Review: ‘Daredevil’ #1 Is A Fascinating Relaunch With A Dark Shadow Hanging Over It

After nearly a year of the Devil’s Reign crossover and COVID-related delays, Matt Murdock finally returns to his own series, headlining with Elektra. The duo are determined to destroy the Hand, and that journey begins here.

Chip Zdarsky, Marco Checchetto, Rafael De Latorre, Matthew Wilson, and Clayton Cowles launch the Devils into this new era.

Matt Murdock is dead. And Matt is glad for that, as it means he can complete his mission to destroy the Hand without anything tying him back to the city. However, before his mission can begin, an unbelievable tragedy shows him that it won’t be easy. Meanwhile Elektra has to confront who she has become since becoming Daredevil, causing her to question whether she can do what she needs to end the Hand…

This issue could go two ways, and unfortunately I’m not going to know which until later. On its own, this is a great single issue Daredevil story, leading into and setting up bigger things for its lead character. With Matt free of ties and obligations, he’s able to be a lot more relaxed as a character, giving Zdarsky room to play with sides of the character that he hasn’t yet.

That means a slightly more swashbuckling hero, a version of the character that he hasn’t written yet but is always welcome back. And it’s nice to see the continuation of writers using Spider-Man as the ultimate protector of Marvel’s New York, showing the growth that the character has gone through even outside of Amazing Spider-Man.

The Elektra story is good, but it doesn’t do much outside some character work. Showing that Elektra is no longer killing is big for her character, and I understand it’s important that we know that. Cowles’ lettering work really shines here, as the characters shown- Stick and Elektra herself- are normally very stoic, so Cowles has to lay out her narration in a way that conveys that feeling but doesn’t overwhelm the art, and he pulls it off perfectly.

The big issue, which has me divided, is the twist to the end of Matt’s story, in which a major supporting character is seemingly fridged in front of Matt. Now, if said character is truly dead and gone, then it oversteps the mark. ‘Killing a loved one to motivate a hero’ is a line too far in superhero fiction, and I truly hope that’s not

y78 where the series is going. If there’s a twist to it, where Zdarsky is planning to subvert the trope, then it could make for an interesting sub-plot. We’ll have to see in the coming months.

On the art side, Checchetto is continuing to do excellent work. He’s one of the best superhero artists working right now, and I’m always glad to see his work. Wilson’s addition to the art team is welcome as well. He uses more yellows in his colors here than previous color artist Marco Menyz did, which adds to the feeling of contentment that Zdarsky is conveying through the script. De Latorre’s back-up art is evocative of Checchetto without being derivative, and he does a fantastic job laying out the fight scenes.

All of this leads to a relaunch that I’m extremely interested in, while still approaching cautiously due to the couple faults I mentioned above. However, this issue indicates that we’re right on track to continue the franchise’s winning streak and that the creative team is firing on all cylinders. 

Daredevil #1 is available now from Marvel Comics.