Book Review: Daredevil: Back in Black Vol. 8 by C. Soule et al.

Daredevil: Back in Black Volume 8: The Death of Daredevil written by Charles Soule and art by Phil Noto

Daredevil is back on the anti-mayoral crusade, trying to take down Wilson Fiske who is New York City's mayor. He has an added complication--one of his super-powered friends accidentally created Mike Murdock, Matt's fictional twin brother that he used long ago to deflect attention from himself. Mike has a weird combination of motivations that creates a lot of drama for Daredevil and the few allies he has in his legal fight against Kingpin.

The story has a lot of out-of-left-field elements, including the ending which only sort-of delivers on the title. A new villain is introduced whose identity turns out to be really weird. I found a lot of the elements of the story unsatisfactory. Oh well, this is the end of Charles Soule's run on Daredevil. Overall, there's been more good than bad in the series and the Disney reboot is using an earlier villain that Soule created, so this narrative has left its mark in a good way.

Mildly recommended--it wraps up the series.

Book Review: Hunt for Wolverine: Weapon Lost and The Adamantium Agenda by C. Soule et al.

Hunt for Wolverine: Weapon Lost written by Charles Soule, art by David Marquez, Paulo Siqueira, and Matteo Buffagni

Wolverine died encased in adamantium (the same metal that makes his bones unbreakable). The X-men had set up a cabin in remote Canada with his remains. A group of desperate villains, the Reavers, find the location and try to steal the encased corpse. The X-men had set up some security and arrive to stop the desecration of Wolverine's grave. The Reavers try to get a little bit DNA so they have something to sell, only to discover the adamantium covering is only a shell--there's no body inside. The X-men had moved his corpse to a grave not far away. When they go to visit the real burial place after the fight, the X-men discover Wolverine's body is gone. Realizing this is a perilous situation, Kitty Pryde organizes several teams to search of the missing body.

One team is headed by Daredevil, who likes a good mystery. He recruits Misty Knight, an ex-cop from New York City with a cybernetic arm, and Frank Magee, an ex-detective from NYC who became an Inhuman when the city got dosed with Terrigen Mist. They start chasing down leads with the help of Cypher, a mutant who can communicate in any language and is addicted to the internet. Cypher finds a lot of online leads about Wolverine's whereabouts, too many for the team to investigate. They start narrowing the list and following up on the most likely leads.

The overall story has an interesting set-up and is spun out over several different series following the various teams (one lead by Iron-man, one by Kitty Pryde). The Weapon Lost story is deliberately noirish in style and provides an interesting investigation. The story is not fully resolved, so I will probably read the other series.

Mildly recommended--this is the middle of a larger narrative arc. I read this before I read Death of Wolverine, so the whole "encased in adamantium" fate was new to me. But I found it intriguing enough to keep going.

Hunt for Wolverine: The Adamantium Agenda written by Charles Soule and Tom Taylor, art by David Marquez, Paulo Siqueira, and R. B. Silva

The team in this book is headed by Tony Stark, aka Iron Man. His investigative group is Spider-man, Luke Cage, and Jessica Jones. Why those three? A couple of years ago, Tony and those three worked with Wolverine to stop a bomb from destroying Manhattan. Wolverine had made a mysterious deal with  all of them that brings them back together to search for Logan. Tony finds out about a black-market auction that promises the complete DNA of someone from the superhero community. Has the black marketeer has acquired Wolverine's body to monetize it? The group goes off on an adventure to find the sale and bring the seller to justice, hopefully finding out the fate of Wolverine along the way.

The mysterious backstory provides intrigue for readers and motivation for the main characters. I found the tale interesting even though it is not entirely conclusive.

Mildly recommended--this is stronger than the above tale.

Book Review: Daredevil: Back in Black Vol. 7 by C. Soule et al.

