Amid His TV Return, Daredevil Is Preparing His Very Own Dark Knight Comeback at Marvel
Matt Murdock’s Daredevilis making a gruesome return to Marvel Comics, and he’s bringing one of the franchise’s most prolific writers with him. Nearly 40 years after departing from the Daredevil franchise, Frank Miller will contribute a variant cover to Charles Soule and Steve McNiven's new “old-man” Daredevil story, set decades after the vigilante hero’s retirement. Unfortunately for Matt Murdock, Hell’s Kitchen is never at peace.
Marvel Comics has announced that Frank Miller is officially returning alongside Soule and McNiven to contribute to Daredevil: Cold Day in Hell, a three-part miniseries that pulls a toughened and elderly Matt Murdock back into the superhero fray after decades of retirement.
This will be the first time since 1986 that Miller has created anything for Daredevil,following the release of his critically acclaimed Daredevil storyline, “Born Again.” Shortly after his departure, Miller authored Batman: The Dark Knight Returns (1986), a similar story featuring an aged Bruce Wayne returning to heroics following his own multi-year retirement.
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Daredevil: Cold Day in Hell #1 (2025) | |
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Release Date: | April 2, 2025 |
Writer: | Charles Soule |
Artist: | Steve McNiven |
Cover Artist: | Steve McNiven |
Variant Covers: | Frank Miller, Rose Esch, Ben Harvey, Leinil Francis Yu, & John Romita Jr. |
Set in a grim future, DAREDEVIL: COLD DAY IN HELL introduces a grizzled, older, and virtually powerless Matt Murdock. No longer operating as a super hero, Matt still finds ways to help others in a world more unjust than ever, but when a catastrophe miraculously restores his enhanced senses, he’s able to take the fight to where it matters most as DAREDEVIL. | |
In time for the release of Marvel Studios’ Daredevil: Born Again television series, Marvel has revealed an avalanche of new information for the upcoming Daredevil: Cold Day in Hell comic series, including cover art, the series’ description, and brief quotes from Charles Soule. Set in an alternate reality where Matt Murdock has long left behind his Daredevil persona, his powers are suddenly reawakened, allowing the elderly hero to return to his work as a masked vigilante. In his absence, Matt has done what he can to help others, but the world proves to be too corrupt to live without heroes.
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This monumental collaboration of talent promises to deliver only the absolute best story any Daredevil reader could hope for. The highly anticipated Daredevil: Born Again series takes direct inspiration from Charles Soule’s 2015 Daredevil comic series and shares the same title as Frank Miller’s final Daredevil storyline. Alongside Steve McNiven, most popularly known for illustrating the Old Man Logan (2016) comic series, the creative team behind Daredevil: Cold Day in Hell has amassed a legendary collection of Marvel talents whose work has permanently shaped their respective franchises for generations to come.
"Cold Day in Hell: Is Directly Inspired by Frank Miller's Work
The Daredevil Story Will Share Similarities With Dark Knight Returns
This miniseries introduces Matt Murdock at a relatively mundane point in his life, in a world where heroes have become more or less obsolete. In an interview with IGN, Charles Soule explains:
“We don't get specific with it, but the idea is that he left super hero life behind many years ago. Not just him, either - in the world of Cold Day In Hell, super heroes are long gone, at least in comparison to the way they operate in the present-day Marvel Universe. The reason for Matt leaving Daredevil behind is actually pretty simple, if you're using super hero logic. As we all know, Matt got his powers by being accidentally dosed with radioactive goop. Radioactivity fades with time, and in this story, the idea is that over time Matt's powers faded away too. He's still got all his combat training, but he hasn't used it for a very long time. He is, to put it pretty plainly, an ordinary older man with an extraordinary past that he's worked quite hard to move beyond. At least, that's our status quo as we begin.”
The setup for this story follows a similar pattern to Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns.As equally famous as Miller’s "Born Again" Daredevil storyline, The Dark Knight Returns is easily one of the greatest Batman stories, if not one of the greatest comic book stories of all time. Following the death of Jason Todd, Bruce Wayne rejects his Batman persona. In the years following his retirement, Gotham City devolved into a gang-filled warzone, prompting Wayne to don the cape and mask once again. Since then, The Dark Knight Returns has gone on to inspire future comics, movies, and shows.
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Soule further explains in the interview with IGN that Cold Day in Hell takes place shortly after a series of tragedies in the Marvel Universe that have taken dire tolls on the story’s characters. Series artist Steve McNiven added in the interview:
“Stripping the hero down to their bare essentials is what we were going for tonally in this tale. There are a number of great inspirations in and out of the comic world for this kind of treatment that I’m sure we could both list a number of them. But for me, it always starts with Frank Miller's Dark Knight Returns. I’ve always been fascinated with that story, both in tone and in its storytelling techniques. A part of the reason I wanted to tackle this project was to explore Miller’s storytelling devices”
McNiven goes on to say that the miniseries is practically an “unabashed love letter to Frank Miller.” Both creators make it clear that The Dark Knight Returns serves as the stylistic rubric they aimed to follow while crafting the three-part Daredevil series. With Frank Miller alongside them, Cold Day in Hell promises to not only be authentic to the tone of a classic Daredevil story but ensures that it doesn’t simply mimic Miller’s past work. Undoubtedly, Miller has probably been holding onto some fun ideas for the character since he last wrote for Daredevil nearly 40 years ago.
Stories Like "Cold Day In Hell" Are A Reminder That Superhero Stories Can Have Dramatic Weight
Comics Often Fail To Emphasize The Toll Age & Death Take
While both Soule and McNiven are openly excited about the miniseries’ comparison to The Dark Knight Returns, what’s most exciting is what’s hidden in the lore surrounding the story. Similar to both Miller’s Batman story and Steven McNiven’s Old Man Logan (2016) series, Daredevil: Cold Day in Hell has changed the landscape of the superheroic community entirely.In all three stories, costumed heroics are a thing of the past, leaving only super criminals to take charge in the absence of heroes. These stories serve a greater purpose in showing what these societies look like when the heroes quit.
Stories like Cold Day in Hell force both the heroes and the readers to embrace a world that just stopped caring.
In most mainstream superhero comics, when one hero retires, there are often a dozen more trying to take their place. There will always be a constant cycle of heroes willing to take a stand against injustice. But stories like Cold Day in Hell force both the heroes and the readers to embrace a world that just stopped caring. These tales remind us of that looming mortal threat beyond the horizon of our lives. Age, death, and change are unfortunate aspects of life that traditional comic stories avoid telling; it’s scary. However, these stories aren’t without a sense of hope.
Cold Day in HellIs a Story About Legacy
It Seeks to Honor Both Daredevil & Frank Miller
Ultimately, Daredevil: Cold Day in Hell aims to tell a story about legacy. The miniseries will explore the long-term impact that the Daredevil persona has had on Matt Murdock, his allies, and the world around them. But of course, it’s not just about legacy on the page, but off the page too. Charles Soule, Steven McNiven, and Frank Miller have all had remarkable impacts on the franchises they have previously worked on. Their creations have gone on to inspire dozens of other stories across the decades, forever expanding the characters’ fundamental components.
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There is no doubt that Cold Day in Hell is just as much a love letter to fans as McNiven jokes it is to Frank Miller. These legendary creators have long proven that they can create and deliver original stories that still feel authentic to the characters’ core tenets. Their previous work has served as the foundation that countless other stories have emulated over the years. Readers can expect that thisDaredevil will be just as powerful as all three creators’ previous work has been.
Source: Marvel Comics
Source: IGN
Daredevil: Cold Day in Hell #1 will be available April 2, 2025 from Marvel Comics.
