Daredevil #87

Daredevil #87
Quote from the top of the letters page: "YOU DIDN'T REALLY THINK I'D KILL FOGGY, DID YOU?" I laughed so hard! And yes, Ed, after what you did to Selina's sister in Catwoman, I really did think that you'd kill Foggy. In fact, I wouldn't trust you not to do anything that would further a story. For good reason...because you, my friend, are one of the ballsiest writers currently working in the comics industry, and I thank you for that. Your first arc on Daredevil has been every bit as good as (most of) Bendis' (I didn't like "Echo" or "Decalogue"), and I wish you luck in successfully continuing the drama.
Well, this issue brings to a close "The Devil in Cell Block D", Brubaker's first arc on Daredevil. There was no break between the end of Bendis' run, and the beginning of Brubaker's, for which my thanks goes out to them. They did an excellent job of coordinating with each other before the hand-off, and the title is certainly enriched for it.
Anyways, the warden of Ryker's island pays Matt back for saving his life by selectively deleting all footage of Matt in prison which would show him to be anything other than a helpless blind man. And he goes on the record against the FBI who put Matt in there pending trial, that his belief is that Matt was innocent all along, especially in light of the activity of Daredevil during the time Matt was in prison. Which Daredevil II turned out to be...Danny Rand!! (Quibble: Sure, we wouldn't have gotten it otherwise, but when the art showed "Iron Daredevil"'s fist glowing before punching Matt, well, I thought it was Torchy or something. But, really, how else could the point have been successfully conveyed?) Anyways, it turns out that Iron Daredevil was been hired by Alton Lennox to supposedly track down Foggy's killers. However, when Matt and Danny get to Lennox's office, he has cleared out, and it becomes clear that he was trying to silence all ties to the hit on Foggy. And has since left the country. We'll find out more in two issues.
Matt comes squeaky clean to Ben Urich, and tells him there are no hard feelings about the reporting that ended up getting him sent to Ryker's in the first place. The whole Rykers business turns out to have been a plot to break Matt, and then to possibly kill him, as he was never supposed to survive long enough to stand trial. Duh, but it's nice to see it spelled out. Apparently the FBI were involved both in the plot, and in its subsequent cover-up, as is evidenced by the FBI director's ire at Rykers' warden coming out in defense of Matt, and the two agents he sent to kill Dakota North if she got too close to the truth. Apparently the FBI director was acting on orders from Senator Engel. Not sure why yet, maybe Dell Rusk has something to do with it?
My first reaction to the last page was, "oh no, you didn't". Seriously, killing Foggy was a brilliant move, and then making it all a big plot to get him into witness protection? Well, until I read the quote at the top of the "letters" page, I was put off by it - and then Big Ed showed me just how well he can keep a secret, and that he had actually planned the revelation from the start. So kudos to you Big Ed, I look forward to reading the whys and hows.
And Frank Castle and Matt Murdock part amicably. I guess Castle's entire point in getting himself arrested was to find out exactly what the deal was with Matt being put in prison, and I'm thinking that we may very well be seeing more of him. Brubaker's characterization of Castle was excellent. When Garth Ennis finishes writing Punisher, maybe Brubaker wants to take over there too?
An excellent example of how good this issue is? Page 15. 'Nuff said.
An EXCELLENT issue. Brubaker has shown that he can live up to the standards set by Bendis on his run, and I still look forward to reading this title every month. If you aren't reading Daredevil, you should be.
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