Daredevil: Back in Black Volume 7: Mayor Murdock written by Charles Soule, art by Mike Henderson, and color by Matt Milla

The Hand attacks New York City left and right, including shooting a million arrows into Mayor Wilson Fisk.Through a legal fluke Matt Murdock is now the mayor. At the time of the mayoral attack, Matt is fighting as Daredevil and has landed in police custody. He manages to get out of that and into City Hall. He starts directing the civic response as he also tries to participate in the street fighting. Matt calls on Foggy Nelson to be his chief of staff, freeing himself for more time on the street. The Hand's boss, The Beast, is in the city for a specific purpose. As a bonus, the chaos feeds its desire for fear and panic. The story makes a bunch of twists and turns, some very outlandish, as it makes its way to a happy-ish ending.

Unfortunately, some of the surprises are completely out of left field and come off like Deus Ex Machina stuff. I laughed at the more preposterous moments but I am not sure I was supposed to. After the dramatic build up, the creators had a hard time bringing things back down to the status quo. I was less impressed with this volume than the previous ones but will still go on.

Mildly recommended.

Book Review: Daredevil: Back in Black Vol. 6 by C. Soule et al.

Daredevil: Back in Black Volume 6: Mayor Fisk written by Charles Soule, art by Stefano Landini and Ron Garney, and color by Matt Milla

Having returned to New York from an extended Asian adventure, Matt Murdock discovers that Wilson Fisk, the very villain named "Kingpin," has become the mayor of New York City. If that wasn't bad enough, Fisk asks Murdock to be his deputy mayor! Of course he buries Murdock in paperwork, having an aide read out all of the previous administration's policies and procedures (many volumes!). If that wasn't bad enough, the serial killer Muse escapes from prison and returns to Manhattan. Of course he starts doing his "art" again, often using human remains for his creations. He makes a lot of murals of New York superheroes (Spider-man, The Punisher, Iron Fist, Daredevil, etc.). These displays enrage Fisk who wants both to confirm his legitimacy and to suppress the vigilantes in the city. Blindspot has come back from China and has some dealings with Daredevil, though he really wants to kill Muse in revenge. Matt has a huge balancing act--is it beyond his capacities?

The developments in the plot are very interesting. Half the people wonder why Murdock doesn't just kill Fisk and become mayor. The succession doesn't work that way, and Daredevil does not work that way either. Murdock wants to shift Fisk's policies or at least have an inside ear (remember his superior hearing?) on Fisk's plans. The political intrigues do a good job setting up narrative tension and some fight scenes. Two big twists come at the end making me ready for the next volume.

Recommended, highly for Daredevil fans.

Book Review: Daredevil: Back in Black Vol. 5 by C. Soule et al.

Daredevil: Back in Black Volume 5: Supreme written by C. Soule and art by Goran Sudzuka, Alec Morgan, and Ron Garney

This volume has two stories in it. The first, the titular "Supreme," has Matt Murdock arguing his way up the legal system to allow for the testimony of masked superheroes without revealing their secret identities. He starts off by setting up a case where Daredevil can testify on behalf of the prosecution against some small-time New York thugs. The plot has a couple of actions scenes so the tension isn't completely on the legal arguments. While the characters are on board with the plan, it's not really clear that success will make a sea-change for the superhero community or the criminal community. Will criminals be more worried if the superheroes capturing them can also testify against them in court? If heroes get tied up testifying in legal cases, will that cut down on saving the world?

The second story follows up on the fate of Blindspot, the new apprentice to Daredevil from previous volumes. Blindspot's mother took him back to China deep in the mainland. Daredevil gets a message from Blindspot asking him to come, it's an emergency. Sure sounds like a trap, but Matt Murdock travels there anyway, discovering a secret, fog-enshrouded temple in the middle of a Chinese jungle. The story makes some interesting turns. It also resolves the situation (Blindspot's fate and Matt's guilt over what happened) that has been hanging for quite a while.

Daredevil is in China for a long time. On his arrival back, he discovers that Wilson Fisk, aka Kingpin, has been elected Mayor of New York City! That's just a tease for the next storyline.

Mildly recommended--the good art and action make up for the implausibility.

Book Review: Daredevil: Back in Black Vol. 4 by C. Soule et al.

