Warning: The following article contains spoilers from Daredevil #20 by Chip Zdarsky, Marco Checchetto, Mattia Iacono, and VC's Clayton Cowles, on sale now.
The latest issue of Daredevil sees the Man Without Fear taking on street level super-villains from around the Marvel Universe in a massive battle royal to protect his home, Hell's Kitchen. During the brawl, Daredevil figures out an ingenious way to take down one of Spider-Man's oldest and toughest foes.
As Daredevil, Matt Murdock has traditionally been a street-level superhero. He doesn't boast a wide variety of impressive powers and relies solely on his radar sense which took the place of his sight when he was exposed to radioactive chemicals as a child.
The Rhino, on the other hand, is a veritable powerhouse. Introduced in Stan Lee and John Romita's Amazing Spider-Man #41, the Rhino has super-strength and durability as well as a thick skin surrounding his body that is strong enough to deflect bullets. Although he is traditionally a Spider-Man villain, the Rhino has also been able to hold his own against the likes of the Hulk and the Thing and is a master at causing large amounts of collateral damage using his charging attacks.
Rhino came to Hell's Kitchen at the conclusion of the last issue as a part of a mercenary group hired by a local crime boss to raze the city. Accompanied by Stilt-Man, Bullseye, Bullet, and Captain America villain Crossbones, the formidable group is met and confronted by Daredevil and a few unlikely allies, including Typhoid Mary and Wilson Fisk.
Mary is the first to confront the Rhino, greeting him with a molotov cocktail from the doors of the church that recently served as her home. When that proves ineffective, Daredevil tells Typhoid to lead him to the pier and "see if he can swim." When Rhino is still not deterred, the Man Without Fear chooses to take matters into his own hands, charging head-first toward his opponent, grabbing a knife from Crossbones in the process.
After Daredevil breaks the blade out of the knife, the Man Without Fear pulls off the spectacular feat of leaping into the air and wrapping his baton cable around the Rhino's neck forcing him to the ground. While the large villain's mouth is still open from being choked, Daredevil shows new levels of resourcefulness by shoving the handle of the broken knife down Rhino's throat. As large and strong as the villain is, he cannot continue to fight without air. He doubles over, gasping before he finally loses consciousness.
Daredevil defeats the last of the villains in a matter of minutes. Once the last member of the mercenary squad is taken down, Daredevil shows that he still has the heart of a hero by digging the knife handle out of the Rhino's mouth before he can suffer any serious lasting damage. Daredevil took his abilities to a whole new level with this issue and delivers an exceptional conclusion to the story started in the beginning of his latest series, all while giving fans one hell of a ride.