Warning: spoilers for Daredevil #29 by Chip Zdarsky and Marco Checchetto are ahead.
There are few heroes in Daredevil may have just paid the ultimate price for his ethical commitments.
The last few issues of Daredevil have followed the hero's experiences in prison, which he sees as just punishment for having killed a man earlier on in the series. And while on paper, prison time may seem like an adequate punishment for Daredevil's deeds, the reality of incarceration has afforded Matt Murdock with very little room for safe reflection on his actions. In Daredevil #29, his prison food was poisoned, and he was forced to fight off a mob of other inmates who were sent to kill him (written by Chip Zdarsky, art by Marco Checchetto, colors by Marcio Menyz, letters by VC's Clayton Cowles). But, being Daredevil, and the principled hero that he is, Matt avoided seriously injuring his attackers, even when his life was in imminent danger. Even as he felt himself dying, Daredevil picked up a barbell and swung the weight at an inmate like a disc, aiming for the man's leg instead of a critical area like his head or chest. And while he cited that he was "a man of God," Matt's own principles came at the cost of his own life, as his attackers were still able to stab him in the gut.
This replicates Thor was consumed with rage from Thanos decimating the Asgardian refugee population earlier in the film, as well as killing both his brother, Loki, and his best friend, Heimdall. By hitting Thanos in the chest, Thor expected the Titan to die a slow, painful death, making up for all the pain Thanos had put him through.
Daredevil, on the other hand, chose not to seriously hurt his attackers, because of his Catholic beliefs. And while he has experienced plenty of rage in his own life, Matt Murdock possessed a characteristic level of awareness about the moral consequences of his actions, stopping him from acting on emotion like Thor. This moment arrives as a crucial summation of the series's themes, relating to both Daredevil's faith and the reality of the world he lives in. Because he is such a committed Catholic, Daredevil is consumed by the guilt for having killed a man, leading him to double down on his beliefs. And ultimately, as this issue shows, the guilt that Daredevil feels for his past actions eclipses his survival instinct.
Daredevil's Lack of Perspective Makes His Choice Even More Tragic.
On the surface, while Matt Murdock believes that he is doing the right thing, according to his moral code, he fails to take into what the broader consequences of his death would be. For him, dying at the hands of an attacker rather than killing them in self-defense is righteous, but it does not help the city he had previously dedicated his life towards protecting. By giving up his life without compromising his morals, Daredevil's apparent death sends a message that evil can continue to thrive in New York City, now that it has lost one of its main defenders.
This is what makes the end of this particular Daredevil issue so tragic. Matt believes that in death, he is sticking to his moral code, but in reality, it actually helps foster the culture of cruelty that he fought before his incarceration. Negotiating between his personal moral health and the overall wellbeing of the city he lives in is one of the biggest challenges to Daredevil as a hero. Whilst keeping track of his own moral conscience, Daredevil has lost track of the fact that New York City still needs people like Matt Murdock to fight the good fight against injustice.
Is Daredevil's Act of Mercy Enough To Change His City? Probably Not.
Daredevil chose mercy over self-preservation, which is not something that many other characters would have necessarily dome. And while it remains unclear over what he was trying to achieve, besides keeping his conscience clean, it may be part of an effort on Daredevil's part to lead by example. This is in keeping with Catholic teaching, with Christ's crucifixion being the prime example, reflecting Daredevil's commitment to his faith even in life-threatening situations. In Matt Murdock's mind, if he cannot exercise moral restraint as Daredevil, then no one else will.
However, the effects of this decision remain to be seen. Daredevil was attacked while in prison, not in public on the streets of New York. No one besides his attackers and the the guards at the prison witnessed his act of mercy. Ultimately, Daredevil's decision to be merciful was self-serving just as Thor's chest shot to Thanos was in Infinity War. It afforded both of them temporary satisfaction, while the broader implications of their choices slipped through their fingers.
Daredevil and Thor's choices exemplify the difficult moral predicament that superheroes are often caught up in. The balance between their needs as people and the needs of the public is a tough one to maintain, and very few are able to walk this line successfully. Their decisions reveal an uneasy dynamic in the superhero genre, one where violence appears to be the answer, but seldom offers the outcome that was needed. And as Daredevil and Thor's actions show, this is because people are messy. Collective needs are sometimes impossible to see when one is caught up in their own grief, guilt, or rage.
While vengers: Endgame, the future of Matt Murdock's Daredevil is a mystery. Whether or not he will be able to dwell on his actions, or consider the consequences of his decisions on the lives of average New Yorkers, Daredevil chose to uphold a model of behavior that he has always aimed to embody, but never succeeded in. And the most tragic part about this is that he finally achieved it in the moment where it was least necessary.