Daredevil: Back in Black Volume 4: Identity written by Charles Soule and art by Goran Sudzuka, Ron Garney, and Marc Laming

Daredevil goes to confession in New York City, providing the chance to tell the backstory of how his secret identity returned to secrecy. First he tells the priest of his integrated life, that is, people knowing that Matt Murdock is Daredevil. He had some benefits but there were a lot of drawbacks. People assumed his Daredevil antics were done to pad out the Matt Murdock autobiography that was coming out. His Daredevil activities were frowned upon by his fellow lawyers and caused a lot of conflict of interests in court. He managed to find a girl who loved him and they were great together, but the celebrity lifestyle was hard on both of them. The biggest problem was he didn't know exactly who he was anymore. Combining the two separate lives was hard and confusing. He moved to San Francisco and eventually had to fight The Purple Man, who wants to take over the world for his own amusement, this time by making people do what is the worst thing they could possibly do. He gets control of Daredevil and asks him, which causes a lot of reflection on Daredevil's part before he can answer.

Despite having some fundamental misconceptions about the sacrament of Confession, the story presents the backstory in an interesting way while still sorting out current issues. Matt Murdock has plenty of guilt over the injuries his protege Blindspot received at the hands of Muse, a psychotic artist. Here, Matt's given an opportunity to reflect on the situation and come to a better place, setting up a new story arc for the next volume. 

Mildly recommended--I'll keep going but I am getting less interested.

Book Review: Daredevil: Back in Black Vol. 3 by C. Soule et al.

Daredevil: Back in Black Volume 3: Dark Art written by Charles Soule, art by Ron Garney, and color art by Matt Milla

Daredevil and his new sidekick (of sorts) Blindspot face off against a new threat--a killer who has painted a huge mural in human blood. The blood comes from over a hundred different people, one of whom is the missing niece of a city councilwoman. She pulls strings to get lawyer Matt Murdock to shut down the profiteering owner of the building where the blood mural is located. He's selling ten-dollar tickets to a willing public. Daredevil and Blindspot (who has a day job with Matt at the DA's office) have to put in a lot of overtime to work both sides of the case.

The new artist villain is an interesting twist on the usual superhero bad guy. He spouts off a lot about his importance and his works (other items show up besides the blood mural). Some of the images are a bit grim but follow the generally darker tone of Daredevil. This isn't for kids but I liked it.

Recommended.

Book Review: Daredevil: Back in Black Vol. 2 by C. Soule et al.

Daredevil: Back in Black Volume 2: Supersonic written by Charles Soule and art by Matteo Buffagni, Goran Sudzuka, and Vanesa R. Del Rey

Elektra comes hunting for Daredevil with an outlandish claim--her child has gone missing and she thinks Daredevil is behind the mystery. Daredevil knows nothing about Elektra having a child though the age she is claiming would make it possible that he's the father. The situation is tough to sort out when the aggrieved party is throwing knives and punches as quickly and as skillfully as possible. In the next story, Matt travels incognito to Macau and participates in a Texas Hold'em tournament, though it's more of a way to get in to a high-security hotel to get highly valuable information. Spider-man has come along for the job, providing his usual banter and advice (especially about having a "black supersuit" period). In the third story, the deaf hero Echo goes to a concert where all the fans go nuts...because they are being controlled by Klaw, a former human who is now living sound and trying to convert all of Manhattan into people like him. Echo gets Daredevil to help with the situation.

All three stories are interesting but the Macau one is the best written and most entertaining. The others are good, but not as good. Soule does a great job with Matt's character and his abilities, including his lack of abilities. If you thought, "How can a blind guy play poker?", you are not alone. They make it interesting and manage to get a little character nuance out of the situation. The Elektra story is less convincing but the art is really good, with a noir-ish use of minimal colors and high contrasts. The music story tries to throw in a lot of visuals that represent the music but it makes the images more chaotic. The effort was good but the results were underwhelming.

Recommended overall.

Book Review: Daredevil: Back in Black Vol. 1 by C. Soule et al.

