Writer: Erica Schultz
Penciler: Sergio Dávila
Inker: Sean Parsons
Colorist: Ceci De La Cruz
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
Cover Artists: Sergio Dávila, Sean Parsons & Ceci De La Cruz; Paco Medina & Ceci De La Cruz
Publisher: Marvel
Price: $3.99
Release Date: February 7, 2024
Madame Masque is turning up the heat in Hell’s Kitchen. She’s upset the Owl hooted about her plans to Daredevil. Madame Masque didn’t want Matt Murdock’s stand-in to take The Heat out of play. How will she reward the Owl for his interference? And how will Madame Masque ensure Elektra Natchios doesn’t interfere with her attempt to rule the gangs of New York? Let’s grab our sonic sai, leap into Daredevil: Gang War #3, and find out!
Story
Leland Owlsley looks after his interests. But helping heroes invites Madame Masque's ire, and she plays for keeps. Like Hammerhead, Silvermane, and her father, Count Nefaria, the Owl underestimates her. Is he a match for her new assassin?
Madame Masque gave her assassin new orders. Bellona’s days of supplying gangs like The Heat are over. Her next challenge is to take on Daredevil. Alchemax forged Bellona into a living weapon. Like Elektra and X-23, Bellona has a tortured past. She relishes any chance to employ her fighting prowess for an employer who values her skills. Will her adamantium claws help her succeed where so many others have failed?
In Daredevil: Gang War #3, Elektra may be minding the store until Matt gives up the collar, but that doesn’t mean her heart isn’t in this fight. She’s through being used and hurting people for money. So, when she sees a tortured soul like Bellona, Elektra feels compassion. Sure, Elektra will use every weapon at her disposal to defend herself. But if Elektra can pierce the armor of pain, anger, and self-pity insulating Bellona from her humanity, all the better.
Aside from the gangland fighting, Erica Schultz reminds readers how everyday citizens are faring. Hoodlums and minor gangs are taking advantage of Madame Masque’s madness. Can parents flee the warzone to safeguard their children? They will if Elektra Natchios, aka Daredevil, has anything to say about it!
Art
Daredevil: Gang War #3 begins with the Owl in flight. He alights atop a building. As he confronts Madame Masque, Sergio Dávila and Sean Parsons show us smoke rising beyond the crenelated rooftop. Smoke fills every scene, suggesting the fire in Hell's Kitchen rages out of control. The stylized scars accentuating Bellona’s features suggest a desperate need to assert her individuality. Her fight with the Owl captures every brutal moment and the energy and determination that propels their flurry of movements.
Sergio Dávila and Sean Parsons also capitalize on human moments. A child gazes up in awe at Daredevil. Despite the dangerous circumstances, Elektra smiles and spins her katanas to please him. Madame Masque seems to lean into the wall in one panel, suggesting she's not nearly as impervious as she appears. The artists end the issue as they begin. Only this time, it's Daredevil flying toward her next destination.
Ceci De La Cruz loads her palette with bold, contrasting colors in Daredevil: Gang War #3. The yellow and orange smoke hints at the fury consuming Hell's Kitchen. The red and black in Bellona and Daredevil's costumes hint that both have endured difficult pasts. Red and green also form a strong theme, from Owl and Bellona's faceoff to glimpses of She-Hulk interposed with Daredevil to the thugs terrorizing a family trying to escape the chaos.
The single note that rises highest in Ceci De La Cruz's symphony may be the coloration of Madame Masque's disguise. Light and shadow caress every curve, bringing brown, green, yellow, and even a hint of white to the golden mask. All these character moments and breathtaking battles occur at night. Yet beneath the canopy of glittering stars, nothing hides in shadow.
Clayton Cowles fills white dialogue balloons with black, uppercase lettering. The spacing between words and lettering enhances readability, and the thin font grows bold for inflection. White lowercase words fill red-edged black narrative boxes to reveal Daredevil’s thoughts. Colored and transparent sound effects enhance the furious action sparingly in Daredevil: Gang War #3. Curiously, a rocket banging off She-Hulk and speeding toward the reader almost goes unnoticed amid the cataclysmic chaos overtaking New York City.
Thanks to Marvel Comics for providing an issue for review.
Final Thoughts
As two assassins—one driven by pain, the other by atonement—collide, ordinary New Yorkers face the collapse of civilization, and a seemingly unconquerable foe betrays a moment of weakness in Daredevil: Gang War #3.
Rating 9.2/10
To preview interior art see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.
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