Daredevil Vol. 4 #13 By Mark Waid, Chris Samnee, Matthew Wilson, And Joe Caramagna

Excerpt from Daredevil volume 4. Daredevil appears from a dark tunnel to find Kirsten McDuffie waiting with her arms folded. She says, "I heard a scream. Is he...?" Matt replies, "Back there. Tied up with the grapple line. I'll haul him out in a minute. This first." He hugs Kirsten tightly. She says, "Wow. That was...that was...that was awesome." Matt pulls back and says, "How? How was that-- When my enemies strike at me through you, that is not--" Kirsten finishes his sentence: "--your enemy! That guy? That guy was the Lilac Murderer, Matt!" Matt says, "I don't know a 'Lilac Killer'..." Kirsten cuts him off by putting a finger to his lips. "'Lilac Murderer'! Read my lips! My! Grudgemate! Serial killer! Left a lilac with every victim! I was the lawyer who put him away for life...minus, I guess, time spent escaping prison and seeking revenge!" Matt says, "Are you sure?" The next panel shows their feet: Matt's red Daredevil boots and Kirsten's heels. The stone floor around them is covered in lilac petals. Kirsten says, "Oh, my god! The staging! There are, like, a hundred lilacs on the floor! Do you think he did that for you? Do you know what this means?" Kirsten throws an exuberant fist in the air. "I have my own arch-foe! My! Own!" Behind her, Matt folds his arms and says, "That's your takeaway from this?" Kirsten continues: "I may have peed a little. Also, I have no idea where my purse and phone are now, so that'll be an adventure." She turns to Matt. "Hey, you're not hurt, are you?" Matt puts his hands on his hips. "Of course not." We see them from a distance, down the dark tunnel. Kirsten says, "You're sure? I get so freaked out when my enemies strike at me through my loved ones..." Matt replies coldly, "You are a riot. This is your adrenaline talking, you realize?" Kirsten says, "Then do you want to waste it Dare-splaining, or do you want to hit the sheets?" We zoom out further, until we can see the Lilac Murderer lying in the tunnel, tied up with a rope and looking a bit shell-shocked. From a distance, Matt says, " Grapple line's strong. It'll hold all night."

Daredevil vol. 4 #13 by Mark Waid, Chris Samnee, Matthew Wilson, and Joe Caramagna

I've talked before about the degree to which Kirsten, as a character, is in conversation with the tradition of women in Daredevil comics—and, in fact, with the history of superhero love interests as a whole, which is a theme Mark Waid tends to enjoy examining (for my Flash readers: Kirsten shares many traits with Waid's rendition of Linda Park). She is independent, she is strong-willed, and she takes up space within the story beyond the boundaries of her relationship with the hero. She even says aloud, directly on-panel, that she does not want to be relegated to the role of "Daredevil's girlfriend"—meaning, of course, within her life and world, but it's also a statement of intent from the creative team. Here, we get possibly my favorite story element highlighting this autonomy: the fact that Kirsten has her own enemies from her life as a successful lawyer, long before she met Matt.

This particular issue is all about the echoes of Matt's bloody dating history and how he is choosing to deal with that now that he is in a relationship again, particularly now that he has a public identity. Another theme of this run is Matt healing and trying to move on from past traumas, and one way it does this is through light-hearted, jokey elements being overlaid onto very serious topics: Matt's famous "I'm Not Daredevil" shirt from volume 3 is one example, and this scene is another. I've also talked before about the particular parallels between Kirsten and Milla (another character who was, at least initially, created to engage with and subvert DD love interest tropes). Kirsten is doing something here that we saw Milla do as well: downplaying the seriousness of Matt's fears for her safety. There are two levels to this: an understanding of why Matt is so afraid (Kirsten wasn't there, but we, having read those issues, know exactly what he is scared of), but also a joy, at least for me, in something Kirsten always does so well, which is to undermine Matt's self-important posturing, drag him down off his Angsting Perch (you know the one), and force him to genuinely engage with life and the people around him. Kirsten is not supposed to be thrilled to have had her life threatened, that is not in the established script, and it upsets Matt, but the fact of the matter is that she's fine (in a way Milla was not allowed to be), and even better, she's had the chance to get one up on Matt by being attacked by someone whose interest is in her, not him! I love Kirsten having her own arch-foe. I love how smug she is about it. I want her to have a whole rogues gallery.

