Posted in: Comics | Tagged: Comics, entertainment

The Batman And The Daredevil – Much More Than Miller

James Thompson writes,

Batman and Daredevil. Two characters that share a lot of similarities, yet very different at the same time. Both were kind of constantly bordering on campy territory before Frank Miller was able to leave his mark on each character. Both titles recently had a change of creative teams which begs one to ask the question, how do they compare to previous team's work? Also how does each live up to the legacies left behind by both the Dark Knight and Guardian Devil? Let us take a look at a brief history of the two iconic characters.

Batman, the Dark Knight and also one of the most popular fictional characters of all time. He has had an interesting history which brought him from murdering vigilante to campy to…well…the force of nature he has become today. Like many other characters in comics, he has changed with the times, the culture, and even direction of DC Comics.

When Batman was first introduced he was like many of the pulp heroes of that time such as the Shadow and The Phantom. Less of hero and more of a vigilante seeking justice even if it meant killing people.

Of course things changed as time went on and "American Family Values" came into play after World War II, Batman became more of a wholesome character. In fact, The Dark Knight actually wasn't that dark for about 40 years. The character was very campy and the success of an even more ridiculous TV show didn't help change that.

Then fresh off of his success with Daredevil, Frank Miller changed everything. Unlike the many decades before, the 80s ushered in intelligent story telling that led to great works such as "Crisis of Earths" and "Secret Wars". Fans wanted good stories and a "surfing Batman" wouldn't cut it. The Dark Knight would.

"The Dark Knight Returns" changed everything. Though there is no direct evidence of it influencing the 1989 "Batman" movie, but I believe both solidified the new dark, serious, and brooding vigilante that we know today. The interesting thing is, despite the fact that Batman refuses to kill in the comics, all of the movies have been "ok" with him letting people die or outright murdering people. I always found this a very strange dynamic.

Now despite us getting a much darker version of Batman, characters such as Spawn, Venom, and Wolverine were growing in popularity by leaps and bounds. People wanted edgy anti-heroes in the 90s and with that we got a new Batman. We got Azrael.

In a very clever move, DC gave fans exactly what they thought they wanted: A Batman with no mercy and no problem with killing. For over a year we got a chance to see what such a Batman would be like and slowly realize that it is the opposite of what we as fans really wanted. It was a bold move, but I also believe it helped establish Bruce Wayne's relevance as Batman once and for all.

Since then, though the status quo has changed with other donning the cowl for a time such as Dick Grayson and Jim Gordon, Batman has been one of the most consistent characters. With the popularity of many tv shows and the Nolan Batman trilogy, Batman solidified the idea that you can have a character almost identical to the comics and still reach the masses.

Even with the current creative change from Snyder to King, I still see mostly identical character which is kind of what I want as a fan. Also I believe that this very observation of the character is what makes him so iconic. I believe that no matter what minor changes we may see in the character's backstory such as "Zero Year" we will in essence still have the same character that Batman has become in recent years. Now onto Daredevil….

I think that cover says it all when it comes to Daredevil. He was a call back to pulp characters of the 1930s while also having the light hearted tone of the 1960s. Daredevil was a character that definitely suffered from lack of direction and frankly, good ideas for years. From the ridiculousness of the "Mike Murdock" storyline where Matt pretended that he was his own twin brother to fighting villains like Stilt Man and the Owl, the writers really did hero no favors. The book suffered from bad storyline to bad storyline for close to 20 years before Miller intervened and transformed the character into the true "Man Without Fear" we know love.

Frank Miller was able to turn Daredevil from one of the worst comics to one of the best instantly. The Devil of Hell's Kitchen went from being a joke to the quintessential anti-hero. Though he never went as far as to kill, he flirted with that line constantly, and was much more brutal than any comic book hero of that time. There were many amazing storylines that continued to be produced even after he had left the book at the end of the 80s. Storylines such as "Born Again", "Fall From Grace", and "Last Rites" kept the book a must read for many years while the industry suffered as a whole. They were even able to do very edgy things with the book because the character wasn't exactly a house hold name at the time.

Despite a terrible movie souring the character in the public's eyes, Daredevil really never seemed to dip in popularity and quality in regards to the comic. In fact, I would argue the lack of popularity due to a terrible movie allowed them to continue to do bold things to Matt Murdock such as having his secret identity revealed to the world and for once, the character having to live with it. Sure, characters such as Tony Stark/Iron-Man did this before, but he wasn't technically breaking the law and was an official agent of the government as an Avenger. Matt Murdock was just a man who lived in Hell's Kitchen who could lose everything including his job if it was confirmed that he was in fact Daredevil.

The book was so popular in the late 2000s that almost any character that was introduced in the book got its own miniseries or book. Some of these characters include Iron Fist, Punisher (Who had not been seen in the mainstream Marvel universe in a few years), and Black Panther. This success continued on even with the confusing and poor resolution of the "Shadowland" miniseries that ended the series briefly.

After close to 30 years of this darker and brooding character, Mark Waid introduced a new version of the character. The new Matt Murdock was carefree, fun, and roguish. It also introduced more outlandish storylines that were not traditionally associated with the character. This lead to the Daredevil book not only attracting new fans, but also many awards. Daredevil was finally starting to get mainstream attention and the amazing Netflix show would soon solidify Daredevils' place there permanently.

Brilliant writing and a perfect cast quickly got everyone's attention. The Netflix show made Daredevil a household name overnight. With this popularity, people were hungry for more and which of course led to Marvel starting production an immediate second season despite that not being in the original plans for the show. Fans also wanted more of what they saw and began to seek out the comic book. Unfortunately, the Matt Murdock they would get was quite different from the character they had seen on TV.

Daredevil enjoyed the luxury of not being a mainstream hero for many years, so as a result was allowed to take chances and for the most part it worked. What we see in the above picture is what I believe was the nail in Waid's coffin (Seriously, who thought this approach to the character was a good idea?). Though there is no direct correlation or evidence of this, I believe the popularity of the Netflix show was the catalyst that led to the back to basics version of the character. If that is true, this is definitely one of the few times I am glad the silver screen influenced the page.

Though not the exact same character, Soule reintroduced a character that has the same spirit of the popular Netflix show and also captured everything that has been missing from the Guardian Devil over the past few years. This change included a restored secret identity and a return to Hell's Kitchen. Yet despite returning to old story tropes, it is still a fresh title with the addition of his new partner Blindspot and his new job working for the district attorney office.

Though Batman and Daredevil have had drastically different histories, they also have a lot in common. Which is heavily to do with the fact that they were both really defined by the same mind, Frank Miller. Batman has been more mainstream which has been both a blessing and curse. Bruce Wayne/Batman has been for the most part, the same consistent character. Though he has been replaced briefly over the years a few times, the books have consistently been solid. While on the opposite spectrum, Daredevil was allowed to take chances and do things to Matt Murdock because it's lack of spotlight. Creators were able to explore the realities of a hero living with the world knowing who Murdock really was and the consequences of that along with other darker stories. This also was a curse because of what Waid was briefly able to do to Daredevil.

Ultimately, I believe both characters are in the midst of their golden age as characters and popularity. Both Batman and Daredevil have become favorites of many over the past few years due to great comics and brilliant portrayals of both characters on the screen. (Murderfleck was still a good Batman. Just wish he didn't murder so many people.) Best of all, all mediums seem to be honoring and using the aspects of both characters that made them so iconic in the first place. I can proudly say as a die-hard fan of both the Dark Knight and the Man Without Fear, that I am excited to see what the future holds for both heroes.

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