Daredevil #605 Review

Daredevil #605 Review

Daredevil #605 Review

The war with the Hand has escalated to the point that New York City is at a breaking point. If Daredevil and his allies do not stop the Hand then NYC may very well not exists after this storyline. Setting up such big stakes is one of the reasons why Charles Soule has been successful with his current storyline. Even with how many supernatural elements are involved with this latest story Soule has gotten it all over as a natural fit for the greater direction the Daredevil series has followed from  the beginning. Now with the war getting to such a point let’s find out how things end with Daredevil #605.

Writer: Charles Soule

Artist: Mike Henderson

Colorist: Matt Milla

Story Rating: 9 Night Girls out of 10

Art Rating: 7 Night Girls out of 10

Overall Rating: 8 Night Girls out of 10

Synopsis: Still wearing his hospital gown Wilson Fisk walks into City Hall and demands that everyone except for Foggy Nelson to leave.

Daredevil #605 Review
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Once they are alone Fisk blames Matt Murdock for sending the Hand to kill him in the hospital. Foggy explains that Matt is actually trying to stop the Hand. Fisk does not believe that and starts to angrily express himself. Fisk ends up collapsing for exerting too much energy after just waking up from the hospital.

Elsewhere Father Jordan and the Ordo Draconum do not believe they can win. Daredevil tells Father Jordan that they just need to fight their way through two blocks south.

The Ordo Draconum agree to follow Daredevil and they all fight their way through the Hand’s ninja army. They eventually reach a warehouse. Inside they get on the horses inside and ride back outside towards City Hall.

Outside City Hall the Beast demands the NYPD hand over Samuel Chung. Commissioner Karnik does not know anyone by that name.

Blindspot suddenly appears and reveals that the Beast wants him because he asked the Beast for help in kill Muse when they fought. Hearing Blindspot’s story, Commissioner Karnik says that the Beast will have to go through the NYPD to get Blindspot.

Just as the NYPD and Blindspot get overwhelmed by the Beast and Hand’s numbers Daredevil shows up with the Ordo Draconum, Defenders, Spider-Man and Elektra to help even things up.

Daredevil #605 Review
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With everyone fighting at City Hall Daredevil is able to finally reach the Beast and uses the sword he got from Father Jordan to stab and kill the Beast.

As the sun rises Daredevil asks Father Jordan if the sword he just used was special. Father Jordan says it is not. They then talk about how many people the Ordo Draconum lost in this fight. Father Jordan looks at Blindspot and says the Ordo Draconum has other branches in the world and they will be recruiting new members soon. Daredevil thinks that joining the Ordo Draconum may help Blindspot in the long run.

Daredevil then thanks Elektra for helping him out. He then tells her that the person who invaded Elektra’s mind was Zebediah Killgrave (Purple Man).

A week later Wesley, Fisk’s assistant, tells Matt that Fisk wants Matt to help transition the title of Mayor of New York City back to Wilson Fisk. Matt says he doesn’t think he should just yet as Fisk does not look like he is ready to be Mayor yet. Matt continues on by saying that with how things are now he should be Mayor not Fisk since the city needs a leader that can help them recover.

Then Matt gives Fisk an bargain, he will step aside as Mayor as long as Fisk ends his anti-vigilante crusade. Fisk agrees and tells Matt to leave. Matt gets up but before he leaves he swears that he’ll be watching Fisk closely to make sure Fisk does not break the rules.

Fisk sits down at his Mayor’s desk while dismissing everyone but Wesley. Fisk then proclaims “My city needs me.” End of issue.

Daredevil #605 Review
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The Good: Daredevil #605 is equal parts an ending and a beginning for all the plans Charles Soule has set into motion during his run on this series. The major focus point involving the Hand is resolved in a satisfying fashion that still leaves the door open for future appearances from the organization. At the same time Soule does not waste time in setting up several storylines for Daredevil and other characters related to him that build towards an intriguing future.

Continuing with how the previous chapters of this storyline, Soule properly gets across how chaotic things are in New York City thanks to the Beast and the Hand’s presence. Even when you expect Daredevil to figure out a way out of this there was still a strong sense that the odds were overwhelming. Having that feeling is testament to the tone that Soule set with what the Beast and Hand bring to the table. Giving the additional plot point of the Beast employing a green mist that covered the city made things feel more urgent for our heroes to overcome the Hand.

With that build up Soule was able to paint Daredevil in a different light as he was the one that stepped up in the role as the leader for those that opposed the Hand. It’s a role that Daredevil has never embraced, even after being on several teams during his career. So for Daredevil to finally step into the leader role was well executed. That was best shown with the first scene we see Daredevil in as he inspires Father Jordan and the Ordo Draconum to continue fighting.

Daredevil getting the final strike on the Beast was a satisfying way to end this storyline. There was no other character, other than possibly Blindspot, who deserve to be the one to put an end to the Beast than Daredevil. This at least wraps up a big part of what has taken up Daredevil’s attention for now.

Daredevil #605 Review
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In striking the Beast down Soule was able to establish several storylines that gives us multiple story arcs to instantly be interested in when they happen. The first is what will happen with the Ordo Draconum moving forward. Soule clearly is looking to establish the group as a more powerful organization within the Marvel Universe with what Father Jordan told Daredevil about several other branches. With Blindspot joining their ranks it’ll be interesting to see what Soule has planned for this organization when they pop back up in this series.

The other storyline that Soule quickly set up was Elektra now going after the Purple Man, who was responsible for her mind being messed with recently. Elektra hunting down Purple Man brings the villain that has been hiding in the shadows back in a story that already has a reason for you to be invested in. How far Elektra goes to get her revenge will be interesting. Hopefully we see Daredevil help her out when she finally tracks him down as there are a lot of possibilities in how he and Elektra team-up to take on Purple Man.

The storyline that looks to be the next big one that we are going to see more immediate development with is Wilson Fisk returning to his role as Mayor of New York City. Soule wasted no time in establishing the animosity between Matt and Fisk being at the forefront of their relationship moving forward. Fisk’s paranoia when he believed Matt was responsible for the Hand trying to kill him in the hospital was a great way to establish that the animosity between the two has reached a boiling point. With Matt now getting a win against Fisk by having the returning Mayor agree to stop his anti-vigilante agenda it’ll be fun to see how they continue to try to wins over the other.

Daredevil #605 Review
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Mike Henderson artwork continues to fit in well with the tone Soule is taking Daredevil on. Henderson has a style that gets across how Daredevil is a street-level superhero. At the same time he is able to do well with getting across how chaotic things are with the Beast and Hand using supernatural elements to try to accomplish their goals. Having that fit in style elevated the story Soule was crafting.

The Bad: Nothing.

Overall: Charles Soule wrapped up the conflict with the Hand in a satisfying fashion in Daredevil #605. Throughout the issue Soule was able to show how far Daredevil has come as he inspired those around him that they will defeat the Hand. While Daredevil and his allies did win Soule used the ending to create several stories involving Elektra, Wilson Fisk and others to build a strong foundation for future story arcs. Having that foundation built will excite the majority fans for what the future of Soule’s Daredevil series.