Daredevil #11 Review
- Details
- Published on Monday, 30 April 2012 01:00
- Written by Kevin
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With Avengers vs. X-Men providing Marvel with their big loud summer blockbuster event the real event that has stolen the show is The Omega Effect. This crossover between Avenging Spider-Man, Punisher and Daredevil has been excellent. The first two parts of this crossover event gave us plenty of strong character work for all three heroes of this crossover. With Daredevil #11 Mark Waid finishes off the crossover with an ending that is sure to have large impact for every character involved.
Creative Team
Writer: Mark Waid
Artist: Marco Checchetto
Colorist: Matt Hollingsworth
Story Rating: 8 Night Girls out of 10
Art Rating: 9 Night Girls out of 10
Overall Rating: 8.5 Night Girls out of 10
Synopsis: After a recap of recent events, Daredevil has found himself in the middle of Megacrime. Being outnumbered Daredevil is saved by Spider-Man with Punisher providing cover fire. While taking cover from all the fire power Megacrime is shooting at them Spider-Man asks Punisher where Rachel Coles is. He tells him that she ambushed Daredevil and left with the Omega Drive.
Spider-Man then asks Daredevil what happened to the special gun he built to destroy the Omega Drive. Daredevil says that it got destroyed while he was fighting Megacrime alone.
With Spider-Man creating a wall using his webs to keep them from being shot the three heroes decide to split up to try and find Rachel before Megacrime or some else does.
Searching the whole city, Daredevil says to himself that Rachel must have gone somewhere specific to use the Omega Drive. That causes him to rush to an unknown building. While he does this Rachel is right behind him, tailing him from the shadows.
Once Daredevil enters the unknown building Rachel is attacked by Daredevil. He proceeds to tell Rachel that he knew she was following him. Daredevil goes on to say that after getting over the rush of having the Omega Drive Rachel knew she had no way to use it, showing how much of an amateur she is. Rachel demands Daredevil to tell her how she can use the drive.
Daredevil tells Rachel that she is special as she has skill that she uses to accomplish her goals. He says that he is the same as are the Avengers. He says many heroes have lost loved ones that it drove them to be heroes, just as Rachel is driven by someone she loved being killed. Rachel agrees and says that no one that knows that loss could be as driven as they are.
This pisses Daredevil off as he states that it is offensive to police officers, fire fighters and soldiers who put their lives on the line just as they do. Daredevil continues to say that she get her ass out of his way because he is going to get his job done. Listening to this causes Rachel to decide to hand over the Omega Drive.
Just then Rachel is shot from behind by Megacrime. Not too far behind them Punisher and Spider-Man enter the building. Daredevil, Spider-Man and Punisher again team-up to fight Megacrime.
After a quick battle the three heroes discuss what happened. They look for Rachel but notice that she is long gone. Daredevil thinks they should look for her but Punisher says that she will be found only if she wants to. Punisher then says he will leave the drive for Daredevil and Spider-Man to deal with as he did what he set out to accomplish: remind Megacrime why they should fear him.
With Punisher gone Spider-Man and Daredevil discuss what to do next. Daredevil says he has a plan. Spider-Man asks if he is going to need a hand but Daredevil says he’s got it and that he’ll tell Spider-Man later over drinks. End of issue.
Commentary
The Good: Over the years the word “grounded” has become something of a negative word for comic book reviews. It has been used for how some writers try to make their characters more realistic while losing what makes them special in the process. But then you take a look at a story such as The Omega Effect and realize that having a grounded story does not mean we still cannot get a larger than life story. Daredevil #11 is the perfect example of this as it ends this crossover in a big way.
Continuing from what Greg Rucka did in the previous issue of Punisher, Mark Waid finished The Omega Effect of strong with some things resolved while still leaving plenty of room for further follow-up. That is the real beauty of this issue because by the time you get to the final page there is a sense things are resolved. At the same time you are also left wondering where Daredevil, Punisher and Spider-Man go from here.
Adding to that is the way Waid is able to capture each of the characters unique voice. Even with Punisher speaking more than we have been used to as of late Waid provides dialogue for the character that he still sounds like the Rucka’s Punisher. His way of speaking in this issue also helps to further flesh out the fact that these three heroes have been so closely tied to one another since being created. There is a unique way that they talk to one another that is not their when teaming up with other heroes.
The addition of Spider-Man also helped to give us a lot of comedic moments. Spider-Man provided a nice balance for a lot of the serious dialogue Waid gives to Daredevil and Punisher. What makes Spider-Man’s involvement special is that Waid is able to time each one of Spider-Man’s quips perfectly so he bounces off naturally from his partners. It may sound simple but is something many writers have shown unable to do with Spider-Man but Waid shows he knows how to write the character.
As the title character Daredevil is the star of this final issue of The Omega Effect. Mark Waid and Greg Rucka really did a good job keeping the focus of the story being on Daredevil. Everything has been centered on Daredevil’s decision to keep the Omega Drive and it continued here. Daredevil displays a overconfidence as the one to handle such a powerful device that could lead to another major war.
Unlike previous incarnations of the character, Waid makes sure the reader knows this is not the same loner Daredevil. His version of the character continues to be one that will bring someone in just enough to help him out but not reveal everything. Daredevil knows he does need help every once in a while and accepts this more openly.
At the same time, we are able to see Daredevil’s serious side during his talk with Rachel Alves. I loved how Waid was able to turn Daredevil on a dime to show that while he may joke more he is still a serious character. He is someone that you do not want to piss off and can intimidate almost anyone. That showed when Rachel brought up how she thinks that only people like Daredevil and herself can fight evil. Daredevil getting pissed and defending cops and military officials was just fantastic way to show his respect for others that put their lives on the line that don’t wear mask to do what’s right.
For her part, Rachel served as a good semi-antagonist for Daredevil given her background. Rachel is still in the recovery stage after losing everything in her life she loved. Her entire attitude of taking the things into her own hand shows how much of a rookie she but is still someone that can handle herself. The speech Daredevil gave her seemed to help her make the next step in her character evolution which I look forward to seeing over in Punisher.
Marco Checchetto was the perfect complement for The Omega Effect. His artwork throughout the issue shows why he is one of the best when it comes to Marvel’s street level heroes. The way he focuses on every characters reaction to the action sequences was great and allowed the fights to have more of an impact. I also loved how Checchetto drew Daredevil’s hyper sense abilities. He didn’t overdue it but showed us how it works.
The Bad: The only complaint I have is how easily Megacrime was defeated. As the main villains I expected them to pose a bigger threat than they did. In the end they were nothing but a bunch of grunts to give us some action sequences. All the strong character work for the three main heroes helps mask this but it is disappointing that the bad guys are tossed around by the heroes so easily.
Overall: Daredevil #11 was a strong finish to The Omega Effect. Mark Waid provided a lot of great character work for Daredevil, Punisher and Spider-Man. All three characters were able to mesh together very well as they each brought something different to the table. The addition of Rachel Alves gave the team-up an added cog to the machine to further Daredevil’s character. With how the story ended I look forward to seeing how the ramifications of where each character stands at the end will affect each book.
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Kevin started reading comics as a kid when he watched the first episodes of Batman: The Animated Series and Spider-Man: The Animated Series. After that his parents bought him a few random Spider-Man and Batman comics and he has been hooked ever since. When he is not reading and writing about comics you can find Kevin as the destroyer of worlds, champion of fighting tournaments and ace Madden player on the PS3. You can catch up with Kevin and all his thoughts at the following links:
Twitter: KevinL007
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Avenging Spider-Man