Elektra’s still great at being Daredevil and Matt Murdock’s still great at being stubborn in Daredevil #30. Written by Chip Zdarsky, drawn by Marco Checchetto and Mike Hawthorne, inked by Adriano Di Benedetto, colored by Marcio Menyz, and lettered by Clayton Cowles, Daredevil #30 finds Matt recovering from the yard attack that nearly killed him while Elektra confronts a new crime boss.
Justin Partridge: Welcome back, daemons, to Speak of the Devil! And boy, oh, boy, do we have another doozy for you this month. Hell’s Kitchen intrigue! The Hand! And the gory return of a Daredevil staple! It’s almost TOO exciting! As always, I’m Justin and I love Matt Murdock too much. Also as always, the wonderful and immensely smrt Anna Peppard is with me!
How did you dig this issue, Doctor Anna?
Anna Peppard: I liked this issue!! That gets double exclamation points because as we discussed in our last column (which doubled as my CXF debut!), I’ve been a bit less hot on this run than you’ve been. But this issue had oodles of Elektra goodness and hurt/comfort Matt/Kirsten and Typhoid Mary wearing a very cool coat… and I’m eager to talk about all of it!
JP: AS. AMMMM. IIIIII. Let’s get to it.
Matt Murdock’s too stubborn to die… or take a perfect deal
JP: So like the opening last issue, writer Chip Zdarsky neatly bisects our main narratives between the Dual Daredevils (and the antagonists, but we will get to them in a little bit).
Let’s start this week with Matt, still on the inside. On the tail end of his The Raid-esque yard-fight last issue, Matt is convelevsing in the prison infirmary. This allows most of the tertiary cast some much needed “stage time”, providing us some wonderful check-ins with Kirsten, Foggy, and Detective Cole North as well as another legal drama bombshell from Chip.
It seems that in the wake of the scuffle, some corruption has been revealed in and around the owners of the prison. Namely one David Deavers, a horrible richie who has been exploiting the prisoner for cheap labor and something more dangerous, leading to a few “on the job” fatalities. Cole North, in conjunction with the NYPD Internal Affairs, wants Matt to help them find out what, which would then knock some years off his sentence.
Trouble is, Matt will help. But he’s going to serve out his full sentence. Isn’t that just MATT all over, Anna?
AP: This version of Matt – definitely. It’s a foregone conclusion that Zdarsky’s Matt will figure out new ways to punish himself, and not realize that sometimes, self-sacrifice is not only pointless, but selfish. As Cole points out, Matt’s stubbornness isn’t just hurting him; it’s hurting his friends, too, who love Matt enough that they’ll never stop trying to help him, no matter how many times he turns them down.
How frustrated I’ve sometimes been with Matt in this series is part of the reason I haven’t always enjoyed it as much as I’d like to. But part of the reason I enjoyed this particular issue so much is that I find Zdarsky’s Matt at least 70% more likeable anytime Kirsten’s around. Plus, I’ve always been extremely fond of the combination of secret identities and romantic tension. When handled well, that is – when secret identity shenanigans contribute emotional depth and heartsick longing for our star-crossed lovers to triumph over all the problems fate’s tossed in their path.
Around Kirsten, Matt reveals an emotional vulnerability that reminds me why I fell in love with him all those years ago, compounded, in this issue, by him being physically vulnerable. Hurt/comfort is a popular fanfiction subgenre for a reason – because it offers an excuse for stoic or otherwise stubbornly closed-off characters to admit they need help, and get and stay close to someone who loves them.
Of course, Matt doesn’t *actually* admit he needs help here, but I’m choosing to read a heart-wrenching hope and gratefulness into that moment when Matt wakes up in the hospital and turns toward a ray of warm sunshine, at the center of which is Kirsten. The intensity of the romantic obstacles currently facing this former couple makes it that much more heart-wrenching.
If Kirsten discovered Daredevil’s secret identity, she’d inevitably also find out Matt had the Purple Children alter her mind without her consent to make her forget, which Matt unilaterally decided was for her own good. Daredevil and Matt have each put Kirsten through a lot lately, but I don’t know if she could ever forgive that. (And she probably shouldn’t, because what Matt did is truly, objectively awful. An all-time bad choice in a life riddled with questionable choices.)
Speaking of choices – I liked the choice to have Hawthorne do the quiet, talky scenes with Matt, Kirsten, and others while Checchetto handles the moody-fighty Elektra scenes. It’s often a challenge to integrate guest artists into a complex ongoing story, particularly when a comic’s very strongly defined by the distinct visual aesthetic of a particular penciler (in this case, regular artist Checchetto). But I really enjoyed what Hawthore brought to those quiet scenes, which included drawing some lovely suiting.
