By Courtney Potter
In the all-new thriller Enemy of My Enemy: A Daredevil Crime Novel by Alex Segura—the latest Marvel Crime novel, which does not require in-depth familiarity with Marvel; other books in the series; or (in this particular case) Marvel Studios’ Daredevil: Born Again on Disney+—reports are coming in that the Kingpin and a police officer have been killed and that Frank Castle (aka the Punisher) has turned himself in for it. But Matt Murdock senses holes in the narratives the media, and the streets, are quick to run with. Both criminals have been Matt’s nemeses when he dons the cowl of the Daredevil, and there’s no denying that New York is better off without its Kingpin and with the Punisher behind bars. And yet… while the Punisher is a murderous vigilante, he doesn’t kill cops. And he doesn’t turn himself in.
Castle certainly deserves prison for all of the other crimes he has committed in the past. However, Matt’s dogged sense of justice insists that nobody should be locked away for crimes they didn’t actually commit. Representing the vigilante in court, Matt enters a contest of wills with Castle to try and uncover the game beneath the game. And when Matt’s girlfriend takes the stand and complicates matters, there’s truly no rest for the wicked—or the just. As the Kingpin’s absence causes passion and ambitions to run hot in Hell’s Kitchen, Matt must decide if justice means the letter of the law, what’s best for the citizen on the streets, or where his heart leading him.
With the book hitting shelves both physical and virtual on March 24, D23 sat down with author Segura for an inside look at the novel—which continues the Marvel Crime series that began with Lisa Jewell’s Breaking the Dark, and brings fans into a grittier, street-level side of the Marvel Universe.
D23: Thanks for chatting with us today, Alex! You’ve had a long career writing for comic books and as a novelist… how did it all start for you?
Alex Segura (AS): I was always a reader. Comics came into my life pretty early, buying comics at the checkout at grocery stores, then biking to the pharmacy to pick up comics every week, and then eventually finding my own comic shop nearby. And then I worked professionally in comics, doing publicity and marketing, but always writing novels on the side. So it’s really run parallel. And I’ve always loved mystery stories like Sherlock Holmes and Agatha Christie and things like that—and at the same time, loving things like Daredevil and Spider-Man and the X-Men. Basically, if it was around, I would have read it as a kid. I was lucky enough to have ways to get to the comics and the books I wanted; I was regular at my school library too, and just kind of a voracious reader. I still am.
D23: You mention Daredevil… had you always been a fan of the character? You’ve worked on Marvel comics in the past, but this is your first story involving him, correct?
AS: Yeah—I’ve written comics for Marvel; I wrote a Spider-Verse novel and some short stories for Marvel in prose. Daredevil was always one of my favorite Marvel characters because I found him to be really complicated and conflicted and almost a little more adult than some of the other Super Heroes in terms of the stuff he grappled with. And he, of the Marvel pantheon, was probably the character that most fit with the stuff I write, in terms of mystery novels and crime and hard-boiled noir—complicated characters overall. So I was always drawn to Daredevil, and I’ve always thought, “What if I got the chance—what would I do?” Being a fan, I had a sense of what’s come before how can my work be in conversation with some of my favorite [comic-book] runs—so that was really fun to do. I firmly believe as a writer, when you get your shot, take it as if it’s your one shot. I really poured everything I wanted to do in a Daredevil story into this one.
D23: Do you have to be familiar with Daredevil—either from comic books or from the Disney+ series—to enjoy the novel?
AS: No; it’s written in a way that anyone can read it. If you’ve never read a Daredevil comic before, it’s all in this book. You don’t need to have a doctorate to understand what’s going on—but it’s also loaded with fun Easter eggs for fans like me or people that grew up with Daredevil, or fans of the series or the comics that want an additional Daredevil story to enjoy.
…It’s also perfect timing, with [Daredevil: Born Again season 2] coming back for another great season, just as the book is coming out and as Marvel Comics are launching a new Daredevil #1. Daredevil’s definitely having a moment—he’s big on television; a new novel; a new comic series. So it’s a great time to be a Daredevil fan. I remember the days when it was only the comic, and the idea of a Daredevil TV show felt like something pie in the sky. This feels like a lot of riches!
D23: Speaking of fans—since we’re all about ’em here at D23: The Official Disney Fan Club—what do you hope both recent fans of Daredevil (who maybe only just discovered him from the Disney+ series) as well as long-time fans of the character take away from this particular story?
AS: That’s a great question. I hope newer fans get a sense of who Daredevil is—almost like a “Daredevil 101.” They get his conflicts, his struggles, his reason for being, his quest for justice, who his enemies are, and the landscape of his world—and they feel like, “Yeah, I like that; I want to keep engaging with this universe. I’m going watch the show, if I haven’t already, or I’m going to pick up a comic book.” There are so many issues to read and so many stories to partake in. I really hope that serves as like a nice Daredevil “primer” for new readers without them feeling bogged down in lore or history.
For fans like me—for people who’ve been reading or watching or engaging with Daredevil for a long time—I hope it surprises them. I think there’s some twists in there, and like I mentioned, there’s a bunch of Easter eggs, and those are shiny and fun in the moment—but I also hope that it feels like it’s in conversation with their favorite Daredevil tales. When I started the novel, I made a list of, “What are the key elements for me for a great Daredevil story? And how do I put them into this story and have them feel fresh and feel additive?” So my hope is that it does feel additive to the fans—that it’s “just another story,” but it feels like, “Oh, this is important, and evocative, and like it’s in conversation with these other stories I love”… It really is a love letter to the character, and it was an honor to write a novel about him.
Find Enemy of My Enemy: A Daredevil Crime Novel wherever you purchase books beginning March 24!