Warning! Spoilers for Daredevil #19 below!
The iconic red costume of Daredevil will be soon making its return, but before Matt Murdock puts it on once again, he’ll have to face the inferno of Hell’s Kitchen. The road that sees Daredevil back in his red suit is filled with tragedy and the death of a man trying to be a hero.
In Chip Zdarsky and Marco Checchetto, Mattia Iaconos Daredevil #19, Hell’s Kitchen is being overrun by a new squad of villains. In the group causing chaos and destruction are Bullseye, Crossbones, Bullet, Stilt-Man, and Rhino. They flip over cars, set off bombs, and put on a pure display of brute force in an attempt to shake the neighborhood to its core. That’s when Hector, a normal man decides to put on his own Daredevil costume and try to help save his city.
After Bullseye fires a warning shot at a mother and her baby, Hector lunges at him, knocking him to the ground. Hector tries to hold his own against Bullseye, telling him “get the %#@% out of my neighborhood,” but ends up getting stabbed. As Hector falls to the ground, a large group of Hell’s Kitchen locals approaches Bullseye in Daredevil masks, in an “I am Spartacus” moment. Matt eventually arrives on the scene and finds his home being blown apart. He finds people fighting and helping in red Daredevil masks and sees how the city is uniting around him. Sadly, it’s also when he finds Hector laying on the ground in blood.
Matt does everything he can to keep Hector alive, taking off his black mask and using it to apply pressure against his wound from keeping him from bleeding out. Hector faintly tells Matt “I tried..”, as the Daredevil slowly begins to realize that his costume and heroism were bigger than just him. He realizes Hell’s Kitchen banded together and “carried my burden, my sins. But they shouldn’t have to.” As Bullseye approaches and tells Matt “is there really no #$#@ing end to you fake Daredevils?” Matt catches the knife thrown his way and tells the villain “not fake Lester… just Daredevil…” as he dons the mask again. Matt struggled with his own inner demons and identity, but seeing Hell’s Kitchen come together and take on the invading villains made him realize his true purpose with the costume. The Daredevil is back. Daredevil #19 is in stores now.
