Daredevil Vol. 2 # 500 - The Return Of The King, Conclusion; Dark Reign: The List Preview; 3 Jacks; Pinup Gallery; Daredevil #191

Ok..so coming into this I had just read Captain America #600 and #601 and I must say they were slightly disappointing.As a huge DD fan,I want to hope the best for this but Brubaker wrote both so anything could happen (I like Brubaker's work though).Now The cover is absolutely amazing.I bought 2 copies of the Variant and one of the original cover.The artwork in DD has been consistently good throughout his career.The cover through me off a little bit though because I thought everyone on the cover would be in the book.Sadly,there was no Echo,no Cage,no Iron Fist,no Gladiator,no Spider-Man,No Black Widow and so on and sort forth.I think it was just a collage of his past endeavors as a symbol of the end to all of it. 
 
The story wasn't explosive but it.Introduces a gateway to stories to come.Master Izo basically sets up everything in this book so the DD ends up being the new leader of the Hand.It's very ingenious and DD gets his revenge on Lady Bullseye.He swiftly makes lightwork of her.We also the demise of the Owl and Murdock give up hope with his wife.This is the comic that would end this era in Daredevil and usher in Diggie's era.I think Brubaker made a very good impression on DD.He definately left his mark.

This issue wasn't mind blowing but I'm glad I can always depend on Ed Brubaker to deliver a decent comic. 
And I'm REALLY glad that Brubaker is taking the title in a different direction... Finally...
 
I've felt that a lot of the stories coming out of Daredevil have been really similar for years now. 
Probably ever since the "Hardcore" storyline by Bendis and Maleev where the Kingpin returned again. All the stories have been about Matt being pushed to his limits, how Matt endangers everyone around him because he's Daredevil, how Matt can't have a normal life but he still keeps trying, about Matt about to lose his sanity.
It's like cry me a f-cking river, Matt... 
It gets really boring really quickly. You can try transplanting Matt wherever you want: in prison, fighting the fear guy, fighting the Kingpin, fighting the Owl, fighting an asian gangster who is pumped on mutant growth hormone, but in the end it all felt the same.
 
But this issue... I'm very thankful for this issue. 

Because it's finally challenging the character and the readers to go somewhere else with this story. 
Now I can't say what happened with Matt was the most original idea ever... I mean didn't the same thing happen to Elektra a few years ago? Still it's going to be really fun to see what happens with Daredevil because of what he chose to do. How he accepted he could never have a normal life. How he accepted there are other ways to change things if he had the courage to do what he had to do.  
And seeing his final solution to dealing with the Owl was killer.
 
I wouldn't suggest picking this issue up unless you've been following the story. Because pretty much this is where it ends and something else begins.
Still a good read though...

  The 40 page story that encompasses most of this book was a good read. Some very unexpected things happen. I was kind of annoyed that issue 500 ended with a big cliffhanger, but that's part of the fun. I have no idea where they are going with this, and I'm glad.
My biggest concern for this issue is that they did not make it user friendly. People unfamiliar with Daredevil will not be getting much out of this issue.
Brubaker's run on Daredevil has been deteriorating in my opinion. I think Ed was excited at first to write the character, and then got caught up in all his other endeavours. The stories have been somewhat flat ever since. This story is better than the series has been lately, but was shrouded in mystery. I wanted a bigger pay off for the 500th issue, but I'm still happy.