Random Happenstance

I don't talk about current comics enough--well, I guess we mentioned the current Star Trek series a bit ago--but here's another recent book I'm now down for, even as it gets sucked into a crossover: from 2021, Daredevil #26, "The Black Kitchen" Written by Chip Zdarsky, art by Marco Checchetto and Mike Hawthorne, inks by Adriano Di Benedetto. 

Matt, as Daredevil, was currently in prison; on a two-year bid for manslaughter. Elektra had wanted him to break out and join her in creating the Fist, to finally crush the Hand once and for all: Matt declines, thinking she had to earn his trust. Somewhat grudgingly, Elektra decides to do just that, making an absolutely stylin' costume for herself, and protecting Hell's Kitchen as Daredevil. She almost certainly has some ulterior motives--I think if they form the Fist, one of them is prophesized to die, and she may want to make sure it's her--but there's a massive sense of "I'll show him" here. Even though she feels it's largely pointless, as when she stops a gunrunner from doing business in the Kitchen: she doesn't really care what he does elsewhere, but also thinks turning him over to the cops would just be more corruption.

Speaking of corruption, Wilson Fisk is still mayor, now with Typhoid Mary as his head of security. (I don't know how long that's been the case: it feels like rolling back a bit of development for Typhoid, but it also sort of works?) Wearing her hair up, and her face half-painted, with a couple swords on her back...that could just read as 'formal superhero wear' to the people of New York. Fisk's right-hand man Wesley is there as well...I thought he was killed off in the last run; but there was a long dream sequence in there, so maybe not. But, none of our characters are prepared for today's nonsense, an invasion of Venoms! Fisk seems unwilling to leave Typhoid as she holds off the Venoms, then is engulfed. In the prison, Matt misses his soundproof room, since he can hear everything in the prison (...ew) and tries to warn the guards of the symbiote intruder, since he knows that's out of their league. And in a bar, hiding out from the invasion, a stepmom steps in to stop her underage daughter getting hit on, and gets slapped for her trouble. The daughter changes her tune when the stepmom gets creepily Venomed, and tries to make her one too. Elektra steps in to save the daughter, mentally complaining that "Matt's life is a horror show. His city is a horror show." Even though she doesn't think much of the situation or the daughter, feeling Matt's judgement, Elektra absolutely refuses to let anything happen to her. Which may be put to the test, when a Venomed Typhoid Mary shows up.

For good measure, in prison, Matt is Venomed as well, with Knull imploring him to join them. Venomdevil isn't as good a design as the Infinity War Doppelganger-DD, sorry.

The people of NYC already seem to know there's a new DD here; I was expecting a few issues of the cops wondering why billy-club beatings were down, but stabbings way up. A comic shop guy suggested this was the first real development for Elektra in who knows how long; but I just love the notion of her trying to pound the square peg into the round hole: can Elektra use her skill set to do a Daredevil's job? Does she want to, really? She often seems to be asking herself, "What would Matt do?...something stupid." I would be legitimately surprised not if Elektra saves the daughter, but if that sparks any sort of warm feelings in her. Also, while I'm sure Matt opting for prison makes sense in a big-picture, protecting other heroes and the law way; it pretty obviously also makes sense for his colossal martyr complex; which I believe Elektra even calls him on, for the good that does her.

That and her costume is great; Marvel Legend soon, please.