With Matt Murdock’s West Coast relocation in full swing, Mark Waid and Chris Samnee take one last look at New York City and its newest (and most unexpected) hero in “Daredevil” #5.
Written by Mark Waid
Illustrated by Chris SamneeWhat killed Foggy Nelson? And now that he’s “dead,” what is he supposed to do with his life?
Outside of Spider-Man, there is perhaps no superhero as identified with New York City as Daredevil. Matt Murdock loves the rooftops of Hell’s Kitchen the way the Bruce Wayne loves the shadows of Gotham. That’s why the recent change of location to San Francisco has been such a surprising and refreshing change of pace for the series. There were, however, a couple of loose ends that the Man Without Fear left behind in NYC, including the fate of his best friend and law partner Foggy Nelson. The last issue seemed to reveal that Foggy has succumbed to the cancer he’s been battling against, but now the full story is finally told.
Just before Matt Murdock’s west coast move, he and Foggy take a walk through Central Park and discuss the ramifications of Daredevil’s public unmasking. Realizing that having his real identity exposed puts all of his closet friends at risk of attack from Daredevil’s many enemies, Matt informs Foggy that the best course of action is to fake the latter’s death, allowing him to continue his cancer treatment out west under a new, and anonymous, identity. Foggy is less than thrilled about having to fake-die, but their discussion is cut short when a giant mech shows up and starts attacking people. Now there’s only one hero that can save the city: Foggy Nelson!
Perhaps the best thing that Mark Waid has done during his time on “Daredevil” is reinvent the emotional pallet of the series. For years, decades even, “Daredevil” has been overflowing with more tears, angst, and darkness than a night scene in a Nicolas Sparks movie. Waid has turned the character into a much more positive, confidant, and guilt free hero without making the stories any less impactful. This is best exemplified by Foggy’s fight against cancer, and the way all the characters deal with it; Matt puts on a brave face and refuses to wallow, because he knows that’s what Foggy needs. He can wail and shout about how unfair the world is and how hard it is to be Daredevil, but that won’t do anything to help his friend.
Even with the influx of positive mental attitudes into the characters, Waid never lets the reader forget that having cancer sucks. Foggy’s stuggles with his illness, the painful treatments, and harsh side effects are not sugar coated for Matt or for the reader, but it also never feels like Waid is exploiting a very real sickness that affects so many people in the real world for cheap dramatic tension. Foggy’s cancer becomes part of his daily life, always present, and he soldiers on as massive superheroics happen all around him. Waid is smart enough to at least address the inevitable question of why Mr. Fantastic hasn’t come up with a cure for cancer yet; Hank Pym makes a great appearance blasting apart cancer cells in Foggy’s body, but this only stops the spread and doesn’t kill the original tumor. This is the Marvel Universe, where super powers are cool, but they don’t make you a god.
Chris Samnee gets one last chance to pencil NYC, and it’s clear that he knows this landscape backwards and forwards. Matt and Foggy’s stroll across the Bow Bridge in Central Park looks as lush and as colorful as something out of a tourism ad. It’s a good visual contrast to the fairly serious and morbid conversation taking place, keeping the overall tone of the issue non-grim. Samnee’s art has played a big part in the excellent portrayal of Foggy’s cancer battle, from his drained appearance to his hair loss. This issue points out the dramatic amount of weight that Foggy has lost, and here the famously cherub-like character is a slender shadow of his former self. It’s quite impressive that Samnee can make Foggy’s bare head as visually impactful as the biggest superhero fight.
Continued belowThere is a big superhero fight, but it is clearly not the centerpiece of the issue. It’s a D-list villain, albeit with a pretty cool visual upgrade, and pretty soon Matt has the red tights on and is being dragged through the city streets. Samnee can draw a Daredevil fight with his eyes shut, and the results are always impressive, even when it only lasts a couple of pages. The fight is short and the focus quickly switches to Foggy and the role he has to play. The smile that appears on Matt’s face when he realizes Foggy’s opportunity is one of the best moments in the entire issue. The climatic explosion and the Ant-Man assisted epilogue will make anyone fist-pump to victory. It’s happy and uncomplicated, and the art matches the tone perfectly.
The main theme of this issue is that anyone can be a hero. Foggy has long ago resigned himself to his position as comic-relief sidekick, forever dodging collapsing buildings as the Avengers and co. save the world again and again. When superhero’s die, they go out in a massive blaze of glory that’s remembered for years; regular people just get squashed by Thanos. This time, Matt sees a chance to flip the script, and give Foggy the chance to save the day. It makes total sense that he would the hero who realized the opportunity for the proverbial little guy, because Daredevil isn’t a god, or a mutant, or a friendly neighborhood web-slinger. Among the other superheroes, Daredevil is the little guy.
But the best part is that Foggy was already a hero for bravely facing something that an Avenger never will, and doing what they cannot. Matt knows that, and now every New Yorker knows it as well, and there’s something beautiful about that.
Final Verdict: 9.8 – Touching and heartwarming. One of the best single issues of the entire Waid/Samnee era.
