Marvel has released a teaser that shows Daredevil returning to his classic costume in the upcoming Daredevil #21. Since the beginning of the series in February 2019, Matt Murdock has given up his superhero name and the accompanying costume, so this revival represents a drastic turn in the character’s development. But this return is more than a simple costume change: it’s a signal to New York that could ruin Daredevil’s reputation and turn the superhero community against him.
The 2019 era of Daredevil, written by Chip Zdarsky (X-Men/Fantastic Four, Sex Criminals) and illustrated by Marco Checchetto (Savage Sword of Conan, Star Wars: The Screaming Citadel), began with Matt Murdock making a fatal mistake. While still recovering from the life-threatening injuries sustained in a previous series, Daredevil accidentally killed a petty criminal. In penance, he gave up his superhero career and focused on work as a parole officer, trying to help people who needed second chances. He couldn’t stay away from the vigilante life forever, and he soon entered training under Elektra, which he used to perform missions wearing a black mask similar to the costume he originally wore in his Netflix series.
Marvel’s teaser exclaims that the character is “Back in Red!” starting in May 2020, but offers no other information about the context for this costume change. The new outfit has tweaks from the original: the top is a darker red, with bright red piping and bandages around Matt’s forearms, and the bottoms are akin to cargo pants. This is not the sort of costume that Murdock can quickly and easily change into by taking off his business suit, but that might be an intentional design choice that reflects an attempt on Matt’s part to keep his work life and superhero life more separate.
The horn-headed Catholic looks sharp, but his brightly-colored outfit is going to attract the wrong kind of attention from villains and heroes alike. Hell’s Kitchen is in chaos; since Wilson Fisk became mayor of NYC, the city’s organized crime industry has shuffled around to fill the vacuum, with dire consequences for anyone who makes the rearrangement difficult. The Owl has taken the title of Kingpin and is consolidating power by kidnapping family members of Kitchen’s local mobsters. Daredevil is still wanted for murder, and while the corrupt cops of Hell’s Kitchen are letting crime run rampant, they’re likely more than willing to arrest a disgraced superhero.
Most importantly, Spider-Man will have something to say about it. In issue 5, the web-slinger had a long, serious conversation with Matt, and let him know in no uncertain terms that the death on his hands meant that he had to retire as a superhero. Spider-Man told him flatly: “I’m spreading the word. If any of us see you out there, attempting this, we’ll stop you. We have to. Or it could be the end of all of us.” That means that everyone from Luke Cage and Iron Fist to the Avengers could come down on him if he doesn’t find a way to acquit himself.
Ultimately, Daredevil’s perennial costume changes have a deeper meaning than the wardrobe choices of the average superhero. They reflect the trajectory of Matt Murdock’s life: a cycle of sin, guilt, and redemption that never leaves him fully in a state of grace. In other words, Daredevil is like Santa: every year he puts the red suit on and goes from rooftop to rooftop and the reasons for it are vaguely related to Christianity.
You can preorder Marvel’s Daredevil #21 from your local comics shop before it goes on sale in May 2020.
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