Back in 1986, the world was very different. The music, the clothes, the politics, all of it. A whole separate era to be looked at brightly, or poorly. But for comic fans, this year brought what I deem to be the central point of what every comic can be if the potential is there, Daredevil: Born Again.
Now, if you’re here reading this I expect you to know who Daredevil is. I won’t be explaining his origin or any of that, though you could consider this storyline a second origin of sorts… more on that later.
Love, death, rinse and repeat. That’s what Matt Murdock’s life has been. By day, he protects citizens in the courts, fighting for their civil liberties and rights. By night, he has his horns of vengeance on, ready to protect citizens by fist. He has his trouble, losing a friend here, losing a lover there, but things are all right.
What could happen?
The Mental Augmentation of The Devil
Back in the earlier years of
Time goes by, Karen leaves and chases her dreams of being an actress, but in the process ends her relationship with Matt.
And this- this is where it begins.
Taking a deeper look into the 1980s and the cultural climate it brought with it, it’s clear to see what brought upon the downfall of The Devil.
With the sudden boom of crack and heroin in the era, the genius mind of Frank Miller did not choose to shy away from what was happening outside of comic-reader’s homes.
The boom of drugs affected everyone, mainly inner-cities, destroying households and separating families. But it also hit Hollywood and entertainment as well, with many notable figures passing in the times, it became clear an epidemic was on hand. The ability to tackle this issue in comics, yet alone somehow tie a very sensitive subject for some readers into a Marvel storyline is risky, but possible.
Frank Miller took this thought, and brought it into the street realm of Marvel, where these ideas and ideals could feasibly happen in-universe. A drug, one drug, one singular pull, a feasible amount of heroin, causes the eternal downfall of a beloved superhero. A protector of the weak, someone who busts these drugs left and right, is taken down by another’s addiction.
Changing his mindset, his outlook, even his ego. A true devil, unbound and unbreakable, is able to get his mind shattered and soul stomped on by a lapse of judgement countries away. The mental augmentation of the devil had begun.
Fake Characters, Real Problems
Karen Page gives Matt’s secret identity away for heroin. She had slipped and fell as an actress, being consumed by enormous stardom and pressure, gives in to her inner demons and succumbs to heroin addiction. She just needed one more hit, one more dragon to chase, and alongside her downfall, Matt comes with.
This information gets its way back to Kingpin, and the eruption begins. Matt has his lawyer license taken away, he loses his house, his friends, his suit, he is no longer Daredevil. He is no longer Matt. He is nothing.
There is no one in the world he can trust, his senses aren’t as strong, he believes every one of his friends is working with Fisk to get him, it’s all them. A downward spiral of emotions, with Matt’s mental health declining page by page, slowly driving him to insanity. The pure sinner inside reveals itself to Matt, as he drifts closer and closer to becoming what he fights against. To becoming the primal beast Stick had always told himself about, the loner Elektra always called him in training, it was all true to Matt now.
He was truly nothing.
The Apocalypse was here, the apocalypse of Matt’s internal monologue, life, and ego.
Next came Matt’s Purgatory.
Living Between Life and Death
All manipulation begins with a question. A question of reality and fantasy with a touch of realism.
A man stuck between life and death at any turn, a life he can no longer chase and a death that is inevitable. A world where fantasies are becoming more real and reality becomes less clear.
Matt’s mental health was through the window, on the street, and ran over. A catholic man who brought himself up to be as strong-willed as possible, through the power of god, and the power of sinning, he has always balanced a fine line between life and death. That is no more.
The 1980s saw a major decline in access to mental health, even after the signing of the Mental Health Systems Act of 1980 by President Jimmy Carter, by the late 80s it was clear a decline was happening. Americans year by year were developing more mental health illnesses, and less and less input for it with the government. The accessibility for help was disappearing for a majority of Americans, so many illnesses went undiagnosed, which then produced trauma, which then in turn became generational trauma for many of us today.
As well as all of that, the 80s also didn’t tackle mental health in media as often as was liked, people never saw perfect superheroes crumble. Of course they lost, and we did see quite some dark stories from publishers in this era, but none were tackled as hard and clear as Born Again.
Living in purgatory between worlds, with no access to help for your broken mind, creates a snowball effect, and essentially makes Matt a Pariah.
On the brink of insanity, the truest pariah in his mind, and to society. No one can reach Matt, and he himself cannot reach himself.
Comic-readers, who may feel like outcasts at home, many without proper help for possible mental illnesses, escape to a world where the hero they love goes through a heart-breaking story, a visual representation of what many Americans felt in their mind, fear, anguish, and loneliness. An allegory for anyone’s broken psyche was clear from page to page, panel to panel, ink to ink.
Every ink line, color, speech bubble, had it’s purpose. With the beauty of David Mazzucchelli, and the sorrows of Frank Miller, you get an eye-opening look into the minds of people who need to reach out, as each issue can show the slow downfall of a hurt individual, and the lessons to be learned from this.
Now I know, it’s been depressing so far. Talking about mental health and drugs and more, but the fact is that these were and are still very real issues to this day. That is what makes Daredevil: Born Again so special. A piece of literature that was a sign of the times that comic book readers needed. Many people were affected by these issues, over a million died in the era. Those people had families, they had friends, and they could have been reading comics.
