The Daredevil of Heroes Reborn is a particularly dark and twisted take on the character — and perfect for someone hailing from a Mephisto-world.
WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Heroes Reborn: American Knights #1 by Paul Grist, Chris Allen, Marc Deering, Guru-eFX & VC’s Cory Petit, on sale now
One of the most fitting elements of the Heroes Reborn universe is the place of high-renown that Mephisto has gained in the world. Effectively being treated in a manner similar to how Christianity views its God, the Mephisto of Heroes Reborn has become a consistent and recurring element in the twisted universe — one where the traditional Marvel heroes have either been killed or replaced by the Squadron Supreme. One particular hero’s faith is even used to make him into something of a monster in this world, introducing one of the Marvel Universe’s most frightening versions of Matt Murdock — aka Daredevil.
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Heroes Reborn: American Knights largely focuses on the day-to-day heroes of Washington DC in the Heroes Reborn Universe. Specifically, Police Commissioner Luke Cage is at the center of the issue’s investigation, alongside detectives Jessica Jones and Misty Knight. Cage is a frequent ally of Nighthawk, with the pair, have developed a friendship over the course of their years together. This means that the two are quick to work together during their investigation into “The Saint,” a mysterious new masked man roaming the city. The Saint — the Daredevil of this twisted universe — is a far more brutal figure than he is in the core Marvel Universe.
Introduced attacking a potential pickpocket with a pair of baseball bats, the Saint attracts attention away from Nighthawk and Cage’s long-standing attempts to bring down Turk, who’s become one of the more powerful criminals in the city. Part of their investigation eventually brings the three officers to the Church of Mephisto. There, they get the chance to meet Cleric Matthew Murdock, who has become a famed member of his congregation. In this world — where Mephisto is treated as a god by humanity — Matt is shown to still be a devout and religious figure. This Murdock was never blinded and is always shown to be overly friendly and polite. He reveals that many criminals come to him to confess their crimes, with many local ones becoming targets of the Saint.
Jones and Knight later encounter Murdock when he’s “administering to the sick” when in reality he’s just ensured that Lonnie Lincoln — Tombstone in the core Marvel Universe — dies while in intensive care. The two detectives track Murdock back to his church, where Cage goes to confront him. Murdock ends up attacking Cage — but pleads to be understood and tries to explain that he didn’t want to be known as the Saint. Instead, the S on his chest is actually a serpent — meant to represent when Mephisto took the form of a snake to come to Earth. Murdock tearfully tells Cage about how people come to him to bear their sins in hopes of being forgiven just so they can go commit more crimes — and how it drove him to a dark place.
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Murdock was driven to prevent them from doing so, but has been torn because accepting the darkness in man is a reflection of Mephisto, which means his faith in Mephisto has all been pointed towards a cruel god. It’s a surprisingly somber ending for this version of Daredevil, with Murdock subsequently killed in a hail of police fire that Cage barely survives. Like Daredevil, the Saint is shown to be a skilled fighter and devout man. But the Saint also stands as a dark mirror to Daredevil and highlights many of the ways the character could actually be quite terrifying — turning into a ruthless and almost impulsive killer instead of a dedicated defender of the innocent.
This is a Matt Murdock who embraced his natural charm to become a welcoming figure at the local church — which he then used to his advantage to determine his targets. He’s a brutal brawler who lacks any restraint from murder, something the core-Daredevil often wrestles with. He even uses his faith to explain his actions, again comparing himself to the mainstream Daredevil (who often turns to his Catholic faith when in times of turmoil). It’s all of the most frightening possible aspects of Daredevil, rolled into one surprisingly brutal figure.
