BIOGRAPHY -- Page 53
Matt’s new form of vigilantism had mixed reviews. People on the street loved the “Kitchen Windfall,” but some were still suspicious of free money. Foggy felt like Matt was just an addict for violence who found a new outlet after quitting being “Daredevil.” Matt visited Sister Elizabeth again, but said it would be the last time, as he was putting her “recovery” in danger. He did receive some validation when he visited Joey Carraro as his parole officer. Joey had told his mother that Murdock was Daredevil. She saw his guilt and how he was trying to do better and forgave Matt for her son’s death.
The gang war for Hell’s Kitchen began to quickly escalate. Matt confronted the Stromwyns at a masquerade ball. They were highly indifferent to him and had no problem confirming they approved a plan to flood Hell’s Kitchen with crime in order to drive down real estate prices and buy the land for their portfolio. At the same time, the Owl’s men kidnapped Mindy’s daughter to hold power over Izzy Libris. Matt and Cole North managed to rally the NYPD in Hell’s Kitchen to 
ignore the commissioner’s order and take back to the streets in order to find a missing child. They rescued the girl, but Mindy’s husband was killed by the Owl trying to save his daughter, and she chose to leave the city after this ordeal. All this convinced the Stromwyns to accelerate their plans for Hell’s Kitchen. [Daredevil (6th series) #17-18]
A team of mercenaries was unleashed on Hell’s Kitchen, including Bullseye, Stilt-Man, Bullet, Crossbones and the Rhino. Their orders were to cause a massacre, mayhem and excess property damage to make the Kitchen ripe for plucking. The Stromwyns were influential enough to order Hell’s Kitchen cordoned off from the outside, and blacked out social media so that the chaos inside never reached the outside world. The repercussions of the chaos were widespread. Mayor Fisk couldn’t even get emergency services to enter the Kitchen, proving how little power he had against the Stromwyns. In defending her church from the Rhino, the façade of “Sister Elizabeth” 
cracked and Typhoid Mary’s old personality resurfaced. The people of Hell’s Kitchen rose up in its defense, using Daredevil masks as a symbol to rally their spirits and unite their community. After seeing Bullseye kill the Daredevil he saved from corrupt cops days earlier, Matt recognized that Daredevil meant too much to the neighborhood for him to be dead. Matt Murdock reclaimed the Daredevil mask and entered the fray. [Daredevil (6th series) #19]
Daredevil had some surprising allies on his side. Cole North and the police continued to violate orders to defend their precinct. Mary agreed to work with Daredevil against the Rhino if it meant protecting her church. Wilson Fisk took to the streets himself to defend his city, fighting with Daredevil if not explicitly aligned with him. Once Foggy brought Matt his billy club, he was ready to face the mercenaries. Stilt-Man, Rhino, Bullet and Crossbones all went down. Matt made a point 
of deflecting every shot Bullseye took at him before dropping the assassin with a long-arching billy club. When the dust settled, and the media and emergency services finally arrived, Daredevil found himself side-by-side with Wilson Fisk and Cole North. Fisk ordered North to arrest Daredevil and, while the detective initially refused, Daredevil stepped forward and announced to the arriving reporters that he was turning himself in for Leo Carraro’s murder. [Daredevil (6th series) #20]
Foggy jumped into the mix as Daredevil’s attorney and arranged for an official booking in the days to come. Back at his apartment, Matt had to face Spider-Man, honoring his promise to come back and stop Daredevil if he took to the streets again. Daredevil denounced Spider-Man’s authority over him, though, and remained committed to this path. Foggy argued before the D.A. that, thanks to the Slugansky rule, Daredevil had already legally testified in court as “Daredevil,” meaning this was a legal identity under the law and his secret identity could still be preserved throughout the trial process. Benjamin Hochberg accepted the idea in principle, but nevertheless asked to meet 
with Daredevil in private. Hochberg was willing to try Daredevil’s case with him in his mask, but only if he privately knew Daredevil’s identity. Matt relented and exposed his face to his old boss. Hochberg was furious at Murdock for violating his trust, but quickly accepted that all of Matt’s old convictions would get tossed out if the truth was exposed. He was disgusted with “Daredevil,” but agreed to file charges against the costumed identity, leaving Matt’s secret a secret. [Daredevil (6th series) #21]
Daredevil was booked for first degree manslaughter, his trial fast-tracked on the schedule to avoid more of a circus. Robert “Goldy” Goldman was the assigned prosecutor, an old friend from law school that Matt was confident Foggy could beat. Still, Matt felt the need to make plans for if he was convicted. He asked Tony Stark to intervene on the Hell’s Kitchen property sales, outbid the Stromwyns to keep the neighborhood in local hands. He made peace with Spider-Man over their recent strife. Spidey admitted he was still haunted by an accidental death on his hands from years ago, and the two men bonded further over their failures. They also confronted the Kingpin and his mob boss lieutenants, reminding them the city would still be protected regardless of the outcome of his trial.
Elektra resurfaced, admitting she needed Daredevil’s help because the Hand was reforming under a new leader. Daredevil was tired of the ancient war between the forces of light and darkness, and rejected Elektra because she didn’t actually care about any of the people the reformed Hand 
would hurt. After finishing his rounds, Daredevil returned to find Foggy Nelson had been making preparations too. Without telling him, Foggy invited Kirsten McDuffie back from California to work on Daredevil’s case. Matt was already livid that Foggy involved his ex-girlfriend, but it only got worse. Kirsten naturally asked where Matt was during all this, and why he wasn’t sitting on the defense team. So, Foggy produced the only Murdock he could… Mike Murdock. [Daredevil (6th series) #22-23]
Mike Murdock had become far more complicated since he last crossed paths with Matt. Reader’s construct of the Mike Murdock identity wanted to live, and so he first fled to Wilson Fisk after escaping Daredevil and Reader. Mike told Fisk about Daredevil’s old task force to remove him from office, leading Fisk to hook Mike up with a job working for the Hood. Under Parker Robbins’ employ, Mike got his hands on the Norn Stones, Asgardian artifacts capable of rewriting reality. With their power, Mike made himself “real.” A new history unfolded where Jack Murdock raised his twins Matt and Mike ever since their mother left. A con man in and out of trouble with the law and local wise guys all his life, Mike Murdock resented his golden child brother. Now, he was making plans with his lifelong friend Butch Pharris to take over the rackets. [Daredevil (6th series) Annual #1]
In the meantime, however, Mike had an interest in hiding out from his “creditors” by posing as Matt Murdock. Foggy told him Matt was in rehab and didn’t want anyone to know, so Mike could act as “Matt” while Matt was appearing as Daredevil in court. Still, it was Matt who went to Goldy as Daredevil’s counsel and negotiated a plea to second degree manslaughter where he would serve two years. The deal nearly fell through when Daredevil got a call from Stark, who shockingly revealed he was outbid for the Hell’s Kitchen properties. Matt at first thought the Stromwyns were 
responsible, but he learned the truth in court. Elektra whispered that she turned the stolen billion from the Stromwyns towards Hell’s Kitchen. She bought Daredevil’s neighborhood to ensure it was safe and his foolish sacrifice wouldn’t cost him the Kitchen. And she called him Matthew. Reeling from this gesture and all its implications, Daredevil stood before the court and entered his plea of Guilty to second degree manslaughter. [Daredevil (6th series) #24]