Daredevil #595-#597

I decided to pick up "Daredevil" for a few reasons.  First, he's the sort of street-level hero I love, and I'm not sure why I've never consistently read his various titles.  Second, I heard they were exploring Wilson Fisk becoming the Mayor of New York (as makes sense), and I was definitely interested in that story.  Third, I have problems keeping myself engaged in the Netflix series, so I figured reading the actual comic would ease my guilt.  Happily, I was not disappointed.  These issues are great, and I highly recommend them to anyone.  Soule paints a complicated portrait of two adversaries upping their game, promising what seems to be an explosive confrontation somewhere in the probably distant future.

Daredevil #595:  This issue is nothing short of brilliant.  In fact, it’s essentially therapy.  Matt was in China when Fisk was elected Mayor of New York, and he’s in an advanced state of shock.  (Aren't we all?)  Now serving as an Assistant District Attorney, he wants the District Attorney to green light an investigation into voter fraud.  The District Attorney acknowledges Fisk is a monster, but he also notes few of the allegations against him have ever been proven.  (Earlier, Foggy told Matt that Fisk didn’t deny who he was to the people.  In a way, he turned his villainy into a true New York story:  he was just a guy who knew how to work the angles.  It's funny because it's true.)  The District Attorney encourages Matt to find justice where he can, so he goes to his paralegal, Ellen, to start building a case.  Instead, she tells him about how she used to have a car.  On some of their first dates, she and her girlfriend would go to the mountains with her little piece of luxury, helping them escape a tough city.  Then, Spider-Man threw it at the Rhino.  She tells Matt he sees the heroes differently than other people do.  This point is important because the Kingpin won the election in part due to his promise to take out the “superheroes,” despite Matt having just won a Supreme Court decision recognizing the role they plan in the legal system.  Matt is so distraught he winds up bumbling into a trap three cops set for him, and they bring him before Fisk.  Soule is particularly brilliant here, as he has Fisk tell Daredevil they both believe themselves to be the city’s saviors, except the people actually gave him the power to do so.  Daredevil not-so-cryptically tells him he’s mayor “for now” before breaking a window and escaping.

Daredevil #596:  Soule does a great job of showing how off his game Daredevil is.  After his escape at the end of last issue, he’s too busy trying to figure out a way to take down Fisk to realize the enormous police deployment is targeting him, not a disaster he thinks is occurring.  Matt’s so delusional he decides to go “help” the police, to show the city what a hero is.  It’s only as he’s fleeing the cops that he realizes Fisk arrested him (and let him keep on his mask) because he wanted him to become a fugitive.  Daredevil uses a protocol he developed with Blindspot to escape the police; Blindspot puts on a Daredevil costume and leads them to the Ed Sullivan Theater, where he then turns invisible.  But, Daredevil’s relationship with Blindspot appears to be strained, stoking the sense of him as isolated.  (I only know Blindspot through advertisements about the post-“Secret Empire” “Daredevil,” so I’m not sure what their deal is.)  Ellen doesn’t help the next day when she tells Matt the District Attorney wants a Daredevil indictment on his desk sooner rather than later.  Just as you expect everything is going to go pear-shaped, the Kingpin offers Matt a job as Deputy Mayor, to win over the skeptics like him.  Matt accepts.  Dun-dun-DUN!

Daredevil #597:  Matt settles into his role as Deputy Mayor, which Fisk intends to use as a way to lead him on wild goose chases.  His assistant starts reading him the policy binders Fisk sent to his office, but Foggy arrives just in time to save him.  Matt explains to an outraged Foggy that he knows the position is largely ceremonial, but it allows him proximity to Fisk.  Underlining the point, Matt later uses his radar hearing to eavesdrop on Fisk, who’s getting a briefing on the "Sarnos project" just as Matt’s assistant returns to continue reading to him.  Matt later goes on patrol to show how he’s not afraid of Fisk, but his new reality becomes clear to him when the bodega owner he saves from two would-be robbers turns his gun on him to get the reward Fisk has put on his head.  But, Frank McGee from New Attilan arrives not only to save Daredevil (which he does), but to warn him the Muse has broken free.  The Muse is apparently a serial killer who uses his victims as art, and he apparently gouged out Blindspot’s eyes in an earlier confrontation.  Matt calls Sam to warn him, but he says he already knows, as there’s a huge mural on City Hall of Daredevil flashing peace signs under the phrase, “I am not a crook.”  Soule is obviously playing the long game here when it comes to Fisk.  As Foggy says, if you think you’re playing the Kingpin, he’s probably playing you.  As such, we seem destined for a prolonged stalemate as Matt gathers the information he needs to (maybe) take down Fisk.  Meanwhile, the re-appearance of the Muse shows life isn’t going to stop for Matt while he does so.

Also Read:  Daredevil #598