Warning: SPOILERS for Daredevil #20
Few villains have gone toe-to-toe with Daredevil as often as Wilson Fisk, AKA Kingpin, AKA the Mayor of New York City. The two have opposed each other on just about every front, but they have one important thing in common: they love their city. So when a gang of super villains puts that city in jeopardy in the new Daredevil #20, the rivals put aside their differences and unite to protect it.
Daredevil #20 is the second part of the Inferno storyline started in Daredevil #19. A super villain group hired by the Stromwyn twins – which consists of Crossbones, Rhino, Bullet, Stilt-Man, and Bullseye – is laying waste to Hells Kitchen and, despite their orders to minimize casualties, are leaving plenty of dead bodies in their wake. Cell towers in the area are down, meaning nobody can get word of the attack out into the world, so no dice on the Avengers or any other superheroes dropping in to save the day.
The only one who can help is Daredevil, but he’s been having a tough go of it ever since a mistake he made led to a man’s death back in Daredevil #1. But while Matt may have lost faith in Daredevil, the people of Hell’s Kitchen haven’t. As the villains destroy their surroundings, regular citizens wearing Daredevil masks emerge to defend their city. Just as Matt inspired them to stand up and fight, these people inspire him to put the mask back on for the first time since the series began.
But Matt still finds himself desperately outnumbered. Even after Sister Elizabeth reemerges as Typhoid Mary and helps Daredevil by distracting Rhino, the villains continue to cause rampant chaos and death across Hell’s Kitchen. That’s when an unlikely ally emerges in the form of Mayor Wilson Fisk, who takes a very hands-on approach to protecting his citizens. With Mary and Fisk’s assistance, Daredevil manages to take down the rest of the villains, including Owlsley, the self-proclaimed new Kingpin who set the crisis in motion.
Despite their fighting on the same side, Fisk tells Daredevil, “I’m not helping you. This is my city. And anyone who thinks otherwise…needs to learn respect.” Even in the midst of a war zone, Fisk can’t help but give Matt a veiled threat, even though there’s no chance he could have taken the villains down without his help. Still, it was cool to see these longtime foes join forces to fight a common enemy – even if it was only for a short time.
