Marvel 1975.07 - Daredevil #123

Daredevil #123

Title: Holocaust in the Halls of Hydra!

Writer: Tony Isabella

Artist: Bob Brown

Villain: Hydra, Silvermane, Blackwing, El Jaguar, Man-Killer, Dreadnought, Mentallo, Jackhammer

Regulars: Black Widow, Ivan, Foggy Nelson

Guests: Nick Fury, Dum Dum Dugan, Countess Valentina

Flashbacks: Circus of Crime (Ringmaster, Princess Python, Great Gambonnos)

This is a very different Hydra to the group that was invented by Stan Lee in the 1960's. The original group was made up of normal villains, made terrifying merely by their large numbers. Tony Isabella's Hydra is led by powerful super-villains.

The story begins with Black Widow sneaking up on Blackwing while he's talking to his father Silvermane on a computer screen. Man-Killer hits her from behind and knocks her out.

Nick Fury is tired of waiting for a large SHIELD task force to arrive. He heads to Shea Stadium accompanied only by Dum Dum Dugan and Countess Valentina.

Daredevil and Black Widow wake up in a room with Silvermane, Blackwing, El Jaguar, Man-Killer, Dreadnought and Mentallo. It looks like a super-villains convention. Silvermane explains how he returned from his seeming death in Amazing Spider-Man #75. His serum of eternal youth made him regress into nothingness, but he snapped back to the prime of his life like a rubber band.

Blackwing also explains why he was a member of the Circus of Crime in Daredevil #118. The Circus was too close to Hydra's headquarters below Shea Stadium, so Blackwing joined them to distract them from accidentally discovering the Hydra headquarters. That makes sense.

Silvermane says that Hydra has no interest in Foggy Nelson himself. He's just bait to lure Nick Fury into a trap. He sees Nick and his top agents on his security cameras, and he destroys them with explosives. Or so he thinks. They were actually LMD's (Life Model Decoys).

Foggy Nelson bursts into action, freeing Daredevil and Black Widow. At that moment the real Nick Fury, Dum Dum and Countess Valentina arrive. Hydra is backed up by the arrival of yet another super-villain, Jackhammer. Come on, Tony, enough's enough! A fight breaks out, which Hydra loses. It lasts four pages, but I'm not going to describe it panel for panel! Silvermane and Blackwing flee. SHIELD takes the others prisoners.

Nick Fury repeats his offer of membership in SHIELD to Foggy Nelson. Foggy declines.