Daredevil #7 – Review

By: Mark Waid (writer), Paolo Rivera (penciller), Joe Rivera (inker), Javier Rodriguez (color artist)

The Story: It’s Christmas and Matt is struggling to turn a corner in his life, away from the tortured, guilt-ridden man he has been for so long. A group of kids he is mentoring gives him a kick in the pants. Before you stop reading, this issue was totally cheese-free!

The Review: This was a little gem of an issue, containing a complete disaster story. Waid starts us in media res, with Matt (as a blind adult, and arguably uncertain about himself) taking a bunch of low-confidence blind kids on a Christmas field trip, when an accident occurs. The bus driver is dead, and DD’s radar sense is pretty much useless in a snowstorm in the forest. So, it’s back to basics and character. It’s a beautiful dramatic set-up that carries honest peril, and forces different people to draw on what makes them heroes in the first place, powers or not. DD, while super-heroic, is shown some common heroism, which is a pretty strong kick in the pants to his own personal problems. Although Waid doesn’t show if Matt changes his life outlook, there is no doubt that what happens in this issue can be a platform for helping him get back on an even keel. Waid does this all with an economy of honest dialogue and monologue narrative, although the key elements of the character change can not be said to be hidden.