run Devil run

so where were we? okay, Daredevil's career is on the upswing, Matt and Foggy are raking money and still keeping it clean, and the Kingpin's blind. Matt just needs a broad, and everything's peachy.

well, not so fast ...

"Underboss"
v2, #26-31
Brian Michael Bendis/Alex Maleev

with that Leap-Frog thing still fresh on the readers' minds, they were unprepared for the sledgehammer blow that Bendis hit them with in the beginning of 2002. "Underboss", a six-part tornado that took Daredevil where it is today, at least in tone, with a huge nod to yesterday (hello, Frank Miller), heralded the arrival of Bendis to the mainstream (at least to casual fans). not to mention enabling him to win two Eisner writing awards (plus Continuing Series honors with Alex Maleev the next year.

did i mention the series opens with the Kingpin being stabbed by his underlings, a-la Julius Caesar on the steps of the forum (you mean he wasn't killed by Asterix?)? i actually have a better reference: the death of Admiral Bill Adama in American Me. well, if that doesn't grab your attention, you're either not a comic fan, or dead. i know, we've seen Wilson Fisk 'die' a million times, and what's another one? but it does merit an "oh, shit!", with the way Bendis does his pacing, interspersed with flashbacks. by the way, there is a secret revealed here ... i won't tell you where ... Fisk's middle name is Theodore. that's why out of earshot, his flunkies derisively refer to him as WTF.

WTF!?!

before this happens, Matt is stunned (literally and figuratively) that his public persona has suddenly been targeted by his alter ego's rogues gallery - starting with Nitro, greeting him with a spectacular blast outside the NY courthouses. and it wasn't even a Monday.

Nitro: "today, New York; tomorrow ... Stamford, CN!"

despite his senses getting out of whack, he manages to capture Nitro (as to how he got free and was able to cause Civil War, ranks high among the failures of the justice system - Alberto Gonzales probably pardoned him!). aside from that, Bendis already sows the seeds of the 2006 crossover by showing the POV of two cops dispatched to the scene - particularly one who questions the authority and authenticity of any caped crusader. he may be stupid, but he does make a valid point, one that Tony Stark bases his argument later on.

wait, let me write a few words about the Bulgarian sensation, Alex Maleev. the guy's work epitomizes gritty, i almost thought i felt dirt and grime when i touched the screen (or the page, depending on which side of copyright issue are you on). almost gives me hope that even a scrub like me could be something if i turned in my non-existent portfolio and attended the Joe Kubert School. almost.

Bendis lets Maleev do the talking in issue #28, the infamous "Silent Issue". DD gets a warning from Elektra, gets ambushed by a couple more of his enemies (with full 'fight club' sequences), and barely misses Bullseye hanging around the crowd. all these without one word or thought balloon. take that, Kevin Smith and Chris Claremont.

these events were sent into motion by the arrival of one Sammy Silke, from the Chicago mob. the blinded Kingpin, still running affairs, tolerates his presence but balks when Sammy requests that the NY mob whack an annoying lawyer, one Matthew Murdock, who's been putting heat on some Chicago operations. Fisk, knowing full well DD's secret identity, flat out refuses.

Sammy doesn't get why, until he runs into Kingpin's disenfranchised son, Richard (who used to try to fill his Daddy's shoes but found out he looked ridiculously like a clown, aside from the fact he used to go by loser handles like The Rose and the Schemer). Richard reveals who Murdock really is, which obviously stuns Sammy, not only of the weight of such a revelation, but moreso because the Kingpin seemingly refuses to act on it. goaded by Richard (who's had parental issues obviously), Sammy thinks he can use this to catapult himself to power, Sammy defies Kingpin's order, organizes the made men, and puts out a $500K hit on Murdock (on "behalf of the Kingpin").

Matt wants to know why he is being targeted, so he goes out and breaks heads. one finally confesses, after more than half of the residents of Hell's Kitchen end up in the hospital.

context, Attorney ... context.

DD pays the Kingpin a visit (twice even), but the Kingpin denies any knowledge of the matter. two days later, Sammy makes his coup d'etat. his estranged wife, Vanessa, is informed and flies back to New York. inquiries and arrangements are made, and the barely-alive Kingpin is flown out of the country. but Vanessa stays. say what you want about Fisk's loony wife, she knows which side her toast is buttered on. did i just say that?

Sammy and Richard makes one big mistake - not making sure the Devil is dead, and not factoring in Vanessa. the latter picks up the trail, and even beats Daredevil to the middleman for the Murdock contract. even better, she personally kills her own son, Richard (tell me, doesn't he look like Fredo Corleone when he realizes he's gonna be whacked by his own mom?). Daredevil tracks her down through a combination of patchouli oil and mink (don't ask). scary bitch. i don't know whom i should be scared more of, her or her titanic husband.

the rest of the principals get their just desserts not unlike in the ending of The Godfather, when Michael Corleone brilliantly destroys all his enemies - that's what you call parallel processing, ladies and gentlemen! and what about Sammy? he barely survives the hit, is disavowed by his own Chicago peers, and has no choice but to run to the FBI. like the weasel that he is, to save his own skin, he easily gives up the one thing that started the whole mess:

hey, did anybody notice that Daredevil was slightly better than a spectator during the whole proceedings? when that happens and you never notice and you're still at the edge of your seat anyway, then hats off to Bendis. Brian Bendis It like Beckham. or something.

whoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooh!