Daredevil: End of Days comes across as Brian Michael Bendis’ swan song for his Daredevil years. Within the first few pages, we see a reenactment of the fight between Bulls-eye and Daredevil from the Hardcore story arc; however, this time it ends with the death of Matt Murdock. In fact, if you haven’t read Hardcore, it would be best to do so before reading this; otherwise, Bulls-eye’s fate may remain as an unresolved mystery.
The highlight of Bendis’ run on Daredevil was his ability to get inside the warped minds of the villains. Instead of seeing meaningless violence and crimes, Bendis made sure the readers understood the psychotic motivations of the characters. In this arc, the villains have overcome their violent tendencies and are trying to live normal lives. Typhoid Mary and Elektra have become soccer moms who may or may not be raising Matt Murdock’s bastard children. Owl and Purple man had taken their abilities to running corporations. Kingpin tried to peacefully come back from exile only to be beaten to death by Daredevil. Then there are endearing sociopath like Frank Castle who agreed to be locked up in prison because it would be easier for him to slaughter the guilty.
There are some parts that also suggest that journalist Ben Ulrich or Matt Murdock might actually be Brian Michael Bendis himself. We see Ben Ulrich hammering out rough drafts and scribbling down notes of Daredevil’s final story which almost break through the fourth wall. Then there is Frank Castle explaining that Matt Murdock’s ego is too large to let the Daredevil die with Murdock. The Daredevil will be resurrected again and his personality and history will change with each new person who puts on the mask, such as Frank Miller, Kevin Smith, Brian Michael Bendis, and now Mark Waid.