Summary
- Daredevil's decision to kill his worst enemy, Bullseye, marks the beginning of his fall from being a hero and puts him on the path to becoming a literal devil.
- Taking control of the Hand and using it as a force for good ultimately corrupts Daredevil, leading him to do terrible things and even try to kill his fellow heroes.
- Killing Bullseye may have given Daredevil temporary revenge, but it ultimately leads to more darkness and his transformation into a true devil.
Unlike larger-than-life characters like Tony Stark and Thor, Daredevil spends almost all of his time fighting criminals and supervillains on the streets that are directly harming people every day. Naturally, this puts Daredevil much closer to darkness than most other heroes, and when Daredevil finally gives into that darkness and kills his worst enemy, he immediately loses his soul.
Matt Murdock started off as a normal child living in New York City. When young Matt saw an old man about to be hit by a speeding truck, he acted on instinct and immediately pushed the man out of the way, saving his life. Unfortunately, the truck swerved and dropped a radioactive isotope, blinding Matt for life. While this was a major change to his life, it also granted him powers he used to become Daredevil. While he was blinded, Matt's other senses became extraordinary: he could hear the smallest things blocks away, could smell the faintest scents, and gained a form of radar ability that allowed him to "see" things around him. This led to Matt becoming the superhero Daredevil, and he faces off against many villains — the worst of all being Bullseye. But when Matt finally gets his revenge on Bullseye, Daredevil's circumstances only get much worse.
Daredevil Finally Kills Bullseye - But at What Cost?
Daredevil's fall to darkness begins Shadowland #1 by Andy Diggle, Billy Tan, Batt, Christina Strain, Guru EFX, and Joe Caramagna. Bullseye has consistently been Daredevil's worst enemy, and Daredevil finally gets his revenge after taking over the Hand. When Daredevil is put in charge of the ninja clan known as the Hand, he first thinks he could use it as a force for good, including by using the Hand to hunt down Bullseye after he escapes from prison. This leads to a one-on-one confrontation, where, after years of fighting one another, Daredevil finally kills Bullseye. Mimicking the way Bullseye had killed Elektra years before, Daredevil stabs Bullseye through the chest, immediately killing the long-time villain.
While this should have been a moment of relief for Daredevil, it's only the first step in Matt's fall from being a hero and ultimately losing his soul. While Daredevil thought he could use the Hand as a tool for good, from the moment he took control of the organization, he was slowly being corrupted. Daredevil goes on to do terrible things in the Shadowland event, such as trying to kill his fellow heroes — like Luke Cage and Spider-Man. But his killing of Bullseye is the exact moment his fall begins. Daredevil himself later its that, while he isn't responsible for his actions later on, killing Bullseye was entirely his choice. This is the first time Matt intentionally and directly takes a life, and it immediately puts him on the path to becoming a literal devil.
Daredevil Becomes a True Devil
As tempting as it is for heroes to kill their arch-villains, it almost never plays out well for anyone involved. Daredevil may have finally gotten true revenge on his worst enemy Bullseye, but the only thing that came of it was Daredevil becoming a true devil, leading to even more darkness.
Check out Shadowland #1, available now from Marvel Comics!
