Daredevil: Black Armor #2 - Marvel Comics

DAREDEVIL: BLACK ARMOR No. 2, February 2024

Barely allowing any member of its audience to pause for breath, this return to Hell’s Kitchen by D.G. Chichester certainly seems to carry the reader along for one exhilarating roller-coaster of a ride, courtesy of its opening potentially promising the adventure to come will tap into the popularity of the Amazing Spider-Man and the web-spinner’s super-popular Seventies’ series “Marvel Team-Up”. Sadly for some though, Peter Parker’s colourfully costumed appearance is simply a short-lived cameo. Yet no sooner has the wall-crawler departed than the American author hurls Daredevil into a vicious fist-fight against both the Hobgoblin and Sabretooth.

This somewhat one-sided battle is particularly well-penned, as alongside the antagonists’ deadly attacks, Matt Murdock must also desperately try to save a train-load of kidnap victims who appear destined to die deep below ground at the whim of “a mysterious foe whose powers trump them all!” Indeed, many a bibliophile’s brain may soon start spinning in bemusement during this action-packed sequence as the blind human mutate juggles all these distractions simultaneously as he continues to investigate just where beneath the Big Apple the fast-paced metro is taking its “scores of vulnerable New Yorkers.”

Equally as enthralling however, is this twenty-page periodical’s momentary pause to focus upon the imprisoned plight of the Fantastic Four’s famous arch-nemesis, Harvey Elder. Intriguingly written as a victim of his own grand designs and his poorly-judged alliance with “one of the leaders of the Hydra terrorist organization”, the muzzled Mole Man’s predicament as a captive may not initially garner all that much sympathy. But it’s clear from Daredevil’s reaction that the super-villain’s sway over the Moloids may well prove to be the solution to the hero’s deadly dilemma in the long run.

Likewise, Netho Diaz’s dynamic layouts ensure that all Chichester’s sense-shattering shenanigans are wonderfully brought to life. The aforementioned scrap between the titular character and the Hobgoblin is a particular highlight of this comic, with the “mainstay at Marvel Comics” beautifully pencilling the strain upon Murdock’s face as he dutifully attempts to save the innocent, whilst batting away numerous pumpkin bombs with his batons; “That ride of yours seems dangerously unbalanced.”

The regular cover art to "DAREDEVIL" #2 by Mark Bagley & Romulo Fajardo Junior