Writer: Chip Zdarsky
Art: Mike Hawthorne and Marco Checchetto
Publisher: MARVEL COMICS
Price: $3.99
Release Date: January 27th, 2021
Is it possible for Chip Zdarsky to match last month’s stellar issue with an event tie in? Let’s take a peek in Hell’s Kitchen and find out!
Events are here to stay. We all know that. One is starting before the current one ends. The summer ones are already planned. Nothing new here. They sell whether they’re garbage or great! They make big fat Omnibuses that sell for over $125 even though you can’t read them comfortably!!
But how does a tie-in work on a run that is considered top-notch and just had a MAJOR revelation last issue?? Is it even feasible to keep the momentum of issue 25 when you have to do a tie in? The King in Black tie ins have been weak. Very weak. So I was extremely skeptical going into this issue of Daredevil. Well, let’s just say that this reviewer was pleasantly surprised!!
One minor gripe right off the bat that was a bit off-putting is the cover. Elektra is Daredevil now. All the countless covers coming out clearly show that, so to have Matt in his Daredevil costume fighting symbiotes is not a clear representation of what is happening in this issue.
But that’s nothing new to comic covers. Having Elektra as Daredevil on the main cover would have built on last month’s momentum for sure though. This cover works SO much better for me even if it isn’t Elektra in her Daredevil costume!
After Zdarsky does Stan Lee proud by giving a page one recap of Matt’s powers to “newish” readers, we jump right into the so-called madness that is thoroughly encompassing the world, including Daredevil (Elektra’s), and Matt’s little corner of it! 
Count me as one who is a big fan of not only the costume design of Elektra’s costume but also how Zdarsky is writing her. She’s violent and a killer but she’s trying hard, really hard to live by Matt’s code and not to kill. I’m personally hoping this is an extended period of Elektra as Daredevil. Like several years worth of Elektra as Daredevil. Think of the storylines it could open up!? As far as the costume, I think it works brilliantly and doesn’t over-sexualize Elektra.
I’m preaching to the choir when I say that Zdarsky knows the Daredevil character. But by far my favorite thing in this issue is that when Matt realizes what he’s up against, he admits it. He’s overmatched. He’s not a Hulk, not a God, not a Mutant. He’s a street-level hero with amped up senses. And that’s why this run is so great! Zdarsky isn’t trying to make Matt something he isn’t.
As we close we get not one, but two cliffhangers that will rival issue 25’s cliffhanger! Trust me!
Final Thoughts:
Chip Zdarsky works his magic yet again in this King in Black tie in issue. He continues to add depth to characters that have been around for over half a century while still having them drenched in their history and legacy.