Warning! Spoilers ahead for Daredevil: Unleash Hell #1!If you thoughtDaredevil’svillain Muse was a menace before, you’ll be surprised at just how sinister he is now. It seems only like yesterday that the artistic Inhuman terrorized the streets of Hell’s Kitchen and turned the Man Without Fear’s life upside down.
Muse was a serial killerwho would commit heinous crimes such as torture and murder, and use his victims to create macabre forms of modern art. He was eventually taken down byDaredevil’s former sidekick Blindspot, who had Muse killed. But art lives on and Muse does as well, thanks to a terrifying new power that’s going to help him make a gory return.
Muse is Back and Can Influence Rejected Artists to Kill People
The Villain is Back to Terrorize New York Once Again
InDaredevil: Unleash Hell #1by Erica Shultz, Valentina Pinti, José Luís, Jonas Trindade, Dee Cunniffe, and Cory Petit, a young artist named Morgan is painting at the Conservatory of Visual Arts. Morgan decides to stay late painting when she’s approached by her professor. Her art teacher begins to criticize her work, but as he starts to insult Morgan’s work, she starts to hear a voice. A spirit starts to take shape around her, revealing thatit’s Daredevil’s deceased foe Muse who’s speaking to Morgan.
Muse empathizes with Morgan, telling her that her professor lacks vision and isn’t qualified to critique her. With a few tempting words, Muse convinces Morgan to stab her professor to death and even influences her to kill a few others to gather supplies for a new ‘project’. Elsewhere in Hell’s Kitchen, Elektra meditates and has a vision of the gruesome art project Muse had Morgan build: A replica ofElektra as Daredevil underneath a cross made from severed limbs.
A flashbackreveals that Muse isstill in Hell, but he discovered that when artists like Morgan are rejected, a piece of their soul dies. Muse searched through the pieces of souls that made their way to the underworld until he found Morgan, sympathizing with her artistic drive. Muse confronts this piece of Morgan’s soul and tells her that he can bring her back to the rest of her soul by helping him get to the surface, so Muse can help Morgan reach her true potential as an artist. With no other option,Morgan agrees to help Muse.
Muse’s New Power Makes Him Functionally Immortal
Morgan is Just One Rejected Artist Among Many
I was a huge fan of Muse when he debuted about a decade ago. I thought he was a clever idea for a villain, not only because he was a demented, Banksy-type artist who was so different from the other Inhumans that were being pushed at the time, but because he was so damn scary. The creepy ‘works’ he created and the disturbing passion he had for his craft gave him a sinister vibethat was sorely lacking among newer Daredevil villains.
It’s been so long, I’d honestly forgotten he was dead. But thankfully, this book has found a perfect way of bringing him back. True to his name, now Muse is a living inspiration to artists, but one that is inspiring them to commit atrocities just as he did so many years ago. I also really liked the revelation that pieces of artists’ souls die when their work is rejected, giving Muse a collection of embittered artists to hijack. If influencing Morgan doesn’t work out,Muse could easily just convince another artist to do his dirty work.
Would I have preferred a straight resurrection of this short-lived Daredevil foe? Sure. But this is a fantastic way of reinventing him. After all, art is about building on what creators have made before. It would have been easy to just revive Muse and have him hack up innocent people for his perturbing projects. Now he’s the devil on the shoulder of artists everywhere, feeding into their worst instincts and influencing them to ‘reach their true potential’ byindulging in the same psychotic process that Muse once used to craft his art.
Can Daredevil Put an End to the New and Improved Muse?
How Does One Stop An ‘Artist’ From Inspiring?
When it comes to stopping threats from Hell, I’m sure Matt would know just what to do, but I’m not so sure Elektra can stop Muse. I mean, she’ll have no problem stopping the artists he possesses, but can she stop Muse from corrupting them altogether? I have my doubts. Muse has found a terrifying new way to make his voice heard, and I can’t wait to see whatDaredevildoes to put an end to the undead artist.
