Well, I finally got my copy of The Essential Daredevil Volume 1. I've already spotted a copy of nits. And they are doozies. Both are in #2.

On page 4, DD enters a garage where stolen cars are repainted to be resold. On his right, a few feet away, is a dolly that mechanics use to work underneath cars. In the next panel (on the next page), Daredevil thinks to himself, "Hmm...My toe is touching a small, four wheeled dolly." Not unless his feet are monstrously big, he isn't. Again, that dolly is two or three feet away from his foot.

The really bad nit occurs on page 6. One of the bad guys is about to make his getaway in a car. So how does ol' Hornhead decide to stop him? He takes a tire - not an inner tube - and uses it as a rubber band to shoot an engine - an automoblie engine - at the getaway car. He's lying on his back, engine block on his chest, legs stretching out a tire. I guess in addition to giving Matt Murdock super senses, the radiation also gave him super strength and invulnerability. Wonder when he lost those powers?

I still haven't finished reading The Essential Daredevil yet, but here are a few more nits from the first ten issues:

In #1, Matthew Murdock's first name is given as Mathew. This error is repeated in issue #9.

Also in #9, Daredevil says, "Now let's see how good you are without that little doo-doo of yours..." Uh, you could say that in a 1965 comic? I suspect Stan meant "little doo-dad".

Also, a Dr. Van Eyck is exposed to radiation. It kills him. Van Eyck may be the first character in a Marvel Comic to die of radiation exposure instead gaining superpowers.

Let's talk about #7. This is the issue where DD meets and battles Prince Namor, the Sub-Mariner. The art was by the late Wally Wood. The art provides the first nit in this issue. Wally Wood consistently drew Subby with normal ears instead of pointed ears. (Namor used to look like Mr. Spock's real brother.)

The next nit occurs on page 8. In the first panel, Hornhead thinks to himself, "Maybe if I trick (Namor) off the pier, a dash of cold water will cool him off and make him listen." Two panels later, when Subby hits the water, DD realize the stup1dity of that plan as he thinks to himself, "Now I'm in for it! In the water, he's completely invincible!" "Man Without Fear"? Try "Man Without Brains". Sheesh!

The real nit concerns part of the plot for this issue. After being urged by Krang, one of his warlords, Namor leaves Atlantis to go to the surface world. Rather than make war against us surface dweller (as Krang urged him to do), the Sub-Mariner decides he wants to file suit to "demand (the Atlanteans') rightful place on the surface of the Earth. I wish to sue the entire human race for depriving us of our birthright." What's funnier is why Matt Murdock, the lawyer the Sub-Mariner just happens to visit at random, refuses to accept the case: lack of precedence. Lack of precedence?!? I'm no lawyer, but I'd say lack of precedence was the least of the reasons this case was baseless. How about lack of jurisdiction? I mean, exactly what court would be legally enpowered to decide whether Atlanteans should take over the surface? Given how many centuries Atlanteans have lived under the ocean, exactly what part of the Earth do they have a rightful claim to? And aren't Atlanteans a part of the human race? And considering that Namor is the only Atlantean who can breath air, what good would the surface be to his people?

Of course, this issue helps cement why I dislike Namor to begin with. Yeah, I know, I know he's royalty, he's a hot-head. No. He's a spoiled brat! He acts like a three year old child. He doesn't understand how a revolving door works, so he smashes it. An elevator moves too slowly for him, so he forces the doors open and jerks the car down by its cables. He impatiently breaks down the door to the offices of Nelson/Murdock and rather than leave through the broken door, inflicts further property damage by tearing down the outer wall of the offices.

Then, upon learning that he doesn't have a legal leg to stand on, he throws a friggin' hissy fit and starts to demolish the city of New York. His rationale? To "force (the surface dwellers) to take (him) to court." Then, after he's arrested, he throws another tantrum when he learns that his case will not be heard until the following week, and that the case isn't going his way - his suit against the surface dwellers isn't the focus of the trial, it's his crimes he's broken that he's on trial for. I kept wishing somebody would just nuke his winged feet and get it over with.

Namor is a very irritating character to me, and again, it is this story that crystalizes the reason I'm irritated by him. I do not find him "noble" or at his core to be a good person. He isn't arrogant either. He's an ignorant child who throws fits whenever he doesn't get his way. He is not, IMO, not a very good role model, something that all good heroes should be.

One final nit about this issue, with all the damage Namor does while having his little hissy fit, you have to wonder where the Avengers, X-Men, Fantastic Four and Spider-Man were. Poor Daredevil had to fight the Sub-Mariner by himself. It's amazing Namor didn't kill him.

Okay. Sooooo. #11 ends with the revelation that Foggy and Matt are behind on the rent on their office building. Thinking that Foggy Nelson and Karen Page could afford a cheaper office without him, Matt Murdock informs his best friend that he's dissolving their partnership and leaving to take a sea cruise. Uhhhh....Waitaminute, Murdock. You can't afford to pay the rent on your office, but you can afford a sea cruise. He's definitely "Daredevil, the Man Without Brains". And if I were Foggy, I'd be suing the horns off Matthew Murdock.

Issues #13 and 14 involve something called the "Plunder-Stone". It's supposed to have the ability to disintegrate metal. I gotta tell you it's awfully selective about what metal it effects. It disintegrates weapons, but not Daredevil's billy club, belt buckles, zippers, soldiers' helmets, iron bars in windows, etc.

Of course, I'm still trying to figure out exactly how one metal would destroy the molecular structure of other metals as described in these issues.

The metal mentioned in #13 and 14 is apparently the first appearance of the Wakandan element vibranium. This is according to Marvel Comics Index 9B - Daredevil. It is, however, not given a name in this story.

There's some really bad continuity errors in #18. The story starts with Foggy Nelson going to a costume shop to buy a Daredevil costume. (The store, incidentally, is owned by the Gladiator. But that's besides the point.) On the splash page are various superhero costumes the Gladiator has for sale/rent. They are in order from the left:

Dr. Strange, facing towards the right.

Daredevil, just to the right of Dr. Strange, facing right with his head turned to the left.

Thor, facing away from the cameraa and slightly to the left.

Captain America, his back to Thor, facing left.

On the next page, the first panel, the order is:

Dr. Doom, facing camera.

Daredevil, facing the camera and to the right, head facing left.

Dr. Strange, just right of Daredevil, facing right. (On the splash page, he's to DD's right.)

Thor, facing camera.

Captain America facing the camera.

The third panel shows the feet of Dr. Strange, facing to the right, with Dr. Doom in the foreground, facing left.

Page three, panel one has:

Dr. Strange, impossible to tell which direction he faces.

Daredevil, head turned towards the camera, facing the right.

Dr. Doom, in the foreground, still facing left.

The way those mannequins move, I think they must have been robots.

In issue #24, Ka Zar has been living in an English castle (where his command of the English has improved since #14.) His brother, the Plunderer, who has been framing Ka Zar for various crimes, has been living in a submarine located in the castle moat. Huh!? How'd it get in the moat? Through the moors? Would a moat be deep enough and wide enough for a submarine to hide and manuever? Not one of Stan's brightest ideas.

Benn, let me weigh in with some reviews here (I bought the book a while ago).

In short:

Daredevil (the early Daredevil) is one of the goofiest comics on the planet. It's also one of the most enjoyable to read. Also that Rogues' Gallery! It's like watching a Marvel Comics version of one of those One-Year Wonders in baseball that blows his arm out the next year and never pitches again.

