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A review by aceinit
Daredevil: Back in Black, Volume 4: Identity by Charles Soule
2.0
Review of the individual issues contained in this collection.
I have reached the point in my life where I can officially label myself a bitter old comics fan. I have also solidified my suspicion that I am not going to like the current run of Daredevil no matter what. Yes, comics get retconned all the time, and Marvel is worse about its tendency to do so than most, given it’s love for Changing!Everything!In Ways You Won’t Believe!during its exhausting and often chaotic event of the season.
So I guess I should preface all of my reviews of Soule’s Daredevil by saying I’m biased. Really biased. The preceeding volumes by Mark Waid, which suffered hardest under the current retcon, are some of my favorites. Though I am glad to see Matt back in New York where he belongs, the loss of central characters in his life like Foggy and Kirsten McDuffie hurts badly. The addition of the now especially-terribly-named Blindspot and strange ten-fingered villains do not make up for these losses and radical shifts.
And, in this volume, readers finally find out what happened and how Matt came to be back in New York, with his secret identity intact, a shattered friendship with Foggy and with Kirsten MIA. And, as far as revelation stories go, this one is pretty disappointing. I won’t go into spoilers because I’m writing a review for something that isn’t released yet in trade form, but Soule’s explanation for Matt’s current state of affairs does flash back to stories set up in Waid’s run. But it’s still just so…disappointing. Particularly as the catalyst for all this happening is one of my most hated tropes in all of fiction: the incompetent security guard.
Mild spoilers under the cut, mostly related to musings.
It’s sloppy writing, which leads to a sloppy playout of events. As our titular hero himself says,
There are some interesting items to come out of this volume, though, particularly Father Jordan, the priest Matt confides in, who is definitely more than he seems. I’m ready for a Father Jordan miniseries. Pretty please?
I’m going to keep reading Daredevil, because it’s Daredevil and I want it to eventually get back to a place I like. But I may as well stop holding my breath.
I have reached the point in my life where I can officially label myself a bitter old comics fan. I have also solidified my suspicion that I am not going to like the current run of Daredevil no matter what. Yes, comics get retconned all the time, and Marvel is worse about its tendency to do so than most, given it’s love for Changing!Everything!In Ways You Won’t Believe!during its exhausting and often chaotic event of the season.
So I guess I should preface all of my reviews of Soule’s Daredevil by saying I’m biased. Really biased. The preceeding volumes by Mark Waid, which suffered hardest under the current retcon, are some of my favorites. Though I am glad to see Matt back in New York where he belongs, the loss of central characters in his life like Foggy and Kirsten McDuffie hurts badly. The addition of the now especially-terribly-named Blindspot and strange ten-fingered villains do not make up for these losses and radical shifts.
And, in this volume, readers finally find out what happened and how Matt came to be back in New York, with his secret identity intact, a shattered friendship with Foggy and with Kirsten MIA. And, as far as revelation stories go, this one is pretty disappointing. I won’t go into spoilers because I’m writing a review for something that isn’t released yet in trade form, but Soule’s explanation for Matt’s current state of affairs does flash back to stories set up in Waid’s run. But it’s still just so…disappointing. Particularly as the catalyst for all this happening is one of my most hated tropes in all of fiction: the incompetent security guard.
Mild spoilers under the cut, mostly related to musings.
Spoiler
Now, if you are a guard in one of the places where the world’s worst supervillains are kept, I imagine you are going to be much better vetted and monitored than the guards in this volume are. Which leads to a predictable escape. Which leads to, well, everything else that got us here today.It’s sloppy writing, which leads to a sloppy playout of events. As our titular hero himself says,
Spoiler
“It’s the way children solve problems.” And the whole thing reeks of an overreach I just flat out don’t want to accept. But, again, maybe it’s just because I’m biased and bitter. I was expecting something larger, more significant, particularly given that this series kicked off following an event where Doom set himself up as god and remake the world in his image. But none of that is touched on here. It always seems to be Marvel’s way to have the major world-changing events only change some worlds, while seeming to ignore others. In this case, the event seems to have left Daredevil’s earth entirely unscathed.There are some interesting items to come out of this volume, though, particularly Father Jordan, the priest Matt confides in, who is definitely more than he seems. I’m ready for a Father Jordan miniseries. Pretty please?
I’m going to keep reading Daredevil, because it’s Daredevil and I want it to eventually get back to a place I like. But I may as well stop holding my breath.