A New Villain Targets Matt Murdock in ‘Daredevil’ #1 Preview

Return to Hell’s Kitchen for an all-new era of Daredevil!

This April, acclaimed writer Stephanie Phillips (Planet She-Hulk) and superstar artist Lee Garbett (Death of Doctor Strange) team up to usher in a new status quo for the Man Without Fear. DAREDEVIL #1 finds Matt Murdock back in the classroom, navigating a new career path as a law professor. But Daredevil’s professional life isn’t the only challenge that lies ahead. Enter, Omen, a mysterious figure with a vendetta against Matt Murdock. Now, it’s up to Daredevil to protect his civilian alter ego and unravel the shadowy villain’s secrets. Series writer Stephanie Phillips sat down with Marvel.com to tease what’s in store for the Man Without Fear.

Check out the lettered preview for the DAREDEVIL #1 below!

In DAREDEVIL (2026), you set a new status quo for Matt Murdock. Tell us about the decision to make him a law professor and the kinds of challenges he’ll face in the classroom.

Our Daredevil is very confident in his abilities as Daredevil. He's a seasoned vigilante pro. But the classroom offers a challenge that pushes Matt Murdock completely out of his comfort zone. This isn't just about knowing the law, but dealing with a group of students younger than him who approach the law in different ways than Matt might. It also offers a great place for new characters and a constant wrinkle in Matt's plans. It's tough to be a crime fighter when you have to teach an 8am class... not that I've tried. It's maybe day 2 of teaching that Matt is already trying to call in a favor to find a substitute teacher, if that's any indication of how well he's managing being Daredevil and a professor.

The classroom isn’t the only unknown on Matt Murdock’s radar; a new villain, Omen, also has sights set on the former lawyer. What can you tell us about this mysterious figure?

Omen brings the combination of noir and horror to Hell's Kitchen to oppose Daredevil... or Matt, actually. Omen shows up looking for Matt Murdock but finds Daredevil. While Daredevil tries to contend physically with Omen, part of the mystery is how Matt Murdock is so tangled in Omen's web. When writing Omen, I took inspiration from Gothic literature and Greek tragedies. He's both monstrous and tragic, and I'm excited for readers to start unraveling his mystery alongside Daredevil as the story progresses.

What makes DAREDEVIL #1 a good jumping-on point for superfans and new readers alike?

Lee and I are longtime fans of the character, so you're absolutely going to get familiar faces and elements of the character that made us fall in love with him. But we're also setting up a new status quo, new characters, and a new entryway for readers to fall in love with Daredevil alongside us. We're not ignoring any of the previous stories, but we get to start readers off fresh and really develop something that is uniquely ours.

Tell us about working with Lee Garbett on crafting this new Daredevil era together. How do the two of you exchange ideas?

Lee and I approach the book as an opportunity to create something truly shared. Months before taking on the title, Lee and I went to dinner to discuss working together and the kinds of projects we might want to tackle as a team. Daredevil was our number one, but we almost laughed it off as something unlikely to happen. And yet... here we are. We're in Hell's Kitchen together, pushing one another to create something purposeful and intense for our favorite devil. I'll send Lee ideas, he'll send back visual concepts that will help shape the story, and vice versa. That back-and-forth is really where I think we're making something special and I can't wait for readers to see Lee's pages in full. They're stunning and colorist Frank Martin is just making them pop further.

DAREDEVIL #1
Written by STEPHANIE PHILLIPS
Art and Cover by LEE GARBETT
On Sale 4/1

Available in True Believer Blind Bags, pick up DAREDEVIL #1 at your local comic shop on April 1!

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