Daredevil is setting the world on fire.
Daredevil has starred in a handful of stories inMarvelsWhat If?seriesand they arent always sunshine and lollypops.
Theyre still some interesting storylines with some cool ideas, though.
WHAT IF THE WORLD KNEW DARDEVIL WAS BLIND?
But What If…Spider-Man entered the fray?
Spider-Man breaking through a window alerted Electro and prevented his sneak attack on Daredevil.
Instead of zapping Daredevil in the back, he went at him head-on and missed.
After getting his ass handed to him by the team of Daredevil and Spider-Man, Electro smiled.
He may have lost, but he knew Daredevils secret and that would certainly have an effect on history.
WHAT IF DAREDEVIL BECAME AN AGENT OF SHIELD?
But What If…somebody knew what this meant for Matts future?
His instincts were correct when he found a boy doused in the eyes with the chemicals.
He took the boy to Nick Fury on the SHIELD Helicarrier, figuring hed know what to do.
Matt Murdock joining SHIELD is the very last panel and the story is merely about his origin.
WHAT IF ELEKTRA HAD LIVED?
In a rather nasty fight, he took her apart and impaled her with her own sai.
The love of Daredevils life was snuffed out.
But What If…Bullseye was done in by someone elses true aim?
As Bullseye tried to escape, he was shot right in the head by a prison guard.
Ive never gotten a straight answer other than, Its Miller.
I mean, is it just the novelty that Frank Miller wrote and drew it?
Yes, the Elektra fight scene is beautiful, albeit short, but theres honestly nothing to this story.
Its just there and it just ends.
further reading Daredevil Season 3: Who is Bullseye?
Civil Warmany years later.
WHAT IF?
But What If…we got to look at the future?
This issue ofWhat If?is made up of three stories based on jumping decades into the future.
One is based on an older Captain America and his wife Sharon.
Matt works for Foggy and is just a big curmudgeon about everything because his unnamed wife has recently died.
Its a very, very strange comic.
Terrorists attack the UN and our two heroes turn out to both have their costumes on underneath their outfits.
Then his life lesson about not letting tragedy destroy him is so ham-fisted that its rather hilarious.
WHAT IF DAREDEVIL HAD KILLED THE KINGPIN?
WHAT IF?
He wanted to kill him.
Physically, he wasnt up to the task and got absolutely destroyed.
Only in his defeat was he able to build himself back up and come out stronger than ever.
Matt then confronted Fisk and shot him.
Matts greatest antagonist in this story isnt the underworld or the superheroes, but himself.
As a justice-loving Catholic, hes distraught over what hes done.
He becomes delusional, hallucinating homeless people as judges and begging for them to find him guilty.
This ones one of the betterWhat If?issues out there.
WHAT IF THE PUNISHER HAD KILLED DAREDEVIL?
But What If…Daredevil was just a little too close to the edge?
To Frank Castles horror, Daredevil fell to his death.
That would change a lot, wouldnt it?
Its still a really good issue and the subplot about Spider-Man is kind of heartbreaking.
Now he dedicates himself to bringing him in and it all goes very, very wrong.
WHAT IF VENOM HAD POSSESSED THE PUNISHER?
He then becameVenomand was obsessed with getting revenge on Spider-Man.
But What If…the Punisher entered the church a couple minutes before Brock?
Usually, unless hes the star, he just gets a couple panels where he dies.
Here, he sees Castle swinging by and can tell that somethings up.
WHAT IF DAREDEVIL HAD SAVED NUKE?
During the adventure, he took a bullet to the chest.
Daredevil tried to get him to a hospital and save him, but he was too late.
Daredevil ended up dumping the dead body onto Ben Urichs desk.
But What If…he was able to get Nuke to the hospital in time?
He doesnt fight for what hestoldis right but for what heknowsis right.
WHAT IF THE KINGPIN OWNED DAREDEVIL?
He rose up as both a vigilante and a talented lawyer, becoming the guardian of Hells Kitchen.
But What If…Wilson Fisk investigated the murder?
Matt understandably chose the easy way.
What would have become of Foggy, Karen, Elektra, and so on?
Would they be better off or worse off?
WHAT IF DAREDEVIL WAS THE DISCIPLE OF DOCTOR STRANGE?
He found answers, but not what he was initially expecting.
Rather than return to his life as a doctor, he found enlightenment as Sorcerer Supreme.
But What If…Stick was there to squash the rumors of the Ancient One?
Doctor Stranges journey led to him not becoming a top-of-the-line wizard, but a highly-skilled ninja master.
Strange had lost Matt to the Hand and moved on to mentoring Elektra.
This gives us a completely badass Hand Daredevil outfit that they would introduce into regular continuity during the wholeShadowlandstoryline.
It also gives us aRomeo and Julietstory, only with lots of well-drawn ninja action.
Really, is there any better selling point than that?
WHAT IF… Jack was killed by the mob for his audacity and Matt would go on to become Daredevil.
But What If…the mobsters warned Jack that they would go after Matt?
Jack realized he had no choice.
There would be no defiance and mortal sacrifice.
The only sacrifice would be his dignity as he faked defeat for the sake of the criminal underworld.
There isnt much to Jack Murdocks story.
His luster is gone and he never sniffs the top of the ladder ever again.
Instead, he takes in-ring beatings until hes just left in a coma.
Hes able to fake having sight and Wilson Fisk ends up buying him.
Time starts over again as Matt Murdock is given a title shot and is instructed to stay down.
As Bullseye left, he threw Daredevils billy club right at the hero.
In a fit of anger, Matt threw his club right into Fisks throat, killing him.
further reading Daredevil Season 3 Villain Revealed: Wilson Bethel on Becoming Bullseye
This issue is not very good.
It was instead given to Bendis, who is the worst fit for aWhat If?comic.
The guy simply cant write a normal-sized one-shot where a healthy amount of exposition is part of the narrative.
Plus the story is just mean.
Its not so much a story as its a series of burials and feel-bad moments.
Dont read it unless youre a Bendis completist or you just want to be thoroughly depressed.
WHAT IF?
He also has an assassins ex-girlfriend and a nemesis who has really good aim.
He does all of this in the present day in New York City.
But What If…it took place in Feudal Japan?
It maps out the usual Daredevil origin tropes with a samurai bend.
Whats interesting in it is that on that destroyed American boat is Matt Murdock and Foggy Nelson.
Murdock survives the attack and becomes a rifle-using marksman calling himself Bullseye.
Yes, this story features both a guy who is Daredevil and a guy who is Matt Murdock.
It ends up coming together very nicely and the art is a treat as well.
WHAT IF?
As terrorists attempted to kidnap Elektras father, Matt donned a mask and helped take them down.
He was gunned down and died.
It broke Elektra and she went on to become a cold, high-ranking assassin.
Eventually, she was killed and brought back to life by the Hand.
But What If…it was Matt who got shot up?
A week later, Nick Fury found Matts grave to be empty.
A blind man fighting off several armed men seemed impossible and the Hand was interested in investigating that.
Years later, Elektra is not an assassin, but an agent of SHIELD.
SHIELD is after him after the slaughter of the Kingpin and his employees.
Especially with the sweet Kayanan art.
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