How to Read Marvel’s Devil’s Reign Event in Order

[[{“value”:”

Marvel has had plenty of events during the 2020s, with a cosmic epic on the way for this summer called Imperial, helmed by the powerhouse Jonathan Hickman. Some have been hits like Blood Hunt, some are the starts to new status quos like One World Under Doom, and some have been quickly forgotten. But one that became a fan-favorite almost immediately was that of Devil’s Reign. This event was not the longest, spanning only seven main issues with a series of tie-ins to support it, but it packed a punch regardless.

Part of the reason why fans liked Devil’s Reign so much was because it felt like a natural next chapter in beloved writer Chip Zdarsky’s Daredevil run, the first volume of which came to a close just before the event started. Within its pages, Wilson Fisk has been driven over the edge despite holding the role of New York City’s mayor. This causes him to declare all-out war against the heroes of New York. Fisk employs a litany of supervillains to do his dirty work in taking them down, something that puts many of Marvel’s street-level heroes on the defensive. As a whole, the event is rather short and sweet, with some rather enjoyable tie-ins that make the premise of the storyline worth it.

Charles Soule And Chip Zdarsky Set The Groundwork For The Event

It may be odd to say, but the seeds for the events of Devil’s Reign were planted not only in Chip Zdarsky’s original Daredevil run, but also the one preceding it. Charles Soule’s time on the title was controversial among fans, primarily because of the editorial mandate to start anew after the status quo set by Mark Waid’s run.

This change sent Matt Murdock back to New York City with everyone’s memories of his secret identity erased. It wasn’t fantastic, but an arc that everyone remembered and enjoyed was “Mayor Fisk”. This storyline had Matt Murdock return to NYC after spending time overseas—dealing with the Hand, assisting the young hero Blindspot, and normal escapades—only to be utterly blindsided by the fact that Wilson Fisk was now Mayor of New York City. It set the basis for a new status quo that would not be undone until the end of Devil’s Reign.

The first half of Chip Zdarsky’s Daredevil run also, of course, gave a lot of important context for the events of Devil’s Reign, especially in its last issue. Readers see Wilson Fisk slip back into his old ways as the Kingpin, until he snaps and goes after Daredevil—as well as all of New York’s vigilantes. This run is essential to understanding where Kingpin’s headspace is during the start of Devil’s Reign, as well as the reason why the villain Typhoid Mary is at his side once more, closer than ever before.

The Actual Event Packed A Wallop

While only spanning a mere six issues, the main story of Devil’s Reign was a blast from start to finish, tightly paced with a healthy balance between story and action. The event was kick-started by the Kingpin realizing that he once knew the secret identity of Daredevil. Fisk was outraged at this information being pried from him, his mind having been probed, and confronted the vigilante about it, only for Murdock to taunt Fisk. This was the final straw that had the former Kingpin declare all-out war rather than mere regulation on New York City’s superhero community.

Several heroes like the Fantastic Four, Moon Knight, and Iron Fist were arrested. The rest were forced into hiding, though before they went underground, Luke Cage delivered an impassioned speech that put New York’s population on his side.

This spiraled into a plot where Cage tried to run for mayor and, feeling threatened, Fisk captured the Purple Man and used his abilities to try and make himself be more favorably viewed in New York’s public eye. As Fisk experimented with these abilities, he learned the information that set him on this mad quest: Matt Murdock is Daredevil.

As the Purple Children were hunted for their power, as chaos ran wild in New York City, the Kingpin tracked down Matt Murdock’s apartment and found his twin brother, Mike, within. Confusing the two, poor Mike was beaten to death in front of Kirsten McFduffie, with everyone assuming that Matt was the one killed. The act sent the real Matt into a rage as he almost killed the Kingpin in front of hundreds, only to be stopped by Elektra. He relented, Fisk was arrested for his crimes, Luke Cage was elected as mayor, and ultimately, the heroes won out—though the story wasn’t over.

There Were Plenty Of Tie-Ins

As is the case with any good event, there were plenty of tie-ins for Devil’s Reign, and they covered various aspects of New York City during Fisk’s mad reign of terror against vigilantism. A notable side of the story that the tie-ins looked at was that of the villains affiliated with Wilson Fisk.

This included a new roster of the Thunderbolts hired as Kingpin’s own enforcers, and what Doctor Octopus was getting up to when not assisting Kingpin’s schemes. The latter was an odd series, diving into the villain’s multiversal ambitions as he built a team of versions of himself from other universes, and the former was a solid character study for John Walker as the leader of Kingpin’s gang of top cops.

Highlights among the tie-ins were plentiful, with many readers flocking to the Spider-Man or Winter Soldier one-shots, but they especially singled out Devil’s Reign: Moon Knight. The story featured Marc Spector in prison, working his way up the social ladder, even if it required spilling a little blood.

It was an engaging story during the beloved event, slotting perfectly into Jed Mackay’s Moon Knight run that released at the same time as Devil’s Reign. While not the best, one of the most important tie-ins for the event had to have been Daredevil: Woman Without Fear. Here, fans witnessed Elektra’s first outing on her own as Daredevil, fighting against Kraven while foreshadowing the future conflicts of Zdarsky’s Daredevil.

The Epilogue Paved The Way For The Rest Of Zdarsky’s Daredevil

As alluded to earlier, Chip Zdarsky’s Daredevil tenure was broken into a few separate chunks. His first run ran for thirty-six issues, then there was Devil’s Reign, and then his second run ran for fourteen issues. As expected, there were transition points between every aspect of this saga.

Devil’s Reign: Omega served as not just an epilogue to the main event, but as a bridge between Devil’s Reign and the final stretch of Zdarsky’s Daredevil. The final plot threads were wrapped up in this one-shot, as was the general plot for what was to come: as many thought Matt Murdock was dead, the hero decided to strike against The Hand.

The choice was a long time coming and had been built up through the initial Zdarsky Daredevil, as well as in the aforementioned Woman Without Fear miniseries. What ensued was a sort of endgame storyline for the hero in the Red Fist Saga, in which he went all out on his mission of love and redemption, and even went to Hell to fight the Beast of The Hand.

“}]] Daredevil: Born Again took a few story ideas from the Devil’s Reign series, and some fans of the show and characters might need a guide for the event.  Read More