Phew! Good Ol’ Chip wasn’t lying when he said this one changes EVERYTHING. Buckle up for DAREDEVIL ANNUAL #1 from Chip Zdarsky, Chris Mooneyham, Manuel Garcia, Le Beau Underwood, Rachelle Rosenberg, and VC’s Clayton Cowles.
Vishal Gullapalli: “ONE MORE DAY”! We’re getting “One More Day” again! I’m sure this will be nothing but delightful and enriching to the character and – wait. Wait, this is a Daredevil story? Not a Spider-Man story? Alright, I take back all my sarcasm. I am very confident that Chip’s going to give us a thoroughly enjoyable story in this annual that will give me things I didn’t know I wanted.
Justin Partridge: God, please don’t invoke the Slott here, Vishal. I have a weak heart and I can’t take it here AND on Twitter too. BUT THIS IS A COOL ONE. We get some more rough and tumble Hell’s Kitchen goodness from Chip AND the full reintroduction of one of Daredevil’s weirdest and most overlooked elements! It’s a two-fisted win-win! But really, can you imagine if this was actually “One Day More”, no changes AT ALL, just with Daredevil? I…don’t think I could handle that, really.
VG: Well, Charles Soule did it fairly well, all things considered. Just like he reintroduced the star of this issue fairly well! There’s a lot to dig into here.
Mike’d Up
VG: So right away we start off with Matt Murdock falling in front of a truck. That’s… familiar. But it’s also something that’s immediately different. Because this guy who fell in front of the truck can apparently see! It turns out Mike Murdock is back and is using the fact that he looks identical to the former mayor of New York to run some scams with The Hood. This is a really amusing little bit, and also does a great job reintroducing us to the recently-manifested Mike Murdock. What’d you think of this new look at Mike, Justin?
JP: Oh, Mike. You’re…just trash, aren’t you? Beautiful, ginger trash. I actually LOVE Mike Murdock, both as a character and as a concept. For those untrained in the ways of the “lesser” Murdock “brother”, here is the short version. Way back in the 70s and 80s, there was a recurring character in various Daredevil runs named “Mike Murdock”. Mike was the super weird, super shady, and apparently sighted alter ego of Matt Murdock, who, when pressed about it would just go, “Oh yeah, that’s my TWIN…that…like…WASN’T around when I was a kid! Also HE’S Daredevil, not me! Leave me alone about it! It makes sense!”.
But actually, it didn’t. And over the decades various other writers and artists have tried to make Mike “work” in some form or fashion, as his main purpose in stories was usually just Matt trying to throw people off his scent as Daredevil, either as a gag or as a legit plot point. Here recently, like Vishal so smartly and handsomely mentioned, Charles Soule went and made him REAL, like, actually, real deal real (like he kinda was in the 80s before a retcon wiped him away as a “disguise” again). So, now, while Chip is fully moving along with his OWN plot, he’s going and making OTHER PEOPLE’S plots work too! He’s a real pip, that Chip.
But woolgathering and over-explaining aside, I think Mike could be a really fun and narratively rich new addition to the Daredevil title we know and love here. Especially now that he got NORN STONED into actual existence! That’s just like…the coolest. You take it from here Vishal, I am too overcome with my love of red-headed Catholics to continue for a spell.
VG: Okay, so, I’m a huge fan of retcons that are literally retcons in-universe. Not the standard boring “This isn’t what happened, what actually happened was this…” that we normally get, but an actual honest-to-god mechanism that writers use to alter the fabric of reality to enact their changes. Like, Superboy-Prime punching reality? Hilarious. Give me more of that. And I gotta say, the entirety of modern Mike Murdock is that. Charles Soule used his own Inhuman OC Reader as a device to literally make the in-universe lie of Mike Murdock’s existence become in-universe truth. It’s not a retcon to us, it’s something happening in the story. Instead it’s a retcon to the characters, who now have to deal with the confusion that we comic fans do on a regular basis. And now you’re telling me Chip, in his genius, did it AGAIN? Using the all-powerful Norn Stone to literally rewrite reality so that Mike Murdock existed from the very beginning? I don’t know if I can be happier than I am right now. It’s a great feeling.
JP: ABSOLUTELY and it’s amazing that Chip FULLY walks us through the mechanics of this “birth” in just a few short panels. I feel like, had this idea come to someone else (say a Donny Cates or Jason Aaron) we would have had to slog through at least three full issues just to get to the BRAVURA “memory” sequence of Mike finally being made fully tangible in-universe. And that’s honestly another amazing thing. Chip uses the higher page count and narrative room of an annual to give this plot a real tactility and attention. He just simply lays out the knowledge that both the reader and character have that certain items and elements of the Marvel Universe can be used to rewrite reality and then just…does it? Without any real fanfare or lead up? It’s wonderful. I really love this kind of stuff too, and seeing it so deftly, almost matter-of-factly handled is just the icing on this reality cake. But now I guess we have to talk about what this means for the title and Mike, right? I don’t know I’m just a caveman here relatively.
A Tale of Two Murdocks
VG: You’re absolutely right Justin! You’re catching on real quick. We have to talk about this massive in-universe retcon because holy hell is it just absolutely incredible. We get to see all the iconic moments of Matt Murdock’s life with a new lens. Starting with his mother leaving to become a nun, we get to see how the lives of the Murdocks change when there’s more than one of them. Matt stays Matt. He’s Matt freaking Murdock, changing who he is is nigh-impossible, no matter how much he pretends otherwise.
