Daredevil #1: Where We Left Off

The new Daredevil run has big shoes to fill. The previous run ended with a firm story resolution and a decisive final issue. Multiple threads were left to be picked up by the new creative team, but continuing them could be a tall order. Daredevil #1 successfully rises to that challenge.

Father Matt is one of two priests in charge of Saint Nicholas’s Youth Home in Daredevil #1. He has only scattered awareness of his previous life as Matt Murdock. A few memories here and there and heightened senses that he can’t explain beyond them being a gift from God. Elektra watches Matt from a distance, content to let him have a peaceful life. That’s all put at risk when a demon possesses Elektra, putting Matt’s new life in danger.

Daredevil #1 succeeds in a way that many of Marvel’s relaunches/renumbers don’t. Ahmed doesn’t just pick up the plot threads where Zdarsky left off (Elektra as Daredevil and Matt somehow back as a priest); he also connects his new story to the thematic elements Zdarsky played with. As he did in Zdarsky’s run, especially the final issues, Matt tries to hold to what he believes is the path God set out for him. This sets up a nice inner conflict beyond the external plot Matt faces with whatever demonic beings he might meet going forward.

Part and parcel of this thematic connection also reverses Matt’s comfort level about the position he believes God has put him in. Ahmed writes Matt as a thoroughly satisfied priest. That will likely get disrupted as the series continues, but seeing Matt get such satisfaction from his faith is refreshing. It’s a way of looking at that side of the character that doesn’t happen enough.

The issue touches on several elements as it introduces its plot. The larger story seems intimately connected to Matt’s faith in a literal sense, though it’s unclear how. Ahmed includes Elektra, but the characters’ relationship (for now, at least) is significantly different than we’ve seen recently. The setting of St. Nick’s is wildly different from what is typical for the character. Daredevil #1 offers the potential for a series with a very different feel.

Kuder’s best work here comes on two opposite sides of the story. Matt is almost all smiles as the issue opens. He looks so happy that seeing an entirely different character on the page is like seeing an altogether different nature. Kuder doesn’t go overboard to do it. Matt’s expression when he’s happy is less about Kuder plastering an unmistakable smile on his face, but instead adding lines and soft shading to contour Matt’s face, especially his cheeks and around his eyes. This is also effective later in the issue when he’s upset. It’s not Matt’s eyes and mouth specifically that communicate emotions but the other details on his face.

Conversely, Kuder’s depiction of Elektra when she is possessed blends the familiar and disturbing, with the demon’s head atop Elektra’s body while the demon’s body trails behind. The devil is significantly larger than Elektra, which leads to imagery such as Elektra walking through a door with the demon’s head atop it as the demon’s body reaches its arms through the door and crawls behind. Kuder delivers haunting imagery (especially in the issue’s final pages).

A variety of fire imagery accompanies the demonic enemy. Reds, oranges, and yellows are the order of the day for that, of course, and Aburtov delivers several interpretations. In a couple of instances, he uses only shades of yellow to create what looks like a roiling heart of a fire. At one point, the demon is aflame, and this time, Aburtov goes with an array of all three colors to create a hellish inferno. Aburtov’s coloring offers excellent reinforcement to the story’s tone.

Cowles does his usual excellent job in using caption and dialogue organization to keep the flow going. His placement adds to the visual storytelling in a few full and two-page spreads. Of particular note is that the story title, “Introductory Rites,” doesn’t appear on the credits page as has become typical for Marvel. It appears on a regular page along with the four creative team members. It’s unclear how much of the title’s appearance was specified in the script and how much is owed to Cowles, but the design and placement areare very effective for this story.