Review: This issue gets underway with Moon Knight allowing himself to be “arrested” by Daredevil's Hand ninjas in order to see where the prisoners of the Hand were being held. Luke Cage and Iron Fist discuss DD's murder of Bullseye, and get a visit from legitimate business man(HA!!!), the Kingpin. Kingpin tells Cage and IF that he(like any innocent civilian)is concerned about DD's recent actions, and feels that somebody is going to have to take DD down, before he decides to spread from Hell's Kitchen. Black Tarantula goes to talk to DD about his murder of Bullseye, but DD doesn't feel the need to discuss his actions, and tells Tarantula as much. DD then sends Tarantula to put the word out that DD will tolerate NO interference from costumed heroes, and that if the heroes aren't with him, then he'll consider them against him. Back in Kingpin's building, using an ancient scroll that was procured by Lady Bullseye, Kingpin summons an old mystical foe of the Hand, who just happens to be Ghost Rider(!!!), and informs GR of what the Hand and DD had been up to. Back in Hell's Kitchen, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, Colleen Wing, Shang-Chi and Misty Knight arrive and ask for an audience with DD, which DD's lieutenant, White Tiger reluctantly grants them. The 5 heroes soon meet with DD, and are eventually joined by Spider-Man. The heroes try to shame DD by mentioning how he's been scoffing at the laws he once fought so hard to uphold as a lawyer, and just as it seems the heroes may be getting through to DD, Ghost Rider attacks the Shadowland compound, leading DD to believe the appearance of the heroes was a ruse to allow Ghost Rider a way in. This issue ends with DD ordering his Hand henchmen to take down the 6 heroes, dead or alive!
What I Thought: While this issue was a drop off from last issue, it wasn't a drop off by much! This was still a highly enjoyable comic, as the story, and all of the main players are slowly beginning to gather. Cage and Iron Fist have rallied some of their allies, Spider-Man has shown up, Moon Knight is plotting in the bowels of the Shadowland prison, and Ghost Rider is attacking the Hand on the behalf of Kingpin of all people! This was a bit of a set-up issue, but it was still an excellent read.
Score: 9 out of 10.
I sure didn't see HIM appearing here!
I agree completely, I see we were on the same wavelength here, and I DEFINITELY didn't expect to see GR pop up, that shocked the hell outta me.
ReplyDeleteYeah, GR showing up SHOCKED me, 'cause I hadn't seen his name mentioned in any of the Shadowland mini-series'. I mean I knew Cage and IF would show up, same with Spidey and Moon Knight, but GR came completely out of left field!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad we agreed on this one, I get the feeling that won't be the case when I check to see what you had to say about BD #7! :P
Yeah, my thoughts exactly. That's one person I didn't expect to see at all. The best part is he's such a wild card that he could go either way, and conspicuous by her absence in the last issue was Elektra. I loved how Spidey randomly showed up, just in time for a fight.
ReplyDeleteOh MAN am I dying to see Elektra come face to face with DD! She's been at odds with the Hand for maybe longer then he was, plus she was actually killed by Bullseye, so it should be REALLY interesting to see what she does when all the cards are down.
ReplyDeleteI'm also glad you mentioned GR being a wildcard, because as I read this issue, I kept thinking that although GR is currently against DD, I could EASILY see him switching sides and joining up with DD.
Exactly! I know she'll try to save DD but at the same time she can't be too disappointed with him gutting Bullseye. Wonder what Daken thinks... haha.
ReplyDeleteRight? Plus the fact the teams are so weird, hell Spidey and Kingpin are technically on the same team!
Yeah, she HATES the Hand, BUT now DD is leading it. Plus he DID kill Bullseye, BUT he didn't kill Bullseye immediately after Bullseye killed her, so that may play into her actions as well. You know, kind of like how Jason Todd was disappointed that Bats didn't kill Joker right after Joker killed him. Even if Bats killed Joker tomorrow, I think Jason would still be let down since Bats didn't kill Joker right after his death.
ReplyDeleteThat's one of the things I'm really enjoying here! You could kind of sense the discomfort from Cage and Iron Fist when Kingpin went to them to talk about DD, because although Kingpin is like the scum of the Earth, he was right!
I love how you resonate it to Jason for me to get a better understanding :P Lol, but I see your point. Personally that's probably the main showdown I'm waiting for, do you think Daredevil may convert any heroes to his side during this story?
ReplyDeleteExactly! The fact that heroes and villains have to team up to take on Daredevil and the Hand shows how dangerous a threat he actually is.
