Daredevil #3 from Chip Zdarsky, Matthew Wilson, and Rafael De LaTorre is part three of the Red Fist Saga, in which Matt Murdock and Elektra are creating their group, the Fist, to end the infamous Hand. Zdarsky and De LaTorre bring quite the set of interactions to these pages as we get some great moments with characters we’ve seen recently – as well as some we haven’t seen in a while. Let’s dive in!
SPOILERS AHEAD for Daredevil #3!
I was so happy to see Detective Cole return in this opening sequence. At first, I didn’t care for him as he was a challenge to Daredevil. Still, I’ve grown to like his character as he is a man of conviction, an excellent testament to Zdarsky’s writing as he has given the Daredevil series a fantastic new character. I like Cole’s reaction to the idea of fighting an “undead ninja army,” as it makes perfect sense for a character rooted in realism to be surprised by this request. I like how Zdarsky played out their interaction with Cole’s words and Matt using his senses to get a different read; I hope this fight with the Hand involves Cole as he is a great character and moral compass.
The following interaction was with Luke Cage, and I am thrilled to see this happening in this series. After the Devil’s Reign event, I was very excited to see what Luke could do as the new Mayor of NYC, and Zdarsky delivered. The discussion between Matt and Luke was interesting as a man without an identity is asking a man with responsibilities to help fight a different war. I appreciated the differing views and how they presented their sides to each other. The scene then changes, and we get Luke having a meeting with the Stromwyns, which was a great matchup.
In the Stromwyns, it felt like Zdarsky made a set of villains that could be untouchable – I mean, look how they whipped and owned Wilson Fisk. Now I know at the end of Devil’s Reign, they had lost their control over Fisk, and it felt like they were going to be tossed aside, so seeing them appear was a fantastic surprise. I hope to see more of the Stromwyns clash with Cage in future issues or a mini-series. It was great to see that Fisk leave some impact on the Stromwyns after the hell they put him through.
As I mentioned before, keep an eye on the character Aka. Aka first appeared in Daredevil: the Woman Without Fear, and she is making her presence known to Matt. In this part of the story, Rafael De LaTorre gets to shine by showcasing their moves. It was wild to see them dance across the skyline, and I will say De LaTorre did not favor Matt in these scenes. Matthew Wilson also got to show his skills here with the colors, and I liked that he kept it very noir and played with the shadows. I also appreciated the use of time in this, as the story starts roughly at “four in the morning,” and we see the sunrise by the end.
This issue is full of great character interactions that set up for a potential crossover with the Hand. Luke Cage was one of the stars of this issue and proves that when you pick up the Daredevil series, you get more than just the Man Without Fear. Matt is looking to set up an army, and he has quite the cast to help him do that.
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