Daredevil: Guardian Devil

By Alex De-Gruchy
May 31, 2006

The last eight years have seen the blind vigilante Daredevil enjoy the most popularity and success he has had since writer/artist Frank Miller's legendary run on the character during the 1980s. Guardian Devil is the 8-part storyline that re-launched the title with a new first issue under the Marvel Knights banner. It is arguably the storyline that propelled Matt Murdock back into the limelight, helped in no small part by excellent artwork from current Marvel head honcho Joe Quesada, and a dramatic script by filmmaker and Silent Bob himself, Kevin Smith.

Plot

Guardian Devil features several staples of the Daredevil mythos, both in terms of story elements and characters - there are appearances from important players in Matt Murdock's life, both past and present, such as Natasha Romanov, a.k.a The Black Widow; the world's deadliest assassin, Bullseye; Wilson Fisk, the Kingpin of Crime; and finally, Matt's on and off again girlfriend, Karen Page. All of these people become involved in a carefully-constructed plan to destroy Matt Murdock's life, a plan formed and put into action by a mysterious manipulator who, once revealed, will be all-too-familiar to many Marvel fans.

In terms of the story, one of its main elements is something which has been a part of the character of Matt Murdock for many years - faith. After his girlfriend, Karen, left him six months ago, Matt now finds himself questioning his belief in God, a crisis of faith which isn't helped by the criminal scum he encounters every single night in his activities as Daredevil. This religious slump he finds himself in is thrown for a huge loop when he encounters a fifteen-year-old girl named Gwyneth who is on the run - along with her baby - from mysterious pursuers. She turns up at Matt's law offices claiming that her baby is of an immaculate conception, and stuns Matt by revealing she knows he is Daredevil, a fact which she was apparently informed of by an angel in a dream. When Gwyneth disappears from Matt's office, he suddenly finds himself caring for a baby who, according to the mother, will save the just and the righteous when Judgement Day comes.

This starts off a chain of events revolving around Matt which threaten his sanity, his life, and the lives of those he cares most about, as dangerous enemies come out of the woodwork, some familiar, and some not so familiar. A tragic event occurs during the story which is something so devastating that it leads Matt to put a gun to his head in despair - until he decides to turn his pain and rage toward those who were responsible for all of it.

Characterisation

Daredevil has always been a character familiar with loss, tragedy and hard times, since childhood. These lost loved ones and attacks on his personal life have sometimes driven him to the edge. He has been put through the wringer at least as many times as any other long-suffering Marvel hero, but this has always been part of his appeal (as well as the appeal of so many heroes), in that the worse the odds and suffering, the greater the eventual triumph. Kevin Smith puts Daredevil through extreme physical and mental suffering during this story, but you know he is doing it out of love for the character, as his knowledge and affection for Matt and his world really shines through in his writing. We see a hero beset by doubt and confusion, some of which is his own, and some of which turns out to be mind manipulation by an unseen enemy. However, as much as Matt suffers during the story, he always remains a hero, intent on doing the right thing even after everything he's been through.

The supporting cast are equally well-handled during the story - Karen, who loves Matt and receives some devastating news which he must contend with; Matt's long-time friend and business partner, Foggy Nelson, who ends up being another pawn in the game being played by Matt's mysterious enemy; Natasha Romanov, Matt's ex-girlfriend who tries to help him through his ordeal; and of course, Bullseye, the assassin who Matt hates possibly more than anyone else in the world. Although Bullseye isn't in many scenes, he once again makes his mark on Matt's life in a big way. There are even smaller appearances by the Kingpin, Doctor Strange and Spider-Man, all of whom are nice additions and add to the story as a whole.

Art

Although Joe Quesada's art has graced the pages of both the Daredevil ongoing series and the Daredevil: Father mini-series since this initail story arc, personally I don't think his work has ever looked better than it does in the pages of Guardian Devil. His dynamic style is perfect for the swashbuckling superhero, and certainly delivers the goods when it comes to the action scenes, such as the short but brutal battle between Daredevil and his long-time nemesis, Bullseye. The blood and hard-hitting violence of this scene adds greatly to the atmosphere that Quesada creates with his artwork. The fact that Daredevil is very much a night-time hero also plays to the strengths of Quesada's style, as he mixes clean and bold lines with the gritty detail of Hell's Kitchen at night to great effect.

Also impressive are several more character-focused scenes, such as when Matt seeks out the help of Doctor Strange at his inner sanctum, and when Matt suffers a terrible personal loss which drives him to smash up his apartment out of pure, unrelenting grief and rage. The body language and facial expressions that Quesada uses compliment the scenes beautifully, and really bring to life a man torn apart by grief.

Overall

Guardian Devil is an excellent tale that combines a lot of the ingredients that make up most great stories, not just the ones involving people in colourful costumes - love, revenge, loss, faith and a hero trying to overcome the odds. Kevin Smith is one of those writers who seems to divide opinion very sharply, and although there are several scenes in this story where excess wordiness creeps in and perhaps could have used some editing, he has nonetheless crafted one of the defining Daredevil stories here. Although it is extremely dark and grim in places, it is never gratuitous, and there is an underlying message of hope and faith that runs throughout the story and ultimately prevails in the end. The art is Joe Quesada at his best, and although you might think his bold style would be better suited to big, over-the-top action scenes, he also proves he can handle the quieter, character-based moments, of which there are many. Although long-time fans might disregard this story because of the death of a long-time supporting character, they would be doing themselves a disservice, as in an age where death in comic books has become almost meaningless, Smith writes an emotional and dramatic death scene, as well as a realistic and genuinely moving grieving process on the part of Matt Murdock. It all adds up to show once again how Daredevil can be pushed to the edge of the abyss, but he will always step away and prove himself as the hero he truly is.

Publisher: Marvel Comics
Writing: Kevin Smith
Pencils: Joe Quesada
Inks: Jimmy Palmiotti
Colours: Avalon Studios
Collects Daredevil (Volume 2) Issues #1-8