"Without Fear" (part 2)
Writer: Ed Brubaker
Artist(s): Stefano Gaudiano, Michael Lark, Matt Hollingsworth (c)
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Matt Murdock can't catch a break. In the past few years he's been outed in the press, attacked by all of his worst enemies, thrown in jail, had his best friend "killed", and has been led on a wild goose chase around Europe by Vanessa Fisk. On returning home to Hell's Kitchen, he's had to deal with a newly-psychotic Gladiator, a vengeful Mr. Fear, the fallout of Civil War, and an emotionally fragile wife who is feeling increasingly sidelined by his superhero activities. Thankfully, though, Ed Brubaker doesn't look like he's going to let up on our hero just yet. This issue sees Daredevil & co. struggling to deal with the aftermath of last issue's cliffhanger, in which Milla Murdock pushed an innocent bystander under a train, apparently under the influence of one of Mr. Fear's mind-altering confections.
Matt responds to this most recent development in much the way you'd expect; with a sadness and concern which soon gives way to an angry frustration at Mr. Fear's manipulation of his life in such a pointedly personal attack. As in Bendis' run, Daredevil is shown as constantly tortured, and whilst it's obvious that Matt is always trying to do the right thing, he's forced into such impossible situations that he can't help but bend (or break) the law in order to accomplish his goals. This conflict is at the heart of the character, and this issue in particular shows how Daredevil can become so overwhelmed by emotion and a desire to fight back that he makes some very questionable choices. If you look at Matt's actions objectively, he's actually trying to mislead the legal system into securing the release of a woman who is still psychologically unbalanced and prone to violent outbursts, before going out into the world to beat up anyone he can find in order to discover the whereabouts of his enemy. However, the fact that Milla has been targeted because she is his wife has made Matt take personal responsibility for her condition, and Brubaker is careful to continually reinforce this connection so that we understand exactly why Daredevil is going to such extreme lengths to rectify the situation.
There are also some secondary story threads which are gradually being furthered as Milla's story plays out, the most notable of which is the identity of the man who was killed in an explosion at an apartment last issue. Brubaker addresses this plot point in this issue, and in doing so, he demonstrates why he's a good mystery writer: He doesn't let elements like this drag on past their natural lifespan, and never relies on one big showy moment of revelation to carry his developments, choosing instead to gradually pull back the layers of his story to reveal the truth. Here, we learn that the man in the apartment was definitely not Larry Cranston (as many readers suspected), but that he was the one man who could have offered Matt an antidote to Milla's condition. This smoothly ties the plot strand back into the overall fabric of the story in such a way that it never feels like a false mystery that has been included for its own sake: We're learning about Mr. Fear's plot along with Matt, and that helps the reader to empathize with the book's hero far more effectively than if we'd been let into the secret any earlier.
Although I was a little disappointed by last issue's lack of forward momentum in terms of the plot, this issue shows how all of the elements of Brubaker's build-up have been carefully placed in order to achieve the best possible cumulative effect. Mr. Fear's attack on Matt and manipulation of Milla puts Daredevil under pressure from all angles, and the emotional content of last issue's character portrait pays off here in Matt's irascible mental state and extremely violent approach to finding his enemy. The plot also allows Brubaker to show Matt in his role as a lawyer, fighting for Milla's release. It's an element of the character which has been neglected in recent years but which has been resurrected over the course of the last couple of arcs, and it's good to see this kind of courtroom drama return to the pages of the book. Brubaker also nails the more emotional scenes, with some tender moments between Matt and Milla which are undermined by a joke from Matt which is uncomfortably close to the truth ("And you thought there was no upside to being married to me"). It builds on aspects of the characters which have been bubbling under for some issues now, and helps to remind us of the complexities of the pair's relationship without beating us over the head with more obvious and direct dialogue.
Art-wise, Stefano Gaudiano and Michael Lark continue their strong brand of visual storytelling, enhancing Brubaker's writing at every turn. Not only is their storytelling clear from panel-to-panel, but there's also a sense that they really understand the tone that their writer is aiming for, and bring exactly the right atmosphere to each scene. An example of this is the great sequence in which Matt breaks into her prison in order to teach Milla meditation techniques, in the hope that it will help her to pass her psychological evaluation. It absolutely conveys the high emotion of the scene without overplaying it, never romanticizing the look of the characters or shying away from the cold, harsh details of Milla's prison cell, but giving the pair a palpable sense of tenderness and closeness through their body language and comfortable interactions. There's a real eye for detail in the subtleties of individual characters, too, particularly the possessed look of Milla in her hospital bed, and the disheveled, unshaven appearance of Matt as he gets closer and closer to the end of his tether.
There are some great action sequences here too, with both writer and artists evoking Frank Miller in the bookend sequences which show Matt waging war on the Hell's Kitchen underground in an attempt to track down Mr. Fear. There's even an appearance from Turk! This feels more like the pulp noir superheroics of the 1980s-era Daredevil than Bendis' run, but Brubaker, Lark and Gaudiano are smart enough to never consciously ape Miller's style too closely, allowing their story to feel more like a reprise of the spirit of that era than an overly reverential homage. Colorist Matt Hollingsworth is a boon for the title, too, subtly emphasizing the moments when Milla loses control with deeper hues, and giving the exterior scenes a suitably drab and dour colour scheme which enhances the realism of the gritty Hell's Kitchen environment. Finally, Marko Djurdjevic's cover is a fine piece of artwork which conveys Matt's tenacity as he struggles against his enemies, distilling the essence of the character into a single, dramatic image.
The development of the final page of this issue is pretty difficult to discuss without getting into specifics, so don't read any further if you want to go into the book unspoiled.
As it turns out, the mystery new crime boss that Turk is referring to in the first few pages of the book is The Hood, a Kingpin wannabe who has recently been seen assembling a group of C-list villains in the pages of Brian Bendis' New Avengers. Whilst I'm surprised to see Brubaker pick up on this development so quickly (The Hood has only just been introduced to Bendis' book, after all), I'm actually quite keen to see what he does with the character. The plot elements that are being drawn from New Avengers actually seem far more suited to a street-level crime book than an all-star Avengers title, and as such I'm confident that Brubaker will be able to make it work well with his vision for Daredevil, rather than it feeling like a forced development.
"Without Fear" has all the elements of a classic Daredevil story arc without feeling too derivative or simply repeating what has gone before. It's a fun ride that I really can't fault, aside from the occasional sense that the pace is a little too considered. However, it's almost certain that Brubaker's careful, deliberate construction of the story will be worth waiting for, and my desire for the book to move a more quickly is probably just indicative of my wish to read the next chapter as soon as possible. Turk's portentous comment that "You don't push Murdock too far" hints at an even more tense and exciting developments to come, and I can't wait to see what Brubaker has in store for us next.
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