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Lawyers don't create anything original, they merely cite precedent.
Having gained superhuman senses after losing his sight,
Matt Murdock protects Hell's Kitchen as an attorney by day, and the hero Daredevil at night.
Oh, so we can disappointingly regress to the old style packaging, but we can't put anything more specifc than that on it? This figure represents Daredevil after he went to jail, which we made fun of before, but does need a little clarification: unlike the first time this story was told, it really is Daredevil who was sentenced to prison, not Matt Murdock; after he gave a random thug a massive brain hemorrhage that resulted in the man's death, Matt's Catholic guilt made him turn himself in and plead guilty; but legal precedent in the Marvel U allowed him to maintain his secret identity, even while locked up, and so it was Daredevil who sat in a cell until Elektra made him confront how selfish he was being: him being in prison wasn't what was best for Hell's Kitchen or best for the superhero community, it's what was best for Matt's own feelings.
When we reviewed Elektra as Daredevil during Horror Month, it was because we were going to have a joke about how she was going as "slutty Daredevil" for Halloween, with the punchline being that that's redundant,
because Matt is already slutty as-is. The joke got cut when it turned out that, although they are wearing the same thing, she's not dressed like him, he's dressed like her! This costume, with its half-cowl, scarf mask, black panels, and baggy pants, was Elektra's before it was Matt's. Can you think of any other examples where the male hero got a costume from his distaff counterpart, rather than the other way around? But don't worry, the Wolverine Corollary still holds true, no matter who originated the look: a woman wearing the same costume as a man will look a lot better in it.
This look, dubbed "King Daredevil," is the most ninja-y costume
Matt's ever worn (not counting his initial Man Without Fear "black sweatsuit" look as a costume costume), with its baggy pants and simple wrappings instead of boots and gloves. He has the beard and shaggy hair he grew while in prison, but the "collar" he inherited from Queen Daredevil's suit should really be bigger - while hers was just a mask, his is meant to be a full hood he can pull up over his head.
All of this is new molds - the edge of the costume on his chest is sculpted, his shoulders have armor on them, and even the biceps,
which could possibly have been reused, are the newer pinless style of elbow joint. The toy moves at the head, shoulders, biceps, elbows, wrists, chest, waist, hips, thighs, knees, and ankles, which is pretty good, but it's odd that he doesn't have any swivels for his shins (the wraps would have hidden them), and the fact they were already doing a new torso makes it rather disappointing they didn't include pec hinges. Matt's a ninja, he should have all the articulation you can spare!
Daredevil doesn't have a piece of
this series' Mindless One Build-A-Figure, but he does have some accessories. First, there's the usual "pair of billy clubs that can plug together" so many DDs get, and a pouch hanging from his belt they can store in. But seeing as he's turned his "ninja" dial up to 10 for this period in his life, he's also armed with a double-bladed staff weapon that's even taller than he is. Sadly, we do not get an alternate "raised hood" piece to replace his collar. Bummer.
Changing Daredevil's costume can be tough. Obviously the first switch was a winner, but the fact he wore the same basic thing from 1965 to 1993 (and then back to it immediately after) is a terrific level of stability. Some changes are deeply endemic of their era; others are seemingly minor, but just boring. This one is an interesting alternative, because it's a big change, but it feels fine because it also feels like something specifically situational - he's wearing it for this thing he's going through, not as a "permanent" replacement. It's Stealth Armor, rather than Silver Centurion. This is an interesting design that makes for a cool toy, and since it only debuted in the comics about a year ago, it was adopted very quickly!
-- 12/11/23
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