Daredevil, Vol. 7: Hardcore

Daredevil (1998) (Collected Editions)

by Brian Michael Bendis, Alex Maleev

Daredevil is simultaneously faced with murder charges, a new girlfriend, being outted by the tabloids, the return of one of his deadliest foes, Typhoid Mary, and the Kingpin's attempt to restore his fallen empire. And the surprise ending changes Daredevil's place in the Marvel Universe forever.

Collects Daredevil (1998) #46-50.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Marvel, Superheroes, Crime, Comic Book, Fiction

120 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2006

About the author

A comic book writer and erstwhile artist. He has won critical acclaim (including five Eisner Awards) and is one of the most successful writers working in mainstream comics. For over eight years Bendis’s books have consistently sat in the top five best sellers on the nationwide comic and graphic novel sales charts.

Though he started as a writer and artist of independent noir fiction series, he shot to stardom as a writer of Marvel Comics' superhero books, particularly Ultimate Spider-Man.

Bendis first entered the comic world with the "Jinx" line of crime comics in 1995. This line has spawned the graphic novels Goldfish, Fire, Jinx, Torso (with Marc Andreyko), and Total Sell Out. Bendis is writing the film version of Jinx for Universal Pictures with Oscar-winner Charlize Theron attached to star and produce.

Bendis’s other projects include the Harvey, Eisner, and Eagle Award-nominated Powers (with Michael Avon Oeming) originally from Image Comics, now published by Marvel's new creator-owned imprint Icon Comics, and the Hollywood tell-all Fortune and Glory from Oni Press, both of which received an "A" from Entertainment Weekly.

Bendis is one of the premiere architects of Marvel's "Ultimate" line: comics specifically created for the new generation of comic readers. He has written every issue of Ultimate Spider-Man since its best-selling launch, and has also written for Ultimate Fantastic Four and Ultimate X-Men, as well as every issue of Ultimate Marvel Team-Up, Ultimate Origin and Ultimate Six.

Brian is currently helming a renaissance for Marvel’s AVENGERS franchise by writing both New Avengers and Mighty Avengers along with the successful ‘event’ projects House Of M, Secret War, and this summer’s Secret Invasion.

He has also previously done work on Daredevil, Alias, and The Pulse.

Reviews

[Sam Quixote · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kingpin’s back to reclaim his empire and dish out furious vengeance on those who betrayed him. Only one person stands in his way: Daredevil!

As much as I want Brian Bendis/Alex Maleev’s Daredevil series to be as awesome as it was a couple books ago, Volume 7: Hardcore proves to be a fairly middling effort, like most of the other volumes.

Matt individually fights Typhoid Mary, Bullseye and Kingpin like he’s done numerous times before. Each fight becomes increasingly intense but it still feels like Matt going through the motions – he’s fought these characters too many times at this point for it to not seem rote.

His romance with Milla remains uninteresting and the Feds/Mutant Growth Hormone subplots are blah at best. I did like the unexpected plot twist at the end showing how Matt’s getting crazier: first playing the dangerous game of publicly denying he’s Daredevil, and now this? Maybe this will give the series the shot in the arm it needs?

Alex Maleev’s art is dependable as ever and I liked how he referenced the many fights between Daredevil and Kingpin by switching up his art style in each panel in homage to the different artists who’ve drawn this encounter before.

Hardcore’s not a bad comic – it’s readable and mildly entertaining - but it’s not very impressive either. I’ve got a creeping suspicion that this run’s best part is behind it and it’s headed into more mediocre territory for the remainder.

[Himanshu Karmacharya · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was incredible.

The plot revolves around Kingpin trying to get back his powers and territories, all the while messing up Daredevil's life. Overall, nothing seems that out of norm, but still Bendis manages to deliver a solid story, coupled with the amazing artwork by Alex Maheev.

[Aaron · Rating 5 out of 5]

Matt gets closer to Milla while his personal life begins dangerously colliding with his Daredevil persona. Behind the scenes, the Kingpin is not only alive but he has returned and has quickly started cleaning house. Bendis and Maleev wrap up their first uninterrupted run with a knockdown-dragout succession of some of DD's greatest enemies: Typhoid Mary, Bullseye, and finally the Kingpin himself.

This was just nuts in a good way and an almost perfect showcase for the classic Daredevil elements. While reminiscent of Born Again when Matt begins to lose his grip on the situation, Bendis prevents it from being an angst-ridden story by finally putting Matt on the offensive in a big way. Bendis and Maleev's versions of Mary and Bullseye are pitch perfect and much more believable here than anywhere else I've seen them, and both of them left me wanting more of their brand of crazy. Unlike several reviewers, I really enjoyed the collection of guest artists, likely every single one they could get that had ever done a DD issue, who did panels on select pages for the 50th issue of DD volume 2.

