Daredevil: Cold Day in Hell Proves Every Superhero Deserves This Kind of Story

Daredevil: Cold Day in Hell is an alternate reality tale well past what should have been the end of Daredevil’s career. The Man Without Fear puts back on the suit one last time to finish a mission he long thought out of his grasp, all set against the backdrop of a ruined, war-torn New York City. This structure is nothing new; a hero returning for one final mission in a bleak future is a classic trope, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t incredible. Already, people are calling Cold Day in Hell a new age classic, and if the final issue lands half as well as the first two then I don’t think anybody will be able to dispute that claim. While the praise for this comic should of course go to the incredible team behind it, the success also goes to show how great of a setup this type of story is, and how much each hero deserves a story like it.

What Makes This Type of Story Special

One thing that sets stories like Daredevil: Cold Day in Hell apart from normal elseworlds and what ifs is that it provides what feels like a definitive ending to a character that will never have that. Superheroes are almost always locked in an eternal youth of sorts, fighting never-ending battles that continue on no matter how much good they do in the world. These “old man” stories take the hero to the very end of their career, often long past when they put down the costume for what they thought was the final time. It provides a look into the end of their lives, and what they would look like if the years of battle and life were finally allowed to catch up to them. We’ll never get to see Daredevil actually grow into an old man in the main Marvel Universe, so this is the closest we’ll get to seeing his end.

Importantly, the stories always take place in a farflung, bleak future. This not only totally removes the hero from their usual status quo, which is almost always a welcome change in alternate reality stories, but also ups the stakes by taking them out of their comfort zone. They become the underdog, fighting a battle most people, usually themselves included, consider lost long ago. The rekindling of hope for the present and future is always tied to the hero returning to the scene, and people love to see their hero treated with that kind of respect and adoration. In those moments when the world needs them most they will return. Their bodies are broken, but their spirits are burning brighter than ever, and watching the hero you love fight and win an unwinnable battle against all odds is always so cool. More often than not, not only are these stories big, climactic finales, but they are love letters to everything that fans love about that character in the first place.

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Everybody gets old, and a lot of the time stories end with the characters “growing up” from their fantastical days and moving on with their lives. These stories give the exact opposite, reveling in the fantastical elements as the cure that can save the world. Even when the entire world is against them, the heroes find ways to keep fighting to save it, all while facing the very real problems of being past their prime. That’s incredibly inspiring.

“Old Man” Stories are Classics That Every Hero Deserves

Some of the most impactful and memorable comic books of all time follow this formula. The Dark Knight Returns is the most well known of all of these and set the standard for all the ones to come after, showing Batman doing the impossible in his quest to save Gotham City. But that’s far from the only one. There’s Old Man Logan which inspired the incredible movie Logan, and for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles fans there’s The Last Ronin, which shows the final days of the final of the four turtle brothers. All of these comics sent shockwaves across their fandoms when they were released, and are still loved to this day. They are timeless classics that speak to a spark of rebellion against a cynical future that exists inside of all of us.

These stories have helped define their characters in ways that few other stories have, with adaptations chasing after the feeling these comics give. The Dark Knight Returns’ influence is still felt in Batman comics to this day. These types of stories give the characters a chance to pitch themselves to the reader in their purest sense, fighting the good fight and finishing it with a boom. This is not to say that this formula is a surefire success, as there have been plenty of failed attempts to set a classic hero in this type of story, but when this formula works it works spectacularly. The characters are free to be themselves and make the case as to why they are important, why the world needs them to fight for it, and they always show why they’re right. This type of story has uplifted plenty of characters to the level of legends, and more heroes deserve to have that spotlight.