really what one might expect as the lead character of a series.

Marvel's least likely hero (possibly excluding Squirrel Girl)

Urich's goal over the course of the series is to track down the meaning of Daredevil's last word: "Mapone."  In his efforts to discover the secret behind who or what "Mapone" is, Urich interacts with a variety of characters from the Daredevil comics.  His interviews with key figures from the Marvel universe provide the forward progress for much of the story line.  Personally, I found his interview with the Punisher to be a highlight in the series.  The further Urich gets in his search, the more mysterious things get.  While I don't want to spoil the storyline for you, let me assure you that Daredevil is not the only character to die in the End of Days storyline - he's merely the first.  As Urich digs deeper and the body count climbs, a new Daredevil emerges as well - one who tracks Ben and seems to watch over him as something of a guardian angel (or guardian devil).

The noir feel that the story takes on worked for me.  I've always enjoyed the "street-level" heroes and the true-crime feel that their stories tend to take on.  The mystery in Daredevil: End of Days sells the story. While I won't reveal it here, the revelations at the end of the series in issues 7 and 8 worked well and resolved the story in a satisfying way.  End of Days received extremely positive reviews and I agree with those wholeheartedly.  This mini-series doesn't require much background knowledge from the reader and serves as a solid stand-alone story.

The original run of the mini-series started in October of 2012 and ended in June of 2013, so issues should still be fairly available in most comic shops.  The entire series was also released as a graphic novel this month and is readily available both in stores and on-line.

As always, feel free to post your thoughts, especially if you've had a chance to read End of Days or if you want to discuss part of the story.

Scared of Clowns, Allergic to Rocks, and Other Heroic Flaws

Every hero has some type of flaw - a weakness that exists as a counterbalance to their superhuman powers.  Flawed heroes are common in literature.  The tradition dates back to ancient civilizations.  Achilles with his vulnerable heel is the most obvious example, but there are plenty of others.  Why is it that, as humans, we seem to have an inherent need to attribute flaws to our heroes?

In considering the comics that I enjoy most, I find myself drawn to the most flawed figures.  At the risk of turning the comments for this post into a literal stream of flame, I'll admit that I've never really been a big fan of Superman.  It's really for a simple reason: he's too perfect.  Think about it.  Superman's invulnerable (except to an ultra-rare rock), can fly, can move at supersonic speeds, possesses inhuman strength, has heat vision and x-ray vision (I wonder how many times he scorched a wall learning to change between the two), and, my personal favorite on the ridiculous factor, has super-breath.  I contend that Superman is what you would get if you asked a 6 year old to design a superhero.

Unfortunately, he does not handle criticism well.

So, now that I've had my mini-rant, what do I prefer?  There are a lot of answers, but I'd like to focus on one that I've really developed more respect for recently: Daredevil.

Seen here on a lunch break

For those of you unfamiliar with Matt Murdock (Daredevil), he was blinded as a child when radioactive material fell from a truck involved in a near-accident (which Matt helped to prevent) .  He lost his sight, but all of his other senses reached superhuman levels.  Daredevil has the most obvious flaw of any comic hero, but I think it serves to make him all the more intriguing.  I wonder if his ability to triumph over his adversity makes him more inspiring and/or understandable as an authentic character.

If you've ever read Daredevil with any consistency, you are aware that for some reason he's essentially Marvel Comics' tragic figure.  He's had little more than a constant stream of tragedies make up his backstory.  His father, an amateur boxer, was killed for not throwing a fight.  Every love interest he has had ends up either dead or insane.  His "secret" identity is common knowledge.  The most recent storyline in the current volume of Daredevil has him being slowly driven insane by a complex plot orchestrated by a villain that was supposedly killed.  The highlight of Daredevil's life was probably being blinded.

This should not be part of the high point of your life.

It seems like Daredevil's entire purpose is to suffer.  Somehow, though, that just makes him more interesting. What do you think?  Is the flawed hero better than a perfected one?  Do we need our heroes to have weaknesses?

If you're interested in reading any Daredevil, I highly recommend Ed Brubaker's work on the series, which can be found in graphic novel form.  The current incarnation of the comic, written by Mark Waid, is also quite engaging and can serve as a good jumping on point for those unfamiliar with Daredevil's history.  Finally, Frank Miller's early work on the series, specifically the "Born Again" storyline is considered to be some of the best of the comic, offering a retelling of Daredevil's origins and the basis of his war with his primary villain, the Kingpin.  Lastly, I would recommend the recent mini-series from Marvel, Daredevil: End of Days, which tells the story of Daredevil's death.  I'll be posting a review of this mini-series soon.