#1: "The Origin of Daredevil." Bill Everett has wonky artwork. He draws good action scenes, but can't draw people very realistically (and to be frank, draws a just plain bad Karen Page). Also, Daredevil's actions border towards the legally dubious at the end. A very simplistic Batman-like origin, but okay, and even today, Daredevil's powers are very creative.

#2: "The Menace of Electro!" This is the Marvel equivalent to getting a time slot AFTER "Friends" and then having Gunther the Coffee Guy pop in for a guest shot with Chandler making a 5-second cameo at the end. One thing about Daredevil--it had great dialogue: "Surely you don't think YOU have a chance against the one who ALMOST defeated Spider-Man himself?" Electro asks Daredevil. When you put it that way...good story with a fun climax, but Electro gets beat by DD dropping a curtain on him? WHAT THE HECK?!

#3: "The Owl, Ominous Overlord of Crime!" One thing about '60s comics--it seemed like everywhere you went there was a guy named Ape (or Ox or Bear or Brute) that was a henchman for a criminal. Here it's Ape AND Silent Sam (apparently Sudden Sam McDowell's brother), an ace triggerman. Unfortunately, I don't think they return. The Owl, while not having a very interesting power (he can fly--he's a chubby Vulture), makes up for it in sheer calmness and implacable nature (as compared to his later appearances, he's downright stoic). Like all early DDs, the ending is abbreviated. Orlando and Colletta draw a good Owl.

#4: The Unbelievable Purple Man! The Purple Man is the first in our Lamented Villain Retrospective. I believe he was killed by the Sub-Mariner. Now, Killgrave IS an interesting villain (with a vaguely defined scheme), but, um, DD beats him by throwing a plastic sheet over him! NOOOOOO!

#5: The Mysterious Masked Matador! The Matador quickly retired from crime and is living in the slums in New York, I believe. As silly as it sounds (and it is very silly), it comes off okay on its own low terms. The Matador could conceivably make a good living as a thief and be a good villain for DD; unfortunately, his whole cape thing shouldn't affect DD in the slightest. Wally Wood takes over to provide some fine artwork. And finally, DD stops a bad guy by beating the snot out of him.

#6: Trapped By...The Fellowship of Fear! Some horrible dialogue here as DD doesn't realize that the gas sprayed by the gent named Mr. Fear is...fear gas. Whoops. Mr. Fear is dead too; he was killed by Machinesmith (well, Starr Saxon). Actually, all three villains are sort of dead--the Ox is terminated later (I can't remember if he comes back) and the Eel is killed by the Gladiator. This is an okay story; it has some great action scenes too.

#7: In Mortal Combat with Sub-Mariner! DD gets his red costume (good, although the yellow one is cool too). I don't know about this story. While I'm not a big fan of the early Namor, it's always good to see Lord Krang. Namor's plan makes absolutely no sense, by the way, but let's put that aside. A corker of a battle scene.

#8: The Stiltman Cometh! I THINK Stiltsy is still alive. He is a pretty neat villain in his first appearance, even if he seems like one of those goofy Ant-Man/Giant-Man bad guys. The ending is quite lame (a shrinking ray? Didn't Doc Doom have one of those?). Good cliffhanger.

#9: That He May See! Putting aside one of the cheesiest villains on the planet (Klaus Kruger of Lichtenbad and his robot guards), this is an interesting look at Matt Murdock and Foggy Nelson. Matt hides behind a handicap, while Foggy can't get in front of it. And Wally Wood drew a great Foggy.

#10: While the City Sleeps! The Organization members (later the Ani-Men) are dead (I think they're killed by Spymaster). They are wonderfully enjoyable villains, well-drawn by Wally Wood, the perfect group for DD (none of them a match on their own, but as a team). The horary Organizer plot can be tolerated.

#11: A Time to Unmask! Some great action scenes, even though the mystery never really clicks (we know nothing about the suspects). Great reaction by Abner Jonas after DD reveals him to be the baddie--"Blast it!" GREAT cliff-hanger.

#12: Sightless, in a Savage Land! John Romita always drew great art; this is no exception. The Plunderer, frankly, is more interesting before he got all scientific and weirdo. Ka-Zar makes a bizarre but enjoyable guest appearance (and if you're not familiar with the Savage Land, this won't make any sense to you).

#13: The Secret of Ka-Zar's Origin! Ka-Zar has a good origin (and if it wasn't already done in Tarzan, I'd like it better). The strange James Bond-style plot about international spies seems forced, but even that's better than what's coming up...

#14: If This Be Justice! Actually this isn't that bad, but the Plunderer's terrible fashion sense sort of ruins it for me. For a three-part series, this goes out with a whimper.

#15: And Men Shall Call Him...Ox! The forgotten Ox appearance. Ox and Dr. Karl Stagg switch minds; hackneyed, but actually a good story. Ox was a good villain for DD really.

#16: Enter: Spider-Man! The Masked Marauder (go ahead, guess who he is--I'll give you a hint, he appears in his civilian identity in this book) is one of those villains (like the Wizard) that acts like he's a major league ballplayer when he's really Triple-A material. DD and Spidey, of course, rock. I love this cliffhanger (even if it's out of character for Spidey).

#17: None Are So Blind! Some great, great DD action scenes, although you do want to chuckle about a villain whose power is shooting blasts that cause temporary blindness. He HAD to be the one to face DD, y'uk y'uk.

#18: There Shall Come a Gladiator! The Gladiator (who I believe is retired) is one of those sort of silly-sort of not characters. I like this comic a lot, the story is well done and Romita makes the Gladiator threatening.

#19: Alone...Against the Underworld! The Gladiator and the Masked Marauder team up. An odd teaming to tell the truth; why doesn't the Masked Marauder hook up with Mr. Fear?

#20: The Verdict is: Death! Wow, Gene Colan can DRAW. The Owl's scheme has been done before (and will be done again), but it's great to see a classic DD villain finally make his second appearance. Colan draws a good Owl too.

#21: The Trap is Sprung. Kind of a wussy title--this two-parter reminds me of the '60s Batman show.

#22: The Tri-Man Lives! The Tri-Man (who made three appearances in the Marvel Universe) comes off as amazingly wussy (that's it?), being beaten in about five pages or so. I mean, the Gladiator could have done that.

#23: DD Goes Wild! So much action! DD versus three losers! DD versus the Gladiator in a Roman coliseum with the Maggia watching on! And why was the Masked Marauder so obsessed with being a Maggia member? As I recall, he tried it again and again and again...

#24: The Mystery of the Midnight Stalker! Good idea hooking DD up again with Ka-Zar since he was in the area, but the Plunderer's appearance is (cliched) and (sort of annoying). And man, I wish he'd find a new costume.

#25: Enter: The Leap-Frog! I'd like to see Leap-Frog fight the Kangaroo. I believe Leapy is retired and is a good buddy of Spider-Man right now. This is just sort of goofy (in fact, it is arguably the goofiest issue of the bunch). And "Mike Murdock?" HUH?

"The Stiltman Cometh! I THINK Stiltsy is still alive." - MikeC

And is no longer living in New York. He was last seen in Daredevil vol. 2 #41. He appears before Matt Murdock and gives Murdock his Stilt-Men armor. He quit because he was sick of the life he led and was afraid for his life, because of the fall-out from the death of the Kingpin. The territories once held by Fisk had been sold off to various people (Wilbur Day, the Stilt-Man was one). Then the Owl starts killing off the new owners to take over those turfs.