Daredevil, Back in Black Volume 1: Chinatown written by Charles Soule and illustrated by Ron Garney

Matt Murdock did some deal so no one remembers that he is Daredevil except for Foggy Nelson. Matt's returned from California and is fighting crime in Hell's Kitchen as Daredevil (in a black suit), so that's normal. In the unusual category: his outfit is black with red highlights, he is training an assistant named Blindspot (an illegal immigrant who wants to fight crime in his neighborhood--Chinatown), and Matt has taken a job in New York City's District Attorney office. New trouble has arisen in Chinatown. A preacher named TenFingers is gathering the illegal immigrants and promising them safety in his flock. TenFingers does indeed have ten fingers...on each hand! And he's trained some of his higher disciples to fight, so he is serious about protecting people. But he does also have a villainous agenda. Daredevil and Blindspot fight his gang at night while Matt prosecutes him by day. What could go wrong?

The story has a definite noir vibe. The art is often black and white or only a few colors with some stylized visuals, especially in the fight scenes. The tone works well for the story, which is more about the backstreets of New York and the smaller but just as important battle against evil that happens on the local stage, not the world stage. Daredevil has a lot of moral conflict--about having a sidekick/apprentice, about deceiving everyone, about living a double life that is so hard to manage. Blindspot makes an interesting parallel and contrast for Daredevil's life and problems. He's a new character (though there have been other characters named Blindspot in Marvel's history) and has enough distinctness that he's not just another version of a similar superhero.

The writing and art are very sharp and enjoyable, getting a good Daredevil story going. I hope it continues.

Recommended, highly for Daredevil fans. 

Book Review: Daredevil: Born Again by F. Miller et al.

Daredevil: Born Again written by Frank Miller and art by David Mazzucchelli and Dennis Janke

Karen Page, former secretary and lover to Matt Murdock, is down and out in Mexico. After breaking up with Matt, she tried to make it big in movies. She became a junkie and, in order to get one more fix, she reveals Matt's secret identity as Daredevil. Information goes up the underworld chain and gets to Wilson Fisk, The Kingpin. He takes everything away from Matt--his job, his bank account, his home, etc. Matt's already somewhat mentally unstable. He goes over the edge, alienating his few friends and making bad decisions. He claws his way back out of the pit in a gritty tale of conflict and corruption.

The story is written by Frank Miller, of Sin City and 300 fame, and has a hard edge that is not what you would expect from a 1980s comic book. The recent Daredevil television show borrowed a lot of elements from this storyline. The writing is so good, it's no surprise. Matt goes through a lot in a convincing and heart-breaking way, making his ultimate redemption all the better. This is a solid drama with lots of action.

Highly recommended.

Book Review: Daredevil Vol. 7 by M. Waid et al.

Daredevil Volume 7 written by Mark Waid and illustrated by Chris Samnee, Jason Copland, and Javier Rodriguez

See the previous volume here.

Matt Murdock continues to deal with Foggy's cancer and his ex-girlfriend being Foggy's replacement. Daredevil faces some problems too. He's fighting the Sons of the Serpent, a white supremacist group that's creating anarchy in Manhattan with fake media messages. The media problem is caused by the Jester, a third-level villain whose been trouble for Spider-man and Daredevil in the past. Dealing with the Jester isn't nearly so difficult as another issue Daredevil uncovers. The Sons of the Serpents have some sort of occult connection involving an ancient spellbook called "The Darkhold." Dr. Strange sets Daredevil on the right path, leading to a rural town where he has to fight with (and eventually team up with) a group of classic horror characters--a Frankenstein's monster, a werewolf, a mummy, and the daughter of the Devil. She's a bit mad about Daredevil being a poser for her dad. After he gets what he needs, he heads back to New York.

This story arc was the end of Waid's run on Daredevil. All the speechifying was over-the-top and led to some dramatically unbelievable moments, but Waid was able to keep his fun style going. The bit with the horror monsters was the best part though the connection to the bad guys was very slim. The art shifted in the last couple of issues, resulting in Dr. Strange looking like a different person! So that was a little distracting.

Slightly recommended--if you've made it to Volume 6, you might as well finish it off. You will be satisfied but not wowed.