HA, well the Jason Todd thing seemed like a pretty decent comparison. While we're on that, how do you think Jason would take it if Bruce came back and did end up killing Joker? I mean we know it would never happen, but I wonder how Jason would take it. Would he be relieved that Bruce had FINALLY taken care of Joker, or do you think he'd be hurt/pissed that Bruce didn't kill Joker right after his death?
ReplyDeleteI think Elektra might stick with Matt early on, but I can see her betraying him down the road. GR might be swayed depending on what Matt tells him. If Punisher wasn't the frigging Frankenstein monster right now, I think he'd be VERY likely to join up with DD. Besides that, if Moon Knight wasn't currently a member of the Secret Avengers, I'd say maybe him.
To be honest, I think Jason would be upset, that Bruce didn't do it soon enough, and that he didn't get to do it himself, I still think he wants to kill the Joker, almost as much as he wants Bruce to.
ReplyDeleteI could see Elektra playing that route, but she's turned on The Hand before so I could see them being wary of her help... man this is such a good storyline.
Yeah, that's how I see it too. I think Jason would be angry that it took Bruce SO long to finally kill Mistah J. You know, that's probably the ONLY thing I didn't like about the original Red Hood storyline... The fact that Jason had every opportunity to kill Joker himself, but he didn't. I get that he wanted to make a point of having Bruce do it, but by letting Joker live, he really wasn't any better then Bruce himself. All of Joker's subsequent murders are kind of on Jason's head now too.
ReplyDeleteTHAT is actually a GREAT point! If Elektra does come around and tries to buddy up with Matt/join his cause, White Tiger and her evil Hand masters would probably be pretty freaked out, since Elektra has screwed up SO many of their plans before. If anything, Elektra's arrival may actually be the thing that causes the evil Hand guys to tip their hand(heh-heh).
Very good point. I agree, because he could have EASILY killed Joker hundreds of times while he waited for Bruce, and since that showdown he hasn't even tried to go after Joker again. I think Jason realizes once he kills Joker, someone has to take that place, and it'd probably be him, hell he's already taken his previous persona.
ReplyDeleteHaha, I'm surprised you beat me to that pun. Hell, just talking about this makes me even more anxious for Elektra to show up. So do you think there's a chance anyone from the good guy team dies or is this just a big war with no real casualties besides Bullseye?
Exactly! And the Joker thing at the end of your comment is pretty interesting! Jason HAS taken Joker's old persona, would he be crazy enough to actually BECOME the Joker too? That's def something to think on!
ReplyDeleteHmm, I don't know. I could see somebody like Foggy Nelson dying to snap DD out of his evil act, but he's not exactly a super-hero. I honestly don't know. Personally, I hope not. I'm a firm believer that a good story doesn't need tons of deaths. One at the beginning to grab the readers, and maybe one at the end, to close things out. The person I think most likely to die would have to be DD himself. Maybe some heroic sacrifice at the end to redeem himself. But honestly, since the Hand can bring people back from the dead, it could be anybody.
Right? Someone pointed out that in Crazy Grant's Jason appearances, he had his hair red like Joker's was and he makes the same faces that Joker makes in killing joke. I mean I get that, but did he REALLY have to change his hair color? Someone should retcon that RIGHT NOW.
ReplyDeleteI keep forgetting they can bring back people from the dead, but I definitely agree, the big death to get everyone talking, and if necessary the sacrificial death at the end, any more are overkill. (No pun intended.)
I think in a way Judd HAS retconned the red hair. I mean, he SHOULD have come back to life with red hair, or had red hair sometime before Talia tossed him in the Pit, right? I think the fact that he didn't have red hair in the first issue of Lost Days is pretty telling.
ReplyDeleteHey man, I'm agreeing with you left and right tonight! I couldn't agree more about the overkill thing. Some writers seem to think that more deaths make things more dramatic though(YOST!!!), and I just see an overabundance of deaths as pointless.
Good point, I didn't think about that. I'm just afraid the next time we see Jason, escaping from Blackgate or whatever he'll have red hair. I wouldn't even mind if they just retconned it and said that was Jason or something stupid, just so I could forget that ever happened.
ReplyDeleteAgreeing with me means all is rightnin the world :P Yeah, I feel like no story needs more than three deaths, I mean Blackest Night was kind of an exception but for the most part, I'd say they don't need more than three. The first one, the possible big sacrifice and maybe one more to cause the sacrifice but not always needed.