"There Shall Come a Gladiator! The Gladiator (who I believe is retired)..." - MikeC

He now works for Matt Murdock as a bodyguard, believe it or not.

"Wow, Gene Colan can DRAW." - MikeC again

Oh yeah. The older I get, the more I appreciate his work, too. He's drawn two of my favorite series: Howard the Duck and The Tomb of Dracula. I'm not sure he's ever gotten the respect he deserves by the fanboys at large, though.

"And "Mike Murdock?" HUH?" - guess who again?

Yeah, and to think, he's dead now, too.

Good review, Mike. I pretty much agree with much of what you say here.

"#25: Enter: The Leap-Frog! I'd like to see Leap-Frog fight the Kangaroo. I believe Leapy is retired and is a good buddy of Spider-Man right now." - MikeC

There were a few issues of Daredevil Volume 2 that dealt with the Leap Frog. Froggie's son went catatonic, because of something he witnessed involving his father. The kid's father, Leap Frog had disappeared. I only have the first issue of this story arc, so I don't as of yet know the full details.

It seems to me that last year or the year before, a couple of issues of Tangled Webs also featured Leap Frog. I never read those issues, so I have no idea what they were about.

The Tangled Webs sort of changed the continuity all together of Leap Frog if I remember, but Tangled Web had a history of doing that.

The only issue of Tangled Web I have is #4, the one where the Kingpin has one of his employees killed for a failure in dealing with Spider-Man. It was okay. I'd like to get the two-part Rhino issues one of these days. When it comes down to it, I haven't read enough of Tangled Web to really pass judgment on it.

On the other hand, these days, Marvel seems to care very little about continuity. Heck, most of Mighty Marvel's series give me the impression they exist in their own little worlds. Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four no longer seem to inhabit the same universe. Then again the Spider-Man found in Spider-Man: Peter Parker (or Peter Parker, Spider-Man) seems to be different from the one in Amazing Spider-Man. Of course, the Spider-Man in both of those titles seem to be different from the one that existed before Bill Jemas and Joe Quesada came along. It's a brave, new world out there.

Last year, Marvel published a mini-series featuring Luke Cage. The series was a MAX title called Cage. Personally, I hope it's not canon, because in it we learn...Well, before I get into that, let me give some of Cage's backstory first. Cage first appeared in 1972 in Luke Cage, Hero For Hire. Basically, he was meant to be the superhero version of John Shaft. Anyway, Cage, or rather, Lucas as he was then known, was serving a sentence in Seagate Prison for herion possession. Lucas was a gang-banger. His best friend since childhood was Willis Stryker. Lucas and Stryker did everything together. Including fight over a woman - Reva Connors. It was because of this rivalry that Lucas was framed for drug possession by Stryker. While in jail, Reba was killed by a bullet meant for Stryker.

The whole point of Cage is that he was an innocent man sent to prison. The MAX mini-series changed all of that. In the mini-series, we learned that Reva wasn't killed by a rival gang memeber. It was a hitman that Lucas hired to kill Stryker. This was a very bad decision on Marvel's part. I can accept it, as long as it isn't made canon. Unfortunately, given that Cage's new look comes from the mini-series, I suspect it is.

Uh, so I suppose you're wondering just what does this have to do with Daredevil, huh? Well, as I've said elsewhere, Matt Murdock has been outed as Daredevil. He's suing the newspaper that outed him. In #43, Cage chews Murdock out. (Yes, Cage knows Matt is Daredevil.) He calls Matt a liar. He tells Murdock that a superhero must set himself apart from others, to be an inspiration. Uh, if the MAX mini-series is indeed, canon, then Cage is nothing more than a hypocrite. He's lied about being innocent. He contracted a murder. He is not a role model for anyone.

I really hope the mini-series isn't canon. I've always liked Luke Cage. And I do not like that his reputation has been diminished by the mini-series.

Okay, I'm done with my mini-rant.

Um, I agree that putting a hit on Stryker is a BAD THING, but how does doing that make him a liar about being innocent? Or did he say that he was innocent in general, rather than saying specifically that he was innocent of the crime for which he was in prision?

Well, at any rate, here's exactly what Cage said about the hit that killed Reva: "(Through friends an' the prison grapevine I began hearin') about how a certain dope-smugglin' outfit was hot about some joker hi-jackin' one of their shipments. An' how a couple of their enforcers finally caught up with (Willis)..." The next three panels show the hit. (Luke Cage, Hero for Hire #1, page 13, panels #4-8) So while he doesn't outright claim innocence, he does place the blame for the hit elsewhere. That's assuming the MAX series is to be considered canon.

Also, IIRC, throughout the runs of Luke Cage, Hero for Hire and Luke Cage, Powerman, Cage claims that murder is a line he never crosses. If Cage had indeed contracted for Willis Stryker's murder, then he has crossed that line - legally, anyway.

Daredevil: Guardian Devil

Written by Kevin SMith.

Easily the best issues of Daredevil not written by Frank Miller.

Frank Miller and John Romita, Jr. did a mini-series in the years 1993-94 called Daredevil, the Man Without Fear. It's essentially an extended view of the origins of Daredevil. In issue two, Matt Murdock goes after the Fixer, the man responsible for the murder of Murdock's father, Battlin' Jack, like he did in issue #1 of Daredevil . While the Fixer does die of a heart attack in the subways of New York, just about everything else about the situation is different. For one thing, Murdock doesn't run on a trash barrel chasing after the Fixer. For that matter, the Fixer isn't running period. He's just standing at the end of a cul de sac as Murdock approaches. Please note that I have not referred to Murdock as Daredevil in this sequence. There's a reason. He isn't Daredevil. Not yet at this point in the mini-series. Instead, Murdock wears a brown leather-like mask and street clothes. Moreover, Matt has yet to embark on his career as a superhero. As a matter of fact, he's still in college. However, in Daredevil #1, Matt has assumed the mantle of Daredevil. He is wearing his red and yellow Daredevil costume when he tracks down the Fixer.

Excelsior!

Daredevil #83

On page 17, Daredevil kicks Mr. Hyde in the jaw, but Hyde remains standing. Several other comic books, including issues of Amazing Spider-Man and Captain America established that Mr. Hyde has a glass jaw - that any blow to his jaw renders him unconscious.

Hyde throws a couple of bombs at DD. One lands near Hornhead, leaving him temporarily deaf. Yet, DD's radar sense still works fine. However, in Daredevil #174, when an explosion caused Matt to lose his hearing, it also took away DD's radar sense.

The Black Widow is on trial for the murder of the Scorpion. Daredevil fought Mr. Hyde at the morgue, when the Man Without Fear went to examine the corpse of the Scorpion. The ensuing fight caused the body of the Scorpion to be destroyed (along with several others, I would presume). Because of the loss of the Scorp's dead body, the case is thrown out of court. What?! I don't care if there isn't a body, as long as there is sufficient evidence that a crime was committed (and in this case, there most certainly is), the trial would continue.

BTW, not only does the trial go to court in an unusually rapid manner (the Widow is arrested and within days she is on trial), but there is no Grand Jury hearing. That's kind of hard to swallow, isn't it?

Excelsior!

