Summary
- Despite a fresh start, Matt Murdock realizes he can’t escape his role as Daredevil and its higher duties.
- Daredevil’s allies have moved on, but Matt still can’t resist helping those in need, sacrificing his own happiness.
- Matt’s enhanced senses and desire to help others prevent him from finding peace, perpetuating the tragic cycle of his life as Daredevil.
Warning! Contains spoilers for Daredevil #14!A chance at a new life for Matt Murdock proves that there is no escaping the tragic, cumbersome role of Daredevil. Even with a fresh start, Marvel’s Man Without Fear discovers he can’t abandon the higher duties he was called for.
After an extremely trying period that saw Daredevil lose his faith in the justice system, Matt teamed up with his old flame Elektra Natchios. Together, they revived a secret clan known as the Fist to take down the evil Hand organization for good. Unfortunately, their work was secretly masterminded by the Fist’s devilish entity, the Wild, in an attempt to kill the Hand’s demonic monster, the Beast. Matt Murdock went to Hell to free the souls that had been taken by the Hand, and fought the Wild and the Beast, leaving his soul trapped in the afterlife.
In Daredevil #14 by Chip Zdarsky, Marco Checchetto, and Matt Wilson, it’s been six months since that battle in the underworld, and Daredevil’s allies have all moved on. Foggy Nelson and Cole North establish a new legal services business while Elektra keeps Matt’s beloved streets safe. As Elektra patrols Hell’s Kitchen, she spots a blind priest walking into a nearby church. She follows him inside and strikes up a conversation with him. Though the holy man is clearly Matt, he doesn’t recognize her. Elektra sees that Matt has finally found contentment in the life he has now and leaves him to his work. The priest leaves the church just as a mugging occurs in a nearby alley. Matt’s senses kick into overdrive and his heart starts pounding rapidly. Saying nothing, Matt grips his a club heads into the alley to stop the attack.
This shouldn’t come as a surprise to most fans as the recent Zdarsky and Checchetto run of Daredevil implied over and over again that Matt will never be at peace, and this final scene really drives home why that’s the case. An average person could just call the authorities and move on if someone was in danger. But Matt has enhanced senses, specialized training and the intense desire to help others and he’s always going to do just that. Even when he’s finally been given a chance to leave everything behind and find some semblance of peace, Daredevil is never going to not help because it completely goes against who he is.
Daredevil is Always Going to Choose Others Over His Own Happiness
It’s tragic to see Daredevil squander a shot at contentment, but it’s honestly perfectly in line with Matt’s character. His senses are always going to pick up the sounds of people in trouble and his faith is always going to compel him to help. It’s not that Matt Murdock doesn’t want peace or that he feels he doesn’t deserve it. He just can’t ignore the cries of those in need when he knows he can stop it. Even when life hands him a new beginning, Matt can’t break the tragic cycle he’s trapped in because helping people at the cost of his own happiness is a core part of who Daredevil is. Fans can see Matt embrace the tragic cycle once more in Daredevil #14, on sale now.