[Gavin Abdollahi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great addition to one of my favourite runs, though, the things leading up to that final issue, as well as Matt's change of character, were not well done.

[James DeSantis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kingpin makes his moves.

Daredevil is up to fucking HERE with this shit.

Everything boils down to this moment. To this clash of titans.

Matt Murdock is getting attacked by all sides. This time Bullseye goes after him and Matt has just had about enough of this shit. A epic brawl, turned into a beatdown, that can only be summed up as brutal as hell and I loved it. Then we finish off this volume with Daredevil claiming some pretty major claims that will send ripples throughout the city.

A 5 out of 5.

[Matty Dub · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is thrilling fucking stuff. It feels like a natural end for the first part of Bendis’ run as everything seems to gets settled, Kingpin takes a beating, the FBI is off Matt’s back, Milla for some reason is deeply in love with him and somehow they crammed a showdown with Typhoid Mary and Bullseye in there. A nice little “I’m the captain now” scene at the end et voila, badass arc completed.

[Jaye Berry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lmao @ this cover. There's a sound I've heard on tiktok that's like "excuse me is that seat taken?" and the person is like "that's my lap" and she's like "I know what I said".

This was good!! Pretty basic as far as story goes but it was solid.

The Kingpin is trying to regain his criminal empire and sends Typhoid Mary and then Bullseye after Daredevil. Matt has a new girlfriend who is thrown into the middle of it.

So story wise, same old same old. Bullseye yet again coming after Matt's girlfriend? I think I've seen this film before, and I didn't like the ending. Milla is... there. Of all the girlfriends Matt has had she's fine okay and I'm glad he a slut but also I don't like ~normal people~ relationships with superheroes. I prefer a power couple of them both being badasses and not having to deal with the boring things a superhero / regular person relationship gives. Her also being blind and them bonding over it is cute though.

I love the art a lot- it really sets the vibe. It's so moody and sketchy and it just hits, especially with this story. There was one issue where it jumped to another artist mid page and then went on for a couple pages and went back and that killed me like??? The new artist didn't even try to match and Fisk was wearing a completely different outfit. I don't know what happened there like was the guy busy?? But I hate it when that happens.

Why does Typhoid Mary not wear a shirt though also why is she named Typhoid Mary with no actual character traits besides "lol this bitch crazy".

Kingpin really goes hard in this but it truly was the same old except for him ordering the rape and murder of some guy's wife like ummmm excuse me?? Like sure, crime boss big baddie would probably do this but bro this a comic book and that blind man is wearing tights and backflipping off of buildings pls keep your unnecessary sexual assaults out of it thank you.

Daredevil is so feral in this and I love that. But like I said, this volume was solid and I don't really mind seeing the same things again. (This sounds like such a backhanded compliment but its true!!)

[Mathew · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great continuation from vol.6
Things escalate very quickly. There is a ton happening and I absolutely burned through this TPB!
I'm liking this new "I'm just done" and totally ruthless DD. He absolutely tears through the bad-guys, but by the end you're really starting to wonder, "is he really the good guys?"
With the pressure cooker that Bendis has given us so far in this series, this collection is very satisfying to see it all just break loose.

I'm still pretty loyal to Doctor Doom as my all time fav villain, but in true kingpin style, Wilson Fisk might actually topple him.

I'm hard pressed to think of one thing that would have made this book better!

[Odo · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5/5.0

[Paprika]

offfff be cilt bitince öpüp başıma koydum

[David Ross · Rating 5 out of 5]

Daredevil's secret identity as Matt Murdock has been publicly revealed, and instead of this really hurting him it made him stronger. He was able to dismantle a drug operation run by a long-time enemy named Leland Owsley aka The Owl; but now, another challenge awaits as the Kingpin returns to the city with his mission being to reclaim his rule as the city's underworld boss.

During one of his hotter runs in comics, Brian Michael Bendis paid a rather lengthy visit to the Man Without Fear, Daredevil. Many long time fans believed he penned the best stories on DD since Frank Miller's run back in the 80's and part of the early 90's. Miller set the bar high no doubt, by elevating Bullseye into main threat status, plus placing Kingpin as more of a Daredevil adversary, when he was originally a nemesis of Spider-Man. After Miller's run, Daredevil wasn't exactly stale. I'll go so far to say it was still good, but Bendis managed to move him back into A-list territory in my view. Daredevil Vol. 7 Hardcore is probably the best title during Bendis' run, as he delivers an engrossing tale that feels so much like a crime drama.

