It’s up to Daredevil to save two targets, an informant named Randall and a kid named Austin, caught in the cross-hairs of Midas Financial, A.I.M., Hydra, Byzantine, The Black Sceptre and The Secret Society, who have sent a super powerful Luchador aptly dubbed Bruiser after them. Things look bleak however, after Bruiser sends Daredevil overboard a small boat and returns with Randall as a prisoner.
Daredevil keenly uses his super senses to save himself and infiltrates the base, taking on the seemingly unmovable Bruiser in front of representatives of each of the criminal gangs. Things look bad as Daredevil can’t budge his opponent, while Bruiser flings DD around like a rag doll! Once more, Daredevil must call upon his abilities, this time his radar sense, to figure out how Bruiser’s powers work and how to beat him. He recovers what all of the criminals were after, but seems outnumbered. He must use his wits to save him this time, not his super powers. The villains aren’t happy about it, but they are forced to allow Daredevil and his two charges to leave unharmed… for the time being.
I’ve never been a huge fan of Daredevil, as most of the time his book has been very urban and gritty, and I typically like more traditional super hero high adventure comics. But a good comic is a good comic and this was a good comic!
The dialogue is natural, sharp and crisp. There’s a funny exchange between two henchmen at the beginning about Bruiser, mentioning his ultimate goal and the fact that he has a webpage. Bruiser himself is hilarious, with his costume adorned with logos of the various criminal organizations, like a super villain NASCAR driver! It’s an extremely clever idea! The villains’ goal is nicely “comic book-y” and ties into the greater Marvel Universe. Just good writing, all in all!
Those that prefer the darker, more tragic Daredevil may not like this, however. I’m not saying this book is “light” or anything, but it’s not grimy or gritty, like those starring similar “street” heroes. He’s not fighting aliens or anything like that, but the use of classic villains like Hydra and A.I.M. and even a nod to the Fantastic Four firmly establish him in the Marvel Universe proper, home of Galactus and Skrulls and even Squirrel Girl! That isn’t a bad thing, nor is it something that should be ignored. Mark Waid proves here that you can do an urban street-level crime fighter without pretending he doesn’t inhabit the same world as Thor and the Silver Surfer.
I loved the art by Marcos Martin with colors by Muntsa Vicente! It had a nice, retro, minimalist style! It was like a strange hybrid between Tim Sale and Darwyn Cooke, if that makes any sense! It was nicely paced, had great storytelling and was even humorous in a couple of scenes that called for it. Sadly, this is this art team’s final issue on the book, so we’ll just have to wait and see how the subsequent team ranks in comparison.
This was the final chapter in a storyline, so you might want to pick up the prior issues to get the full impact, but all in all, this was good stuff!
Verdict: Buy
DAREDEVIL #6
Written by Mark Waid
Art and Cover by Marcos Martin and Muntsa Vicente
