By [ad_1]
The Purple Man’s very own children are out to put an end to the threat he poses once and for all, and they might become Marvel’s next great antiheroes along the way.
WARNING: The following contains major spoilers for Devil’s Reign #3, available now from Marvel.
While Wilson Fisk’s war against New York City’s superheroes has largely been waged by his recently militarized Thunderbolts, they aren’t the only supervillains the former Kingpin of Crime has found a use for. Thanks to the powers of Zebediah Killgrave, aka the Purple Man, Fisk has been able to spread his own dark influence throughout the city at large. Of course, Fisk isn’t the only one wielding the power to reshape minds, and the very same Purple Children who kickstarted his crusade have just come back to end it.
During a visit with the currently imprisoned and weaponized Killgrave, Wilson Fisk uncovers the existence of the Purple Man’s children. Not only does the former Kingpin now know that they are the ones who stripped his mind of Daredevil’s true identity, he also knows that they are just the edge he has been looking for to exert full control over the city. Unfortunately, the Purple Children are already well aware that they are about to become targets, and they’ve already gone on the offensive. As seen in Devil’s Reign #3 by Chip Zdarsky, Marco Checchetto, Marcio Menyz, and Clayton Cowles, not all of Killgrave’s kids are as willing to use their powers as their villainous father.
First introduced in 2014’s Daredevil #8 by Mark Waid and Chris Samnee, the five Purple Children were all abandoned by Killgrave over the years. The villain did make sure to keep track of his offspring, however, eventually deciding to gather them together in the hopes of finally having a proper family of his own. Once the children understood what had happened to them, they collectively turned their powers on their father, forcing him to walk into his own apparent demise. Killgrave survived this encounter only to return and attempt to turn the Purple Children’s powers into an extension of his own. When Daredevil managed to defeat Killgrave and free the kids, they thanked him by using their abilities to erase his secret identity from the minds of everyone else on the planet. Now that their heroic act is leading to all-out war, the Purple Children have taken it upon themselves to end their father’s life and any threat he might pose.
As heavy as the weight of that mission is, especially for what are literally still just a bunch of kids, they are all dedicated to what they believe needs to be done. That doesn’t mean they all agree on how to get where they need to be, though, as Joe decides to accept genuine kindness from a stranger rather than use his or his siblings’ powers to force the kindly old woman to do what they want. While they absolutely could turn to mind control and make their way through the city, openly embracing others who have offered them help could be a far more potent weapon in the fight against their father. Standing unopposed in the moment is one thing, but having allies who will provide them with the resources to carry out their secret battle is infinitely more valuable. It may even prove to be just what the Purple Children need to become the Marvel Universe’s next great antiheroes.
Taking lethal revenge on their father might be what the Purple Children are working towards right now, but rewriting Killgrave’s legacy is what his offspring are really after. Having all been born from the darkest chapters in their mother’s lives because of him, it is understandable that the Purple Children want to see Killgrave’s life come to an end. What they do after that is what really matters, though. From the looks of things, the collective five kids aren’t all on the exact same track in regards to what direction they will take once the dust has settled. Still, they all trust one another, and none of them are showing any signs of turning against the others or abandoning their mission.
If the Purple Children actually do bring the threat of Killgrave to its ultimate end, they will likely be securing their place as the saviors of New York City and its superheroes. On the other hand, they will have also established a lethal reputation for themselves that will put them firmly in antihero territory at best. That they are all still so young and have suffered so much at their father’s hands is certainly worth considering, yet who their father is alone begs the uncomfortable question of exactly how much of Zebediah Killgrave the Purple Children inherited.
About The Author
[ad_2]
