Daredevil #104 Review

Without Fear (Part 5)
Writer: Ed Brubaker
Art: Michael Lark


Summary:
We start with Lily getting in a Taxi while mumbling about how she is sorry. We go to a flashback with Lily and Mr. Fear. He has his gas floating around, and says that if Lily does what he says, he will cure her. Among these requests is releasing Milla from custody. He tells her that if she does what he wants, she can have what she has always wanted: Matt Murdoch. We go to Daredevil torturing Ox about the location. He does this cool thing where Ox thinks that he is being burned (Matt knocked his vision out so he can't see), but Matt is really just poking his nerves. He eventually cracks and tells him the location. Daredevil says he should be disgusted, but he enjoyed it. Exit Daredevil, Enter Hood. Hood says that he will help Ox. Matt breaks into the Cranston Suite, knocks out the body guards, and proceeds to Cranston's bedroom. He only finds a hooker and a note that says "You are too late.... You will always be too late". Matt goes back home to check on Milla, and finds that she beat up the nurse. Matt gets all protective and tells her its not her fault. The police come and take away Milla, while Matt goes back to thinking. He finds out that there was a smell in the house that he knows all too well. Of course, Matt goes to Lily's house to scare the shit out of her. Lily basically tells all, and that she was to meet him at Hell's Kitchen at midnight for her reward. Matt = pissed. We get to a scene at the Kitchen where Fear is going in with 2 guards to meet Hood. Hood just shoots the guards, and ends the issue by telling Fear that they need to come to an understanding.

Comments:
That was a really good issue. Brubaker is an incredible writer. His character work is incredible. He has turned Daredevil into a serious badass. Daredevil doesn't have any remorse now, as shown by the scene where he tortures Ox (and admits he likes it). This arc has been off and on, but i think this was one of the better issues. All the scenes with Matt were really good, and incorporating Lily into a heel-tweener was a nice step. I liked how Lily has been at the side of the Murdocks the whole time, but Fear was able to get her to go against that, just to get what she wants, which is Matt. The reader wasn't sure if she would do it, but we get the answer later in the issue when the nurse got knocked out. We end the issue with Fear and Hood. This scene was just used to get Hood over and to set up the final part of this Without Fear arc. The art isn't special, but it works with this title. This issue looked a little worse because Lark really made Matt's face look like a bunch of pencil marks.

Verdict:
GET IT