Daredevil #183

This is the first part of the infamous Angel Dust story.

A young girl, Mary Elizabeth O'Koren, gets high on PCP while in class. Matt Murdock is a guest speaker in her class. All of a sudden, Mary flips out and jumps out of the window. (Needless to say, she isn't cut to shreds by the glass.) Murdock runs into a storage room and changes into Daredevil and leaves the school building to check on the girl. Just how careless is Murdock with his secret i.d.? I mean, come on, does he really think people will be so stup1d that they won't wonder that Daredevil just happens to be at the same school that Matt Murdock is speaking at - that Murdock disappears just when DD appears? Why bother having a secret i.d. if you're going to be that careless with it?

Mary O'Koren, to state the obvious, needs medical attention. Rather than wait the 15 minutes it may take for an ambulance to arrive, Daredevil picks up the girl and runs her to the hospital. As he runs to the hospital, he thinks to himself, "I can feel her shattered ribs...her crushed vertebrae...I can hear her heartbeat slowing...stopping..." Once at the hospital, Mary dies on the operating table. Yeah, no wonder. Some damned fool was jostling her body while running her to the hospital. Hey, DD! For future references, if someone has injuries that are that bad, leave them on the ground! Odds are that even if she hadn't died on the operating table, bouncing up and down in your arms would have made a permanent cripple. And unlike you, at least the paramedics in the ambulance could have started work on saving her life. Daredevil running with her in his arms probably did further damage to her internal organs, thus further endangering her life. (I love that after the girl has died, DD asks the doctor, "What can I do to help?" If I were the doctor, I'd tell Daredevil to never move someone who has severe internal injuries.)

And just how close was that hospital that running there would have been faster? Across the street? Instead of taking the girl there, I'd've brought a doctor to her.

Mary's brother shows up at the hospital. DD calls him by name. That radar sense of his must have granted him clairvoyance. From what I can tell, Daredevil has never been introduced to Billy O'Koren.

To find the Hogman, the man who sold Mary the PCP, DD puts on a great disguise: a cap, a jacket, a pair of pants and shoes. All while still wearing his superhero costume, the mask which is still visible below the cap. Nope. No one'll ever recognize you, Hornhead.

Excelsior!

Daredevil #184

While fighting the Punisher on a rooftop, Punny shoots a brick chimney, causing it to collapse and bury DD under an almost literal ton of bricks. Hornhead emerges from underneath the rubble relatively unscathed. Even his costume is still in near mint condition. (Must've been mercy bricks.)

Excelsior!

For those who want to look at the first issue of Daredevil: Father the complete issue is online at http://www.milehighcomics.com/firstlook/marvel/

I took one glance at the thumbnails & thought, "What a waste". The 1st 3 pages were full-pagers, followed by 3 double-pagers, with 2 more full-pagers later on, all in a 26 page story.

I have nothing against the occasional use of a full or double-page spread (Mike Grell's two-page spreads in Warlord being a particular favorite), but come on. Comics have a limited number of pages in which to tell a story. Sometimes a full or two page panel can serve a dramatic purpose or it can be filled with details that would otherwise be lost in a smaller drawing & sometimes it can be fun just to see what an artist can do on a big canvas. However too many of these things is either a sign that there wasn't much of a story to begin with, or that the artist is a raving egomanic.

Foggy thinks Maggie Farrel is cute??? Either he has a completely different standard of beauty or we're supposed to ignore the bad drawings.

What is with the purple fog on pg 15 - 18 & 20? Did Quesada just get lazy & not want to draw in details & backgrounds, or is this just a problem in scanning the images?

Gotta throw in my two quarters worth (inflation being what it is): I'm not impressed. I've never read much of anything drawn or written by Joe Quesada. And now that I have, I just don't get what all the fuss is about. He's okay as a writer and artist, but nothing special to me. But that's just my opinion. I won't be getting this issue, and I won't miss it, either.

Excelsior!

From Chuck Rozanski's Mile High Comics mailing
"Even though the huge number of downloads we experienced on DAREDEVIL: FATHER #1 utilized a fair amount of our outbound Internet capability, we still have plenty more to spare. With the eight megs of outbound pipe that we keep in reserve at all times, I believe we can easily support upwards of 1,000 fans simultaneously downloading color comics pages through our T-6 line. With that amount of huge outbound capacity available, we don't mind at all if other retailers, or fan sites, link into our advance pages of Marvel comics. It would be nice, however, if you at least mentioned somewhere on your site that we're voluntarily covering all the costs of this program as a public service..."

Daredevil #26

While fighting the Stilt-Man, DD says, "Ever try wishing on a star? It did wonders for Snow White." Uhhh, wasn't that Pinocchio?

(And yes, I have started reading Essential Daredevil Volume 2. Be prepared.)

"Let's level with Daredevil!"

I just thought of this: I don't remember if it's been established in the series as of #26, but later issues definitely have established that DD can identify people by the sounds of their heartbeat (each heart having a different rhythm). I bring this up because #26 is the issue where the identity of the Masked Marauder is revealed. He's Frank Farnham, Murdock and Nelson's landlord. Shouldn't Matt have previously recognized Farnham as the Marauder by his heartbeat?

"Let's level with Daredevil!"

In Frank Farnum's (I believe it's Farnum, not Farnham) first appearance, he is called "Mr. Dunn." I forget what comic it was though--somebody wanna help?

Yeah, it is "Farnum". I should've looked it up. I was going to correct myself in my next post here, but you beat me to it. In #26, DD does recognize the Masked Marauder as Farnum - finally! There are more nits to be picked with that issue, but I'll get 'em later. Right now, I've gotta get ready to head out for a bit.

Let's level with Daredevil!

DD can identify people by the sounds of their heartbeat (each heart having a different rhythm). - Benn
Really? Wouldn't the fact that a person's heart can beat faster or slower because of stress, or rest, etc., change the rhythm?

Yeah, that's kinda bothered me, too. But hey, I'm not the one who established that. Stan the Man was the one. If I'm not mistaken, it's still an ability DD is said to have.

Let's level with Daredevil! (For those who don't know, this was the title of the letters pages for Daredevil back in the day.)

Daredevil #27

So, Frank Farnum, the Masked Marauder, has invented a force shield that disintegrates anything it touches. Why is this guy turning to a life of crime? Sell the patent on your invention and strike it rich! I swear, some of these supervillains who create these science wonders should simply make their fortunes off their inventions rather than theft. Be a lot safer.

Matt, Karen Page and Foggy are captured by the Masked Marauder and the Stilt-Man and loaded onto a helicopter. Matt pretends to be shot and falls out of the helicopter in order to change into Daredevil. (He hooked a leg on one of the landing struts.) Once back in the cabin of the chopper, DD explains that he had hitched a ride on the copter and was waiting to make an entrance. The only problem is why didn't the Stilt-Man see Daredevil when Stilty left the chopper?

DD explains away the safety of his alter-ego by saying that he "lowered" Matt to a rooftop. From a moving helicopter? Not without Matt going splat. To accomplish that feat, Horn-Head would have to plan it three or four blocks in advance. By the time one could lower a body in a moving helicopter to a roof, the roof would be three or four blocks behind you. At least.

This is also the issue where DD finally realizes that Farnum is the Masked Marauder. (By his heartbeat. I know. I know.)

Let's level with Daredevil!

