Editor's Note: Daredevil #105 arrives in stores tomorrow, February 27.

"Without Fear: Part Six of Six"

There's a page in this issue of Daredevil which is one of the most shocking I've read all year, and it doesn't rely on cheap stunts or illogical twists to create that effect. I won't spoil it for you here, but there's a point at which Matt appears to have gone too far in his quest for vengeance again Larry Cranston - Mr. Fear - and whilst it's perfectly in-character for him to do what he does (especially considering the pressure that has been exerted on him over the last year's worth of issues), it's no less surprising to see it happen. It's testament to Ed Brubaker's uncompromising vision for the book that readers will accept that Matt could have been pushed to overstep this personal boundary, and whilst the writer just about pulls him back from the brink, he still doesn't come out of the story well. Daredevil is the superhero noir book par excellence, after all, and even the hero of the book can't expect a particularly happy ending.

Some readers have complained that Brubaker has mischaracterised Matt Murdock in recent issues, but I don't agree: for me this is exactly the same character that we saw Frank Miller birth into existence in the '80s, and if it seems as though he's finding it hard to live up to his heroic roots, it's because he continues to be forced into impossible situations which provide him with equally impossible choices to make as he's manipulated by his enemies. I don't think that any of his actions in this issue run against the essence of his character any more than I think it was out-of-character for him to extract information from the Ox in such a fearsome manner last issue. Yes, it seems extreme, but what I think that Brubaker has done is to convey that Matt has been pushed to his absolute limit, and that he has had to resort to the most violent and aggressive means that he has at his disposal if he's to restore some sense of order and justice to his world. In Frank Miller's era, we saw Matt take to Josie's bar to extract information from the patrons; in Bendis' run, he beat up the Kingpin and declared himself the new King of Hell's Kitchen; the hard road taken by the character in the current run is merely a continuation of that edgy quality that past creators have brought to the character, and Brubaker writes it expertly.

It's clear that Brubaker understands what makes Daredevil such an enjoyable book to read, from the seriousness with which he treats the crime elements, to the glee with which he writes his truly evil villain ("Hello Matt... How's the wife?"), all the way down to the classic device of having Daredevil start the story perched on a rooftop, listening to the city in order to isolate a specific sound which he can use to track down his enemy. Without being derivative or simply rehashing what has come before, Brubaker's run has captured the essence of how the character works best, and this final issue of "Without Fear" contains pretty much everything you'd want to see from the arc's conclusion. The Hood subplot is wrapped up neatly and tidily, and in a way which fits perfectly into the way his character was used in New Avengers; there's a climactic fistfight and battle of wills between Daredevil and his enemy, which manages to be compelling and tense in spite of the cliché nature of such showdowns; and there's a final coda which shows the heavy toll that recent events have taken on Matt and his supporting cast.

However, this arc will probably be best remembered for its rehabilitation of a minor bad guy from DD's past into a fully-fledged villain who can now sit on the same level as many of the other biggest names in the character's rogues' gallery. Mr. Fear's big reveal this issue is as devastating in its simplicity as Adrian Veidt's final words in Watchmen #11, and turns what could have been a minor blip in Daredevil's costumed career into another major tragedy of his life. It's bound to have a continuous effect on the character as Brubaker's run continues, and I can't wait to see how the writer continues to handle this element. I also loved the stomach-churning final pages, in which the writer executes a deft twist which means that Mr. Fear is able to act as though he's won even when he's lost, and Daredevil is left battered and emotionally broken after a victory which can at best be described as Pyhrric. Brubaker's handling of the character reminds me of the way Stan Lee used to keep piling misery upon misery onto Peter Parker during the early days of Amazing Spider-Man. Whilst it might not result in a happy character, it makes for great drama, and seeing as Brubaker is always conscious to not overplay the tragic element of his hero's life, it lends Matt's story a feeling of genuine emotional weight: a rare thing in superhero comics.

The artwork is perfectly suited to the story Brubaker is telling, too. The team of Lark, Azaceta and Gaudiano conspire to create a perfectly-paced issue, whether it's the deft construction of a single page (such as the opening sequential, which sets the urban atmosphere for the story before zooming in for a focus on Daredevil, and then pulls back as he leaps into action) or the choreography of the central fight sequence (which leads readers in with smaller panels before opening up for the moments of greatest impact - such as that page I mentioned earlier - before reverting to smaller, more uniform panels as things are brought to a close). Character work is also spot-on, with the grim determination of the highly-charged Daredevil contrasted against the cold, dead eyes of Mr. Fear, whose current look is surely inspired in part by the imposing visage of Star Wars' Darth Vader (especially as he's depicted on Marko Djurdjevic's stunning cover). One other element that I particularly noticed this issue was the art team's use of the various scenes' backdrops to create atmosphere and mood, whether it's the simple, expansive rooftop scene in which Daredevil and Mr. Fear engage in a no-nonsense physical fight, the claustrophobia of the building in which Murdock and Cranston have their final showdown, or the cold, barren winter scene outside Milla's hospital. It's all illustrated with a clean consistency and a strong sense of storytelling, and it's all reinforced wonderfully by Matt Hollingsworth's perfect choice of colours.

It's very rare that I choose to award five-bullet ratings to serial superhero comics. The reason for that isn't that I think that the genre isn't worthy of such high praise - indeed, the majority of comics that I read are superhero titles - but on an issue-to-issue basis, things are normally so inconclusive and open-ended that I don't often feel that the issue is satisfying enough on its own terms to warrant the perfect score. With this issue, Brubaker has crafted a climax for his current arc which also acts as a point of punctuation for his entire run so far, whilst at the same time making for a thrilling read as a single issue. I couldn't ask for more from a superhero comic; therefore, I couldn't justify anything less than full marks for this book.

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