Warning! This article contains spoilers for Daredevil #5 Fans of the MCU are well aware of She-Hulk and Daredevil’s budding romance, as the two got to know each other quite well in the live-action series She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, which ended with Matt even meeting Jen’s whole family. While it’s unclear how far their romance will go in the MCU, it is clear that nothing even remotely similar is going to happen between them in the comics, as their MCU romance is seemingly being rewritten as a Marvel Comics rivalry.
In a preview for Daredevil #5 by Saladin Ahmed and Farid Karami, Matt Murdock (who is now a priest, Father Matthew) is shopping for a TV at a local corner store for his youth center. This series takes place after Daredevil sacrificed his life to save the souls of his friends, and his subsequent resurrection. While he’s still the same guy, Matt remembers living a totally different life than the one he originally led, which is why seeing She-Hulk was so alarming for him.
She-Hulk sees Matt at the store and immediately embraces him as if the two were old friends catching up – because, to Jennifer, they are old friends. Matt’s memories of the life he was reborn into make it difficult for him to reconcile the life those around him know him from. Father Matthew had no reason to know She-Hulk, nor she him. Yet here they are, talking like old friends, making plans to go to lunch together. While the cover art of this issue shows She-Hulk and Daredevil with a much more aggressive and standoffish energy between them, the preview just makes their encounter seem awkward and one-sided.
Daredevil Admits The One Reason He Really Shouldn’t Be On The Avengers
Daredevil is a major hero in the Marvel Universe, and like most major heroes, he eventually joined the Avengers, even if he admits he shouldn’t have.
Daredevil and She-Hulk’s Awkward Encounter Will Devolve Into Rivalry
The summary of this issue teases a ‘brutal battle’, and the cover art indicates that it will involve Daredevil and She-Hulk. The only question is: how will they get to that point? Sure, the preview makes it clear that the two of them won’t be having sex any time soon, as Matt’s a priest and She-Hulk is in a relationship, but that doesn’t mean the two of them are destined to come to blows. So, what is it, then?
Unfortunately, with the Gang War crossover event they’re both involved in still unfolding, it’s impossible to know exactly why Daredevil and She-Hulk’s relationship will devolve into a rivalry. However, it seems this issue will be the launching-off point for that development, with this painfully awkward encounter being just the start of their ultimate breaking point.
This Isn’t The First Time She-Hulk and Daredevil Have Been Marvel Comics Rivals
Even if a rivalry is brewing between Daredevil and She-Hulk, there’s always a level of good faith between them that seems unshakable, which is something that can be asserted based on the simple fact that this won’t be the first time the two have been rivals. In 2014’s She-Hulk #9 by Charles Soule and Javier Pulido, Jen and Matt find themselves at opposite ends of the courtroom, as Jen is defending Captain America for alleged past crimes, with Matt as the prosecution. However, when the two suit up as Daredevil and She-Hulk after their courtroom bouts, they’re good friends. This indicates that no matter what they go through, they’ll always come back around for each other in the end, even if their relationship is strictly platonic.
While the rivalry may not last between them once it starts (as past events indicate that it never does), it’s probably accurate to assume that the relationship between Daredevil and She-Hulk will stay platonic for the time being in the comics, which alone is a far cry from their budding MCU romance. Now, only time will tell to what extent their MCU romance will be rewritten in Marvel Comics, and how intense Daredevil and She-Hulk’s rivalry will really be.
Daredevil #5 by Marvel Comics is available January 17, 2024.