I've just thought of something. Here's Matt Murdock, hanging on to the strut of a helicopter, changing clothes. Where'd he put his civilian clothing? On the underside of the copter? Supposed someone finds them? Karen: "Hey, those are Matt's clothes! I thought you said you let him down on a roof. Did you leave him there naked?!"

Or did he let the clothes fall down to the ground? If so, while I'm sure Matt Murdock, Mr. Big Shot defense lawyer, can afford to lose his expensive clothes, you've got to wonder about the money and credit cards in his wallet. Not to mention his i.d. Yet Matt seems to be completely unconcerned about these things. I'm hoping it's because he stuffed his wallet somewhere in his DD spandex outfit. Kind of doubt it, but one can hope for Horn-Head's sake.

Let's level with Daredevil!

I love Farnum. He invents the destructo-beam, the opti-blast, and a levitation machine...and he's working as a manager for a crummy building that houses one legal firm.

I would hope he had other holdings. Otherwise, where's he getting the money to build all of those "wonderful toys"? Not to mention how it's a helluva of a coincidence that the one building Farnum manages just happens to be the law office of the secret identity of his arch-nemesis, Daredevil. What are the odds?

Let's level with Daredevil!

Daredevil #28

In the first panel of page 3, Matt Murdock is putting on his Daredevil outfit. It looks like he's pulling the mask down while he still has his glasses on. Wouldn't that created a rather strange bulge under the mask?

DD hops on a hansom cab that Foggy and Karen are riding on. He tells the driver he'll pay double the fare for jumping on the buggy. Yeah, with what? It doesn't look Horn-Head is carrying his wallet on him anywhere.

I love it. Matt's been invited to some college to give a lecture on aliens - the outer space kind. Matt's a lawyer. What real connection does he have to aliens from another world? Murdock does claim that there'd be a lot of legal problems should a UFO land. Problems like "Do they pay taxes? Can they be drafted? Should they receive diplomatic immunity?" Kind of ridiculous because the aliens would not be citizens of any nation on Earth, so how could our laws be legally binding to them? Very weak.

Let's level with Daredevil!

The diplomatic immunity question is a possibility. However I think the taxes one would only work if they established a business or did some kind of work here.

As for whether our laws would be binding to an alien on Earth. Yes. If you go to another country you are not allowed to break the laws of that country or you will be arrested and charged with a crime by their police.

As for villains making money from patenting their inventions. Possibly, but IIRC Patent protection only lasts for 14 years or some really short period of time. After that other businesses could make copies of the product without having to pay the inventor.

Yeah, but I still think given how prolific some of these supervillains are at inventing things, they could probably keep themselves in the black a lot more easily and safely than turning to a life of crime.

Let's level with Daredevil!

Daredevil #29

At this point in the series, Matt Murdock has invented a twin brother, Mike Murdock. It's Mike who is supposed to be Daredevil - at least as far as Karen and Foggy are concerned. Personally, I find this a bit problematic because it gets so convoluted that eventually somebody should have figured out that DD and Mike and Matt are the same person. (You never see Mike and Matt in the same room together. Hint, hint.)

Anyway, that's not the point of this nit. Karen's been kidnapped by some gangsters who are looking to take over the (late) Masked Marauder's territory. (MM would be resurrected some years later, though.) In order to sneak into the gang's hideout, Matt pretends to be blind and impersonating Daredevil. (Well, he is blind. But he's pretending to be blind without his radar sense.) In other words, DD is really "Mike Murdock"(supposedly), but he's now being impersonatd by blind "Matt Murdock" to infiltrate the gang's hideout. Anyhow, when Matt is captured, the gang removes the Daredevil mask from Murdock's head. Underneath we see that Matt has his blind man's glasses on. Wouldn't those shades create a rather weird bulge under the mask? (And haven't I mentioned that one before?)

Let's level with Daredevil!

So Matt pretends to be Mike who is Daredevil, by pretending to be blind without his radar sense? What good is that going to achieve? Is he so afraid of his secret ID that he is willing to face his enemies with a serious disadvantage? What if Karen's life is endangered because of this not-intelligent tactic?

Well, to begin with, Matt thinks Karen's in trouble because the hoods have somehow learned how he feels about Karen. (Actually, they're carrying out the Masked Marauder's last orders. He believed that either Foggy or Karen know who DD is. So they hope that by kidnapping Karen, they can get DD to come to them. And no, I have no idea why "the Boss", the guy who is trying to take over MM's territory, is carrying out the Marauder's last mandate. Unless the Boss thinks it'll get rid of Horn-Head.)

Anyhow, DD figures there must a "dozen armed hoods" waiting to ambush him in the mansion they're hiding out in. He thinks that by pretending to be blind, they won't suspect he really is Daredevil and it'll be a way for him to get in the house so he can attack them from the inside. The only trouble is, once the criminals find out he's blind, odds are they won't just tie him up. They'd shoot him.

BTW, his explanation to the gangsters is "I thought...if I could impersonate (Daredevil)...get you to shoot me first..then you'd think he was finished...and you wouldn't be expecting him." Why the Boss and his men didn't shoot Murdock anyway is beyond me. I would have.

Let's level with Daredevil!

Daredevil #30

The team of Cobra and Mr. Hyde are engaged in a series of robberies througout New York. When Matt learns of it, he decides it's time for Daredevil to step in and take on the two. (Where are all the other superheroes in New York?) To find Mr. Hyde, Murdock concocts another hare-brained scheme. This time he goes to a costume store and rents a Thor costume. (Because Hyde and the Cobra fought Thor previously [and were defeated by the Thunder God, too].) The idea is that if Thor is flying around the city, it might draw the gruesome twosome out of hyding, er, hiding.

Now, first of all, Murdock does not have Thor's build. This is allegedly compensated by the "flesh colored plastic" on his arms (which should look fake as hell, since it was bought as a common costume shop and not created by one of the numerous miracle workers in the Marvel U who regularly create masks and costumes that realistic mimic human flesh). The hammer is also plastic and wouldn't pass any close inspections.

But then there's the mask. Yep. Murdock's wearing a flesh colored mask. See, I thought the Thor outfit would come with a long blonde wig and one just had one's on face showing beneath it. Nope. There's a mask. (That moves as if it were another layer of skin. Where do they get masks like that?)
Underneath that mask, Murdock is wearing his Mike Murdoch sunglasses. One more time: Wouldn't this create a weird bulge beneath the mask? It does solve (kinda) the problem of Thor's eyes looking like a blind man's eyes. On the other hand, the eyes are going to look red from the sunglasses. (I presume Mike wore red tinted glasses.)

To mimic Thor's flight, Murdock holds his billy club (which contains a grappling line) against the handle of the hammer and shoots the line out from the billy club to swing through the city. First of all, as page 6, panel six shows, the grappling line will have the go around the top of the hammer. I'm not convinced that it would so conveniently detour around the hammer. Moreover, I think it would also throw DD's aim off, because he'd have to continuously adjust for the refraction of the line. Plus, there are no guarantees that line will go in the desired direction. It's entirely possible that it will be misdirected because of the obstacle it has circumvent. (Actually, given the force with which the line is shot, it'd probably go right through the plastic hammer.) Finally swinging from building to building will probably not look the same as flying. Swinging will involve DD moving in an arc. Thor would normally be flying in a straight line.

Donald Blake, the real Thor, hears of the imposter Thor roaming the city. Blake had intended to stay late in his office to run some "pathological lab tests", but decides to investigate. Keep this in mind. It's important later.