Book Review: Daredevil Vol. 6 by M. Waid et al.

Daredevil Volume 6 written by Mark Waid and art by Javier Rodriguez, Chris Samnee, and Matteo Scalera

Matt Murdock gets a new law partner to help with the caseload while Foggy Nelson is in the hospital with cancer. He also gets a new client, a childhood bully who gave Daredevil his name by teasing the young, sighted Matt for being bookish and non-confrontational. The bully has had a less than legal lifestyle but his latest arrest was a false arrest. Matt still has lots of negative feelings about the bully but decides to defend him anyway because a false arrest is an injustice, regardless of how crummy the person is. Turns out there's a lot more going on when they get to the courtroom and Daredevil has to fight his way out.

The book also has a minor adventure with the Silver Surfer and then a longer adventure with the Hulk. Matt Murdock is Bruce Banner's lawyer. And also his failsafe since Bruce made a deal with S.H.I.E.L.D.--they provide him with a high-tech lab, he provides them with Hulk muscle on missions. One mission takes out a shipment of high-tech weapons headed to a villain in New York City. One of the bad guys slips out, forcing Hulk and Daredevil to work together to hunt down the one missing gun. The story was so-so. 

Mildly recommended. The series has only one more volume, so I'll finish it off.

Book Review: Daredevil Vol. 5 by M. Waid et al.

Daredevil Volume 5 written by Mark Waid and art by Chris Samnee

The foes from the last couple of volumes are being organized by some mysterious figure who is ready to start the next (and probably final) round. That problem takes a back seat when Matt Murdock's best friend, Foggy Nelson, reveals a big secret. Foggy's got cancer, or at least that's what the doctor's think. Matt needs to step up as a friend just as the mastermind enemy starts his final plan to eliminate Daredevil.

The story does a good job going between the action and the drama and ends mostly satisfactorily. The action works well and Daredevil's character develops some uncharacteristic fear. As with most heroes, his fear is for his friends' safety, not so much for himself.

Recommended.

Book Review: Daredevil Vol. 4 by M. Waid et al.

Daredevil Volume 4 written by Mark Waid and art by Chris Samnee and Michael Allred

The Avengers perform some invasive surgery on Matt Murdock's brain after Doctor Doom filled it full of nanobots trying to steal Daredevil's sonar power. The surgery is mostly successful. Matt still has some troubles, especially when he starts hallucinating. His law partner, Foggy Nelson, has had it with Matt's instability and breaks up the legal team. Daredevil goes off the deep end as he faces a new villain, the Coyote. Coyote has been knocking off a lot of drug lord in New York City in gruesome and unlikely ways. Their confrontation resolves some problems for Matt but makes others worse.

The story takes a dark swerve away from the light-hearted swashbuckling in previous volumes. Matt deals with more personal demons and more horrible happenings. The ending itself is a bit of a downer for the Man without Fear. Still, I want to find out what happens, so I will keep reading!

Recommended.

Book Review: Daredevil Vol. 3 by M. Waid et al.

Daredevil Volume 3 written by Mark Waid and Greg Rucka, art by Marco Checchetto, Chris Samnee, Khoi Pham, and Tom Palmer

Daredevil has the same problem as last volume--the Omega Drive. It's a piece of Fantastic Four tech that stores information on five different super criminal organizations. After defeating Black Spectre (one of the organizations), he's now on a mission to keep it out of any wrong hands. That includes Frank Castle's hands. Frank is The Punisher. He'd love to use the information to cause mayhem and destruction for organized crime. Daredevil thinks that will involve too much collateral damage, so he teams up with Spider-man to keep Castle in check as the three try to destroy the drive, hopefully in public where all the bad guys will realize it's gone and stop hounding Daredevil. Plans don't go according to plan. Other plots are tried, though they are interrupted when Doctor Doom abducts Daredevil for his own nefarious purposes.