That, is what makes this so beautiful, and why I state it to be comic’s greatest masterpiece (Sorry Watchmen, you’re pretty good too).
But I’m not even to the best part yet.
Born Again
What does born again mean?
Here’s two definitions:
- (Of a person) Converted to a personal faith in Christ (with reference to John 3:3).
- Having returned to or newly adopted an activity, a conviction, or a persona especially with a proselytizing zeal
Let’s talk about that little thing up there, John 3;3.
Here is the scripture:
Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.” “How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!” Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit.”
John 3:3-5
Being “born again” is to rebirth yourself as a new being, a new status, and a new life. Most commonly found in “born again christians” when they find their faith again or convert themselves to Christianity. But both meanings tie into our titular character and title itself.
Stripped and broken after a massive fight, Matt finds himself in the care of nuns under his home church. Broken, hurt, and lost, he falls under the guidance of Sister Maggie. A woman who is close with God themselves and can bring Matt back closer to both God and himself.
After a strenuous process, Daredevil is born again. Matthew Murdock is born again. The Devil of Hell’s Kitchen, has returned.
When you’re born again in Christianity, many will say you have been “saved“. You have saved yourself from eternal damnation to hell, to live with The Devil for eternity after death.
But no one has once asked the question, what happens when The Devil is saved?
Enter God and Country
America from the 50s to the 90s was a powerhouse for global power and balancing. But nonetheless, we have to discuss one of the darkest periods in the United State’s history.
The Vietnam War.
From 1955 to 1975 we saw the rise of American propaganda and fear-mongering in the media surrounding the Vietnam War. The United States were not the good guys, and we lied our way into a conflict that cost countless American lives, all on a baseless claim.
Many American soldiers were duped, and forced to serve a forceful powerhouse of destruction that many regret to this day. But there was the few soldiers who fell into violence, with some of the worst war-crimes committed happened during Vietnam.
As Born Again came out not more than a decade later than the war, and as the returning veterans were coming home to little to no aid for recovery, mental health services, and more, citizens saw how the veterans were treated and voiced this, as they still do to this day.
Now for those other soldiers who fell too far in, here is Nuke.
As a last ditch effort with knowing Daredevil is back, Kingpin enlists the US Army to transport a super-soldier by the name of Nuke to him.
Nuke is a crazed lunatic, a failed replica of Captain America, and a pure antithesis to American ideals, yet, he claims to be the most patriotic (Sounds familiar huh?). He paints an American flag on his face, and if he is missing colors, he loses his motivation.
When we first see Nuke, he’s committing war-crimes already. He mentions dark things he did in Vietnam, and how much he enjoyed it. A dark figure of a human being, is sent to kill the man who has found himself once more. Chaos ensues in Hells’ Kitchen, and the battle had begun.
Bring on Armageddon.
America Versus “America”
Heading into the final issue, we see Captain America join the showdown against Nuke. A true individual who carries perfect ideals, and doesn’t strive to keep America where it’s at, but to strive for where it should be, versus a fake patriot who wants nothing but to see anybody who speaks against the government crumble under his iron fist.
A perfect individual, a man who has saved himself from darkness while many other couldn’t, versus pure evil. A perfect ending to a perfect story. Ideals mixed and thrown across the room, with nothing but pure fighting, and anger, and hope.
Hope for a better day. For the people of Hell’s Kitchen, for himself, for yourself, for your community, for our world, the real world.
It ends how you’d expect many comics to, the good guys win, and Matt gets his life back. But that’s not what this is about, it’s all about the journey, and the lessons learned.
As anybody who has read the comics might have seen, I’ve been bolding a lot of different words this article. For a reason, each issue of Born Again are stages of death, alongside stages of being born again, the rise of nationalism, and the end of all times.
Apocalypse
Purgatory
Pariah
Born Again
Saved
God and Country
Armageddon
Each one of these issue titles are allegories for real world issues, with the fear of Armageddon approaching, the stages of death, grief, rebuilding yourself, and more.
With the times of people pleading to the world with no help, and they turn to the escape of comics, and they find their favorite superhero going through pain just like them. Feeling crazy just like them. Hurting- just like them.
But there’s more to it than that; “If Daredevil can hurt like me, and feel like me, but he pulls himself out of it, does that mean I can too?”
That is the big picture I’m trying to get at with this piece here, and why I believe the title to be true.
A land of wounded veterans with no help, citizens pleading for access to services, and the rise of nationalism through American propaganda, was hurting. But it is never, ever too late. You can get out of that hole, you can defeat the evil in the world, and you can build yourself up for a better tomorrow.
Not for a god.
Not for your country.
But for yourself, and what Born Again shows you, is that it’s not belief, it’s faith.
Faith in yourself, for the future is uncertain, death could be lurking around any corner, and you could be stuck between life and death without knowing. You can believe that tomorrow is going to be bad.
But inside, you must keep faith for a better tomorrow.
Thank you.
Sources: The Decline of Mental Illness Treatment from the 1980s On, S. 1177 (96th): Mental Health Systems Act, Decades of Drug Use: The ’80s and ’90s, The Violent Legacies of the U.S. War in Vietnam
