pay the Devil

"Hardcore"
v2, #46-50

Brian Michael Bendis, Alex Maleev, Gene Colan, Dave Gutierrez, Lee Weeks, Tom Palmer, Klaus Janson, John Romita Sr., Al Milgrom, Joe Quesada, Danny Miki, Mike Oeming, David Mack

convergence. yeah, that's a nice word. this is all where it's all coming together. all the power plays, all the behind-the-scenes work, all lead up to this moment. and what moment is that? yup, Daredevil's gonna ... DIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ok, maybe not.

as we have seen so far, the Kingpin got knocked off by his ambitious henchmen, Daredevil got outed and is currently fighting back through the legal process, certain parties try to fill in the crater-sized void left by Wilson Fisk but Daredevil kicks their butt. but the most intriguing development so far, is the gradual return of the Fisk to regain his lost empire. i am now inclined to put him in the category of potential nuclear war survivors - yeah, him and the roaches.

Fisk's ex-wife Vanessa, out of love and respect for the fat man, flew him out of America to save him from law enforcement and his own rivals. along the way, she kills their wimp kid Richard, dismantles his empire, and before disappearing forever herself, leaves a gazillion dollars for some desert bedouins to take care of the wounded Fisk. that last act may have been a mistake, as Fisk slowly came back from the dead and has been hunting down his former colleagues who allowed Vanessa to do what she did.

to crawl his way back to the top, even a fat man needs help (wait, that analogy sucks - a fat man would really need help). to this end, Bendis gives the fanboys something to scream about. i mean, really, if they saw this in a Daredevil movie, it would garner the same reaction as when Optimus Prime transforms for the first time in Michael Bay's noisy adaptation, or when the caffeine-doped Yoda gets into the lightsaber duel with Count Dooku.

Fisk goes looking for his one-time champion and lover, the psycho-bitch who ironically shares a name with the mother of Jesus.

Mary, Mary, why ya buggin'?

yes, the past few years have been good to fan boys.

and yes, you know Typhoid Mary is back to mess Matt's life up. again.

after Daredevil beats the crap out of the Owl (previous story arc), his current soon-to-be-flame, the blind Milla Donovan, has to rely on radio news reports to keep up to date as to what her man does for a living. well, aside from being in court and being around snakes.

he also scored with Britney and Lindsay, before finishing with a
coke binge with Pete Doherty but you don't need to know that.

did you notice what kind of radio Milla was listening to? didn't look like no radio to me - seems like one of those Bose iPod docks. and it can tune in to AM/FM? awesomeness!

her friend Lori counts the ways Matt is the bomb, and like every love interest, Milla offers weak resistance and arguments.

girl, you don't wanna know what parties he goes to wearing that.

for someone who works in a nonprofit org, and makes even 'less money than nothing' (quoth Jessica Jones), i'd have to say i agree with Foggy that she looks fabuloso. she probably shops at Syms and Century 21. and yes, i have to thank Alex Maleev again for that.

since she can't help herself and she's a sucker for flowers though she can't see them, Milla goes to see Matt again. this lucky bastard has the girls seeking him out! my friend, who's tried all sorts of methods, can't even catch a break and land a decent girl. damn you, Murdock! (i think that was Foggy channeling through me)

Milla reminds me of a former girl of Matt, the not-so-lamented Heather Glenn - short hair, gorgeous, cute as a button. i just hope she's not a shallow bitch who cracks under the pressure of being a Daredevil gf (Heather, drunk as a skunk, revealed his ID to nutjob Tarkington Brown, junkie Karen sells his ID for one more hit). and while i was wondering about his ID being floated around for years, i came up with this.

if she just knew the world of trouble she'd be in ...

remember the crater-sized vacuum the Kingpin left? well, people will still try to fill it, even though they need to eat more than 66 hotdogs than Joey Chesnut. seriously, if this is true, then Giuliani lied; the streets of New York are not safe!

Typhoid Mary strikes back at the Asian mob quicker than the USA struck back after Pearl Harbor. she even takes a page from their book and weaves some John Woo cinematic magic. witness a redirected bullet via the use of a sword (kids, don't try this at home).

this is taking Holy Communion a bit too far

we now have a name for the no-nonsense FBI agent that may play a significant role in the future of DD: Harold Driver. flying in the face of alleged incompetence of the Bureau post-9/11, Driver pays a visit to the Kingpin, who's beginning to re-assemble his operations from the back seat of a diner. at least he did his homework and using it. the tense face-off between the sarcastic Driver and the strangely-stoic Fisk is something to behold.

mr. agent slightly wet his pants. slightly.

