Zdarsky’s narrative works wonders in delivering a claustrophobic feel, where no one is safe. Readers are even treated to the latest iteration of the Thunderbolts. Miles Morales, Moon Knight, Luke Cage and Jessica Jones, even the Fantastic Four (holy moley, the Thing gets one heckuva great moment to shine) – no body is safe from Fisk’s jackbooted thugs. Reign, though, is more about one man’s vendetta – which, given the context of Fisk having to maneuver the political process, makes it a bit of a tougher pill to swallow.īut once the ball gets rolling, it gets rolling hard. The template for Devil’s Reign, Mark Millar’s Civil War, had a major inciting incident to push the narrative forward at breakneck pace, and that sense of urgency made the swiftness of events make sense. The “quicker” part is where Zdarsky’s narrative hits a slight snag a bit this issue, because events are set in motion so quickly, it’s hard to get a sense that things are really happening as speedily as they are. And quicker than you can say, “ Civil War III,” all superhero activity is outlawed. But Daredevil’s past actions have caught up with him, and the Kingpin has learned that his memory has been tampered with, and that he used to know Daredevil’s secret identity – and now he doesn’t, and knows in his gut that DD is to blame.įisk, who has been struggling to acclimate to a “legitimate” position of power, has been an awkward fit in the role of New York’s mayor, but has at last found his mission in using his anger against Daredevil to ban all superheroes within his city’s limits. But have no fear! Elektra, seeking to reform, has been subbing in as Hell’s Kitchen’s Daredevil, even relinquishing her former murderous ways. Except Daredevil is having a crisis of conscience (his latest) and recently remanded himself to prison as a means of clarifying that the law works equally toward more obvious criminals and masked vigilantes alike. But Daredevil is around to keep him in check – that’s good.

In a nutshell, though: Wilson Fisk, formerly the Kingpin of Crime, has elevated to Mayor of New York City. (Sidebar: if you aren’t reading Zdarsky’s Daredevil, seriously, drop everything and read it and then come back. And while it’s somewhat difficult to appreciate some of the story’s nuances if you haven’t been reading Daredevil on a regular basis, there’s more than enough carefully-laid story beats and dialogue cues that will get the uninitiated up to speed. Chip Zdarsky and Marco Checchetto are not fucking around.ĭevil’s Reign, spinning out of recent events in the writer’s seminal Daredevil run, is a master class in building tension, delivering narrative suspense, and, ultimately, delivering on expectations.

Devil's Reign by Chip Zdarsky