JP: Totally and I also think this sequence in particular really shows where and what Chip is interested in exploring. We get some set-dressing at the first about how Mike is “man with holes in his head” and how he’s kinda coasting from job to job since Reader’s materialization of him. But as soon as that stuff gets threaded, Chip has already moved on, shifting us and Mike through, like you said, a walking tour basically of all the iconography of Daredevil.
To be totally honest, I was VERY worried when this sequence started. Mainly because, I think, along with Bruce Wayne’s, Matt Murdock’s origins have been done to death at this point. We’ve seen all manner of miniseries and events trying to dredge up Matt’s past or offer some new angle on it, only to ultimately fail to say anything new. But here, having seen it all through Mike’s ne’er-do-well (and overshadowed by Matt) perspective, I feel like someone ACTUALLY said something new about Matt’s genesis. Or at the very least, not just rehashed it for the sake of “big” moments. What about you, V?
VG: I completely agree. This feels like something genuinely new being added to the mythos, and I love it for that. I also am intrigued by the fact that Battlin’ Jack seemed to survive well into Matt and Mike’s adolescence – I think he mentions that Matt’s going to Columbia for law school while he’s still alive? That’s something new, isn’t it? Unless the TV show has seriously altered my memory, Matt’s father died when he was a kid.
JP: This is SOMEWHAT new, yes. Most “core” DD origins have Jack die while Matt is a kid, thus giving him the drive to excel in school and later attend Amorphous Prestigious Law School. Frank Miller famously retooled some of this for The Man Without Fear. Keeping the elements of Matt being a child when Jack was killed, but establishing that he did go to Columbia, where he later met Foggy and Elektra. I feel like I remember the show keeps the kid stuff, but almost tries to thread it with The Man Without Fear (as Elektra and Foggy are college pals there too), but I could be wrong. I am sure some Very Helpful Person on the internet will set me straight soonish.
But you are right! This feels like an entirely new and fresh perspective and take on Matt’s early days. Now we have all sorts of questions we can get into. How did their relationship turn into their teen years? Did Mike continue to carry the resentment of the “good brother” into his adult years (which Chip teases a bit)? I feel like this leaves us with far more road to run on than other Mike appearances because now there is A WHOLE history there that’s largely “unseen” and could be easily folded into already established events in Matt’s life. Both in and out of costume.
VG: I think my personal biggest question is about the nature of the retcon itself – does Matt actually remember the same things as Mike? Or is Mike the only one who knows about this new history that he’s created for himself? There’s hints towards this just by the existence of one of the characters involved, but we had no indication that Matt had any change in his memories of Mike. It could really go either way here. At the same time, the Norn Stone did seemingly create Mike’s best friend out of nowhere – either making him exist entirely or making him significant. What’s up with Butchie P?
Where We Go
JP: WHAT IS UP WITH BUTCHIE P?! And honestly, I DIDN’T even think of a lot of that! But you are absolutely right. The implications of this, while personal and confined largely to just Matt and Mike (FOR NOW), are VAST. Not only has the skin of reality changed, but now with a whole new Murdock on the scene, how much MORE complicated does Matt’s life get? Will this play into his looming trial at all? How will this impact his costumed career? Especially if Mike continues to slip down this super shady path.
You know, it’s SO refreshing to hear a creative say “this annual is actually super important” and realize that they are telling the truth. This story could have major, MAJOR ramifications for Matt and the title overall in my view. Am I just being histrionic or are you getting that vibe as well?
VG: I absolutely agree – this is a Big Deal and something that could seriously alter the course of the character as we go. I’m incredibly shocked that this is happening literally in the middle of one of the most pivotal moments in Matt’s own life, and it almost being something in the background while the main story marches forward. I’m so fascinated by Butch too! He’s maybe Wilson Fisk’s son, but he’s not the established son Richard, he’s a new kid whose mom isn’t Vanessa and is instead “Ms. P.” But also, the ending was really vague and he might be saying he’s actually the Owl’s son! “Taking what used to be my dad’s” is really really messing with me. Who is this man! Who is he? How will he ruin Matt’s life in an unforeseen way? I must know these answers.
JP: BIG, big time agree. It is soapy as all hell, and I am way, way in already. And again, I feel like had this story been delivered by someone else, it would have been either frustrating or just an out and out misfire. But Chip lays it all out beautifully and in such a way that it enriches the main story, like you said. It’s crazy knowing that the big, super impressive main narrative is still happening here, but now we have this ENTIRE OTHER PLOT that is just as big and just as impressive simmering on the back burner. And delivered in one ultra-concise annual. I love it.
At least until Mike goes bananas again and starts kidnapping Matt’s friends AGAIN.
Marvelous Musings
- If I had a gripe, it would be that guest artists Manuel Garcia and Chris Mooneyham are a bit of a trade-down visually. Both their styles are far more loose and loopy than Checcehetto’s and it’s pretty noticeable from the jump, which is a shame. But not one that completely torpedoes the reading experience. At least for me, Justin, who has barely any eye for visual design.
- The big thing with this “One More Day” compared to the infamous one is that this is purely additive – Chip’s gone back into the past and inserted something new, while the other one was subtractive, taking away something good from the universe.
- It’s a dumb thing but I (Justin) do really love when Marvel books borrrow other Marvel books’ titles or arc names for a lark. Especially when they give them a marked improvement in the usage.
- We also get a wonderful Wally Wood-ass civilian look for Matt in this one in the flashback scene. When he is about to leave for college. Our boy looks like he strode out of Woolworth’s ad and I truly love it. Matt is one of the only Marvel characters that I enjoy looking dorky as hell, so that was a treat for me.
- Thanks to Allison Senecal for Editing!- Chris
Chris Eddleman is a biologist and co-host of Chrises On Infinite Earths.
