“The Murdock Papers: Part 6”
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Artists: Alex Maleev, Dave Stewart (colours)
This issue marks the end of Bendis and Maleev’s epic run on Daredevil, and whilst I wish I could say it goes out on an all-time high, it at least offers up something of a resolution to the story of Matt’s out-ing in the press which has plagued him for the majority of the team’s four-year mega-arc. Bendis has been in danger of losing direction ever since he had Matt declare himself Kingpin of Hell’s Kitchen, as – whilst this twist offered up some interesting story possibilities which were explored directly afterwards – subsequent arcs have had the feeling of treading water without as strong a sense of story as you’d expect from such a revered writer. Thankfully, “The Murdock Papers” has seen Bendis return to the kind of dense plotting and complex webs of character relationships which characterised his earlier work on the title, and it provides a fitting end to his Daredevil oeuvre, even if it isn’t as conclusive or defining as I might have expected.
Our hero was left in a pretty dire situation last month, exposed as Daredevil once and for all, and awaiting trial after being captured by the FBI. Yet for all the undeniable good that Matt has done as a superhero, Bendis is careful not to paint him as a sympathetic victim of circumstance. A central thread of the writer’s approach to Matt’s outing has been the character’s continuous – and morally ambiguous - denial of his dual identity, and as the stakes have grown higher and higher, we’ve seen the potential consequences of Matt’s inevitable downfall grow more and more serious. I’m reminded of the line from Withnail & I: “If you were hanging on to a rising balloon, you're presented with a difficult decision... let go before it's too late? Or hang on and keep getting higher? Posing the question, how long can you keep a grip on the rope?” Here, Marvel shows commendable conviction in allowing Bendis to follow this idea through to its logical conclusion, and although I was slightly disappointed that this issue didn’t tie off as many of the writer’s loose ends as it could have done, or provide an iconic finale to the team’s run, it’s the most organic and natural way to allow their story to end. I’ll be interested to see if the powers-that-be choose to link this story up to Marvel’s big Civil War summer event, because - taken as a whole - it’s one of the most realistic treatments of the problems that can be caused by a hero’s dual identity that I’ve ever read, but I’ll be even more interested to see what kind of approach the new creative team which starts on the book next month choose to bring to the new status quo.
Bendis devotes a fairly substantial chunk of this issue to a fantasy sequence which presents Matt fleeing the courtroom and, with the aid of his superhero buddies, leaving America to build a new life complete with a false identity and an erased past. On a first reading, the revelation that this “ending” is entirely in Matt’s head seems like a cheap trick and a waste of valuable space in Bendis’ final issue, but once you see its context in the finished issue, it actually makes far more sense as a storytelling tool. Matt’s daydream is symbolic of his reaction to his out-ing ever since the press got hold of his story, but it also gives Bendis the chance to explore the alternative possibilities which were open to him in ending his run. Although it’s an exciting and in many ways more fitting solution to Matt’s predicament, it’s also far more predictable and cliché (even to the point of having Bullseye show up to kill yet another of Matt’s girlfriends, and having Matt seek solace in Elektra yet again). As such, Bendis makes a strong case for his actual ending as an original and somewhat daring step in a new direction, which doesn’t offer up the kind of simple status-quo-resetting solution you’d find in the character’s Silver Age adventures but instead pushes the hero in a radical new direction.
Alex Maleev serves up a great finish to his artistic run on the book with this issue, proving again that he’s one of the most relentlessly self-improving artists working in mainstream comics today. Comparing his work here with his Daredevil debut in issue #26 shows just how far he has come, with subtleties now evident in his work which were simply not there a few years ago, and with a much-honed grasp of character nuances, facial expressions and action sequences. He’s managed to get out of the trap of stiff body language and repetitive facial expressions that his techniques provided in the run’s early years, and he proves a solid collaborator to hit all the right emotional notes that Bendis is aiming for in this final issue. His illustrations during the fantasy sequence are suitably optimistic and bright, before descending into the dark, shadowy urban sections of the issue which mark the metaphorical fall back down to earth for Matt. The issue’s closing sections drip with atmosphere and foreboding, setting up a real shift in tone for the next creative team, and I’ll be very interested to see how he parlays his skills into the new Bendis-penned Spider-Woman ongoing series. It would also be remiss not to note the hugely significant contribution of colourist Dave Stewart here, who enriches every page with his well-judged tones. I was particularly pleased to see Bendis pick out Stewart and previous colourist Matt Hollingsworth for particular praise in his essay which closes the issue, as they have both been integral to the success of the title’s art.
Despite some of my reservations about this relatively inconclusive and low-key ending for such an epic run, I’ll admit to being fairly intrigued by the situation Matt is left in at the issue’s end. It leaves Daredevil in an environment which holds a lot of storytelling promise, and would have come as a fairly groundbreaking and surprising move if it hadn’t been spoiled by advance Marvel solicitations. I’d like to say that it’s a ballsy move, but we’ll only really see if it’s a worthy idea when Ed Brubaker and Michael Lark take over to title in a month’s time. It could be seen as canny marketing on Marvel’s part, as it makes any readers who have got into Daredevil through Bendis’ run more likely to stick around and see how Brubaker follows him. But that said, I’m willing to give the publisher the benefit of the doubt on their decision to interlink the two teams’ stints on the book so integrally, as it’s nice to see a transition between two writers which is as smoothly-planned as this one seems to have been. Recent arcs might have seen the bloom come off the rose of Bendis’ Daredevil run, but it can’t be denied that he and Alex Maleev have made the character their own over the past few years. In doing so, they may have ignored some key elements (Matt the lawyer has only rarely been seen in action, and the character’s enhanced senses are only intermittently referenced) but they have played up the pulp-ish, noir-ish sensibilities that make the character stand out above the four-colour Marvel pack. I hope Brubaker and Lark can do the same.
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