More Posts from Thedevilinthem and Others

3 months ago

i literally cannot stand sister maggie. i do not think she deserves forgiveness from matt. i know he has to give it to her to reconcile with his faith and everything, but the way she treats him especially at the start of s3? she’s so unhelpful and cruel.

sure, you could argue that it was “tough love”, and that he needed the push, but seriously there had to be better ways to go about it.

i know my takes can seem too black/white for what’s actually going on, but while i understand her character and the intricacies of the story, i really believe that she does not deserve his or our forgiveness.

maybe i just want to see matt loved in a way that doesn’t hurt…


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2 months ago

The best part, imo, of both of today's eps is not Matt finally putting the Daredevil suit on, nor Fisk starting to snap, nor Muse finally getting screen time, and not even the shit ton of symbolism (religious and otherwise) smacking you in the face.

It's that Yusuf Khan watched Matt beat up a banker robber and then unlock a bank vault, and was like "I am gonna mind my own fucking business I don't want any more information about this Thank You Very Much!"


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3 months ago
Reasons To Watch Daredevil #3: Matt Murdock's Dimples And Smile Lines
Reasons To Watch Daredevil #3: Matt Murdock's Dimples And Smile Lines
Reasons To Watch Daredevil #3: Matt Murdock's Dimples And Smile Lines
Reasons To Watch Daredevil #3: Matt Murdock's Dimples And Smile Lines
Reasons To Watch Daredevil #3: Matt Murdock's Dimples And Smile Lines
Reasons To Watch Daredevil #3: Matt Murdock's Dimples And Smile Lines

Reasons to watch Daredevil #3: Matt Murdock's dimples and smile lines

1 month ago

Me every time Matt calls Karen Ms Page

Me Every Time Matt Calls Karen Ms Page
1 month ago

daredevil is the first real tumblr fandom experience i’ve ever had, and it has been so fun! i love talking to people about headcanons and interpretations and everything under the sun, bc i care about and love dd so so much and i love sharing that love with people.

i feel super privileged to have joined right around when born again was in the works, so i’ve gotten to experience the pre born again era as well as the excitement of the new show coming out.

recently however, i’ve seen people being super hostile about other people’s opinions about the show, mostly regarding ships? maybe that’s normal for fandom behavior, but it’s so much less fun in my opinion.

i’m a big proponent for live and let live, ya know? i love seeing everyone be excited about their ships and hcs. i have to believe it’s possible to like something and express that without putting down another thing.

sorry for being complainy on main lol, i’m still getting my footing around here.


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3 months ago

crazy how this was the whole show and nothing bad happened after!

DAREDEVIL: BORN AGAIN
DAREDEVIL: BORN AGAIN
DAREDEVIL: BORN AGAIN
DAREDEVIL: BORN AGAIN

DAREDEVIL: BORN AGAIN

S01 E01 : Heaven's Half Hour | dir. Justin Benson & Aaron Moorhead


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2 months ago

a lot can be said about matt murdock’s mental health, if the person who had to give him a therapy talk was frank castle instead of his therapist girlfriend.

2 months ago
Self Portrait I Guess. Been A Bit Bedridden Due To Cfs And Can’t Stop Thinking About Them.

Self portrait I guess. Been a bit bedridden due to cfs and can’t stop thinking about them.

[image ID: A digital drawing of a tired looking cartoonish person with long hair. Behind them are image stills from Marvel’s Daredevil tv show as well as some from Marvel’s The Punisher tv show. They are surrounded by little cartoon hearts. The bottom right corner shows a text box which says the following: “male(ish), twenty years old, five feet three inches, victim of severe and chronic daredevil brainrot”.]


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3 months ago

i have my hopes set so unreasonably high for a frank/matt team up in born again. i love their dynamic so much, i can’t wait to see them yell at each other some more 🥰


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1 month ago

"In another life, you may be defending me. That's what a good man does. Defends his worst enemy" you don't fucking understand how hard that line goes when you know that Dex isn't Matt's worst enemy. Fisk is. And Matt defended his worst enemy. Because that's what a good man does


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thedevilinthem - simple living thing
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