Marvel 1975.01 - Daredevil #117

Daredevil #117

Title: Mindtap!

Writer: Steve Gerber, Chris Claremont

Artist: Bob Brown

Villain: Owl

Regulars: Black Widow, Ivan,  Foggy Nelson, Candace Nelson

Guests: Shanna the She-Devil

Beginning today, I intend to write about Daredevil's comics. I'll start in January 1975, where I left off, and I'll continue until 1977.

A few words about Daredevil, the comic and the character. Most of his fans connect him with Frank Miller, who drew the comic from Daredevil #158 onwards and also wrote the comic from Daredevil #165 onwards. These were wonderful stories, but rather than continuing from what went before Frank Miller sent Daredevil in a different direction. Sometimes it's said that he rebooted the series, but that's not quite true. He didn't give Daredevil a new origin, he just added things that hadn't been told before. It was like taking a mosaic and filling in the cracks.

What was most different about Frank Miller's Daredevil was the change in attitude. Stan Lee created Daredevil as a joking, care-free character. Frank Miller made him more serious, through new experiences. He became a dark knight, a parallel to DC's Batman. Was that an improvement? It's difficult to give a direct answer. The early Stan Lee (1 to 50) and Roy Thomas (51 to 71) issues are masterpieces. Then Gerry Conway took over and lost track (72 to 99). I was glad when he left the series. Steve Gerber was a slight improvement (100 to 117). Tony Isabella wrote some good issues (119 to 123), but he didn't stay long enough to leave a mark. Marv Wolfman (124 to 143) was the first writer since Roy Thomas to bring life back into the series. He had a feeling for the character. But he left, and something had to be done. That's when Frank Miller stepped in. He was the right man for the series at the right time.

I'll only review the pre-Miller stories for now, but I might come back to the Miller stories later. Time will tell.

The Owl captured Daredevil and Black Widow in Daredevil #116. Now he has them both chained to slabs. Daredevil is unconscious, and he's connected to a machine which will steal his brain and leave his body an inanimate shell. That's ridiculous! But it's in character with the Owl. He could easily have killed Daredevil by shooting him or chopping his head off, but instead of this he uses a machine which must have cost millions to develop. Most significantly, it's slow. Black Widow escapes from her chains and knocks out all of the Owl's henchmen. The Own holds a gun to Daredevil's head and says he'll shoot him if he doesn't do a small errand for him.

The errand is to break into a penthouse and kidnap a woman. And Natasha really agreed to it? The Owl tells her it's an easy job, but he's wrong. The woman is Dr. Shanna O'Hara, but she isn't a weak little scientist, she's Shanna the She-Devil. After a brief fight Black Widow explains what's happening. Shanna pretends to be unconscious, and Black Widow carries her back to the Owl.

Now it's time for the Owl to fulfil his end of the bargain, but guess what? He refuses to free Daredevil. Does that surprise anyone? Daredevil regains consciousness, and Shanna frees him by snapping his chains. She has super-strength, remember? The Owl flees, gliding over the rooftops, but Daredevil pursues him. Daredevil knocks him out and hands him over to the police.

Daredevil still wants Natasha to join him in New York, but she says she's an independent woman and she'll stay in San Francisco. I don't get it. When she had money, Daredevil gladly lived in her house for free. Now that she's broke, she refuses to live in his house for free, even though he's offered it.

This is Steve Gerber's last issue. In the letters page Roy Thomas says that Steve regrets leaving the comic. If that's the case, why is he going? He's moving on to other things, but he could have stayed where he was.