Marvel 1975.11 - Daredevil #127

Daredevil #127

Title: You killed that man, Torpedo!

Writer: Marv Wolfman

Artist: Bob Brown

Villain: Torpedo

Regulars: Foggy Nelson, Heather

The comic begins with Daredevil accusing the man in the Torpedo costume of murdering the man lying on the ground, although the dead man is actually the Torpedo and the man in the costume is the insurance agent Brock Jones. It's an easy mistake to make. But let's call Brock Jones the Torpedo, because that's who he is now.

Daredevil refuses to listen to the Torpedo's claims of innocence, so he knocks Daredevil to the ground and flies away. The police are already present, and they're joined by District Attorney Foggy Nelson. Foggy tells Daredevil that he should remain to answer a few questions, but Daredevil refuses and runs away, swinging on his billy club.

When Matt Murdock returns to his apartment the television is on. It's Heather, the girl Matt met yesterday. Is it his red hair or the dimple in his chin or does she have a thing for blind men? She can't keep her hands off him. She pulls him into her arms and kisses him. It's a welcome distraction when the phone rings. Foggy wants to offload his problems onto Matt. He also wants Matt to work as the DA's assistant, at least temporarily.

A good artist can add details with a few subtle lines in a small panel which might not be immediately apparent. Look at the creases in the front of Matt's brown trousers. There's something hard in his trousers, and I don't think it's his billy club.

Meanwhile, the (new) Torpedo is in his office at Delmar Insurance wondering what to do next. Speaking to himself, he says that it's his responsibility to save the world. So what did the (old) Torpedo whisper to him last issue? He flies out of the window until he arrives in Westchester and breaks into a large mansion. For those who don't know about American geography, it's about 20 miles away from lower Manhattan.

Matt Murdock is meeting with Foggy Nelson and the police. They tell him that the dead man is a Russian scientist living in the USA. The safe deposit box opened in the bank belonged to the scientist's brother. The plot thickens. Then the news comes in about the break-in in Westchester. This gives Matt an opportunity to slip away and change into his Daredevil costume. He swings through the skyscrapers to Westchester. Or lack of skyscrapers, because Westchester doesn't have as many large buildings as Manhattan. Daredevil still arrives in 15 minutes, which is amazingly fast. Maybe he hitched a ride on the back of an Amtrak.

Daredevil and the Torpedo battle in the large mansion, which is deserted. The Torpedo explains what's happening while they're fighting, but Daredevil doesn't believe him. The original Torpedo was a  Russian scientist. That should have been enough to make Daredevil stop and talk, because it agrees with what the police told him. But Daredevil is having too much fun fighting. It helps him get his mind off Natasha and the touchy-feely girl in his apartment.

The scientist wanted to emigrate to the USA, but it was only allowed if he first designed a super-suit to rival Iron Man's armour. When he arrived in America, he met his family, and he realised that they were insane. That's the word the Torpedo uses, but what he means is that they're loyal Communists. He knew that his brother had a second set of plans for the suit in his bank safe deposit box, so he broke in to steal them. He suspects that his family, who live in the large Westchester mansion, might have a third set of plans, so he asked Brock to search the mansion. That's what he was doing when Daredevil so rudely interrupted him.

Daredevil leaves the mansion, making some cryptic comments. I hope they'll be explained next issue.

"You had me going there for a while. I almost bought your story. But not now, because I just remembered who owns that place you wrecked. And there's no way on Earth he can be tied up with something as screwy as your world conquest scheme".

Interesting. So who exactly owns the mansion? Daredevil knows, but we don't.

The Torpedo speeds away to find the family who live in the mansion. Daredevil stops him. They fall through the door of a small suburban house. They continue their fight in the living room and the kitchen, smashing everything around them while continuing their carefree banter. They don't even notice the husband and wife and their small son Kenny cowering in the corner.

They don't stop until the woman screams at them. I sure hope their home insurance covers damage by super-heroes.

Torpedo flies away. Daredevil walks away. They're both in a daze, realising what they've done.

This is another brilliant story by Marv Wolfman. I remember when I first read it 48 years ago. It's another comic that makes me say Wow.