Daredevil 512 reaction post
SCREAM
First of all YES CARLOS IS STILL ALIVE. I really love Black Tarantula. I'm not entirely sure why. Maybe it's because he stuck with Matt but tried to keep him from going too far, maybe it's because he seems to have it together and know his own limits, maybe it's because he's got some really killer facial hair. I like to think it's not just because I appreciate seeing Latino characters in my favourite series, though I suspect that's part of it.
I love that Dakota immediately went to Night Nurse to look for him, too. I missed a lot of Daredevil leading up to Shadowland; did they have a thing? Because, um, while I totally dig them as friends, they seem to have some serious chemistry and I actually wouldn't mind if they got together. Am I actually shipping a het pairing? That doesn't already exist, I mean? This is weird.
The scene with Foggy was oh god painful and beautiful and everything I love about him. Even though his friends and partners are saying he should ditch Matt, even after everything Matt apparently did, Foggy still wants to stand up for him. "Don't you see? For once, Matt needed me." That's what I love about Foggy so much -- he's a civilian, he's human, he doesn't have superpowers or the know-how or desire to get out there and save the world with his fists. But he muddles through and does what he can and more and has such strength and loyalty. (Ultimate Hufflepuff, you guys.) He believes in Matt when almost no one else does.
And then there was the bit with Luke and Danny that I just really loved for how very them it was. Danny, too, hasn't given up on Matt -- in fact, this was a running theme in Shadowland. Even now, after it's all over, after everything, his first words to T'Challa (when he still thinks it's Matt) are "we know things got a little crazy, all right? But it's over now." Contrasted immediately with Luke's "Like hell it's over." Such a brilliantly written scene. Danny's also incredibly loyal to his friends, to the point of fault, whereas Luke's committed to telling it like it is and doesn't forgive or forget so easily. I really like that in both Danny's and Foggy's cases, there isn't an automatic answer if they're right. At the end, Matt admits that at the beginning, that was himself. He made the choice to kill Bullseye; he set everything in motion. He's not the only one to blame, and he was influenced, but never coerced until he was completely possessed, at the end. So should Foggy and Danny move on? Are Becky and Luke right about Matt?
On a more shippish note, I love the exchange when Danny and Luke spotted "Daredevil". "Holy--" "Go." Actually, the whole scene was great shipping fodder. The whole event for that matter. Marvel isn't doing much to dissuade me from shipping Matt with everyone, and particularly not with Danny (or Foggy for that matter).
I'm super excited for T'Challa's stint as Man Without Fear. I really love T'Challa. He's so concise. "It is [my turf] now. Spread the word." This should be a lot of fun. And T'Challa is less of a trauma magnet, so the title should be, while gritty, rather less full of manpain, which will also be a nice break.
I'd like to just take a moment to be excited about the narrative form here. I mean the whole issue is gorgeous, the art and colours are phenomenal, but the narrative form just takes the cake. It is such a perfect conclusion. We get loose ends to the plot wrapped up neatly, one by one, without spending any energy doing anything else but setting up the future in really organic ways. Slowly we begin to build a picture of what the future is gonna be. And then we get that last page with the supporting cast all wondering the same thing, that one thing we're waiting to find out, that thing that's gonna drive the future of the character and the Daredevil title --
Where are you, Matt Murdock?
No one knows, least of all Matt. He's been quite literally Put On A Bus, on the symbolic Road To Nowhere, and in the grand tradition of heroes who've lost their way, he's leaving his home to find himself. His jeans are frayed and his hair grown out; he's been on his way for a while. He gets off at a gas station in the middle of Nowhere, USA, though there's a town about ten minutes by bus away. He's been stripped down to the essentials. Daredevil's gone; he's just Matt Murdock, not an attorney at law, not a superhero, but also not a supervillain. He's alone. He's got the clothes on his back and the guilt on his shoulders, and he's out to find an answer. And there's no irony here. Neither he nor his cast nor the readers know where he's going.
And he leaves us with these last words before we part ways: They think I wasn't responsible for my own actions... But we all are, in the end. Just as we all have to answer for them.
[Text says: "Because that firs step over the line... That decision to take the life of a murderer and become one myself... That was all me. And everything that followed on from it -- the insanity, darkness, and death -- that's the burden I have to carry... Down a long and lonely road... paved with good intentions."
