Hey there! Before getting to the next chapter in the history of the Hand later this week, I thought we’d take a little detour to the time before there were ninjas in Daredevil.
Stan Lee’s Daredevil was full of contrivances holier than the pope, and the whole Mike Murdock debacle which saw him impersonate his own twin – the one he made up on the spot out of thin air – was certainly no exception. Quite the contrary.
Mike Murdock finally “died” in Daredevil #41, but since Matt had made him up back in issue #25 in order to cover a threat to his secret identity, one crucial question remained: What happened to Daredevil? Wouldn’t Daredevil die along with Mike?
Here, in a violent confrontation with the Jester in issue #42, Matt is forced to admit that there is still, in fact a Daredevil running around. “Mike” trained a replacement, you see. Do Foggy and Karen just buy everything Matt says? Please, end these lies!
During a confrontation with the Jester, Matt makes up another lie
Tagged as:
Daredevil vol 1 #1-50,
Gene Colan,
Stan Lee
The first meeting between Spider-Man and Daredevil happened in Amazing Spider-Man #16, and it happened early in Daredevil’s career. He is still in his yellow costume in this issue, penciled by Steve Ditko and written, as usual, by Stan Lee. It is also full of unintentionally funny stuff, as well as some enlightening insights into Matt’s senses. We’ll get to all of that, but first let’s look at how the first meeting came about. Why, it’s the classic super-hero saves blind man from being mugged! Not to be confused with not-yet-superhero saves blind man from being run over by a truck transporting radioactive goo… (Clicking an image will make it “pop” and let you view it at full size.)
Spider-Man saves Matt from being mugged
To save some time getting back to the office, Matt changes to Daredevil and launches into the mandatory explanation of how his powers work. This makes sense considering that Marvel is trying to introduce Daredevil to a wider audience, but who he’s supposed to be talking to within the actual story is beyond me.
Matt sneaks off and changes to Daredevil
More Daredevil and Spider-Man under the cut –>
Tagged as:
Humor,
Spider-Man,
Stan Lee,
Steve Ditko
I admit, I’m a big fan of Daredevil’s costume. It’s simple and bold at the same time, and it gives our hero a distinctly sophisticated look. Even out of costume, Matt Murdock is a good dresser. He wears the kind of fancy suits you would expect of a New York lawyer, and only looks less than polished when he goes nuts over some random tragedy and forgets to shave.
The scene below, from Daredevil #41, by Stan Lee and Gene Colan, sees Matt obviously distressed at the tears in his costume (the result of literally dragging himself out some kind of time shift) and complaining about what this might do to his image. Very metrosexual about forty years early. And, very much in character. Keep up the look, Matt! You’re still rocking it…
D793HU729YBS
Tagged as:
Daredevil vol 1 #1-50,
Gene Colan,
Humor,
Stan Lee,
The life of a superhero
I may be cheating a little with this installment of the “indecisive villain” series, since Doctor Doom isn’t actually trying to kill Daredevil, but the plot is contrived enough that it makes the list anyway. The scenes we’re going to look at are from Daredevil #37, by Stan Lee and Gene Colan, the issue which forms the first part of the two-parter in which Daredevil and Doctor Doom change bodies.
For a brief comment on the absurdity of one of these plot points, see my previous post “DD stands for Doctor Doom”. Here we are just going to look at the cat and mouse game that got Daredevil into Doctor Doom’s body in the first place…
Daredevil versus Dr Doom, panel 1, from Daredevil #37
Body transfer under the cut –>
Tagged as:
Daredevil vol 1 #1-50,
Doctor Doom,
Gene Colan,
Humor,
Stan Lee
You know what they say about lies. You need a good memory to keep your story in check. Matt could have used that, and more, during the height of the Mike Murdock madness. Below is a scene from Daredevil #35, by Stan Lee and Gene Colan, which sees Matt caught in his own web of lies. Not only does his story raise more questions than it answers, he comes across as uncaring and indifferent to his “brother’s” safety.
Matt douses Foggy in aceton and dodges questions, from Daredevil #35
More lies under the cut –>
Tagged as:
Daredevil vol 1 #1-50,
Gene Colan,
Stan Lee
… ’nuff said! From Daredevil #34, by Stan Lee and Gene Colan. The hilarity of this panel speaks for itself. And, as a bonus, doesn’t your own day look a whole lot brighter? Exactly. I thought so. 
