Too Good to Miss—Daredevil Born Again
Frank Miller bringing his own brand of storytelling (and pain and suffering) to Daredevil.
Daredevil Born Again needs a warning sticker. Nothing too much. This isn’t about protecting the minds of children (mainly because children should not be reading this comic). Something like the explicit lyrics sticker you get on music with swearing.
But then Frank Miller’s name is on the cover, isn’t that the same as a warning sticker?
If you’re not ready for him, Frank Miller is going to leave you in a great deal of emotional anguish. And Daredevil: Born Again is a classic Frank Miller story.
Prior to the start of the Born Again arc, Daredevil was already having problems. He has a tragic relationship with Heather Glenn (she will be making an appearance in the new Daredevil: Born Again TV show) and he is having problems with his current girlfriend, Glori. He has problems with his job and being Daredevil has been taking its toll on him.
None of that even compares to what Miller puts Daredevil through.
The brilliance of the story, in part, is its deviation from the usual format of a fist fighting vigilante beating a villain. We all know that Daredevil is a skilled fighter. It’s exactly why he needs an opponent that is so much more.
Kingpin becomes the perfect opponent for Daredevil in Miller’s story, despite only sharing three pages in the 160 pages of the story. It could be said that it is because they only share pages that the story is so effective.
Kingpin is the unseen architect of Daredevil’s destruction and it is only Kingpin’s hubris that gives Daredevil any clue to what is happening to him. If Kingpin had been able to stay completely removed, he could have completely broken Matt Murdock and wiped out Daredevil.
What the story manages to do so well that so few other stories can do is make the reader follow the paths of multiple characters.
In addition to the downward fall of Daredevil as he loses his job, his apartment, his money and his sanity, the reader sees the rise of Karen Page from drug addiction. The struggles of Kingpin with his plans to destroy Daredevil, the rise of Foggy in a relationship with Matt’s ex-girlfriend and the challenges of the reporter Ben Urich to decide the truth and protect his family.
There is, of course, a good share of action, but for such a gripping comic book, it’s surprising how few fights take place and how little they are needed.
This is without doubt a gritty story of revenge, hatred and destruction, but it avoids a good deal of exaggerated capes and superhero heroics. But then it is a Frank Miller story.
Daredevil: Born Again provides Matt Murdoch with more obstacles and challenges than anyone (even a superhero) should face. It presents the slipping sanity of a man who has no fear, but has a great deal of rage that does not have a clear focus. The tension and conflict are perfectly presented to provide a thoroughly taut story. It even has a great cameo from Captain America who is also presented with a challenge to his accepted beliefs.
If you haven’t read Frank Miller’s Daredevil: Born Again it’s highly recommended.
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Easily one of the greatest comic book storylines of all time.