BIOGRAPHY -- Page 42
The trials and sacrifices necessary to become lord of the Hand occupied Daredevil’s time as the world changed. While he had been busy with the Kingpin and the Hand, the Skrull invasion came and went for Daredevil. Following the invasion began the reign of Norman Osborn as director of H.A.M.M.E.R. and the Initiative. Norman would have already earned Daredevil’s enmity when he hired Bullseye for the Avengers as their new Hawkeye. However, Osborn was also willing to pay off judges and re-hire corrupt cops in the NYPD for his “zero tolerance” initiative. Under Osborn, the NYPD became just another gang operating a protection racket, maintaining the illusion of law & order on the streets of New York while giving him the credit.
The Kingpin saw an opportunity to play his rivals against each other. He arranged for apostate Hand ninja to kill two corrupt cops and a judge, while leaking intelligence to Osborn about Daredevil’s involvement with the Hand. Osborn took the bait and sent Bullseye and H.A.M.M.E.R. after Daredevil. Bullseye lured Daredevil out of the Hand’s sanctum and to a co-op protest at a tenement block in Hell’s Kitchen. Osborn had arranged for the condemnation of poor housing apartments in the Kitchen so he could demolish the building and rebuild more profitable real estate on the land. Bullseye leveraged the situation by luring Daredevil onto the roof of the 
tenement, then blowing it up as an “act of terrorism.” The demolition leveled the building, killing over a hundred protesters who were in Osborn’s way, and nearly killed Daredevil as well. With Osborn in power and the blood of 107 people on his hands, Murdock was only further convinced that the rule of law had failed, and justice could only be accomplished through the Hand. [Dark Reign: The List – Daredevil]
The Hand were no fools, however, and they demanded another sacrifice by “Lord Daredevil” as a gesture of faith and commitment: Master Izo. Once Izo was captured, Daredevil put on a good show of a man driven by guilt and desperation, who believed the Hand were the only way of bringing righteousness back to New York, under his guidance. He struck down Izo and killed him with a hammer blow to the chest. Or so it seemed. Afterwards, Matt confided in Black Tarantula and White Tiger that Izo had only willed himself into comatose state to fool the Hand. Carlos 
reawakened the old ninja, and they got him out of the sanctum to safety. However, Master Izo started to realize he had already lost control of the play he started. Izo had wanted an Adept like Murdock to take over the Hand in order to destroy it from within, but Murdock was already tempted to continue ruling the Hand long-term in order to use its power “for the greater good.” [Daredevil (1st series) #501-502]
Daredevil began a plan to take back the streets from the criminals and corrupt cops of New York, beginning with Hell’s Kitchen. He arranged to buy the land of the demolished tenement away from OsCorp through the Hand’s legitimate business fronts. He then ordered the construction of “Shadowland,” a Hand fortress in the heart of New York to serve as a symbol of intimidation. 
Daredevil’s ninja overwhelmed the “zero tolerance” SWAT teams and took them prisoner to be held in the Hand’s dungeons beneath Shadowland. Finally, a Hand envoy told the NYPD precinct of Hell’s Kitchen to evacuate under threat of death. Law & order in that neighborhood would be administered solely by the Hand. This provoked another confrontation between Daredevil’s ninja and the NYPD & H.A.M.M.E.R., which Lady Bullseye (on behalf of Fisk) ensured became violent. More prisoners were taken as Matt consolidated his control over his new territory. [Daredevil (1st series) #503-504]
On behalf of the Hand, Murdock was called away to Japan. He brought Angela with him as a bodyguard while leaving Carlos in command of Hell’s Kitchen. Daredevil’s election as shogun made him supreme leader of the Hand, due to the unanimous support of the five ruling daimyo of the world’s continents. With the death of Hirochi, Matt named Angela the daimyo of North America. But the sudden death of the daimyo of South America led to his second, Bakuto, taking the reins and calling Murdock’s position into question. At the Jigoku-Chu Castle in Japan, Matt contended with Bakuto’s grievances and disrespect while technically supported by the other three daimyo, Makoto, Takashi and Yukata. A series of attacks and in-fighting inevitably led to Bakuto’s death and the security of Matt’s position.
