8 Terrible Comic Book Events Marvel And DC Wish You'd Forget

6. Shadowland

Before Andy Diggle took the reigns on Daredevil in 2009, the Man Without Fear had previously featured work by the likes of Frank Miller, Ann Nocenti, Brian Bendis and Ed Brubaker - all of whom managed to depart their runs on the character with universal acclaim, complimented by the pencils of Dave Mazzucchelli, John Romita Jr, Alex Maleev and Michael Lark respectively. Diggle had previously written the critically acclaimed 'Losers' series for Vertigo, and had just come off a stellar run on Green Arrow with the 'Year One' storyline in 2007.

And really, the writer should've been a perfect fit for the character. Unfortunately, what readers got instead was a demonic event... thing that saw Matt Murdock take control of The Hand (not a bad idea actually) before doing a complete 180 shift and ruling Hell's Kitchen as an actual Kingpin of crime. Cue Shadowland, which saw the rest of Marvel's street heroes team up to take down the corrupted Murdock before everything went to Hell, meaning that the likes of Spidey, Punisher, Iron Fist and Moon Knight had to join in on the action too.

Diggle's run on the character was a heavy departure from what had come before, and necessitated a further shift in the series when Mark Waid and Chris Samnee boarded it two years later. And, while the concept of Matt Murdock taking over The Hand might sound cool on the surface, the conclusion crystallised in an event that was, like many others, heavy on spectacle and light on depth.

Needless to say, this is one period that Matt Murdock will be eager to get away from.