First of all YES CARLOS IS STILL ALIVE. I really love Black Tarantula. I'm not entirely sure why. Maybe it's because he stuck with Matt but tried to keep him from going too far, maybe it's because he seems to have it together and know his own limits, maybe it's because he's got some really killer facial hair. I like to think it's not just because I appreciate seeing Latino characters in my favourite series, though I suspect that's part of it.
I love that Dakota immediately went to Night Nurse to look for him, too. I missed a lot of Daredevil leading up to Shadowland; did they have a thing? Because, um, while I totally dig them as friends, they seem to have some serious chemistry and I actually wouldn't mind if they got together. Am I actually shipping a het pairing? That doesn't already exist, I mean? This is weird.
The scene with Foggy was oh god painful and beautiful and everything I love about him. Even though his friends and partners are saying he should ditch Matt, even after everything Matt apparently did, Foggy still wants to stand up for him. "Don't you see? For once, Matt needed me." That's what I love about Foggy so much -- he's a civilian, he's human, he doesn't have superpowers or the know-how or desire to get out there and save the world with his fists. But he muddles through and does what he can and more and has such strength and loyalty. (Ultimate Hufflepuff, you guys.) He believes in Matt when almost no one else does.
And then there was the bit with Luke and Danny that I just really loved for how very them it was. Danny, too, hasn't given up on Matt -- in fact, this was a running theme in Shadowland. Even now, after it's all over, after everything, his first words to T'Challa (when he still thinks it's Matt) are "we know things got a little crazy, all right? But it's over now." Contrasted immediately with Luke's "Like hell it's over." Such a brilliantly written scene. Danny's also incredibly loyal to his friends, to the point of fault, whereas Luke's committed to telling it like it is and doesn't forgive or forget so easily. I really like that in both Danny's and Foggy's cases, there isn't an automatic answer if they're right. At the end, Matt admits that at the beginning, that was himself. He made the choice to kill Bullseye; he set everything in motion. He's not the only one to blame, and he was influenced, but never coerced until he was completely possessed, at the end. So should Foggy and Danny move on? Are Becky and Luke right about Matt?
On a more shippish note, I love the exchange when Danny and Luke spotted "Daredevil". "Holy--" "Go." Actually, the whole scene was great shipping fodder. The whole event for that matter. Marvel isn't doing much to dissuade me from shipping Matt with everyone, and particularly not with Danny (or Foggy for that matter).
I'm super excited for T'Challa's stint as Man Without Fear. I really love T'Challa. He's so concise. "It is [my turf] now. Spread the word." This should be a lot of fun. And T'Challa is less of a trauma magnet, so the title should be, while gritty, rather less full of manpain, which will also be a nice break.
I'd like to just take a moment to be excited about the narrative form here. I mean the whole issue is gorgeous, the art and colours are phenomenal, but the narrative form just takes the cake. It is such a perfect conclusion. We get loose ends to the plot wrapped up neatly, one by one, without spending any energy doing anything else but setting up the future in really organic ways. Slowly we begin to build a picture of what the future is gonna be. And then we get that last page with the supporting cast all wondering the same thing, that one thing we're waiting to find out, that thing that's gonna drive the future of the character and the Daredevil title --
Where are you, Matt Murdock?
No one knows, least of all Matt. He's been quite literally Put On A Bus, on the symbolic Road To Nowhere, and in the grand tradition of heroes who've lost their way, he's leaving his home to find himself. His jeans are frayed and his hair grown out; he's been on his way for a while. He gets off at a gas station in the middle of Nowhere, USA, though there's a town about ten minutes by bus away. He's been stripped down to the essentials. Daredevil's gone; he's just Matt Murdock, not an attorney at law, not a superhero, but also not a supervillain. He's alone. He's got the clothes on his back and the guilt on his shoulders, and he's out to find an answer. And there's no irony here. Neither he nor his cast nor the readers know where he's going.
And he leaves us with these last words before we part ways: They think I wasn't responsible for my own actions... But we all are, in the end. Just as we all have to answer for them.
[Text says: "Because that firs step over the line... That decision to take the life of a murderer and become one myself... That was all me. And everything that followed on from it -- the insanity, darkness, and death -- that's the burden I have to carry... Down a long and lonely road... paved with good intentions."