There’s a nice slim-fit pinch to Mike Mudock’s jacket, and I love everything about Mary’s outfit, with the curve-hugging double-breasted blazer worn under a menswear-inspired cocoon coat. If you care about clothes, these little touches matter; the clothes matched the characters and made the world feel lived-in. Mike can’t help dressing just-a-touch flashier than Matt, while Mary looks put-together and mature – but still dangerous. (Her hair was also great – severely pulled-back at the front and all thick billowing curls at the back, evoking her barely-contained duality.)
JP: OH BIG TIME. I have found myself more and more charmed by this more “double-feature” energy the title has taken on in this new arc. Both in terms of the visuals AND the narrative shifting it’s taken between both sections.
BUT YOU ARE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT. I was actually wondering when and if Chip and company were going to try and mine some drama out of Matt’s restored Secret Identity (and the drastic steps he took in which TO restore it) so I am happy we are starting to see that lampshaded in the scenes.
And I’ll also wholeheartedly agree that Matt is always better as part of an ensemble. I was REALLY worried with him inside again we would lose that kind of energy, but I appreciate Chip trying to find more and more narrative excuses for Kirsten and the rest of the team to get on panel again.
All the Best Daredevils Are Elektras
JP: But while Matt is offered a deal on the inside, Elektra and her ward are figuring out THEIR deal on the outside.
Handing off from Hawthorne, Checchetto and Chip bring us the latest adventures of Elektra and her new charge, Alice. We see that Elektra has started young Alice on a similar route to her own; training and marshaling her strengths into a defensive wall around herself, in an effort to attain a sort of “happiness” that comes with the killing of one’s enemies.
But as we starkly see in this issue, Alice is NOT Elektra and this new Daredevil might not be as assured as she thinks she is, facing down the deadly uncertainty of Hell’s Kitchen.
LOTTA stuff to parse through here, huh, Anna?
AP: I like that Elektra remains sympathetic, yet deeply imperfect. She understands her flaws, but not how to fix them. This bit of internal monologue hit particularly hard for me: “Training helped me deal with the death of my mother—the distance of my father. But there was no end to it. No point where I could say, ‘this is enough,’ where happiness crept in.”
It would be easy to take a storyline like this and go: hey, this badass ninja lady is teaching a young girl who’s been through horrific trauma how to be a badass ninja, how badass! But that’s not what’s going on here. Instead, we’re getting a significantly more nuanced treatment of violence here, which is presented as a means-to-an-end that comes with terrific costs.
So far, the story is complicating and tentatively subverting the “bad woman turns good through motherhood” trope I was worried about in our last column, because while the relationship with Alice does humanize Elektra, it’s an open question, at this point, whether the relationship is good for either of them. Trying to protect Alice (and also, trying not to use lethal force, which is metaphorically linked to Elektra trying to being more traditionally heroic) quickly gets Elektra into trouble when she’s assaulted by Butch’s muscle (a masked samurai who poofs into dust when Alice shoots him – the mark of the Hand).
JP: NO ABSOLUTELY! This also starts to touch on the stuff we talked about last time, in regards specifically to Elektra’s “version” of Daredevil. We see her flaunting her real name about town, operating with an almost glib level of casualness toward the everyday work of being a street-level hero, AND all the while, ENDANGERING A MINOR WHILE DOING IT.
Obviously, we have a little more leeway narratively here as this is superhero comics, but you NAILED it. Elektra isn’t operating quite at “villain” levels, but there is a very engaging and almost sharpened callousness to Elektra’s actions in this issue that I couldn’t help but just be magnetized by.
And I think too, rooting this whole section in Elektra’s past and her come-up as a character is a VERY canny move from Chip. And one that shows that he’s just as invested as we are in the history of this cast and this title. While we know for a fact that Elektra got something out of the rigors of her youth and the deadly turns her life took, why the suffering hell would she ever think that someone like ALICE would?! Or even think that she NEEDED to be next to her in some sort of sidekick like arrangement?
It’s like…ALMOST Matt’s brand of stupidity, but so imminently in-character for Elektra. I almost can’t stand it.
AP: Yeah, that’s a great point, about how Elektra’s story parallels Matt’s, but in ways that extend from her character rather than his. Speaking of parallels: I loved Elektra taking up the “Man Without Fear” handle but making it her own when she tells the bouncer at the warehouse rave, who wonders why she’s totally unconcerned with maintaining a secret identity: “Neither of my identities have anything to fear. They create fear.” Saying that while walking calmly into a dangerous confrontation is like willing it into existence and I’m HERE FOR IT.
Elektra’s confidence is a weapon. But it’s also a weakness. She goes into the fight arrogant and it costs her – and Alice, who feels compelled to shoot the samurai to protect Elektra. Where it sometimes feels, to me, like Matt’s been stuck in a holding pattern of guilt, suffering, and sacrifice, Elektra is experiencing active character development, which I think is why I’ve been enjoying her story more than Matt’s.
Sub-Plotting
JP: So after the substantial check-ins with our “leads”, Chip and company then turn to the antagonistic side of the title; showing us just what Fisk and the rest of the baddies are up to.
