Written by Charles Soule

Drawn by Phil Noto

Recap – “Struck by a car while pushing a teen out of the way of a distracted driver, Matt Murdock suffered severe injuries that left him fighting for his life on the operating table. Confronted by his own mortality, Matt has returned to Hell’s Kitchen with a newfound resolve to prove that Wilson Fisk, formerly the Kingpin of Crime, and now the city’s mayor, rigged the election in his own favor. But, somehow, Fisk knows that Daredevil is pursuing him and has dispatched trained killers to put a stop to the Man without Fear’s investigations…”

Part II – Pistanthrophobia-

When last we left Matt Murdock, he was in a passionate embrace with Elektra. This issue opens with Matt and Elektra making love to each other. Shortly after, Elektra wakes Matt up. She is in her costume, ready to leave, when Matt asks her to stay.

Soon, she is brought into Matt’s inner circle and introduced to Frank McGee, Cypher, and Reader. Frank has his misgivings about including Elektra on the case. Matt reassures Frank that they will need her in case things get ugly. Cypher has been able to hack James Wesley’s phone and get the Kingpin’s right-hand man’s schedule for the upcoming week. The superhero crew will be able to find and capture Mr. Wesley and shake him down on all kinds of guarded information he has on Fisk.

Mr. Wesley is captured, but his bodyguards are giving chase. Reader uses one of his reads to make the road behind them turn to glue and stop the henchmen’s car in its tracks. In the clear, the heroes are on their way to their safe house, when Matt’s radar sense sees incoming bone knives headed towards the car. A knife hits the front tire of the car, causing the car to flip over. Reader used his last read for the day to help shield everyone from getting hurt. Matt and Elektra take Mr. Wesley into a nearby church for cover to protect him from Kingpin’s assassin.

However, the assassin has lead Matt and Elektra into a trap, as he is there waiting for them. He tells him that he is called the Vigil, who watches over the dying and Mr. Wesley is his next intended victim. The Vigil displays superhuman agility, strength, and speed, even before he takes the fight to Matt and Elektra.

At this point, Matt’s radar sense is off from the car accident and trying to hold his own. He’s about to kick a distracted Vigil, until Vigil counteracts the move with ease. Matt is hurt and Elektra is about to go in for the kill as she has Vigil right where she wants him. At the last second, Matt stops Elektra from harming Vigil. Mr. Wesley, seizing the opportunity, tries to get away. Matt and Elektra go after him but are too late. They find Mr. Wesley face down, dead, with a bone knife in his back. The issue ends with Elektra leaving Matt. Where does Matt go from here after his primary lead on the case is killed? TO BE CONTINUED!

Part II is entitled Pistanthrophobia, which is the fear of trusting people due to prior negative experiences with romantic partners. Comic book aficionados have a good sense of the complicated history and relationship between Daredevil and Elektra. For those uninformed, this issue is a perfect microcosm of said relationship. It’s during the church fight when Daredevil is incapacitated that he realizes that he and Elektra can never be together because she destroys, while Daredevil saves. Before they enter the church, Daredevil tells Elektra that nobody will die this day. Daredevil stops Elektra from killing the Vigil, even though by saving the villain, it costs Matt everything in the end – his only chance to prove Kingpin’s guilt and his rekindled relationship with Elektra.

With two issues to go, I’m locked in to see how this will end. I have a feeling that if Wilson is brought to justice, its’s going to be because of Matt’s ultimate sacrifice. Either the death of the man or the death of the devil.

Next issue – As Daredevil’s crusade against the Kingpin moves into its endgame, the stakes have never been higher * But a mysterious new villain has arrived in Hell’s Kitchen, with Daredevil squarely in his sights…