Frank Miller does it again! I can now see why he's held in
such high regards, after reading a handful of his most famous work. I do have
to admit my main motivation for reading this was the Daredevil tv show. It was
well worth the read. The tv show definitely takes some notes from this. I
really did enjoy it as its own thing though, and would recommend this to
someone who wants a good story or to start reading Daredevil. It's an origin
story, but the way it's told and the way Frank Miller gives life to these
characters make it feel brand new. It's got a lot of Daredevil mythos in it,
with Electra, Fisk, and of course Foggy Nelson his best friend and business
partner. This story and Frank Miller live up to the hype and reputation this
story have earned.
The Man without Fear (I need to look up how to shorten up
this title) is Frank Miller's retelling of Daredevil's origin story. It starts
with Matt Murdock not really understanding why his dad, an amazing fighter,
wants him to not fight and follow in his footsteps. He comes home excited one
day because he beat up a bully that was calling him names and picking on him.
He tells his dad and he hits him, but he does so because he's angry that his
son would do something bad like this. Jack doesn't want his son to be like him,
a thug under someone else's control. Matt runs away after getting hit and
realizes no one is perfect if his dad is able to do something so wrong. And
right then and there Matt Murdock decides he should study law and stop people
from bullying and abusing others. Matt then has his tragic accident and
realizes right away that he can hear, feel, and smell things differently than
before. Soon this old man named Stick finds him and begins training him. While
this is happening his dad is winning fights, he then is told to throw his next
fight or him and his son will be hurt. Of course he doesn't throw the fight in
order to teach his son integrity, but that cost him his life. Matt then goes on
a revenge spree killing everyone involved in his dad's death. This angers Stick
who then leaves Matt to the world to find his own way. Matt gets into Harvard
and meets Electra that thrill seeking love of his life, who then also leaves
him but for Matt's own good because that woman is clearly crazy. I mean she
hears voices in her head, that's grade A crazy right there. After a while Matt
takes a corporate law job that he hates, but they have him go to New York for a
case and he ends up remembering why he loves his city. He catches up with
Froggy and meets a new friend named Mickey, a fourteen year old girl who he
starts training with. She gets kidnapped and Matt realized he's the only one
who can save her. He becomes DD and kicks some major ass to save her. All with
Wilson Fisk in the background becoming a crime lord and making problems for a
young Matt Murdock.
I think this was a great origin story for Daredevil. He is
haunted by the one night he broke the law or the rules and killed all those
men, and that kind of drives his actions throughout. Every time something bad
happens he realizes it's because he broke the law or the rules Stick gave him
that were to keep him safe. It was sad to see everyone he cared about and loved
leave him though. Stick left him when he needed him most, Electra left him
without really giving him a good reason, and his dad was taken from him. He's
not really driven by the pain of his loses like Batman, he doesn't use them to
make him stronger. Instead he is driven just by the fact that he wants to help
people, he wants to help in any legal matter he can and he wants to help people
as Daredevil and save lives. May I also add, how bad ass was the scene at the end where he kills the guy holding Mickey hostage? He keeps telling the man to let her go because he doesn't want to kill him, and he makes good on that promise. He was just so in the zone when he reflected the bullet into the guys brain. Great story telling.
This story really is giving me motivation to read more
Daredevil and see him in action. I've always thought he was cool, but I'm more
of a DC guy than Marvel so sometimes I don't read stories that come from Marvel
even though I'm sure they are awesome. Art is one of the main things that drive
me to read a story and The Man Without Fear has some really great art. I liked
this story a lot and if you're thinking about reading it you should go through
with it.
Verdict: Two Blind Thumbs Up
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