At least DD will be getting more face time which coincides nicely with the relaunch of his book. I agree that it is an experiment that might not work for the reasons you mentioned, but I do like the idea of him finally becoming an Avenger. He is one of the few major Marvel characters who has never been one until now. He has an interesting relationship with some one the other members of the team so at the very least we may get some nice interplay between them.

Overall, I think that Bendis’ AVENGERS books have been on the decline since the awful SECRET INVASION tie-ins, so adding a character I enjoy to the cast will probably just result in me being angry about how he is used. (See, e.g., Thor and Doctor Strange.)

While I like Bendis’ comments regarding the uneasy transition into the New Avengers in light of Matt’s actions in Shadowland, I join with Robert in wondering what the hell Bendis is talking about when he claims Matt is “the Marvel horndog of all time”. As available New Avengers go, this means he will be putting the moves on Mockingbird, Ms. Marvel, or (HOPEFULLY) Squirrel Girl. My money’s on Mockingbird since Bendis is already placing her former husband, Hawkeye, together with Spider-Woman in AVENGERS. (Incidentally, no Marvel hero really comes off as much of a “horndog” other than maybe Eric O’Grady’s sleazy and amusing Ant-Man. No one is indiscriminately banging folks left and right. But, if it’s anyone, it’s either Hercules or Hawkeye by a long shot.)

Robert echoed my thoughts exactly on the movie, though I wish they wouldn’t touch anything in Born Again until a second movie. If they follow the Batman route as Robert mentioned it could be ok, depending on the director, which I’m still unsettled about. Based on what I’ve heard, he doesn’t seem to have a strong rep one way or the other. No one seems to hate him, which is good, but I haven’t noticed anyone really praising him either. I haven’t seen any of his films yet but his two non-Twilight films are next in my Netflix queue. If they’re pretty good I’ll feel a lot better about the whole thing.

End of days might be good. I spoke with Mack and Sienkiewicz about it at Wizard World Atlanta last December and they seemed pretty excited about it. They didn’t reveal anything, but they seemed genuinely positive and excited about it. Only thing that irks me about it is that Bendis insists it will be his canon death. That’s just ludicrous seeing as how Marvel will retcon the entire thing if they feel like it. It feels like a move to drum up publicity and gain bragging rights, “yeah, I’m awesome, I killed DD!” Just seems petty.

I thinks it is cool DD will be with the New Avengers. Timing seems right and it fits with what Waid wants to do with DD (less brooding, play nicer with others) and some of his closest friends are on the team so why not? Probably won’t last but it will be cool to see them try it. And I’m interested to see how he’ll do with some of the Avengers more powerful and “magic” enemies. It will be cool to see if mere mortal Matt Murdock has some kind of edge or insight while fighting these high powered villains due to his heightened senses that his more powerful teammates don’t have. Maybe then he’ll finally get some respect. I like keeping Matt as mainly a street level character, but he hasn’t dealt with the more powerful villains very often in the modern era so I think it will be interesting to see where they take it.

I am concerned that Bendis is handling it. His DD run was great early on but it went downhill after the first 50 issues. I don’t think he’s recovered from that. He’s pretty overrated in my opinion. It also bothers me that he wants to hook him up with a lady so soon. Yes, Matt likes the ladies but he does have limits! He is the type that would try to love again but after what happened with Milla I think he would take an extended break.

Regarding DD’s horndog status, there are a lot of reasons why people think of Matt as a more sexually active character. A big reason is that he was the first superhero to move in with a girlfriend (Black Widow). He also dated and lived with a former porn star (Karen). There is a stigma attached to him because of those actions. Those actions were considered deviant at the time they published those stories. Despite the fact that they aren’t considered very deviant now, once people have that kind of perception of someone it’s very hard to shake. Especially when the writers celebrate it and constantly call him a player, horndog, etc!

Romantic relationships have always been a part of superhero comics but being an older hero, his relationships seemed to have greater importance to him and were often (NOT ALWAYS) handled in a more mature and meaningful way. As a result the relationships stick with people more, appear more “real” and appear less like schoolboy crushes. And how many of his ex-girlfriends have died or been permanently harmed as a result of being with him? People remember that kind of thing and when they start counting these women they come up with a number that is large compared to most other heroes. Off the top of my head I can think of 9 women that he’s dated/been with: Elektra, Karen, Black Widow, Heather, Glorianna, Typhoid Mary, Echo, Milla, Dakota. Am I missing anyone? I can’t think of many other Marvel heroes that have a body count like that (no pun intended). Maybe Tony Stark. I don’t think he deserves to be called a horndog or player, but you can’t deny that he is pretty successful with the ladies.

I’m also concerned a little bit that this means Bendis gets to call the shots on the Daredevil character at Marvel. Bendis does something to “shake things up” over in Avengers and editorial makes Waid change a current/future story to fit. Or God forbid something out of “End of Days” actually does become canon because Quesada wants to keep his BFF Bendis happy so they make the DD writer adjust his stories to fit the eventual “fate” of Matt Murdock. I know in the long run this “End of Days” will no more be official canon than The Dark Knight Returns, Kingdom Come, or X-Men: The End, but if they come out of the gate claiming it to be, it could affect current stories negatively.

First off, I don’t like HOW Matt is joining the Avengers.

Let me explain.

For me, Bendis has ruined the appeal and charm of the Avengers. Before his antics, the Avengers were a proud team, membership in which carried within it a note of tremendous responsibility and significant status. The membership drive issues were classics, as the possibilities were endless and exciting over who would join & why, who didn’t, and why not?

This led to another great appeal of the team, that of era teams. Every reader has their favorite Avengers line-up and will forever defend the quality and mixture of said team.

Bendis has ruined that appeal, yanked it from right under our noses yet we celebrate him for it. These days, the Avengers are Marvel’s official Police Force, with every hero, regardless of age and experience, either already a member or with membership already assumed to exist should some new event call for it.

And because everyone in the MU is now an Avenger, what happens to the team now becomes a full-fledged mega event.

To this day, I see no reason whatsoever for Logan to be an Avenger other than sticking a well-oiled money machine, marketable character on their newly-crowned flagship title.

Now, I have no issue with DD being an Avenger. I believe he is in the similar vein as Spidey, a hero who may be outside the normal constraints but who has earned the right to join through their efforts and deeds.

But the way Bendis has set them up today, it’s as if Matt can join simply by being a hero, by putting on a costume, by having some extraordinary ability, by existing. Here’s your automatic membership card.

It’s a fine line distinction, but it’s there to me. Instead of being part of the Few, Matt was handed membership to the Many…Far Too Many.