Even before concluding Introductory Rites – a story in which Daredevil fights demonic representations of the seven deadly sins – it seemed inevitable that the final showdown would be with Wrath. What sin better represents the Man Without Fear? Violent, retributive justice, doled out ostensibly in good faith or with good purpose, but always unnecessarily brutal: Daredevil has long walked the tightrope dividing ‘four-color adventurer’ and ‘dark, brooding avenger’.
Marvel
Introductory Rites has been a story that walks that tightrope itself: for all its talk of Hell and its implications of damnation, the story has been bombastic and nearly lighthearted in its delivery of action. Ignoring its subtext, Daredevil had been a book filled with colorful guest stars and an almost Saturday Morning Cartoon-style setup: a monster of the month, color-coded and recognizable by their possessed hosts.
But that format has been limited, meant for a decisive end; the fourth volume of the series, Last Rites, sees that end, though it might not be as decisive as readers may have hoped. Though Pride is defeated summarily by Matt Murdock’s humbling self-doubt, Wrath’s conclusion is not a conclusion at all: Wrath wins. Daredevil is definitely guilty, and his brutal choices leave the ultimate conclusion a loss.
Marvel
Things are definitely changed by this conclusion to Introductory Rites; no longer a priest, miraculously returned to his official standing as a lawyer, and released from the sticky narrative bonds of the storyline, Daredevil is set to return to some form of classic normalcy (as normal as Murdock’s life ever gets). By the end of this book we know where he stands in terms of faith, in his relationships, and as an adventurer. It’s a book looking forward to a next arc, a new set of narrative circumstances, almost as if the story has been patiently waiting to arrive at this crossroads.
Not enough can be said about how powerful Aaron Kuder’s artwork has been throughout this run, and it is in fine form here. The demons feel gruesome, as do their possessed bodies (Foggy Nelson, Pride’s target, gains a painful rictus of a grin), and Daredevil feels bold and dynamic. This turn of the book has distinctive vibes and will, with luck, go down as a visual landmark for the franchise.
Ultimately, Last Rites feels like a book eager to be done with itself, happy to have reached its bleak but action-packed conclusion. It’s been a wild ride, but that ride is pointedly over.
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