In collaboration with “Daredevil: Born Again,” Blaze Pizza has released the Sweet Heat “pizza without fear,” a six-inch pizza with spicy red sauce, pepperoni, red peppers and hot honey drizzled on it, alongside the blood orange lemonade for $12.39. But does this specialty item pack the same punch as the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen? Definitely not. The pizza without fear is the latest in a long line of soulless collaborations that have nothing to do with the property they’re collaborating with, joining the hall of infamy alongside 2015’s “Fantastic Four” Slamtastic 4 breakfast menu at Denny’s with the Thing Burger topped with Thing sauce, or Wonka’s Perfectly Purple pancakes at IHOP. Blaze’s latest offering has only the most superficial connection to Daredevil in the fact that both the pizza and his costume happen to be red.
The biggest issue with the collaboration is that it feels entirely unremarkable; there’s nothing that’s special or exclusive because customers can make the pizza with the chain’s regular toppings. Instead of creating a special limited-time item inspired by the gritty tones of the show or even Matt Murdock’s favorite pizza, which canonically is pepperoni with extra cheese or even Foggys’ pizza as seen in Daredevil Issue 18 from 2015 — which is pepperoni, onions, garlic and ketchup for some odd reason. Instead of something nuanced, Blaze Pizza’s head chefs threw ingredients together that sorta matched his color palette.
To be completely honest, the pizza itself is perfectly fine. The spicy red sauce and hot honey create a sweet heat, while the peppers and pepperoni balance it out, but fine really doesn’t cut it when you consider the utter lack of creativity.
Ironically, the blood orange lemonade pairs well with the sweet heat of the pizza; its citrusy flavor is refreshing, especially if you’re more susceptible to spice than others, and it seems like more thought was put into pairing it with the pizza than the pizza itself.
At the end of the day, the Pizza Without Fear isn’t terrible, it’s just ordinary. What you see is exactly what you get. For die-hard Daredevil fans, the novelty is there, but for someone who’s trying to enjoy their lunch break, it’s not worth paying extra for a pizza you can make yourself any other day.
The Man without Fear deserved better, and so does your wallet.
