Daredevil 501
“The Devil’s Hand”
Publisher: Marvel
Published: Oct. 2009
Writer: Andy Diggle
Art: Roberto De La Torre
Colors: Matt Hollingsworth
Letters: Joe Caramagna
Cover: Esad Ribic

Synopsis

A guilt-wracked Daredevil takes control of the Hand, even while sacrificing his sensei Master Izo to do so.

What’s going on here?

Daredevil 501 marks a new beginning of sorts for the book, with the new creative team of Diggle and De La Torre taking over after a long run by Ed Brubaker and Michael Lark. At this point, Matt Murdock has descended even further (or further than usual) into obsessive introspection and despair, and takes the radical step of assuming control of the Hand, a band of ninjas, to protect Hell’s Kitchen from his enemies.

What I liked

It’s a little hard to make too many judgments in the first issue for a new creative team. They are obviously leaning hard into many of Daredevil’s established elements, but having Matt take over the Hand is at least new twist. De La Torre’s art is stunning — reminiscent of Alex Maleev’s work on DD but with more dynamism.

What I didn’t like

Frank Miller’s Daredevil run of the late 1970s and early 80s casts such a long shadow that for decades, DD writers and artists seemed unable to escape it. Diggle and De La Torre are no exception, and have have plundered the Miller toybox for all his plot devices. Ninjas? Check. Crusty old sensei? Check. Matt on the verge of a breakdown? Check. Catholic guilt? Check. Foggy, Becky, Kingpin and Turk? Check check, check and check. It’s like they’re playing Daredevil bingo and got the winning card.

Again, it’s the first issue of their run—and one I barely remember—so maybe I’m being hard but it feels awfully derivative of lots of other Daredevil runs. He’s such a great character and it’s unfortunate that so many creators seem trapped in the same story lines.

Overall

A lukewarm re-hash of familiar material.