Some of it is pretty interesting! It seems that Fisk and Mary are working on their own working relationship again as Mary continues to steady her mind (off-panel, regrettably). While Mike Murdock and Fisk’s Secret Son attempt to make some money-moves that may involve The Hand!
How did this stuff grab you, Doctor Anna?
AP: Despite my love for Mary’s aesthetic here, I’m not a fan of how all her psychological depth and character development keeps happening off-panel. The Mary/Wilson seduction stuff also feels a *bit* repetitive, since they were already kind of doing that before “King in Black,” no? (But hey, the city was covered in goo between then and now so who remembers – fresh starts allowed!) I don’t yet understand what’s going on with Bullseye – how and why Fisk thought he could control him, and what, specifically, he was doing to him. (Augmenting him? Brainwashing him? Or just healing him?)
I mean sure, having more deadly assassins on the payroll is always useful, and Fisk likes to keep tabs on Daredevil’s life, which has often included keeping tabs on his nemeses. But Fisk should also be very aware that Bullseye is one of those guys who will 100% betray you at the first opportunity (he’s done it to Fisk before).
But whatever the eventual plot details informing Bullseye’s return, I’m always happy to see him in a Daredevil book. Not because I like him; Bullseye is one of the most simplistic, least likeable villains in the entire Marvel universe, almost totally devoid of complex or sympathetic motivations. But his combination of fearless chaos and ultra-deadly precision have always made him an engaging foe for Matt. Not to mention Elektra, who has her own long history with Bullseye; Poindexter’s killed her once and has fought her many times since.
JP: The Return of Bullseye is definitely the main headline here, but I do agree with you that it’s troubling that all of Mary’s “progress” thus far has been not explicitly shown. I think that’s a real missed opportunity in terms of showing us Chip’s specific take on Mary, which I would really appreciate as we haven’t really seen her much outside of action sequences and quick little clips in different set pieces. LOVE her costumes so far though.
BUT that said, I am VERY excited for the prospect of Bullseye having to face Elektra in costume as, like you said, the pair have a LOT of history that I would like to see worked out on the asphalt of the Kitchen.
As to Mike and Butch. You mentioned this a little as we talked a little BTS (JEALOUS?!), but does it seem that Butch got established in the Kitchen REALLY quickly? I mean, I am glad that Mike and Butch are getting more featured spots in the title, but it does seem kind of convienent for this issue, right?
AP: I was thinking the same thing. We could have used an in-between issue to show Butch growing and consolidating power. This was enough of a departure from the version of Butch we saw last issue, I actually went back to make sure I had the character’s name right, confirming this is, in fact, the same guy. He’s a bit personality-less as yet, besides the obvious intrigue of being Wilson Fisk’s mysterious son.
But I’ll allow it, since it facilitated perhaps my favourite Elektra fight scene in the series so far. The rave’s moody fluorescent lights made a perfect backdrop for Checchetto’s visualization of Elektra as a figure of staccato power infused with spooky grace, all her movements kinetic yet ravishingly fluid in a costume I want to find busy, but can’t, because Checchetto draws it so well.
Marvelous Musings
- My heart went out to Foggy in that group shot at the hospital, face-palming when Matt insists – yet again – on serving his full prison sentence. Matt Murdock’s long-suffering bestie had never been so identifiable.
- “You DUMMY.” “Yeah, I covered that.” Do…I ship Kirsten and Foggy now? (Anna: Don’t do it! Kirsten and Matt 4Ever! Or at least, until she inevitably and justifiably drops him for good on account of him being a massive fool.)
- Mike Murdock remains fun. “Can you at least pretend to be blind, Mike?” No, he cannot.
- I adore Checchetto’s design of Elektra’s body language when she enters the warehouse. Something about the high, tight way she carries her shoulders with her arms hanging straight at her sides and her empty hands forming determinedly half-open fists conveys a perfect mixture of power and vulnerability. The care he’s put into making her body language reflect her character makes her feel aspirational and identifiable in all the right ways.
- Also nice to see us getting an update on just how much of the Kitchen Elektra owns now. We are told here 40%, but we shouldn’t be shocked if that ends up growing in the next few issues.
- I (Anna) hope Fisk’s personal trainer becomes a supervillain. Fisk’s needless humiliation of him was enough to motivate me to become this nameless guy’s henchwoman. (I’m sure I’m not the only person out there who’s worked in the service industry and found Fisk’s paternalistic arrogance a *bit* too real.)
Anna Peppard
Anna is a PhD-haver who writes and talks a lot about representations of gender and sexuality in pop culture, for academic books and journals and places like Shelfdust, The Middle Spaces, and The Walrus. She’s the editor of the award-winning anthology Supersex: Sexuality, Fantasy, and the Superhero and co-hosts the podcasts Three Panel Contrast and Oh Gosh, Oh Golly, Oh Wow!
