The following contains spoilers for Daredevil #5, now on sale from Marvel Comics
The Avengers are Earth's Mightiest Heroes, usually regarded by the world at large as the most dependable forces for good in the Marvel Universe. But that hasn't stopped them from coming to blows with plenty of other heroes -- and it looks like their next target could interrupt a hero's very important mission.
Daredevil #5 (by Chip Zdarsky, Marco Checchetto, Matthew Wilson, and VC's Clayton Cowles) officially pits the Avengers against Marvel's Man Without Fear. And, the former's intervention could seriously impact Daredevil's mission to stop the Punisher and the Hand from unleashing the Beast.
Daredevil's Collision Course With the Avengers
Daredevil's current place in the greater Marvel Universe has been increasingly chaotic recently, especially after his decision to let the world think Matt Murdock is dead. Embracing his apparent fate to become a leader among the Fist alongside his new wife Elektra, Daredevil has embraced a potentially dark path that has empowered allies like Cole North and Foggy Nelson and put him on a collision course with the Punisher (who currently serves as the avatar of the Beast and commands the Hand). But his most recent recruitment drive might have inadvertently pitted him against more of the hero community.
Looking to expand the numbers within the Fist, Daredevil and Elektra stage a large breakout at the sea-based prison known as the Myrmidon. While Murdock faces off with U.S. Agent, Elektra ensures that fifteen supervillains who take up their offer for potential redemption escape confinement. Security footage of the battle ends up reaching the rest of the hero community, with Iron Man and Captain America coming together to discuss the problem. Watching Daredevil lead the villains away from the prison, Captain America reluctantly orders Tony to assemble the rest of the Avengers -- and declares it is time for the heroes to bring Daredevil down.
The Avengers Could Disrupt A Major Daredevil Confrontation
This wouldn't be the first time that Daredevil has come to blows with the rest of the hero community -- with his possession by the Beast during the events of Shadowland requiring the larger hero community to work together to bring him down. But Daredevil may be the lesser of two evils in the current situation, as the Punisher's role as the head of the Hand could allow for a truly despicable series of villains to take control of the world at large. By getting involved, the Avengers could find themselves drawn into a conflict that has the potential to reshape the current Marvel Universe. The Hand's mission could allow them to take control of people and turn them into agents for the Beast, and the heroes could find themselves targeted and even potentially corrupted by the Hand.
Meanwhile, this conflict with the Beast could also draw the X-Men into the conflict, as they earned the ire of the Beast and his daughter during the events of X of Swords. While the Hell Bride seemed to make peace with Wolverine and Solem during the events of A.X.E.: Judgment Day, her father might not be so forgiving. While this means Daredevil and the Fist might find easy allies in Wolverine and the X-Men, it could further drive a wedge between the mutant nation and the rest of the Marvel Universe -- a wedge that's already been quietly setting up a new iteration of an Avengers/X-Men conflict. The Avengers getting involved in the brewing war between the Hand and the Fist could pull them -- and the rest of the Marvel Universe -- into a potentially ruinous conflict. It could even weaken Daredevil at the worst time possible, allowing a corrupted Punisher a better chance to enact the Beast's plans for the Earth.