As Thor flies through the city, he says, "Fly, Mighty Mjolinar!" Uh, no. That's "Mjolnir".

It doesn't take long for Thor to find "Thor". And when he does, of course, the Thunder God starts to fight his impersonator. (Why bother asking why someone is wearing a Thor costume when you stomp them into the ground first?) To find out who's impersonating him, Thor whips up a mini-tornado to rip the costume off of DD. Fortunately, the red spandex stayed on. (How a tornado just removes clothes instead of body parts, I'll never know.) Incidentally, all of a sudden, Murdock is not wearing glasses underneath the Thor face mask. What happened to them?

So, after revealing that Daredevil was impersonating Thor, the Thunder God learns that it was done to draw out the Cobra and Mr. Hyde, two of Thor's old enemies. What does Thor do? He basically tells DD he's crazy, he wouldn't stand a chance and then starts to fight DD to show how badly he would fare against the two supervillains. Admittedly, he only uses a fraction of his powers against Hornhead, but Thor still beats him. Yet, even though he beat DD, even though he knows how tough the Cobra and Mr. Hyde are, Thor grants DD permission to go after the two villains. (What? You have to have a fellow superhero's permission to fight one of their adversaries? "Excuse me, Spider-Man, but we ran out of people to fight this week, could the FF take on Doc Ock? Just one round?") What gets me is that Thor doesn't volunteer to help Daredevil fight the gruesome twosome. He says he has "matters of greater urgency" to attend to. Lab tests* are more important than stopping a couple of supervillains? Ones that could probably kill someone like DD?!

The only catch is, Murdock can't wear the Thor outfit no more. (Does the Thunder God go around town telling every schmuck who wears one of those costumes to "Desist, or verily I shall strike thee down"?)

Amazingly, Hyde and the Cobra happen to be nearby when Thor and DD part. After Thor leaves, they attack DD. (A rather prudent act on their part. Wait 'til the real powerhouse leaves.) In the fight, they lead Hornhead to their hideout (One of them anyway. A later issue will reveal that they have at least one other.) In the hideout, Hyde concocts a brew that will render DD (or anyone, really) blind. Why does Hyde have to make a special potion? There are any number of liquids that if poured into one's eyes will render them sightless.

The only thing to potion does, btw, is deactivates DD's radar sense, so now he is completely blind. (Why it affected the radar sense is beyond me. Plot convenience, I guess.)

*I told you to remember that.

Let's level with Daredevil!

Mister Hyde and the Cobra? No offense, but two guys that Captain America could drop in a few pages of Gruenwald could kill Daredevil? Then again, I'm sure they could beat up the Matador, the Stilt Man, and Leap Frog...

I don't want to sound kvetchy or anything because I like this two-parter, but it's really melodramatic in the beginning.

Mister Hyde and the Cobra? No offense, but two guys that Captain America could drop in a few pages of Gruenwald could kill Daredevil? - Mike C

Yeah, well, even earlier than that. Back in the Gerry Conway day, (Captain America and the Falcon #152), I think Cap easily took Mr. Hyde out. (I think I've read that issue before. The cover does look familiar. I may have to get a copy. I may be lying and not know it.) IIRC, at some point, it was established that Hyde had a "glass jaw". One punch on the chin and he's out like a light.

Still, I suspect that when Hyde and Cobra fought Thor, they gave Goldilocks a run for his money. If so, then you'd think that the Thunder God would worry that someone he could take out so easily (Daredevil) would get slaughtered by the gruesome twosome (as I call them). At any rate, the odds of two against one should also disturb Thor. Yet, he brushes it off and thinks nothing of it.

I don't want to sound kvetchy or anything because I like this two-parter, but it's really melodramatic in the beginning. - MikeC

Three-parter, actually. The story ended with #32. And yeah, despite how iffy the whole premise is, I really did enjoy it overall.

Let's level with Daredevil!

Where are all the other superheroes in New York?
Perhaps the biggest nit in most Marvel comics. ;-) Frankly given that all Marvel's heroes in the '60s were based in New York I'm surprised most criminals didn't just move to other cities. By the mid-60s the Marvel Universe's New York should have been the safest city in the world. ;-)

Swinging will involve DD moving in an arc. Thor would normally be flying in a straight line.
Well, straighter than swinging on a line. IIRC Thor doesn't fly, but throws his hammer with such force that it pulls him along behind it. Therefore it too should have an arc to it just like any thrown object.

The only catch is, Murdock can't wear the Thor outfit no more. (Does the Thunder God go around town telling every schmuck who wears one of those
costumes to "Desist, or verily I shall strike thee down"?)
Should have done what Batman did & have a law passed saying no one else can dress like him. ;-)

I wonder if Garret Morris had to get special permission from Thor to dress like him in Marvel Team-Up #74?

A tad off-topic, but Mile High Comics has Captain America #29 up for previewing. In it, Cap takes on Mr. Hyde again. Interesting coincidence, eh? SPOILER (Highlight to read it, if you want): He beats Hyde by page 4.

Let's level with Daredevil!

Daredevil #31

On the first page, DD says, "I've always been blind." No you haven't. Matt lost his eyesight when he was a boy, probably no more than ten or eleven years of age. But he hasn't "always" been blind.

Throughout this issue, DD stumbles around everywhere. I kept wondering why, oh why, doesn't he take his billy clubs and put them back together to create the blind man's cane they double as? Might not have been more heroic, but it certainly would have been more practical and safer.

Of all the boneheaded ideas. When returning to his civilian guise to go to his law offices, does Murdock become blind Matt Murdock? Nope. He chooses the guise of Mike, the one who has sight (allegedly). And pretends that Mike has suddenly lost his eyesight. This is stup1d, as it should arouse suspicions about who Daredevil really is. Mike tries to palm off the blindness as "a weakness in the eyes" the Murdocks were born with. Except, I would think Foggy, who has been friends with Matt since college, IIRC, would most likely know how Matt lost his eyesight.

Let's level with Daredevil!

Daredevil #141

Daredevil and Bullseye fight along the dockyards and end up in the river. When Daredevil gets out of the water, he seems to dry off very quickly.

So does Bullseye. He dries off quickly enough to take some cardboard and make a paper airplane out of it. I defy anyone to make a working paper airplane if they're soaking wet.

On pages 23, 27, 30 and 31, the white target grid on Bullseye head is lower (closer to his eyes) than on the other pages showing Bullsy. But that's because Bob Brown drew those pages. The others were drawn by Gil Kane.

That paper airplane Bullseye made was used to knock Daredevil out. (Something about hitting a vulnerable nerve center on DD's temple.) Hornhead fell face first in the water. Does Bullseye do the sensible thing and let DD drown? Of course not. Somebody send Bullseye to the Scott Evil School of Supervillainry! In a few minutes, Daredevil would have drowned in the water. But rather than go with the sure thing, Bullsy retrieves DD's body and then ties Hornhead to a giant arrow. (What is this? A Bill Finger comic?) The idea is that Bullseye is going to shoot Daredevil into the New Jersey Palisade. (Bullsy was going for a spectacular death. He'll have to settle for silly, if you ask me.)

Where did Bullseye get this huge crossbow and arrow set? How'd he get it set up on the New York shoreline? The string on the bow does not seem to be pulled back far enough to send DD very far. My guess is that the arrow would just fall into the ocean. (Or is it the Hudson River? I know virtually nothing about the geography of that area.) If such is the case, then DD would drown. Well...he was gonna do that earlier...