Included in this volume is issue #50 which features a slugfest between Daredevil and the Kingpin, and has guest pencils by many former Daredevil artists, including John Romita Sr. and Gene Colan. If that wasn't enough, wait until the final two pages, which feature another shocking turn for the Man Without Fear!

[Jean · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yes, another five stars. I'm not even pretending to be unbiased here, LOL! I love this comic, it is my favorite comic--or, I should say, the comic of my favorite incarnation of my favorite superhero. It's not perfect, and despite featuring fights with Typhoid Mary, Bullseye AND Wilson Fisk himself (as well as Matt being set on fire), this volume is only sort of middling. All action, and while it has some great interactions with specifically Jessica Jones, and some really good stuff between Matt and Milla, and while it ends with a huge, game changing bang, the whole thing actually feels like filler.

[Brandon Daniels · Rating 4 out of 5]

This run started off with a bang. I was a little perplexed by the time jumps, but then it slowed down for the stellar court room drama arc. But now it’s ramping back up the pace, and I’m eager for it to slow down again. A lot of things are getting yada yada’d away. I would have liked to have seen more of Kingpin’s return to power, and I would have preferred if there had been at least a twenty four hour gap between Matt and Mia getting attacked.

[Eve O. Spellman · Rating 4 out of 5]

- * = Partial nudity

[Ted Mallory · Rating 5 out of 5]

You can have your Frank Miller. For my money Bendis and Maleev are the best team in the comics biz. These guys know how to pull you into a story and keep the story moving in an unique, stylish manner.

This is not your typical comic book superhero thing with weird powers, costumes and mutants or people from other planets. This graphic novel is gritty, dark and plausible.

Matt Murdock struggles with civic responsibility, a blown secret identity, a faltering law practice, an FBI investigation into his activities as a vigilante in Hell's Kitchen in New York AND a new girlfriend- when a psychotic contract killer sets him on fire- announcing the return of his old nemesis, the organized crime boss bent on revenge. Did I mention that Murdock is blind?

[Lucio Constantine: has left this site for YouTube · Rating 5 out of 5]

Daredevil: The Man Without Fear- Hardcore is a story written by Brian Michael Bendis with art by Alex Maleev.

Daredevil’s secret is out. Matt Murdock has to deny his secret life because it would cost him a prison sentence. Meanwhile, the Kingpin reclaims his position as the leader of Hell’s Kitchen until Daredevil fights Bullseye at the end which leads him to fighting Kingpin and claiming to run Hell’s Kitchen instead of trying to save it.

The Owl sells a drug called MGH which gives individuals mutant powers, temporarily.

The art style is fantastic, bleak and dark. Heavy shadows and muted backgrounds. The writing is also good, sometimes a comic book either has good art or good writing not all the times both. This has both.

[Shevek · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bendis trae de vuelta con mucho acierto a María Tifoidea, sirviéndose del personaje creado por Nocenti tanto para terminar de materializar el regreso de Kingpin como para clavar otro puñal en la templanza de Matt Murdock. En general, se hace un uso muy acertado del pasado editorial del personaje, utilizando los asesinatos de Elektra y Karen para incrementar la visceralidad de Daredevil hasta cotas elevadísimas. Esta evolución alcanza su cénit en las peleas extraordinariamente descarnadas del Hombre Sin Miedo contra sus dos archienemigos por antonomasia (Bullseye y Kingpin), cuya crudeza queda estupendamente ilustrada por el siempre genial Maleev.

[Neil · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bendis' initial run on DD comes to the most satisfying of culminations, as our man Matt is pushed to the brink by the Kingpin, Bullseye, and legal trouble that threaten everything he has. In the end, it is the decisions Matt makes that beg the question as to whether he is a hero or not, that make the ending of this run one of the most emotionally satisfying of nearly any comic book, ever. I'm not being superlative here. This is an example of the best that superhero comics can be, on every level... art, dialogue, pacing, plot, action, continuity and characterization.

Must read.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I first came back to reading comics, I picked up the bulk of the Ed Brubaker Daredevil run and enjoyed it immensely. However, I've been reading the Bendis-Maleev collections lately and like these stories even more. This is a particularly hard-hitting collection that sees the return of Kingpin and battles with Typoid Mary and Bullseye. Let's just say Matt Murdock has had enough. Great art, terrific, tense atmosphere and a game-changing arc.

