Daredevil: Blood of the Tarantula #1 Review

DAREDEVIL: BLOOD OF THE TARANTULA #1
Written by Ed Brubaker & Ande Parks
Art by Chris Samnee

I've already admitted my man love for Black Tarantula many times over and, I'm sure it comes as no surprise, I loved this issue starring him up until the very end with Daredevil letting him go after seeing him murder his cousin.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. Let's start at the beginning. Since we last saw Black Tarantula, he's been a busy man. He's become the bigger, meaner version of Daredevil in his own neighbourhood. He does everything DD does, stopping drug busts, muggings, etc, but most people end up in traction afterwards. He doesn't kill anyone though and that's the biggest reason, coupled with Matt's outlook on life after what happened to his wife, that Daredevil probably doesn't make it a priority to stop him. BT also takes any drugs and disposes of them as well as setting up a "charity ring" where he gives any drug or ill gotten money to shelters or aid centers in his neighbourhood. Kind of a Robin Hood type deal, except he's a big, sweaty man in a leotard and mask instead of a fairy with a bow.

If that was all that was happening, it would be a pretty dull issue, so, as to be expected, this new life Black Tarantula has built doesn't last long. His cousin seeks him out with the family's gang from Argentina in an attempt to kill him and take the Black Tarantula mantle from him, of which they believe he's sullied. They do this by dangling his wife and child in front of him, luring him into a trap.

After barely surviving the trap and suffering from multiple wounds and some poison, he ends up at Matt's doorstep, where he's brought in and recovers for two days on his couch. BT enlists Matt's help and they seek out his wife and child.

During the battle, it's revealed they are not actually his wife and child, but lookalikes and BT is caught in a bomb rigged to the unlucky bait. Daredevil is left to fend off the generic thugs as a flaming and severly burnt BT emerges from the flames, latches onto his cousin and throws him through a wall.

This leads to the aforementioned bad ending. Well, I like what Black Tarantula does, where he cuts his cousin's hand off and proceeds to dismember him as the panels fade out, but, as Matt comes out of the building with the survivors, he turns a blind eye on BT's handiwork and lets him pin the fire and destruction caused on the dead cousin. It's very much an Amazing Spider-Man #375 where Peter lets the homicidal Venom go free in exchange for not bothering him anymore and I didn't like the fact Matt let him do this. His wife's condition and current state of mind are no excuse for this and I was a little let down after so much good stuff.

Verdict - Must Read. Great issue with something I just can't agree with happening at the end. Puts a damper on my overall feeling, but this seems like something Brubaker will be picking up on with the threat of Black Tarantula's family coming after him in the future, so I'll let it go, for now.

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