Frank Miller's magnum opus. With Born Again we see Matt Murdock at his absolute lowest. Beaten, bloodied, and broken, Miller hacks away with a chisel, deconstructing Daredevil and paring down the character to the bare essentials, ultimately carving and shaping The Man Without Fear into an unstoppable force of sheer power and determination. It's testament to Frank Miller's amazing craftsmanship that we're riveted by the complete and utter destruction of the blind hero and his eventual rebirth, despite the fact that Matt's not in costume for the greater part of the story. Born Again's influence can be felt in nearly every story since, and with good reason; not only is this the greatest Daredevil tale of all time, it's one of the greatest stories in the medium. Matt Murdock's downfall begins when his former girlfriend Karen Page sells his secret identity for a drug fix. Once the Kingpin gets his hands on this information, the situation goes from bad to worse: Matt's brownstone is obliterated, he's disbarred, and he suffers a humiliating and vicious beat-down at the hands of Kingpin, after which he's unceremoniously stuffed into a car and driven off a pier. After much gutter-diving and soul searching, Matt miraculously recovers and rebuilds the fragments of his life piece by piece. Hell, he even gets the girl at the end. Who says Daredevil is all doom and gloom? It can't rain all the time. Which other essential Daredevil titles deserve to be on this list? Share your thoughts below in the comments thread.