a temporary detente is reached when the FBI agents stop a former Fisk henchman from whacking him, and Fisk gives them enough info to put away the Owl for good. this is a great example of the symbiosis between law/order and crime/chaos.

now, imagine if you were a semi-famous celebrity of sorts, and you're walking out of your brownstone with your new girl. and then your ex suddenly shows up with a bullhorn and a gun. what're you gonna do?

for Matt, substitute "ex" with "crazy female ex-slash-villain", "bullhorn and a gun" with "nonsensical phrases and pyrokinetic urge to burn you". and bursts into flames he does (Bendis actually put that in as a cliffhanger twice (in #46 and #47). cruel, cruel man.

so we only get to see the resolution in #48. with only Jessica Jones as his bodyguard (against paparazzi mostly), Matt has to protect both her and Milla from Typhoid Mary. and not to get an unplanned crewcut.

Luke Cage arrives fortuitously and turns the tide. actually, this is the fastest i've seen Matt take care of Mary. i still remember that time when she put Matt through the wringer and recruit a who's who of DD villains to beat Matt within an inch of his life (ah, i miss Ann Nocenti).

"no, not your jawbreaker, Matt - argh!"

pissed at not being able to avoid a hurried hairstyle change, Matt digs deep into the art of Zen calm, while chanting to himself "Serenity Now".

"you killed my teacher. damn you, i'm gonna fight you!"

a quick debriefing with Agent Driver seems to indicate that Matt and the FBI will be working with each other on a professional basis. that is, unless this plot thread gets forgotten somewhere down the road.

then we get the schleppy love fest between Milla and Matt that recalls the Gibson/Russo scar inspection scene in Lethal Weapon 3 - wait, isn't this just the second date? they never got far from the front door, so technically, this is it.

elsewhere, the Kingpin has a visitor, and one whom we haven't seen since he took the contract to off Murdock (as floated by the late Sammy Silke and Richard "Pushing Up Daisies" Fisk). yeah, we missed you, Lester (the Molester).

Bullseye wastes no time in terrorizing the occupants of a certain apartment that smells of scented candles. well, only one occupant at first ...

(i swear to God, the way Maleev drew her here, i am officially campaigning for the smoldering Catherine Bell to play Milla!)

... until Daredevil tackles him by surprise, causing Bullseye to freak out and call him names, like "little ninja bitch". Bullseye is such a prissy skirt. we are now treated to the fight scene we've been waiting for from Maleev.

Colin Far- er, Bullseye gives as good as he gets, and i'd love to hear the score for this scene, if they ever make one, because its almost epic - until of course, the next round (sometime in 2008).

Matt loses all his Zen cool and gives it to Bullseye. he can't even stop talking, bitching at him like they're two petulant children fighting for the right to rule the playground (especially the swing).

Matt stops himself short of killing the man who offed at least two of his girls already (although Elektra got resurrected). the FBI arrives on the scene just in time, thanks to Milla's quick 911 call.

even Bullseye would be insulted that he's just #4

after the violence, a moment of tenderness. never let it be said that Daredevil doesn't have heart (awwwwwwwwwwww).

thinking that Typhoid Mary and Bullseye are occupying Daredevil enough, he makes his move and consolidates his holdings (and leaves a rising body count).

not so fast, Kingpin. its not as if everyone is scared of you after what happened.

"great rewards come from great balls." - fortune cookie

not so fast too, says Kingpin. he orders the rape/murder of the Chinese guy. Kingpin already had them, but Daredevil has to play spoilsport and steal the fat man's thunder, breaking up the party by showing off his wheels.

Matt knows he can't afford for the Kingpin to rebuild his empire. its now or never. like committing to get married. but unlike a wedding ceremony, there are no words needed here.

at this point, major artists from DD's past join the party and contribute to the staggering 9-page mano-a-mano between the fat crimelord and the blind lawyer. among the notables missing: Frank Miller, David Mazuchelli and John Romita Jr.

Matt ends the confrontation by parading Kingpin's beaten ass in a Hell's Kitchen bar, and declaring - while, take note, not wearing his mask - that he is now the ruler of Hell's Kitchen and everyone should play by his rules. Matt, i think Mayor Bloomberg is gonna take exception to that. oopps, there he is now, on line two.

i still think the Kingpin is Brian Michael Bendis

if i was the Kingpin, i would have waited a year or two, build up a whole new army behind the scenes, worked out a lot more, bought cloning technology, hire a few wizards or two, and cook up Plans A to Z, before overtly rebuilding my empire and crossing Daredevil again. tsk. Wilson's getting lazy due to age.

in the meantime, i'm sure one or two patrons of that bar had a cellphone camera ...