On page 30, talking cryptically about his plan to shoot DD on an arrow (before we learn that's what he's gonna do), Bullseye says the "publicity can do an extortionist (emphasis in original comic) like me a world of good." "Extortionist"? I thought Bullseye was an assassin.

The number of rings in Bullseye's white target on his head changes. Bob Brown tends to draw three. Kane drew two.

Let's level with Daredevil!

Daredevil #165

On page 2, we have a scene set in Josie's bar, where the well-connected criminal element gather. (If these people were smart, Josie's would no longer be their hang out, and DD would have to go elsewhere to find his info.) Anyway, in panel two we see a pool game in progress. The pool table is surrounded by darkness with only a six foot halo of light illuminating the scene. In panel four, from out of the darkness, one of Daredevil's hands reaches out and stops the cue ball from hitting the eight ball. Only his hand is visible. It's a cool touch, but not possible. Not unless DD has an six or seven foot reach.

In this issue some adamantium has been hijacked from a Philedelphia plant. On the docks, some men are loading the crates with the metal onto a truck. Given that adamantium is "a thousand times harder (than diamonds)", how heavy is it? On page 14, we see the crates (which look to be about 5' by 3' or thereabouts) being loaded by two men each. Shouldn't they be using forklifts to load these crates? Or is adamantium a miraculously lightweight metal?

Doc Ock steals the shipment, takes it to Glenn Industries and constructs a new set of tenacles out of adamantium. All in a matter of hours. You mean Glenn Industries is already set up to make tenacles for Doc Ock? Wow. You'd think it would take weeks to set up the proper machinery to manufacture the arms. Not to mention to process the adamantium.

While Daredevil is fighting Ock, Heather Glenn, who had been kidnapped by Otto, frees herself with a piece of broken glass. She then takes a piece and cuts Otto's face with it. Maybe not necessarily, but you'd think Doc Ock's face would now have a scar from that. Then again, his face doesn't seem to be bleeding, even though he did say she cut him...

Let's level with Daredevil!

Daredevil #185 (revisited)

Aren't blindman glasses red-lensed? If so, then why are Matt's blue-lensed throughout this issue?

After DD takes Mary O'Koren to the hospital, she dies on the operating table. The doctor diagnoses her death as being caused in part by the Angel Dust in her system. He says he's positive because he's seen the symptoms before. Um, shouldn't a toxicological exam be done to determine that there was indeed PCP in her system before saying so? Then again, what symptoms has he seen?

Mary's brother, Billy, vows revenge on the people who sold Mary the drug. DD says, "Billy, wait! ...You can't take the law into your own hands." Talk about hypocrital.

Does DD have a healing factor? The Punisher shoots a trank dart into Hornhead, yet the Man Without Fear is able to perform cardiac massage on a junkie the Punisher has half beaten to death. All before passing out from the effect of the traquilizer dart.

Let's level with Daredevil!

Benn: Daredevil and Bullseye fight along the dockyards and end up in the river. When Daredevil gets out of the water, he seems to dry off very quickly. So does Bullseye.
Luigi Novi: See, this is why I opined the other night that nitpicking comics is largely pointless. Artists almost never render people coming out of water as soaking wet. If someone falls into water, they might show their hair going limp to denote that it’s wet, but that’s it. Most artists do not spend a lot of time denoting surface texture, so showing the light reflections of the water on their bodies when they come of the water almost never appears.

Benn: That paper airplane Bullseye made was used to knock Daredevil out. (Something about hitting a vulnerable nerve center on DD's temple.)
Luigi Novi: Shouldn’t that be a nit in itself?

Benn: The number of rings in Bullseye's white target on his head changes.
Luigi Novi: Yeah, specifically, that a villain would have a target on his head.

Benn: Aren't blindman glasses red-lensed? If so, then why are Matt's blue-lensed throughout this issue?
Luigi Novi: I’ve never seen blind people with red lenses. They’re always black.

Benn: After DD takes Mary O'Koren to the hospital, she dies on the operating table. The doctor diagnoses her death as being caused in part by the Angel Dust in her system. He says he's positive because he's seen the symptoms before. Um, shouldn't a toxicological exam be done to determine that there was indeed PCP in her system before saying so?
Luigi Novi: You say she dies on the operating table. Is it the OR doc who says this? If so, that’s a nit in itself, since the Medical Examiner should make this determination after an autopsy.

Benn: Mary's brother, Billy, vows revenge on the people who sold Mary the drug. DD says, "Billy, wait! ...You can't take the law into your own hands." Talk about hypocrital.
Luigi Novi: I believe “taking the law into your own hands” refers to taking the place of the jury, not the cops, which is what Batman, Spidey and DD do. They do not meet out punishment, they only capture criminals.

"blindman glasses" are worn to avoid the appearance of a "blank stare". Thus, they may be whatever the wearer desires them to be.

"Cyclops" glasses are red J

Luigi Novi: See, this is why I opined the other night that nitpicking comics is largely pointless. Artists almost never render people coming out of water as soaking wet. If someone falls into water, they might show their hair going limp to denote that it’s wet, but that’s it. Most artists do not spend a lot of time denoting surface texture, so showing the light reflections of the water on their bodies when they come of the water almost never appears. - LUIGI NOVI

Except to me, this analogous to the nit in Casablanca where (in a flashback) Rick is reading a letter from Ilsa in the rain and is drenched. But in the next shot where he is boarding the train, not only is Rick dry, but it is no longer raining. To me, most nits I pick in comics are analogous to the nits to be picked in a movie or TV show. What you see as a pointless pursuit, I see as simply having fun with it. Of course, I also grew with the whole No-Prize concept. This for me is an extension of it. You don't like it or wish to participate, fine.

But getting back to the wet-not wet Daredevil nit - of course they don't alway draw the texture lines. Comics printing hasn't always been conducive to that. That's a given. But on the other hand, a puddle of water can be drawn underneath DD. Lines indicating drops of water falling can be drawn. No texture lines are needed.

Again, if you're not interested, that's fine. But I'll go along my merry with it and have fun with it. Comes down to it, ALL nitpicking - the very raison d'etre for this website - is pointless. To each, as always, his own.

Benn: That paper airplane Bullseye made was used to knock Daredevil out. (Something about hitting a vulnerable nerve center on DD's temple.) - me
Luigi Novi: Shouldn’t that be a nit in itself?

Yeah, probably. But I'm willing to go along with the psuedo-mystical b.s. about martial artists knowing nerve centers that no one knows that can render someone unconscious. It's b.s. It's a nit. But to me it's a "gimme". But at the same time, the way I phrased it ("Something about hitting a vulnerable nerve center...") should tell you I have little faith in the concept.

Luigi Novi: You say she dies on the operating table. Is it the OR doc who says this? If so, that’s a nit in itself, since the Medical Examiner should make this determination after an autopsy.

It isn't specified whether this is the OR doctor or not. But uh, the whole bit about the toxicological report is what I was getting at - this doctor shouldn't be making this assessment based on "symptoms". I picked that nit, in other words.

