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By Ben Morse
As if Matt Murdock doesn’t have enough trouble in his life already—and he generally does—a brand new villain stalks his path beginning September 19 in DAREDEVIL #18 when The Coyote makes his presence felt for the first time.
“Coyote has a very specific set of skills,” says writer Mark Waid. “Also a grudge. Which is weird because Daredevil doesn’t think he’s ever met [him] before. Coyote—not coincidentally named after the trickster god—can surprise Daredevil in ways that make no sense to [Matt]. I can’t say more than that without surrendering too much information; suffice to say that Matt feels the rug almost literally being pulled out from under him at all times.”
While current DAREDEVIL artist Chris Samnee will portray Coyote’s initial foray, the outgoing Paolo Rivera designed the villain as well as coming up with his name. From there, it was up to Waid to continue the fleshing out process.
“The words ‘taciturn’ and ‘malevolent’ come to mind,” he notes of the character’s nature. “Coyote has two agendas. One is running illegal substances—guns, drugs, human slaves—and the other is tormenting Daredevil. How these two M.O.’s are related will be a major revelation.”
To make matters worse, Matt has seemingly lost his staunchest friend and ally, Foggy Nelson, who cut ties with his longtime partner over suspicions regarding his mental wellbeing and mounting evidence to support those fears.
“He needs Foggy,” Waid states plainly. “He needs his friendship, he needs someone to talk to, and most of all right now, he needs someone to reassure him that he’s not crazy. Sadly, Foggy’s not around—or up to the task. And where this conflict between friends is driving Foggy to—that’s its own dark story.”
Historically, Daredevil has boasted some of the most standout adversaries in the Marvel Universe including the likes of The Kingpin, Elektra and Bullseye. However, many foes of the Man Without Fear have also fallen by the wayside, a topic Waid has his own thoughts on.
“I think the reason DD doesn’t have a deep-bench rogues gallery is because as fun and energetic a series as it was before Frank Miller came along, it often came across as a directionless Spider-Man Lite,” he reflects. “Maybe because Matt wasn’t young like Spidey, maybe because his supporting cast was never particularly deep-bench either, maybe because the book couldn’t keep a steady writer/artist combo for very long—any and all of these are factors.
“On top of that, once Frank [Miller] came to put his stamp on the book, criminals like The Jester and The Matador seemed an ill fit in a world of crime noir.”
While Waid confesses he’s as anxious to discover a magic formula for creating top tier Daredevil villains as anybody, he does feel he’s made some strides to unlocking the combination.
“My instinct is that it needs to be someone that’s not easy to simply hit,” he shares. “[Purple Man] and Kingpin fit into that category. And it needs to be someone with, like Daredevil, a very specific and semi-realistic set of skills. Daredevil vs. Thanos would not be a good fight. Having an axe to grind with Matt Murdock helps.”
What does the writer have in store for DD aside from a chilling new opponent? His closing remark suggests a meeting that will excite those getting geared up for Marvel NOW! nicely.
“Something incredible. Or maybe indestructible?”
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