This story continues to entertain and be creative. The plans to get rid of the drive are interesting. At first, the Doctor Doom stuff seems shoehorned in. As that story develops, it makes a little more sense. The art is a bit uneven since the story was spread over different comics. The volume includes issues of Avenging Spider-man and The Punisher. It was one of those crossover stories--the bonus materials in the back show how the three different issue covers are put together to make one big picture. The characters look a little different in the different issues, a fact I found distracting. Still, the story is solid and I am ready for more.

Recommended.

Book Review: Daredevil Vol. 2 by M. Waid et al.

Daredevil Volume 2 written by Mark Waid, art by Paolo Rivera, Joe Rivera, Emma Rios, Kano, and Khoi Pham

Daredevil winds up with a hard drive full of information on five different crime organizations: A.I.M., Hydra, Agence Byzantium, The Secret Empire, and Black Spectre. They naturally want it but any one individual organization would have great leverage over the other four. While they work out a deal to cooperate, Matt Murdock gets on with his life.

After a one-off adventure where Murdock saves and is saved by a bunch of kids on a winter bus trip, the action starts in full force. Spider-man comes by asking for legal help--his friend/former lover Black Cat is in trouble. She's a master thief and is accused of stealing some high tech equipment from the outfit where Peter Parker works. The slip-up that got her busted seems fake. Daredevil and Spider-man investigate, though they don't need to break Black Cat out of custody. She does just fine for herself. The three work together to figure out what's going on. 

Their adventure is cross-cut with a subterranean horror that Matt has to deal with--the cemetery where his father is buried has been graverobbed...from underneath! What sinister plan does the Mole Man have for the dozens of coffins his minions have stolen?

The stories are interested and Daredevil's new, more light-hearted characterization is fun. Matt attends a Christmas party with an "I'm not Daredevil" sweater, still trying to get out from under his identity being revealed. He doesn't find as much humor in situations as Spider-man does (but who can match Spidey in that department?), but he isn't mopey or conflicted like a lot modern superheroes. He still deals with serious issues without being glum.

Recommended.

Book Review: Daredevil Vol. 1 by M. Waid et al.

Daredevil Volume 1 written by Mark Waid, art by Paolo Rivera and Marcos Martin

In July 2011, Marvel Comics relaunched the Daredevil monthly with Mark Waid as writer. Waid was (and still is) a popular writer who had the challenge of picking up the story after a lot of dark stuff happened to the Man Without Fear, including being possessed by an actual demon and being outed as Matt Murdock, attorney-at-law. The actual demon problem is behind him, though Matt always carries some personal demons. The celebrity outing causes him problems in the courtroom--every other lawyer brings it up and causes the case to be about Murdock/Daredevil rather than the case at hand. He and his law partner, Foggy Nelson, come up with a fun plan to work around the problem. Most regular people have moved on to other celebrity scandals, so it's not too much of an issue otherwise, just an annoyance. He sees a lot of action as Daredevil, though the first couple of enemies are a little more outlandish and unbelievable, like an enemy made up of sound. Daredevil does come up with creative solutions and he's fairly upbeat and fun compared to his dark past. He crashes a mafia wedding, foiling an attempt to kidnap some and kissing the bride on his way out! Good thing the New York crime families don't buy into the Matt Murdock=Daredevil mathematics.

Recommended. I may try some more of this.

TV Review: Daredevil Season Two (2016)

Daredevil Season Two (2016) created by Drew Goddard based on characters by Stan Lee and Bill Everett

See the review of Season One here.

In the wake of Wilson Fisk's arrest and imprisonment, organized crime in New York, and especially in Hell's Kitchen, is not so organized. A fair number of major players were taken out and other, smaller gangs are trying to seize control. Someone had tried to put several gangs together with a drug deal in Central Park but that turned into a bloodbath. Among the innocent bystanders killed was the family of Frank Castle. Castle has gone on a one-man killing spree, but he's only targeting bad guys. With lethal force. Daredevil targets bad guys too but is no killer. That principle is put to the test when his old girlfriend Elektra shows up. She was a friend from college who has a dark and mysterious past that comes back to haunt everyone in the show.

