Daredevil: Hell Breaks Loose (Comics) | Review

A former vigilante lawyer wakes up wearing a priest's collar, running an old orphanage in Hell's Kitchen with no memory of his previous masked life. That setup instantly transforms everything readers expected from Daredevil and Marvel does not waste time letting this aftermath unfold.

Titled as Daredevil: Hell Breaks Loose, the debut volume collects the first five issues of the 2023 series re-launch and drops Matt Murdock into an identity crisis of his own. Old allies start acting strange around him, hinting at a supernatural threat lurking under Hell's Kitchen's own rooftops and alleys, long before anyone fully realizes this.

Writing duties fall to Saladin Ahmed (Ms. Marvel: Outlawed, Quicksilver: No Surrender) on this run, following the stretch by Chip Zdarsky (Batman: Failsafe, Daredevil: Know Fear) on the title. Ahmed brings a strong sense of both faith and morality into Matt's new life as Father Matthew.

Art duties are shared between Aaron Kuder (Action Comics: Superdoom, Fantastic Four: Herald of Doom), Farid Karami and German Peralta across the five issues, with Jesus Aburtov handling colors throughout. Each artist brings a distinct visual texture into different chapters within this opening arc's shifting mood from issue to issue.

Comics readers meet Matt Murdock once again as Father Matthew, a priest quietly running an orphanage inside Hell's Kitchen. He remembers nothing of his years as Daredevil, giving Ahmed room to explore an entirely different side of a character, forever defined by guilt and penance.

That fresh start does not last long though. Within the first two issues, memories of his previous crime-fighting life resurface, pulling Matt back into the mask and cape faster than many readers expected from such a status quo change. Grief and instinct override every ounce of his stability.

Beneath the return to costume lies a much bigger mystery. Several of Matt's closest allies begin behaving oddly, their personalities twisted by something clearly not their own at all, setting up the central supernatural threat that drives this entire new storyline forward from the very first issue. Nobody suspects the eerie demonic cause.

A creeping corruption claims Elektra first, wholly taken by a demon embodying the sin of Sloth early in the story. Watching Matt's wife slip into an unfamiliar, demonic version of herself adds real emotional weight beneath the dark supernatural spectacle unfolding across Hell's Kitchen.

Envy takes hold of Ben Urich next, in a sub-plot that reframes his role as a trusted journalist and close friend of Matt. His jealousy driven descent grants Ahmed room to explore how corruption slowly spreads through ordinary human weakness rather than sheer evil fueled by resentment.

Gluttony soon claims She-Hulk as its host in one of the story's most unforgettable sequences. A denied gelato order triggers a furious rampage that leads to some of the book's most energetic and chaotic action moments of the brawl, obliterating the storefronts and scattering frightened bystanders across crowded city avenues nearby.

A far more grounded threat arrives halfway through the book when Bullseye makes his return, raising the stakes considerably beyond the Sin-possession sub-plot. His bloody violence against Matt's inner circle forces a moral reckoning that defines the latter half of this opening story arc.

That moral reckoning comes to a head as bodies pile up around Hell's Kitchen, then Matt must choose between stopping his deadliest enemy or protecting someone he loves. Ahmed frames the choice as a test of Matt's newfound faith and resolve. Neither option leaves him unscathed.

Only three of the Seven Deadly Sins really surface within this first collection, leaving four more waiting somewhere in the wings. The open-ended structure hints at a much broader, sin-driven saga stretching well beyond the first five issues for readers to eventually discover later on. Each remaining sin promises its own distinct storyline.

Marvel has already signaled that Matt's fight against the remaining Sins continues directly into the next volume, since the first chaotic standoff leaves Bullseye's fate and several other threads unresolved. Attentive readers should already expect that fallout to carry forward immediately.

This arc now also follows directly on the heels of the critically-acclaimed run from Chip Zdarsky, meaning longtime readers arrive with massive expectations set long ago. Ahmed leans into that pressure rather than avoiding it, using these Sins as a fresh narrative vehicle for classic themes.

The bulk of the interior art falls to Kuder and unfortunately his pages land as the weakest visual link in this entire collection. Character proportions often feel noticeably inconsistent and action sequences lack the clarity that made the prior run of Marco Checchetto (Daredevil: Doing Time, Daredevil: Through Hell) so memorable to revisit.

Rougher than the rest of the collection, these Kuder pages remain passable in places but rarely rise above merely functional storytelling. Issue five, covering the She-Hulk rampage, is handled more confidently by artist Farid Karami, who previously worked alongside Kuder on issue three.

Guest chapters from Karami and Peralta fare noticeably better, injecting energy and far cleaner linework that the Kuder pages often lack. Cover artwork for the book comes from John Romita Jr. (Iron Man: Doomquest, World War Hulk), giving the trade a stronger first impression than its lackluster interior pages ever manage to deliver.

On the writing side, Ahmed balances faith, guilt and superhero spectacle with confidence, even when the "priest with no memory" story premise resolves faster than some readers might have preferred. Dialogue remains sharp throughout, carrying scenes that shakier art might undercut.

This volume succeeds more as a promising table-setter than a fully realized story premise in its own right. The Sin-possession concept is strong, Bullseye's arrival raises real stakes and Ahmed clearly has a longer arc in mind beyond these five issues. Patience should reward most readers.

Weaker interior art from Kuder holds the collection back from real greatness, especially during the storyline's most chaotic, densely stacked action sequences throughout the middle chapters. Guest chapters from Karami and Peralta offer clear glimpses of what stronger, more consistent artwork could have realistically delivered overall.

Fans of faith-driven character studies and long-form superhero storytelling should find plenty to enjoy despite the uneven art. Newcomers unfamiliar with Daredevil's history may want to start elsewhere but anyone invested in the character will probably stick around for what comes next.

Overall, this arc merits a decent but not spectacular recommendation, carried more by concept and strong writing than by consistent visual execution. The Hell Breaks Loose subtitle promises a rather intriguing seven-sin story, even if this opening chapter stumbles occasionally along the way. Future issues should sharpen considerably.

Hell Breaks Loose arc is collected in Daredevil by Saladin Ahmed Vol. 1: Hell Breaks Loose, which gathers Daredevil (2023) #1-5. Physical editions are available through Amazon, local comic-book shops and other outlets. Check out ComiXology, Kindle and Marvel Unlimited for digital version.