Review: The Era of Fisk Arrives in 'Daredevil' #595

Wilson Fisk is one of Daredevil's deadliest enemies, but it turns out he's even worse when everything he does is legal.

Daredevil #595 kicks off the Marvel Legacy era of Matt Murdock, and ushers in a new status quo from the remnants of Secret Empire. In fact, this might be one of the best uses of Secret Empire, as fans will remember that Wilson Fisk was one of the reasons many made it out of New York City alive.

That sets up Daredevil quite nicely for a long battle that not only utilizes the character's combat prowess but also makes Murdock's double identity intriguing again. Murdock is used to fighting Fisk on the streets, but he will find it less effective when the person you're fighting is mayor of the city you're defending.

Some will bemoan the real world parallel, and the correlations are there, but this feels more like a natural progression of Fisk and Murdock's storyline as opposed to a blatant riff on current political culture, and hopefully writer Charles Soule can maintain that balance going forward.

As for the visuals, artist Stefano Landini delivers an exceptional Daredevil, utilizing highlights and shadow expertly to present a truly threatening version of Hells Kitchen's defender. There isn't much action in this particular issue, but what is there is fantastic. When not in costume though, the art is just not as captivating, but it does feel authentic to the character. It's subjective of course, but it just made one wish that more time was spent following Murdock's superhero exploits.

Having Fisk fight dirty within the system gives Daredevil a truly worthy foe that puts him at a disadvantage, and that's quite compelling even at this early stage of the story. It puts both aspects of Daredevil's life on a collision course, and it should be endlessly entertaining watching him find a way out.

If you've been waiting for a chance to hop aboard the Daredevil train, now is the time.

Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars

You can find the official description below:

"New York City has fallen to Wilson Fisk, the Kingpin – Daredevil's greatest and deadliest adversary. Matt Murdock has the law and he has his superhuman abilities – but Fisk has an entire city on his side. What can one man do? If he's Daredevil, he can FIGHT."

Daredevil #595 is in comic shops now.