S.H.I.E.L.D. Once Made Daredevil Forget He's Blind

Daredevil has a special place in the world of comic books as the first blind superhero, relying on his heightened senses to fight crime. This, however, was taken away at one point, when he had his memories wiped to go on an undercover mission. The "Flying Blind" storyline featured in issues #376-379 of his self-titled comic (by Scott Lobdell and Cully Hamner) saw Matt Murdock become an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. and ties back to a What If... story from years past.

Joe Kelly's run on Daredevil came to an end with issue #375 and Marvel was looking to relaunch the title. It was known internally that Kevin Smith would be Kelly's replacement, but his debut was delayed. As a result, a storyline was needed to fill in the time slot leading up to the start of Smith's run. Writer Scott Lobdell came in and wrote several issues in an arc titled "Flying Blind" that gave Matt Murdock his sight back. The idea was that the storyline could be extended if the new run was further delayed.

The story picks up with a man waking up in a French hospital, with several bruises and no recollection of any events prior. He does, however, remember that his name is Laurent Levasseur. He soon realizes that he has heightened senses, springing into action when a man pulls out a gun at the hospital. It soon becomes clear that Laurent is Matt Murdock, but he has no memory of who he really is. Interestingly, a side effect of this is that he has regained 20/20 vision. It is later revealed that the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent who wiped Matt's mind is killed after he is fatally hit by a truck.

Daredevil's mission in France is to save agents of the spy organization who are being auctioned off. Making matters worse, is that his arch-rival the Kingpin is in Europe with plans to bid on the agents. Realizing what has gone wrong, another S.H.I.E.L.D. agent recruits Foggy Nelson, hoping that if Matt were to see a familiar face, his memory might be restored.

In the final issue of the arc, Levasseur fights Kingpin and a villain named Synapse, whose powers just so happen to include telepathy. In the battle's climax, Synapse blasts Levasseur's mind, restoring his memories as Matt Murdock. The story concludes as Daredevil defeats Wilson Fisk, recovers the agents, and returns home.

This is not the first time that Matt has acted as an Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. In What If... #28, Tony Stark is present at the accident that leaves Matt Murdock blind and gives him his powers. Tony takes the boy to S.H.I.E.L.D., where Nick Fury trains him to be a secret agent. During this time, Matt learns that his father, Jack Murdock (who is still alive in this universe), has been captured by Hydra agents. Matt makes a deal with Fury and leads a team of agents on a mission to save his father. The team is successful, saving Jack Murdock, and Matt elects to continue working with Fury under the codename Daredevil.

Overall, "Flying Blind" was an interesting story for the character, taking him out of his native element. Throughout the story Matt struggles with sensory overload, which puts him in a variety of unique and vulnerable situations that are new to the character. As a whole, however, the story was better suited as being short-term, as one of the things that makes Daredevil so impactful is his unique set of powers.