| "Guardian Devil" | |
|---|---|
 Cover ofDaredevil: Guardian Devil (1999),trade paperback collected edition, art byJoe Quesada | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| Publication date | November 1998 – June 1999 |
| Genre | |
| Title(s) | Daredevil (vol. 2) #1-8 |
| Main character(s) | Daredevil Karen Page Foggy Nelson Bullseye Mysterio |
| Creative team | |
| Writer | Kevin Smith |
| Artist(s) | Joe Quesada Jimmy Palmiotti |
"Guardian Devil" is an eight-issueDaredevilstory arc originally published byMarvel Comics inDaredevil (vol. 2) #1-8. It features the hero suddenly caring for an infant that may be either theMessiah or theAntichrist. The issues were written by filmmakerKevin Smith and illustrated byJoe Quesada andJimmy Palmiotti. The 1999 graphic novel combining the eight issues into one collection features an introduction byBen Affleck, who portrayed Daredevil in the 2003feature film adaptation (in which Kevin Smith had a supporting role). The story features strong Catholic themes, which came from Smith's experiences.[1]
Daredevil's love interest,Karen Page, breaks up with him because she is confused about her feelings for him. Angry and heartbroken, Daredevil falls back on hisCatholic faith for support.
A 15-year-old girl who knows his secret identity leaves her baby with Daredevil, claiming that the baby wasborn without her ever having sex. As he tries to discover more about the child's origins, he is contacted by a man called Nicholas Macabes, who claims that the child is actually theAntichrist, leaving Daredevil a smallcrucifix.
Karen visits Daredevil and reveals that she hasHIV from her time as a porn actress. His partnerFoggy Nelson is accused of murdering a wealthy divorcee with whom he was having an affair, after she seemingly turned into a demon. Rosalynd Sharpe, who is both their boss and Foggy's mother, fires Foggy to avoid having his arrest affect the financial future of their law firm. Matt quits the firm in disgust. Daredevil asks for assistance fromBlack Widow, but then attacks her, apparently convinced that Macabes was telling the truth about the child. Daredevil throws the baby off of the roof, prompting Black Widow to leap off herself, saving the child.
Daredevil speaks with Karen. She has been contacted by Macabes, who claims that the child is responsible for her HIV. Daredevil asksDoctor Strange for help. Strange tells Daredevil that the cross Macabes gave him was tainted with an undetectable drug which made him hostile whenever someone suggested that the child was innocent, revealing the cause of his attack on the Black Widow. Strange is able to purge the drug from Daredevil's system.
SummoningMephisto for information, Daredevil and Strange learn that the church where Murdock left the baby is under attack. Daredevil arrives back just in time to confrontBullseye, who has murdered several nuns. Daredevil is unable to stop Bullseye from killing Karen and stealing the baby.
After briefly contemplatingsuicide, Matt tracks Macabes to his headquarters, fighting his way to the final stronghold, where Macabes reveals that he is actually the villainMysterio. It is revealed that he was disappointed when he deduced from newspaper articles that the current Spider-Man was just aclone and saw no dignity in overpowering a 'copy' (even though by then, the clone had been killed and the current Spider-Man was indeed the original). A year ago, Mysterio was diagnosed with an inoperablebrain tumour. He resolved to die after enacting his greatest scheme, turning his attention to Daredevil.
Mysterio purchased information about Daredevil from theKingpin, and began to set up his scheme. He usedartificial insemination to impregnate the girl, drugged Foggy, faked the demonic transformation and death of the divorcee, posed as Karen's doctor to fake the HIV diagnosis, and hired Bullseye to lure Daredevil to him for a final confrontation. Mysterio believed that Daredevil would kill him when he learned of his plot. Daredevil dismissed Mysterio as unoriginal, pointing out that the Kingpin had alreadyattempted to drive him insane once before, and that Mysterio had previously attackedJ. Jonah Jameson with fake supernatural occurrences. Despondent, Mysterio frees the baby, and then—noting that his last move was stolen fromKraven—shoots himself.
After Karen's funeral, a conversation withSpider-Man leads Daredevil to realize that the infant he had saved represented a positive outcome among the tragedy. His faith renewed, he names the baby after Karen and gives it up for adoption to a couple inNew Jersey. He visits Black Widow and asks for forgiveness. After Foggy is released from jail, he and Matt visit the site of their old office, and Matt suggests that he will use Karen's money—left to him in her will—to re-open their own practice.
| Format | Title | Material collected | Pages | Publication date | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trade paperback | Marvel's Finest: Daredevil | Daredevil (vol. 2) #1-3 | 86 | January 1999 | 978-0785107156 |
| Trade paperback | Daredevil Visionaries: Kevin Smith | Daredevil (vol. 2) #1-8 | 192 | September 1999 | 978-0785107378 |
| Hardcover | Daredevil Visionaries: Kevin Smith | Daredevil (vol. 2) #1-8; comes with CD-ROM that includes #0 and #1/2 and other special features | 192 | August 2000 | 978-0936211558 |
| Oversized hardcover | Daredevil Vol. 1 | Daredevil (vol. 2) #1/2, 1-11, 13-15 | 392 | April 2003 | 978-0785110156 |
| Oversized hardcover | Daredevil Vol. 1 (reprint) | Daredevil (vol. 2) #1/2, 1-15 | 392 | September 2006 | 978-0785124016 |
| Premiere hardcover | Daredevil: Guardian Devil (10th Anniversary Edition) | Daredevil (vol. 2) #1-8 | 232 | September 2008 | 978-0785134381 |
| Trade paperback | Daredevil: Guardian Devil (10th Anniversary Edition) | Daredevil (vol. 2) #1-8 | 232 | April 2010 | 978-0785141433 |
