Marvel Just Gave Daredevil a New Name (and It Gives the Hero a Perfect Legacy)

Daredevil is the Man Without Fear, the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen, and now, he’s been called the Manhattan Flyer. This is a brand new epithet given to Matt Murdock, emerging in issue #3 of the new classic Daredevil: Cold Day in Hell. This story shows us a much colder and darker New York City, but it also has given us one of the best nicknames for Daredevil of all time, because it perfectly captures how important he is to his home, and how he inspires it to be better. Daredevil has always been a hero that has wielded the darkness inside his heart like a club to beat down those who would hurt others and lift up everyone, and this new name captures the best aspect of his character.

Daredevil Makes Us Look Up

The future world of Daredevil: Cold Day in Hell is a bleak one. New York City is in ruins, with the infrastructure having all but collapsed and people far too willing to take what they want by force. Most of the superheroes and villains either died or were forced to retire after a war broke out against a group called the deebees. The once gleaming city of progress, both good and bad, had grown meek and scared. People walked around with their hands shoved in their pockets and eyes on the ground, just praying not to get robbed for what little they have. Matt Murdock’s powers had long since faded, but he refused to sit around while people needed help, and worked in a food center, doing what small part he can to ease people’s burdens.

Read Next

Daredevil’s Most Brutal Fights, Ranked

Enter Bullseye setting off an explosion of deadly chemicals, which restores Matt’s super senses and brings about the return of Daredevil. He takes on a dead Captain America’s mission to rescue a young girl who Bullseye kidnapped, and once again dons the red suit and takes to the New York skyline like he was meant to. The impact is immediate. In a city that has long since lost the countless spandex clad powerhouses that soared high above them, Daredevil stands out against the blue and grey skies. The radio reports on him, saying that reports have been coming in all day about the man sailing fifty stories in the air, and how he so obviously wants to be seen. The broadcaster says that maybe this mysterious man in red is telling people that they don’t have to keep their eyes on the ground anymore. He wants the people to remember to look up, to remember what it’s like to hold their heads up. They call him the Manhattan Flyer, which is everything Daredevil is.

This nickname works so well because Daredevil is a man who wants to inspire people. He doesn’t just want to save people from being hurt, he wants to save their souls. He is the ultimate example of someone who has been hurt over and over again, but still chooses to hold onto his faith that everything is for a reason and will get better if we all work together. The Man Without Fear pushes himself beyond every limit he has constantly to pull himself and everyone he can out of the darkness and into the light.

Daredevil’s Legacy Is Hope

At the end of this story, Daredevil dies, but he dies doing what he did best; fighting and inspiring. Bullseye’s final act is to set off more bombs to restore terror and wonder to New York, to awaken powers within new people. Daredevil has fallen to the ground and his powers are blinking in and out, and he can hear people attacking each other in the darkness, thinking they’re under assault by some enemy. With all of his resolve, Daredevil climbs the rubble back to the rooftops, where the young girl Tyra sits. She rejects Matt after how he fought to save Bullseye’s life from the Punisher, but Daredevil tells her that only she can help the people down below with her power to create light. This is her chance to stand up, to fly.

Daredevil dies, but Tyra flies into the sky and lights everything up, bringing the people out of the dark and reminding them that the only ones next to them are their neighbors. Matt passes on, saying that he can see the future where new heroes rise to remind everyone of what he spent his whole life fighting for; there is good, there is light, all you have to do is look up. This is a beautiful story that perfectly understands what Daredevil represents, and the impact he hopes to leave on the world. I cannot recommend picking up this story enough, just like I cannot recommend other writers adopting this new name for Daredevil enough. Without a doubt, he is the Manhattan Flyer.

Daredevil: Cold Day in Hell #3 is on sale now!