Marvel’s Daredevil Confirms His Next Big Villains

Matt Murdock is born again. After sacrificing his life to save the souls of his friends trapped in Hell by the Hand cult and the Beast, the horn-headed Daredevil of Hell’s Kitchen returned to life… as Father Matthew Murdock, catholic priest of the Saint Nicholas Youth Home. When the demon Sloth possessed Matt’s ex-wife, the assassin Elektra — the new Daredevil — Father Matthew began to recall memories from Matt Murdock’s life as Daredevil (in Saladin Ahmed and Aaron Kuder’s Daredevil #1). Matthew donned a black cloth mask and exorcised the demon, who warned: “The others are gonna be a hell of a lot harder.”

Father Matt resumed duties as the vigilante Daredevil, battling Hell’s Kitchen’s newest gang — The Heat — who hired Daredevil’s deadliest enemy: the assassin Bullseye. Another demon, Envy, possessed The Daily Bugle‘s Ben Urich, who then spread slander about St. Nick’s as a “school for criminals” under an anonymous account named Reveal All Devils. Daredevil thwarted the Heat’s attempted hit on Byron “Butch” Pharris — the son of Wilson Fisk who inherited his crown as the new Kingpin of Crime — and finally drove the demon out of Urich. But once again, there was another warning: “I’m so damn jealous of my brothers. They’re gonna rip you to shreds.”

This week’s Daredevil (Vol. 8) #5 reunites Father Matt with another friend from another lifetime: Jennifer Walters, the superhero lawyer She-Hulk. Jennifer knew Matt Murdock, blind lawyer, who is dead. And yet she also recognizes Father Matthew, youth home director. Jen strong-arms Matt into lunch at Le Poisson D’Avril and tells him that someone is gunning for St. Nick’s “litigation-wise.” As they indulge in several courses and imbibe alcoholic drinks, Jen tells Matt that someone is digging into the mysterious Father Matthew with a bounty for dirt on his school. They’re practically powerless not to feast on sushi at another restaurant a few blocks away, and go for gelato for dessert.

Matt’s senses detect a slight echo in an angry She-Hulk’s heartbeat and the scent of brimstone, and realizes: “A devil has hold of her.” He fashions a black table cloth into a makeshift mask (reminiscent of his black-clad ninja look in Marvel’s Daredevil TV series) and attempts to contain the raging She-Hulk, but he’s bloated and slow… the wages of his gluttony. 

Meanwhile, Daredevil’s old foe, Mister Hyde, hijacked a chemical lab but is quickly subdued by a hangry She-Hulk who will smash through anything to get her gelato. Rather than fight the sinner, the masked Matt fights the sin: Gluttony. With a prayer, Matt casts away the demon and saves She-Hulk’s soul. He then realizes the identity of the demons making his life hell. 

“Gluttony… Envy… Sloth… these devils who have been seizing the souls of those around me — they’re the Seven Deadly Sins,” Matt says. “Which means there are four more out there. And I need to stop them before they hurt anyone else.” And then, as if a prayer is answered, the sorcerer Doctor Strange appears and tells Father Matt it’s time for his confession.

Daredevil #5 is on sale now from Marvel Comics.