[Rolls · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another killer from Bendis-Maleev. They are my favorite writer/artist team on this book since the fabled days of Miller-Mazzuchelli. In this one Matt takes on Typhoid Mary, Bullseye and the Kingpin while also trying to start up a new relationship. Yeesh! A real page turner. Masterful!

[Cem Binboğa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Daredevil'ın bu romanda Marvel evrenindeki yerini değiştirdiği görüşüne katılıyorum.Kostümle beraber büründüğü kişiliği değişmekle birlikte aynı zamanda içinde bulunduğu zorluklardan dolayı çok yoğun bir öfke patlaması yaşıyor.

[Ben Perry · Rating 4 out of 5]

(4.25 stars)

Bit of a slow start and generic plot, but holy fucking shit, that ending is something else.

This is basically just getting everything back to the status quo, as King Pin is running the city again with his working eyes. It’s more of a bridge to other stories, and while I thought the majority of it was okay, it wasn’t anything special, but then the last 2 issues happened, and it’s some of the best Daredevil content out there. The introduction to Bullseye gave me a lot of excitement, because he’s been teased in previous volumes, and whenever this guy comes onto the page, shit gets ratchet, but this does something different. He could’ve come in, killed Daredevil’s girlfriend for a 3rd time, but Bendis sees that’s getting repetitive, so he pulls a fast one on us, it’s all a trap set up by Daredevil, as he pretends to leave her alone, so Bullseye goes in for the kill, then ambush into an epic showdown, as Daredevil shouts about how worthless the foe is, and he is just a disease who is too cowardly to end his own life, it’s a very powerful moment, and manages to subvert this iconic dynamic in an interesting way, not to mention Daredevil carving into his skin. I thought it would peak there, but it’s just getting started, the final confrontation with the King Pin starts off very intriguing as he talks to his associates, but when Daredevil tears in, beats him up, and declares himself the new King Pin, that’s when I knew Bendis isn’t afraid to do something wild.

The art has always been spectacular throughout this run, but the action uses the medium to its fullest potential, making it thrilling and stunning to gawk at with its poses and brutality. In the King Pin fight, I love how the art style changes, as a reflection on their relationship over the decades, and how long they’ve been in a battle, but now, it’s the final confrontation (well not really, because Daredevil comics with King Pin are still being written). It took me by surprise, but it’s a brave choice that payed off. That’s the theme of this run in general, boldness, as Bendis is doing lots of insane stuff that is sure to impact the character for a long time.

It’s important to not focus on the amazing ending too much, because most of this volume was just 3 star shenanigans, doesn’t make it bad, but the 5 star conclusion does make me forget everything that happened prior.

[Krzysztof Grabowski · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bendis osiąga swój szczyt świetności w tej serii i serwuje nam tytułowy hardcore. A wszystko to przez Wilsona Fiska, który nie cacka się i znaczy trupami swoją drogę na szczyt półświatka przestępczego na Wschodnim Wybrzeżu. Wysyła na Matta Murdocka wszystko co ma, bo uznaje że dotychczasowy status quo przestał istnieć i tolerowanie Daredevila nie jest już możliwe. A zaczyna się od pewnej Mary. Typhoid. I jej zdolności psychokinetycznych, które pozwalają podpalić cel siłą woli. Oczywiście wszystko rozgrywa się wtedy, kiedy Matt już myślał, że uporządkował sprawy sercowe ze swoją nową dziewczyną i udał się na zwyczajny spacer...

Jednocześnie gdzieś tam w tle wzmożenie pracuje FBI, z agentem Haroldem Driverem na czele. Wydaje się to być bardzo kompetentny gość i zdecydowanie chcę go tu więcej. Jest nieco butny, ale przez to śmiały i staje naprzeciw rosnącemu w siłę Kingpinowi jak równy z równym. Sam Daredevil nie jest tutaj osamotniony, bowiem gościnne występy zalicza tu Jessica Jones czy Luke Cage. A Foggy? Jak zwykle staje okoniem za Mattem, ale coraz ciężej jest mu to robić.

Najfajniejsze sceny rozgrywają się w sypialni Murdocka. Brzmi to dwuznacznie, ale chodzi mi o dialog pomiędzy Millą a jej ukochanym, który czuje się już na tyle pewnie, że po zbliżeniu zakłada swobodnie kostium już przy niej i rusza na patrol. Bendis tymczasem podkręca tempo i napuszcza na kobietę Bullseye'a. Wściekłość Matta nie zna granic, zwłaszcza że ten morderca przecież już odebrał mu dwie kobiety, które heros darzył płomiennym uczuciem.

