marvel DareDevil: The Man Without Fear! - Page 9

quote newsarama.com

As we’ve reported, Norman Osborn is putting a lot of the heroes of the Marvel Universe on his List this fall. The coming eight one shots will feature Osborn putting the screws to Spider-Man, the X-Men, Punisher, Wolverine, Hulk, Avengers, Secret Warriors and Daredevil.

We’ve hit many of the writers on their upcoming The List specials, and today, we catch up with upcoming Daredevil writer, and The List: Daredevil writer Andy Diggle.

Newsarama: First off Andy, let’s talk about Daredevi’s upcoming run-in with Norman Osborn in The List: Daredevil. From the title, and the Iron Patriot Acts teaser image, this one shot puts DD square into Norman's sights and Dark Reign. In your view, how does Osborn see Daredevil?

Andy Diggle: Daredevil's been too preoccupied with his own problems to even register on Norman's radar... until the events that open The List: Daredevil. After this it's a whole new ball game. Norman assumes he can swat Daredevil like a fly. But it's not so easy, of course.

NRAMA: Much has been made of who knows and doesn't know that Matt is Daredevil. Is Norman in the know? Does he even care? Wouldn't "outing" him be the easiest way to destroy him, given what he’s had happen?

AD: Norman doesn't care about niceties like "outing" heroes in the press. You're either with him or against him; and if you're against him, he sends Bullseye to kill you. End of story.

NRAMA: Without spoiling things, what is Norman looking to do here? Stop, destroy or sway Daredevil?

AD: Destroy. Norman doesn't do half measures.

NRAMA: You've got a pretty narrow window that this special takes place in. Can you tell us about the "when" of The List: Daredevil?

AD: The List: Daredevil is the bridge that links Ed Brubaker's Daredevil run to my own. Think of it as the connecting tissue between Daredevil issues #500 and #501. I'm not hitting the reset button here; it's all one continuous story. Ed Brubaker's thrown me the ball -- actually, it's more like a hot potato! -- and I'm running with it. Ouch!

NRAMA: DD faced, and ultimately defeated the Kingpin, who was arguably leading an army - why can't he just do the same with Norman? Or is that what Norman is scared of, that once he's got a reason to fight, Daredevil doesn't stop fighting?

AD: Norman has the Dark Avengers plus HAMMER at his command. Formidable as he may be, Daredevil is just one man. Until he gets back-up from an unexpected quarter...

NRAMA: End of the day, what does The List – Daredevil do for the larger tapestry of Dark Reign?

AD: It forces Matt Murdock to play a role in wider events -- and the role he chooses to play is not necessarily one we would expect him to. Or wish him to...

NRAMA: Moving on your upcoming run on Daredevil which, as you said, The List is a bridge to, when we last spoke about Daredevil, you said that Matt couldn't keep going the way he was going without major repercussions and that Ed is leaving you with a major cliffhanger type story to pick up on. Now that we're a little closer to the start of your run, can you perhaps elaborate a little on what Matt's been going through lately, and how there's, in a way, no coming back from the cliff he's approaching?

AD: You know I hate to be a tease, but the truth is I can't tell you what that cliff is without spoiling it. Let's just say it's a game changer. We're talking about a whole new status-quo here. But don't worry, it's still Daredevil.

NRAMA: Both Ed and Brian kept Daredevil in Hell's Kitchen mostly - will you be bringing him out to play a little bit more in the larger Marvel Universe, or is he one of those characters that works best on his home turf, and guest stars come to visit him?

AD: It'll start off very much on Matt's home turf, but the scale of the story -- and the stakes -- will increase as more and more characters get drawn into events.

NRAMA: The teaser info about the direction for issue #501 and up claims that, with your run starting, Dark Reign hits Hell's Kitchen. Will at least you opening arc be dealing with the repercussions of Norman Osborn being in charge and what that means to Matt, outside of what we see in The List?

AD: It's more about the repercussion of the decision Matt makes at the end of issue 500. How's that for a tease?

NRAMA: Flipside of what we talked about earlier - with what Ed was doing, he really didn't have time to have Matt comment on or interact with the larger Dark Reign story...in your view, what does Matt think about Norman being the #1 guy?

AD: It's just more evidence that the system Matt believed in, the system he's always fought for as Daredevil, is corrupt. Possibly broken beyond repair. The old ways aren't working any more. So Matt needs to find a new paradigm.

NRAMA: Going back to our earlier talk, we discussed what works for you with the character, namely keeping largely, to the path established by Frank Miller, which is where both Brian and Ed played with the character. For you, is it a matter of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" in regards to keeping Matt's world largely the same?

AD: It's always a matter of respecting what's gone before, without necessarily trying to mimic it. Frank Miller, Ann Nocenti, Brian Bendis, Ed Brubaker and others have done stellar work defining Daredevil, and while I respect that, I'm not interested in trying to mimic their individual styles. I'm bringing my own voice to this. It's a balancing act between recognizing and preserving what makes Daredevil what it is, while still moving forward and keeping it fresh.

NRAMA: That said, where do you go with Matt/DD? Brian and Ed's run on the character is many times longer than the length of Miller's run - what fresh directions are there to go in? And please don't say a return to the people living in the sewers...or the razor armor...


AD: My plan is to kill off Matt Murdock and have him reborn as an avenging angel working for Heaven.... Nah, just kidding! But let's just say Daredevil has been on the back foot for a while now. It's high time he got pro-active and went on the offensive.

NRAMA: And with your start on #501, you're teamed with Roberto De La Torre - are you tuning your writing to his style, or is he working to bring a bit more grit in or...what?

AD: I'm already tuned in to Roberto's style after working with him on Thunderbolts, and the work he's producing for Daredevil is just off-the-scale awesome. It's the perfect blend or character, action and grit.

NRAMA: Weirdest thing you've asked him to draw so far?

AD: Devil-horned ninjas.

NRAMA: Al-right. Can't let you go without a tease...can you give us a few things we'll see in your first issue?

AD: One of the regular cast members dies. Hmm, maybe I wasn't kidding about that avenging angel thing after all...

Daredevil #501 is due in stores in September. The List: Daredevil is due in stores in October.

quote Byzantine

he should really be called "the man without lube"

Ahah, what am i getting myself into :L

But yeah, i noticed he had a stream of awesome writers, S'what initially intrigued me. And everyone loves a superhero with a good life *bleep*ing