It may not be the first time saying it, but Daredevil is about to be put to the test. In an upcoming issue of Marvel's Daredevil series, Matt Murdock is about to face a new team-up of some of his deadliest enemies. Though he has often been one of the laughing stocks of the Marvel Universe, infamous 'villain' Stilt-Man has been confirmed as one of the members of this deadly new squad!
Matt is set to begin his face-off against this new team in Daredevil #19. The current series, written by Chip Zdarsky with art by Marco Checchetto, has already drastically shaken up the world of Matthew Murdock. Recently in the series, Matt retired from being Daredevil while simultaneously rekindling a relationship with love-of-his-life / deadly assassin, Elektra. And, if that wasn't enough, with Wilson Fisk now the Mayor of New York, Matt's other long-time enemy the Owl has taken up Fisk's old spot as the new Kingpin.
CBR first reported on this upcoming story. This new deadly team will be led by none other than Bullseye, whom the rising Stromwyn crime family has tasked with taking down the vigilantes of Hell's Kitchen. Besides Bullseye and Stilt-Man, the other members of this new squad include Rhino, Crossbones, and Bullet. The inclusion of each of these villains is interesting - some had seemingly turned a new leaf recently towards the good side - so readers will have to wait and see the motivations for why each member decided to join Bullseye as this new storyline slowly plays out.
The inclusion of Stilt-Man in this team is definitely one of the more noteworthy pieces of this upcoming story. Since the introduction of Stilt-Man aka Wilbur Day into the Marvel U, he has been one of the more steadfast B- (or maybe even C-) level villains running amok. Though Day purportedly boasts a semi-high level of intelligence and he utilizes a battle suit that he invented, giving him increased strength as well as telescopic limbs, he has never had much success in his villainous lifestyle. New York-based heroes like Daredevil and Spider-Man have frequently been able to foil Stilt-Man's plans with little effort at all. The Punisher went quite a bit further and actually killed Day during Marvel's Civil War-era. However, Day was later brought back to life by the Jackal during Spider-Man's Clone Conspiracy storyline. With this new and sudden rise in relevance, questions now abound as to Stilt-Man's level of danger and threat to Daredevil and the rest of Hell's Kitchen...
Is this a new turning point for Wilbur Day? Is he finally about to become a true (and serious) Marvel villain? We'll begin to find out when Daredevil #19 hits shelves on March 4.