One Sentence Overview: Daredevil and his companions reach the centre of Hell and confront an oversized Mephisto
Daredevil's strange sojourn into Hell concludes this issue, no doubt after trying the patience of many a reader. The last two issues haven't been too bad, in truth, however, the conclusion is messier and feels oddly rushed and a little anticlimactic. The very notion of one of the weakest of all superheroes (which, of course, is part of the appeal to many of us) could take on the Devil himself and come out on top is problematic at its root. And, to be fair to Ann, she doesn't bother with trying any real kind of confrontation - other than a bit of shouting at each other.
There's a fair amount of arguing and counter argument here - and it's not just Daredevil blowing raspberries at Mephisto. No, much of the issue is given over to Blackheart spitting feathers at his old man. Unsurprisingly Blackheart has rebelled against the rule of this netherworld and accuses him of being a dinosaur and being archaic (echoing Brandy's words elsewhere, though for different reasons), his ways of operating contemptible in this modern age. The argument doesn't make a lot of sense if Mephisto is the embodiment of evil and therefore transcends culture, time and ethos, and so it's no surprise to see Mephisto crush his son, rather than cower and sob, "You're right, son, what was I thinking."
Nevertheless Blackheart resurrects just in time to give commentary on last issue's title. Funnily enough, he thinks it as cheesy as I did, though adds a coda, "Simplistic little morals, perhaps; but such simple gems Mephisto is blind to".
In other words, the willingness to believe the best, that good can conquer is an optomistic human emotion that Mephisto finds laughable. But it's in those little corny phrases where people find the strength to carry on and be resilient in their lives in the face of the most pessimistic circumstances. They're a little like globlets of faith for the individual. (Blackheart is eventually exiled to earth, perhaps another contrary Biblical allusion, echoing God throwing the Devil out of Heaven.)
Over the last few issues Mephisto has transformed from a lean, mean figure to a bloated monster, swollen in the poor cretins that make up the lost souls of the underworld.
It's like he's become lazy and complacent - though any sense that Daredevil may think that the old boy's past it is quickly put to bed when, with minimum effort, he annihilates one of the 'gang'. It's a sad moment to see a character we've gotten to know and like over the last few issues be so swiftly and efficiently dispatched (though, contrary to her own beliefs, her soul finds peace with her hunky angel by the end of the story).
As I say, all Daredevil can do here is holler, which makes this confrontation a little unbalanced to say the least. Good job then that the Silver Surfer has sensed that Mephisto's up to no good and comes down to give the guy a run for his money, allowing Daredevil et al to escape. It appears the only recourse in such a scene. But there's one element in all this that grates with me. DD279 concluded with the characters falling into Hell and Mephisto suddenly becoming agitated that Pope has descended with them.
Wouldn't it therefore have been more in keeping with this set up to have had the kid (rather than Norrin Radd) reveal some kind of power or wisdom that helps the gang overcome the evil one? I'm not sure why Ann hasn't bothered to follow up on this.
One can speculate what this all means in terms of a wider view of morality and evil. The most cogent thing I can come up with is that the small battles of underlings such as Daredevil and Blackheart are ultimately of little import to a monolithic metastructure of evil that has been with humankind for millennia. Intriguingly, Daredevil falls back on his Christian upbringing as he leaves. The way to defeat (or at least really hack off) Mephisto is not to battle him but instead pronounce forgiveness.
It's a daring move, some might say simplistic, especially as Daredevil would never have had the ability to stand against Mephisto. But it's in line with Daredevil's conclusion last issue that fighting is not the way ahead here. And it does really bug the boss of the underworld.
A couple of thoughts before closing. In this often verbose treatise on evil and its ways, Ann has brought in notions of another literary source. As Karnak and Gorgon make their way to the concluding scene they are weighed down by the damned or, as they call them, the 'Hollow Men', a deliberate allusion (I think) to TS Eliot's poem.
Eliot wrote 'The Hollow Men' in the aftermath of World War One and, whilst its meaning is obscure, scholars have identified that one of the sources for this work is, you've guessed it, Dante's Inferno. Ah, Ann, erudite as ever.
In all this darkness, there's one odd moment of lightness, or at least anxiety on behalf of editorial. Number Nine's friend, Lucifer, spent last issue wandering around bottomless. Well, this time round, colorist Gregory Wright is having none of it - and clads him in tightfitting jeans! Pretty odd stuff.
Ultimately this is quite a difficult read and perhaps Ann has overstretched, though, as always, one admires her for having the gall to tackle such difficult territory, especially in a book normally rooted in reality.
Next, Daredevil Annual 1990.
Cast
Daredevil/Matt Murdock
Number Nine
Brandy Ash
Karnak
Gorgon
Mephisto
Blackheart
Pope
Silver Surfer/Norrin Radd
Lucifer
Native American Angel
Rating: 4 out of 10
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