Wszystko to prowadzi to kolejnej potyczki między dwoma śmiertelnymi przeciwnikami. Matt rusza na Fiska z żądzą mordu w oczach. Zaczyna się pojedynek, który zmieni oblicze Nowego Jorku. Na uwagę zasługuje tu udział kilku rysowników związanych w przeszłości z Daredevilem. Coś fantastycznego. A konsekwencje tego pojedynku to istne trzęsienie Ziemi w dotychczasowym życiu niewidomego herosa.

Hardcore jest kwintesencją komiksu, jest dziełem popkulturowym. Zaskakuje na każdej stronie, podkręca tempo, mruga zawadiacko do fanów i kończy się czymś co będzie miało dla Daredevila dalekosiężne konsekwencje. Dla mnie całość jest trafiona w dziesiątkę.

[47Time · Rating 3 out of 5]

While Milla and Matt are lovey-dovey like in high-school, the Kingpin is back. The latter aims to punish the people who betrayed him and then to rebuild his empire. He is alone, destitute and with few connections, but he is determined.

Typhoid Mary, Fisk's current enforcer, sets fire to Matt. Somehow he not only puts it out, but is ready to fight. They don't make pyrotechnics like they used to. It takes Luke Cage (who popped out of nowhere), Jessica Jones (Matt's bodyguard) and Matt himself to take Mary down.

Bullseye asks Fisk for a job. He suggests taking Matt out, but Matt is ready and kicks Bullseye around until the FBI shows up to arrests him. Matt fights Fisk himself to finish it, once and for all. He threatens his men to stay away from criminal activities, even if he has to be their new Kingpin.

[Adam Stone · Rating 5 out of 5]

The beginning of the Smith/Mack/Bendis run was a clearing of the decks of all Daredevil's biggest foes and recurring characters. Sure, Black Widow keeps popping up, and we've now added Jessica Jones and Luke Cage to Murdock's associates, but we got rid of The Kingpin, Bullseye disappeared after killing another of Daredevil's girlfriends. All sorts of new story opportunities popped up. And now, in this volume, Bendis brings them all back, as well as the long absent Typhoid Mary, just to clear them all out of the story again. It's really perfect. And the ending sets up a whole new status quo for the title that I can't wait to get to.

[Chris Young · Rating 3 out of 5]

It feels like there's something missing from this run by Bendis and Maleev. It's a decent enough progression of stories, and the artwork is interesting (if a little too reliant on photo-reference), but I feel like there should be something more here. The writing seems to be running out of steam after 30 or so issues.
I had read the Ed Brubaker/Michael Lark run previously (the one that follows on from Bendis with #82) and that was top class stuff! So I thought I'd read Daredevil volume 2 from issue 1 to see how we got there.
After "Hardcore" there is an Echo story by David Mack, and then we resume with Bendis and Maleev. I'm hoping it picks up.

[Michael Keskeys · Rating 5 out of 5]

Forgot how good this volume is. There's one moment early on that I wasn't a fan of, Kingpin smacks a cured Typhoid Mary so hard it brings back her split personalities, but other than that it's a solid four issues, classic Daredevil villains like Kingpin and Bullseye, with some fallout from the earlier story about Matt's identity getting exposed.

There's also some great Alex Maleev art plus art by classic DD artists like John Romita during the climax, which is really cool as a longtime Daredevil fan.

[MrColdStream · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this story. It's a perfect of blend of noirish crime thriller and good, old-fashioend superhero action. The story moves forward at a brisk pace, and I absolutely loved Typhoid Mary and the new portrayal of Bullseye. The fight between Daredvil and Fisk in the final issue is memorable as well and I am excited to see how the story evolves in further issues.

Part 1: 4/5
Part 2: 4/5
Part 3: 5/5
Part 4: 5/5
Part 5: 5/5

[Bene Vogt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Still suffers from the same problems as the last volume and if I have seen a bigger waste of a Typhoid Mary appearance I can’t remember. Half the page count is fight scenes clearly meant to be iconic but falling flat entirely (while looking nice!), but the final few pages promise an interesting direction (trying not to be cynical here, eben though the first big change to the status quo in Bendis‘ run turned out to be entirely cosmetic).

[Bassie · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the better books in this series. The Kingpin is a great adversary, one of the greatest villains ever created. This book was more action-driven than the previous ones, the art and writing was top-notch, it showed that you can tell a story mostly by the arrangement of comic book panels. This run continues to be excellent, and still a pleasure to read, for the third time.