Warning: SPOILERS ahead for Daredevil & Echo #3!
Summary
- Daredevil proves he truly has no fear by willingly sacrificing his life to defeat an ancient evil, based solely on the word of a stranger.
- Echo's ancestor, Creeping Death, convinces Daredevil to make the sacrifice by appealing to his pride and challenging him to be the man without fear.
- Daredevil's relationship with God and the Catholic Church plays a significant role in his decision, as he sees sacrificing his life as the ultimate act of love and a oneness with God.
Daredevil is known as the man without fear, and his most recent sacrifice proves he has earned that title. Always one to leap into danger without looking — and based only on the word of a stranger — Daredevil allows himself to be killed in order to defeat an ancient evil.
In Daredevil & Echo #3 by Taboo, B. Earl, Phil Noto, and Clayton Cowles, a creature that has existed beneath Hell's Kitchen for centuries is being released from its prison by Demagoblin. Creeping Death, Echo's ancestor from 1835, emerges from the gate that bars the evil Blind One from entering the earthly realm.
She tells Daredevil that he must willingly be killed in order for them to stop the Blind One from destroying all creation. The issue ends with echo plunging a knife into Daredevil's chest — which is completely his choice.
Daredevil's Sacrifice Proves He Really Has No Fear
Creeping Death has the same white hand print on her face as Echo, which immediately lets the present-day heroes that she is Echo's ancestor. When Creeping Death tells Echo she must kill Daredevil, that ancestry is all they have to base their trust on. Daredevil climbs upon the altar to be sacrificed even though he has no idea what will happen next. Knowing only what Creeping Death, whom he just met, has told him, Daredevil leaps into danger. Only this time he knows exactly what the risk is — his life.
Tommy Murdock, Daredevil's ancestor from 1835, was unwilling to make the same sacrifice. He was afraid to trust Creeping Death, and afraid to die. Because of Tommy's hesitance, the Blind One could only be stalled, leaving his descendent to deal with the ancient evil. Creeping Death appeals to Daredevil's pride when she tells Matt of his ancestor's fear, and practically dares him to make the sacrifice, telling Matt, "I believe that you are the man without fear." It is not Daredevil's desire to restore his family's pride or prove he is truly without fear that drives him to willingly give up his life.
This series, as well as the recent ongoing Daredevil series, has played up Matt Murdock's relationship with God and the Catholic Church more than normal. Daredevil's inner thoughts at the moment he decides to sacrifice his life are that to do so is the "ultimate act of love," and that love brings a oneness with God. Sacrifice and evils from the depths of Hell's Kitchen of course lead Matt to more spiritual thoughts than when he faces Kingpin or the Owl, but this story gives some explanation as to where Daredevil's fearlessness comes from. Regardless if he is inspired by God or by his indefatigable father, Battlin' Jack Murdock, his willingness to sacrifice his life solidifies Daredevil as the man without fear.
Check out Daredevil & Echo #3, available now from Marvel Comics!