Luigi Novi: I believe “taking the law into your own hands” refers to taking the place of the jury, not the cops, which is what Batman, Spidey and DD do. They do not meet out punishment, they only capture criminals.a

Um, yeah. I guess that's one interpretation. But given that over the years, the Avengers, Batman, Superman (I think) and a few other characters have been "deputized"; made into quasi-official law enforcement agents, the general feeling I get is that the costumed superhero types are vigilantes. (See just about any rant by J. Jonah Jameson.) Even if they are not meting out the punishment for evil-doers, they are acting in the capacity of law enforcement officers, more often than not violating every due process law in the book. I stand by the hypocritical comment.

"blindman glasses" are worn to avoid the appearance of a "blank stare". Thus, they may be whatever the wearer desires them to be. - ScottN

I wasn't sure about that. For some reason, I thought the traditional color was red. My bad.

Let's level with Daredevil!

I grew up with the No-Prize too, Benn. And by "pointless", I wasn't trying to poo-poo your decision to nitpick comics, which is specifically why I included the smiley. Merely explaining why I feel that nitpicking most mainstream "corporate" comics is untenable, IMO.

Luigi Novi: Yeah, specifically, that a villain would have a target on his head.
Probably his least vulnerable point. ;-) People usually don't become crooks because they're genyusses. ;-)

ScottN - "blindman glasses" are worn to avoid the appearance of a "blank stare". Thus, they may be whatever the wearer desires them to be.
But if they're blind how do they know what color they are? ;-)

Ben - over the years, the Avengers, Batman, Superman (I think) and a few other characters have been "deputized"; made into quasi-official law enforcement agents, the general feeling I get is that the costumed superhero types are vigilantes.
If they have an official backing then how can they be vigilantes? Vigilante generally refers to someone who has no legal law-enforcement authority.

I should have said, "Otherwise, the general feeling I get is that the costumed superhero types are considered vigilantes." Does that make more sense?

\i[Thwippp!}

Yes.

Daredevil 32

The Cobra, having knocked Foggy out, captures the radar sightless Daredevil. He escorts DD to a car that Mr. Hyde is driving. Cobra urges Hyde to do the sensible thing and kill Daredevil now. For some reason, Mr. Hyde wants to wait. He wants to plan a "fitting revenge". Killing the Man Without Fear is probably the most fitting revenge I can think of. In the immortal words of Scott Evil, "Kill 'im now!"

DD is, of course, relieved that his life is being spared for now. More importantly that Hyde is taking them to his newest laboratory. There he hopes to find an antidote for the chemicals that took away his radar sense. Now, ignoring the fact that Hyde and the Cobra could have used any number of chemicals to induce blindness, the fact that Hyde has created a formula to blind people can only mean one thing: He wants them to lose their eyesight. Why would Hyde make an antidote for that?

The new laboratory is in an abandoned lighthouse. While the two villains bicker, DD manages to stumble around until he finds a door that has a humming noise coming from the other side. Turns out it's the generator room. Hornhead goes in and turns off the generator. Were the Cobra and Mr. Hyde really that caught up in their argument that they failed to notice a blind man stumbling around?

Somehow, in the dark, Mr. Hyde is able to find the bottle which holds the antidote. How can he be sure the bottle he holds is the correct one? There is nothing special about its shape or size. Nor can Hyde be sure he's picking up a bottle off the right shelf. Without the lights, Hyde should have no idea what bottle he has.

Mr. Hyde throws a punch at DD with the antidote bottle in his hand. Daredevil hits Hyde's hand, making him drop the bottle. Good thing the bottle didn't break when it hit the ground.

The bottle should be just about at DD's feet. Why doesn't he drop down and grope for it? Instead, when Hyde starts trashing the interior of the lighthouse, DD decides to start fighting him again. Find. The. Bottle. First.

The Cobra accidentally hits Hyde on the head. This angers the muscle bound villain and he starts to fight his partner. At one point, the Cobra gets his hands on the bottle. Then Hyde pounces on him, causing the bottle to fly out of Cobra's hand. Despite the fact that the art clearly shows the bottle flying through the air, Cobra says, "I dropped it!"

What is that bottle made of? This is the second time it's hit the floor of the lighthouse. And it's still intact. I guarantee no bottles of beer I throw or drop violently will remain intact like that.

When DD finally gets ahold of the antidote, he drinks it. That's pretty dangerous. When he was blinded by Hyde's chemical, the chemical was splashed on his face. Why would the antidote be taken internally when the cause of blindness was applied externally?

After taking the antidote, DD's radar sense is back and he's able to fight Hyde and the Cobra successfully in the dark. Shouldn't the two villains wonder how he's able to do so?

On the last page, a police helicopter arrives. Why? Did it come out to check on the lighthouse? There's nothing to indicate why the chopper goes to the lighthouse.

Shouldn't the cops also wonder how DD was able to take on Hyde and the Cobra in the dark?

"Let's level with Daredevil!"

#1
*It is an interesting conceit, but when you stop and think of it, Matt Murdock becoming Daredevil purely to rationalize keeping his promise to his dad never to use force as Matt is kind of bonkers. Come to think of it, Matt engages in all kinds of irrational behavior throughout these early issues.

*Daredevil tells the Fixer's goons to leave, saying he's only interested in Slade and the Fixer. How does he know Slade's name? Nobody has said it while DD is in the room. Does he just look like a Slade?

#2
*I don't mean to be non-PC, but how does everyone expect the blind Matt Murdock to "take a look around" the Baxter Building?

*Electro says that the FF will think Daredevil has stolen their rocket. Uh, where would they get that idea? I guess he's referring to the security camera footage.

*And speaking of said rocket--what a great idea. Launch DD into space in a manned rocket. That's like the old "plane about to crash" wheeze that you see all the time in B-movies.

*Apparently Reed changes his mind about hiring Murdock--as issues of the FF make clear later, Matt is still the FF's lawyer.

As time went on Daredevil became a fairly nutty comic. I mean, people who say Spider-Man was a soap opera have obviously never read Daredevil from issue 21 on. If the Mike Murdock thing wasn't crazy enough, how about killing Mike Murdock off, then killing Matt Murdock off, then bringing Matt back...and aaaaaagh!

And the plots: It's like every pathetic goober on the planet is touted as a major player and then casually disposed off in the last panel. Crime Wave, a no-account bad guy, gets about four or five issues devoted to him before being unmasked as a character we have met in just one panel before.

Essential Daredevil 3 is just weird like that; there's something off-putting (not bad, just off-putting) about a book in which Stilt Man is the most well known villain. Anyone remember Stuntmaster, Death's Head, the Smasher, the Tribune, the Torpedo, Brother Brimstone?

Starr Saxon pops up and actually has a fairly interesting plot in which he figures out that DD is Matt Murdock. Unfortunately, Saxon is written in a strange manner: he starts off as a mad scientist, almost like Spencer Smythe (and he looks like him too). He then becomes someone who continually talks in movie metaphors. He then, for no apparent reason, kills the original Mr. Fear and impersonates him...and then dies. Until he comes back as Machinesmith. Saxon-as-Mr.-Fear is a convenient way to get rid of a pesty villain, but it's so out of character that even Saxon remarks on it in an issue of Captain America.

#26: Not a nit, but I can't stop laughing everytime I read Stilt Man telling Leap-Frog, "We could have been an unbeatable team!" THESE two guys? The kicker is that they do team up, along with fellow goober the Matador, slightly less goobery the Gladiator, and, okay, capable baddie Electro to become the Emmisaries of Evil and get thrashed by DD.