Daredevil is in a tight spot in Daredevil #34, by Stan Lee and Gene Colan
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Daredevil vol 1 #1-50,
Gene Colan,
Humor,
Stan Lee,
The Beetle
Panel from Daredevil #27, by Stan Lee and Gene Colan
Daredevil #27, by Stan Lee and Gene Colan sees Daredevil have one of those awkward blind superhero moments that should probably be more common than is seen in the comic (for two other such moments, see “I’m feeling a headache coming on officer, gotta run!” and “Nice save, Daredevil!“).
This scene takes place very early in Daredevil’s and Spider-Man’s relationship. It’s so early, in fact, that Matt apparently doesn’t know what Spider-Man looks like, despite the long hours the legal eagles have already spent in front of the television watching Spidey’s shenanigans (you’d think Foggy would tell him…).
Here, Daredevil reveals that he doesn’t know that Spider-Man wears a mask, thus coming close to revealing his secret. On the other hand, I think we should be careful about analyzing the situation too carefully, or we might end up asking questions like
- Doesn’t Spider-Man’s mask make his voice sound muffled?
- Where does Daredevil think the alias “webhead” comes from if not from Spidey wearing webs on his head?
- Why does Spider-Man assume that his mask hides a less than cheerful attitude?
- Does Spider-Man now suspect Daredevil has X-ray vision?
Well, the list could go on, but now it’s making my head hurt. Gotta go to bed!
Tagged as:
Daredevil vol 1 #1-50,
Gene Colan,
Humor,
Stan Lee
Matt Murdock is nothing if not dedicated to his craft. Low-powered and forced to rely mostly on hard-earned fighting skills, he can’t afford not to learn from past battles and strive to constantly improve himself. In this panel below on the left, from Daredevil #18, decades before the ninja training with Stick and all the other martial arts voodoo, we learn that Matt practices yoga. After his close brush with death against Namor in Daredevil #7, he realized that not being able to breathe under water is a bit of a hassle. Most of us would just give up at this point. But that’s not Matt Murdock’s style. He practices oxygen-preservation techniques instead. And may I add that this was long before yoga was even popular. Heck, it even predates the Beatles going to India. Kudos to you, Mr. Murdock.
Description: Daredevil has just been apparently defeated by new villain The Gladiator. He emerges from the water near a dock and notices the Gladiator walk away. The Gladiator says “The girl has fled, but no matter! She was merely a pawn! There are other, better means of proclaiming myself to the world!” Daredevil thinks “I can thank Namor for my survival! After he defeated me, I realized how helpless I was under water! For months, I’ve practiced yoga breathing techniques! And tonight, what I’ve learned about conserving oxygen paid off!” Daredevil grabs a hold of the wooden deck in front of him and pushes himself up, kicking the Gladiator in the back. Daredevil says “Okay, Gladiator! It’s time for round two!”
Tagged as:
Daredevil vol 1 #1-50,
John Romita,
Stan Lee
Rarely do I find myself actually laughing out loud when reading a Daredevil comic, and that includes most of the Silver Age goofiness. But Daredevil #9 really is that funny. And it knows it’s funny. Daredevil himself is written in that self-aware way where he’s found commenting on some of the more absurd parts of the plot. This kind of tactic doesn’t always work, but it works fine here. It is more the absurdity of the plot than the villain’s failed plans at murder that that made me include it in this series, but it’s just so funny, I couldn’t resist.
So, what do we need to know? Well, Matt has agreed to have eye surgery after Karen went behind his back(!) and contacted the appropriately named Dr. Van Eyck, a Boston eye surgeon who has recently moved to the “tiny principality” of Lichtenbad. Karen’s meddling goes even further and she sets up a meeting between Matt and his old law school acquaintance Klaus Kruger, former exchange student and current ruler of Lichtenbad, hoping that he can unite Matt and the famous Dr. Van Eyck. When Matt and Klaus meet in his office, we are treated to some interesting tidbits: 1) Why is Klaus Kruger twice the size of everybody else?, 2) Why was Klaus playing around with test tubes as a law student and 3) Why would Klaus seem surprised to hear that Matt had lost his sight when he was already blind by the time he started college? Then again, continuity gets confusing a full nine issues into a new series, doesn’t it?
Read more about Matt’s trip to Lichtenbad –>
Tagged as:
Daredevil vol 1 #1-50,
Humor,
Stan Lee,
Wally Wood
Christine is a thirty something Daredevil fan from Sweden who spends way too much of her free time writing posts for this blog. Check the