In the Big Chair or On the Ground? A Review of Daredevil #602

written by Charles Soule
art by Mike Henderson
colors by Matt Milla

Matt Murdock's tenure as mayor of New York City amid an invasion by the demon ninja clan the Hand takes a turn for the interesting as he brings on board Foggy Nelson as his chief of staff, and as his protege/sidekick Blindspot finally shows up and admits that the current invasion of he Hand is basically his fault. The Hand are targeting anyone in uniform and only the superhero community seem capable of putting up a fight right now. While Foggy briefly manages to impress on Matt the importance of doing his job as mayor rather that pulling on his tights and being Daredevil right now, Matt still heads out with Blindspot in response to a distress call from policemen being surrounded by the Hand. What they find shows just how great the threat they face is.

This issue keeps the action moving, but isn't quite as involving as last issue's turnaround from the disastrous turn of events in issue #600. I did like how Soule presented the moral quandary to Matt of how important it was for him to sit still and be mayor, although I didn't like how casually Matt cast his duties aside to save a couple of cops in peril. I mean, it was a dilemma that was at least worth debating for more than a couple of pages. I hope Soule picks up on this later in the story; it would be interesting to see the repercussions of Matt's impulsiveness.

Henderson's art manages to look more dynamic this issue than it did last time, even as it retains its quirky, cartoonish, Skottie Young-inspired character (which, incidentally, I mean as a compliment). I don't particularly miss Ron Garney right now.

I realize that Charles Soule didn't actually create "the Beast" or the rather silly-looking demon who leads the Hand and is basically causing the current wave of misery in this story, but I can't help but comment on how on-the-nose the character is, especially since the book ends with what appears to be a reference to him going to Hell. He also feels a tad redundant in a universe that also has a Hell-dwelling lord of the underworld in Mephisto. I'm kind of surprised that 80s-Daredevil-era Frank Miller came up with this character; it's more like something he'd come up with today.

Anyway, given how strong the last issue was I still remain confident that good things can come out of this particular story.

7/10