Daredevil’s resurgence in the limelight continues thanks to Marvel Studios’ announcement of the upcoming Born Again TV series for Disney+, but the Man Without Fear has enjoyed several stellar runs in the source material. It’s hard to point to a single underwhelming run in his comic books, with so many talented writers taking the reins to tell something meaningful about Matt Murdock’s character wrapped in thoroughly compelling stories and complemented by interesting supporting characters.
Frank Miller helped revitalize the superhero when he was in need of a reinvention, and Daredevil has had several more landmark story arcs in the decades since. The likes of Brian Michael Bendis put together a modern icon of a story, with others such as Mark Waid paying homage to his adventurous roots.
David Mack
Though one of the more under-the-radar writers on Daredevil, David Mack wrote some influential story arcs for the hero in his own right. One of those arcs, Parts of a Hole, is now an indirect driving force for what’s going on in the Marvel Cinematic Universe right now. Mack and artist Joe Quesada created Maya Lopez/Echo, and Parts of a Hole covered her tumultuous relationship with her surrogate guardian Wilson Fisk/Kingpin.
It was a compelling storyline for its thrilling blend of tragic romance and tense action, and it looks to have been set up in the closing moments of Disney+’s Hawkeye for Echo’s solo outing next year, which is set to have Charlie Cox’s Daredevil and Vincent D’Onofrio’s Kingpin return as well.
Ann Nocenti
Ann Nocenti is another underrated Daredevil writer who’s finally gotten some more recognition for her work. Her writing gave way to more grimy street-level stories and Nocenti also created one of Daredevil’s most creative and threatening villains in the form of Typhoid Mary.
She’s had one of the most sprawling runs on the character in his history, and her contributions to the Daredevil mythos can’t be understated. A Touch of Typhoid was a famous arc to introduce the terrifyingly volatile nature of its titular villain, but Nocenti was also a writer for the underrated spiritual sequel to Miller’s Born Again with Last Rites, which was another immensely satisfying comeback for Murdock against Fisk.
Brian Michael Bendis
Often held in such high regard that some even feel it’s on par or better than Miller’s run, writer Brian Michael Bendis wrote some of his best comics during his tenure on Daredevil. His run was received with emphatic critical acclaim, somehow managing to lean hard into Miller-like atmospheres of moody crime-noir while still standing on its own and feeling like a revolutionary run at the same time.
Matt Murdock is at one of the lowest points in his life in this run (which says a lot for the character) as it was an expansive crime saga dealing with Matt’s increasingly uncontrollable rage while dealing with his identity being outed and his worst enemies piling on his misery. It might be one of the grittiest mainstream comic book runs, and it’s thoroughly engrossing and cathartic throughout.
Ed Brubaker
Following up on Bendis’ run on Daredevil is a tall order by any writing metric, but Ed Brubaker did an admirable job picking up where the former left off. Brubaker’s run on the series was characterized by explosive turns of events stemming from Matt’s consequences during the Bendis run, as well as some notable crossovers.
It was ambitious in terms of scale, though, some might understandably feel the bleak atmosphere overstayed its welcome in some places. That being said, Brubaker’s run was still lauded for feeling like an overall natural sequel to Bendis’ work thematically, maintaining the feel of genuine high stakes, and opening with one of the most intense arcs in Daredevil’s mythos with The Devil in Cell Block D.
Frank Miller
Frank Miller’s big start in the industry came in the pages of Daredevil, and alongside his acclaimed reinvention of the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen came many of Daredevil’s greatest ever comics. From his creation of Elektra in Last Hand to the game-changing Born Again to his Batman: Year One-like retelling of Daredevil’s origins in The Man Without Fear, Miller set a new high standard for how gripping Matt Murdock and his corner of the world could be within the realm of gritty, street-level crime-noir.
The latter two were massive influences on the initial Netflix series (seasons 1 and 3, respectively), and his pulpy work laid the foundation in some way for much of what would follow in the following decades.
Chip Zdarsky
The current run on the series with Chip Zdarsky’s writing has been widely praised since its 2019 start, and it’s a great story arc for beginner Daredevil comics fans. While not as grim as the likes of Miller, Bendis, or Brubaker’s work on the character, Zdarsky masterfully balances grounded street-level grit with the natural spectacle of the superhero genre in comics.
It has its thematic similarities to prior runs on Daredevil, but Zdarsky does well to make this engaging story arc his own by posing some fascinating philosophical questions about Matt Murdock’s state of mind and the relationships around him, all the while honoring his past and narratively standing alone. Likewise, it’s punctuated by some exciting action sequences and a diverse cast of villains.
Mark Waid
As far as Daredevil’s most popular runs in history go, Mark Waid’s run was something of a revolution in its own right for drawing inspiration from the Stan Lee and Bill Everett days of the hero in a more grandiose, colorfully adventurous fashion. In a rare move, this arc sees Daredevil move from Hell’s Kitchen to San Francisco, taking on a vibrant revolving door of villains in a fresh adventure.
However, it wasn’t over-the-top nonsensical camp, as Waid’s run was praised for expertly balancing lighter, more swashbuckling tones with dark, intimate character drama to move Matt’s growth forward. The argument could certainly be made that having Disney+’s Daredevil: Born Again balance Waid’s brand of color and drama with Zdarsky’s grounded, grittier, but suitably PG-13/TV-14 feel would be an excellent tonal compromise.
Charles Soule
Charles Soule’s time on Daredevil is generally regarded by longtime fans as one of the weaker runs, but the fact that it still managed an overall moderately positive reception speaks volumes to the embarrassment of riches that the character has enjoyed.
Some understandably feel that Soule’s arc reversed some exciting growth written for Matt in Waid’s preceding run and that his own ideas don’t quite get fleshed out all the way, but the concepts he brought to the table were exciting in and of themselves. Highlighting more of Matt as an attorney, introducing a sidekick in the form of Blindspot with the Man Without Fear as a mentor, Fisk becoming New York’s mayor, a compelling new villain in Muse, and a stylish new take on the Daredevil suit were some notable positives.
