Just as writer Chip Zdarsky and artist Marco Checchetto are relaunching their fan-favorite Daredevil run with a new #1 starring both Matt Murdock and Elektra in the lead as co-Daredevils, the newly launched series will reach a milestone as August's Daredevil #2 also doubles as Daredevil #650 under Marvel's so-called 'Legacy' numbering.
For those not versed in the basics, Legacy numbering counts all issues of all incarnations and volumes of a given title in an unbroken line as if it had never been canceled, relaunched, or renumbered.
Daredevil #650 was originally announced by Zdarsky himself back in August 2021, as the Daredevil story of the time was building toward the recently wrapped Devil's Reign crossover event.
Back in 2021, Zdarsky announced Daredevil #650 as coinciding with the Legacy numbering of Daredevil #38. However, since then, it seems the decision was made to relaunch the title after Devil's Reign rather than continuing the volume's numbering, with the most recent Daredevil volume wrapping up with Daredevil #36.
But as you can likely intuit, 36+2=38, so it seems Daredevil #650 will stick to generally the same timeframe as was previously announced, just shifted in its main numbering thanks to the relaunch.
As for the contents of Daredevil #2/#650, Marvel has announced a whole host of creators including Rafael DeLatorre, Alex Maleev, Paul Azaceta, Phil Noto, Chris Samnee, Klaus Janson, and Mike Hawthorne. Marvel also promised more creators joining the issue would be announced soon and less than 24 hours later, they announced two more.
Daredevil veterans, writer Ann Nocenti and artist John Romita Jr., join the celebration in stories that pays homage to their late '80s run, which Marvel says had a profound effect on DD's legacy.
In a story tackling real-world issues, Nocenti will explore Daredevil's "complex relationship" with the inhabitants of Hell's Kitchen and "the dire changes on the horizon" in a story drawn by Zdarsky. 'JRJr.' will draw a sequence for the issue's main story featuring Typhoid Mary - a creation of Nocenti and Romita Jr.
Typhoid Mary is now the love interest of the recently retired Wilson Fisk.
Marvel has released a couple of images from those stories which can be seen in the gallery below.
"It's not often that a comic gets to issue two these days, so … oh wait, it's issue 650?! Well in that case I'm over the moon that we get to celebrate with so many legendary Daredevil creators!: Zdarsky said. "Daredevil is a title that has had so many amazing runs that it wouldn't feel right to have an anniversary issue without inviting the people who made the book so special for so many years."
Here's a gallery of interior pages from series artist Marco Checchetto and Rafael DeLatorre, along with new images from Zdarsky and Romita Jr. :
Daredevil #650 is due out August 17, with covers from Checchetto, Bill Sienkiewicz, Gary Frank, and Pete Woods.
Time will tell how the story that launches in Daredevil #650 stacks up to the best Daredevil stories ever.