Before returning to New York, Daredevil never learned two things. First, Bakuto was killed by White Tiger, who had shrugged off the healing power of Black Tarantula and secretly remained corrupted by the Hand. She had subtly encouraged his plans for Shadowland and martial law in New York. She pushed him further to make the moral compromise of prioritizing the unity of the Hand over investigating who murdered Bakuto on his behalf. Second, the other daimyo were part of the Hand’s ancient order of demon worshippers known as the Snakeroot. They had co-opted Izo’s plan and were using magic to guide and advance Murdock’s corruption as leader of the Hand. An Adept trained by Stick, if he could be tempted, would serve as the perfect vessel for their master, the demon known as the Beast of the Hand. [Daredevil (1st series) #505-507]
While Daredevil was in Japan, Osborn’s reign fell and the Dark Avengers were disbanded. Bullseye was decommissioned as an Avenger and on his way to the Raft when he escaped custody. Lester was amused by the Shadowland temple which was constructed atop his previous 
victory, and brazenly traveled over to call Daredevil out. Murdock and the Hand were prepared to defend their territory alone, and Matt even told Luke Cage and Iron Fist to stay out of his way as they hunted Bullseye. After Bullseye cut through Daredevil’s assassins, Murdock faced Bullseye one-on-one. He disabled the murderer first by dislocating his shoulders, leaving Bullseye unable to hold a weapon. With Bullseye helpless before him, Daredevil picked up a discarded sai from one of his ninja. Swearing to himself that there would be no compromises in the name of justice, Daredevil impaled Bullseye on the dagger, killing his most vicious foe in cold blood and on live television.
With this intentional act of murder, Daredevil unwittingly surrendered to Snakeroot’s black 
alchemy of the soul. The Beast of the Hand had already been flittering around his thoughts for weeks, and now it took root in his spirit. Many sought to influence his behavior in the coming days. The other heroes of New York had given Daredevil leeway when Osborn was in charge, but now they wanted the Hand out of Manhattan. Instead, Lord Daredevil wanted to expand his martial law to exert more control over his city. Foggy Nelson and Dakota North tried to warn Matt that the Kingpin was responsible for the earlier provocation, not Osborn, but they shared their message with White Tiger, who kept this distraction to herself. Master Izo sought out Elektra, who at first appreciated Matt for finally taking revenge on Bullseye for her. When she saw the influence of Snakeroot and the Beast at play, however, Elektra agreed to help Izo stop Daredevil. She infiltrated the Hand as one of Daredevil’s new recruits, along with Typhoid Mary.
Luke Cage, Iron Fist and Spider-Man led a contingent of heroes to Shadowland to appeal to Matt’s humanity, but a need for power and control was corrupting Daredevil faster all the time. The Kingpin deliberately interrupted their summit by using the Zugaikotsu scroll to summon the Spirit 
of Vengeance and direct him at the Hand, knowing Daredevil would see Ghost Rider’s untimely arrival as a deliberate ploy by the heroes. Indeed, Murdock felt betrayed and led the Hand in an assault on his former friends, lifting his previous ban on killing due to his rage. Daredevil also began showing supernatural signs of the Beast. He exhibited superhuman strength, glowing eyes and easily overpowered martial artists like Shang-Chi and Iron Fist who would have given him pause months ago.
As the Beast’s influence grew, the corruption which infected Matt began to spread out into the greater Hell’s Kitchen. Rioting and chaos filled the streets, which only fueled Murdock’s urge to grip the city harder. Daredevil’s need for new fighters and reinforcements against Cage’s crew made him consider actions that would have been an anathema to him before now. Lord Daredevil 
planned to dig up Bullseye and resurrect the assassin using Hand magic, making him loyal to the Hand and a deadly new addition to his forces. Hearing this plan, whatever hesitation Elektra may have had quickly vanished. She helped sneak Master Izo and the heroes of New York into Shadowland soon enough to stop Bullseye’s resurrection ritual. With the addition of Wolverine and Punisher to their ranks, these vigilantes were prepared to kill Murdock before the Beast of the Hand’s evil could spread further. Unfortunately, Matt’s supernatural strength allowed him to survive even Wolverine’s claws piercing his chest.
The assault fully awakened the Beast, leaving no trace of Murdock in Daredevil’s body. The Beast defeated all of his foes, until White Tiger brought Foggy Nelson before him. Foggy had tried to scale Shadowland in order to reach his lost friend, and the corrupt Tiger thought the Beast would want the pleasure of ending him. It was the Beast of the Hand holding Foggy Nelson by the throat which finally prodded Matt Murdock back to the surface. Daredevil’s internal torment gave Izo and 
Iron Fist time to recover and step in, as Danny used his chi to heal Matt of his demonic infection, giving him the opportunity to break free. Elektra reached inside his mind, Adept to Adept, and helped Matthew confront the subconscious fears which the Beast used to manipulate him. Daredevil purged his soul of the Beast and nearly died in the process. With the departure of the Beast on this plane, the rioting and corruptive magic influencing Hell’s Kitchen came to an end. [Shadowland event]