Daredevil has been one of Marvel’s most honorable characters for over 60 years. After debuting in Daredevil #1 in 1964 from the creative team of Stan Lee and Bill Everett, Daredevil was one of the few characters who lived by the moral code of allowing the justice system to do its job, more so than even his work as a vigilante. This even played out when he messed up in his career, such as when he agreed to serve time in prison after accidentally causing the death of a bad guy during a bust. That said, there was one storyline that almost destroyed his reputation and ruined everything he had done over his career. This was Shadowland, and it finally ended 15 years ago, leading to a fresh start for the Man Without Fear.
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Daredevil got his fresh start when Shadowland ended by having Marvel Comics reboot his series with Daredevil: Reborn, a new series released on January 12, 2011. Matt Murdock left Hell’s Kitchen and tried to start things fresh after being on the dark side for a little too long.
Daredevil: Reborn Offered the Hero a Chance to Put the Past Behind Him
The creative team of Andy Diggle and David Gianfelice (with cover art by J Jock) took Daredevil back to basics after spending too much time as an antihero in Shadowland. That storyline ran throughout 2010 and saw Daredevil take control of the Hand, where he accepts the leadership and becomes more extreme. After years of fighting against the brutality of vigilantism and standing against men like the Punisher, Daredevil actually killed Bullseye, and it put him into conflict with Spider-Man, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, and more.
Daredevil received an out when the heroes learned he was possessed by the Beast of the Hand, and they saved him. However, since this is Daredevil, it ended with him lapsing into guilt, and he died by suicide to stop his reign of terror. However, Elektra resurrected him, and that led to Daredevil: Reborn, where he had a chance to become a hero again. He left Hell’s Kitchen, went to a rural town, and said he planned to find retribution for his perceived crimes.
Daedevil: Reborn had a similar stance to the old Hulk television show, with Matt Murdock on the road, walking from destination to destination, trying to find peace. However, there was no peace to find as he came across a town with some dark secrets, corrupt cops, and lots of dead bodies. However, what worked best about this series was that Daredevil was finally able to be himself again. He refused to kill, he tried to avoid fighting, but he didn’t stop until he stopped the bad guys, and let justice do its job. If Shadowland was a slight career assassination of Matt Murdock, Daredevil: Reborn was his resurrection.
This came in this storyline when he met a villain named Calavera, a crime boss who can see inside a person’s soul. When he looked into Matt’s soul, he saw a man who wanted to die for his past sins. It wasn’t until he almost died again that a young, visually impaired child spoke to him and let him see that living in pity was not what it means to find redemption. It means standing up for people who need help. After a year of forgetting what it means to be a hero, Daredevil: Reborn showed that Matt Murdock was born to be Daredevil.
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