This season has several intriguing plot lines. Castle is dubbed "The Punisher" by the media and he is definitely shown as Matt Murdock/Daredevil going too far in the vigilante business. The Punisher is, at worst, a very sympathetic villain--the show does a good job of keeping his status ambiguous, or at least letting viewers make up their own minds. Elektra is another murderous character whom Matt wants to reign in even though dealing with her makes his life more complicated. His old mentor Stick (played by Scott Glenn) shows up and he also pressures Matt into being a killer. Stick is back because another group of organized criminals, the Hand, has come to New York with their own nefarious agenda. The various threads interweave around Daredevil but never become confusing or convoluted, though occasional bits feel rushed.

The actors overall are very good, lending the right amount of gravity and humor to keep viewers engaged. The show suffers a bit from not having a clear villain. Matt has the typical trust issues with everyone so no one is ever fully in his camp, but they aren't fully opposed either. The ambiguity creates a certain level of tension, but not nearly as strong or as satisfying as the tension in season one with the clearly evil (though highly understandable) Wilson Fisk.

So this season is not as great as Season One but is well worth watching. Currently it is only available through Netflix streaming.

TV Review: Daredevil Season One

Daredevil Season One created by Drew Goddard based on the characters created by Stan Lee and Bill Everett

Matt Murdock had a tough childhood in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of New York City. His mom died when he was young; his dad was a boxer who never won that much and always needed patching up. If that wasn't bad enough, one day nine-year old Matt saves another person from an oncoming car and a truck involved in the accident spills some chemicals in his eyes, leaving him blind though his other senses became more acute. His dad's boxing career continued under the guidance of the Irish mob, eventually landing him in too much trouble. Matt became a orphan. He went to law school and returned to Hell's Kitchen to practice law with his college roommate Foggy Nelson. Being a lawyer isn't enough to stop some crimes or right some wrongs, so Matt dons a mask and fights crime at night with his heightened senses and the amazing combat skills he picked up along the way. Matt just wants what's best for Hell's Kitchen because he loves his neighborhood.

Wilson Fisk also had a tough childhood in Hell's Kitchen. His dad had political ambitions when Wilson was young and borrowed money from the mob to run for office, figuring he'd make enough in kickbacks and bribes to repay the debt (plus, he'd get respect from the neighbors). Things don't work out well and Wilson disappears, only to return as a crime boss trying to fix up Hell's Kitchen after the devastation that happened when the Avengers fought those aliens in the first Avengers movie. Wilson just wants what's best for Hell's Kitchen because he loves his neighborhood.

Naturally, the two men come into conflict more than once. Matt struggles to be a hero and keep the people he loves safe. Wilson struggles to stay in the shadows as he tries to redevelop the neighborhood for a brighter future. Their paths have interesting parallels that make the well-written drama even more compelling.

The drama is very heavy, easily earning its TV-MA rating with a variety of violence including death by decapitation twice, death by burning, death by multiple gun shot wounds several times. Plenty of menace, torture, and anticipated violence add to the oppressive atmosphere. This mood is balanced out with humor, especially from Matt's law partner Foggy Nelson who does an amazing job switching from comic relief to dramatic tension in several episodes. The rest of the supporting cast is equally good.

The other tricky balancing act the show does quite well is dealing with Matt Murdock's Catholic faith. He goes fairly regularly to consult a priest, sometimes in confession. Matt's conversations deal with the borderline between good and evil that he has a hard time discerning. The priest doesn't give him pat answers but engages him in a real dialogue about the issues and presents the Catholic faith accurately and sincerely. The priest isn't quite a mentor figure but is a sounding board and, again, helps to enhance the dramatic tension in Matt's story.

The show is a very satisfying dark action drama, though I wouldn't recommend it for children. In addition to the violence (and a lot of stitching up wounds after fights), there's a fair bit of drinking and some swearing. Two affairs go on during the show but are discreetly depicted; Foggy does go on and on about how blind Matt can tell who are pretty women and implies that he sleeps with a lot of them, though we viewers never see that.

As a write this, the show is only available through Netflix streaming service. It's worth signing up for a free month just to watch, in my opinion (just remember to cancel if you don't want to continue!).