Warning! Spoilers ahead for Daredevil #18!Every hero has something special that separates them from their peers and that's no less true for Daredevil. But it's not his keen senses or his outstanding fighting ability, but rather, something much more befitting of Marvel's beleaguered hero.

Matt Murdock literally went to Hell and back, and since then, he's been plagued by the Seven Deadly Sins, all of whom have attached themselves to people in Daredevil's life. Now the worst sin of all is bringing the Man Without Fear into a final showdown that preys on the most defining aspect of Daredevil's entire being.

Daredevil's Latest Enemy Exploits Matt's Guilt in a No-Win Scenario

One Way Or Another, Matt Will Have a Death on His Shoulders

In Daredevil #18 by Saladin Ahmed, Aaron Kuder, Jesus Aburtov and Clayton Cowles, Matt Murdock is in court defending himself in an assault case prosecuted by his best friend, Foggy Nelson. Foggy is possessed by the sin of Pride and he gives the performance of his life in the courtroom, putting Murdock on the ropes. During a recess, Matt asks to speak with Foggy privately to discuss the case. While Matt can't properly exorcise Pride from Foggy, Daredevil saves his friend by conceding the case, causing Pride to willingly leave Foggy’s body.

Both men’s heartbeats are weak and Daredevil determines they aren’t long for this world.

With Foggy safe, there’s only one sin remaining. Unfortunately, that sin is Wrath, who is still possessing Jason, one of Matt’s wards, and the monster is tearing it’s way through Hell’s Kitchen. Daredevil heads down to a building where Jason’s mother worked and finds Matt’s associate, Cole North, bleeding and nearly dead. Before Daredevil can assist North, however, Jason, imbued by Wrath’s power, attacks Daredevil. Daredevil tries to talk sense into the boy, but Jason is too blinded by anger to listen.

Bullseye (still missing an arm thanks to Wrath) hostage. Both men’s heartbeats are weak and Daredevil determines they aren’t long for this world. Jason stands above Matt, holding Bullseye in one hand and Foggy in the other. Wrath forces Daredevil to pick which one will live and which one will die.

Daredevil's Comion is His Greatest Trait and Flaw

No Matter Who He Saves Here, Daredevil Loses

Daredevil is a good person, or at the very least, he tries to be. He's a man of faith who wants to use his gifts to protect goodness in the world from evil. But throughout his life, Matt has faced personal crisis after crisis that has challenged his way of thinking. He's lost and regained his faith in the almighty again and again and, at the core of it, Daredevil is a man tortured by an intense guilt he doesn't know how to really deal with.

On the surface of it, he should just save his best friend and not Bullseye, a man who has caused Matt nothing but pain in his life. But while that's the obvious choice, it's far more complicated for Daredevil. Even if he truly believes Foggy deserves to live and Foggy doesn't, he's never going to forgive himself if Bullseye dies because of a choice he made. All this time, it seemed like Wrath was trying to play on Matt's anger, but to truly hurt him, the sin is letting Daredevil's powerful guilt complex do the work.

Daredevil's not the first time he's been forced by a villain to pick between saving two people. But usually the choice always involves loved ones. But it's a fascinating twist on the old formula here, because Wrath understands that Matt, for all the hate he harbors towards someone like Bullseye, is still a comionate person. Even if Matt makes the 'right' choice here, another death to blame himself for is another deep wound to Daredevil's tortured soul.

Daredevil Can Never Escape His Intense Guilt

There Are No Winners in Wrath's Final Game

This set-up is a solid reminder that, as much as he wishes it wasn't this way, Daredevil is practically driven by guilt. Even if he manages to save both Bullseye and Foggy from Wrath, he's always going carry an intense guilt complex. This kind of choice Wrath has made is a hell of a way to make that clear, but it's effective at showing that unlike other Marvel heroes, it's Daredevil's internal psychological battle that really separates him from his peers.

Daredevil #18 is available now from Marvel Comics.