Marvel 1976.09 - Daredevil #137

Daredevil #137

Title: The Murder Maze strikes twice!

Writer: Marv Wolfman

Artist: John Buscema

Villain: Jester

Regulars: Foggy Nelson, Heather Glenn

John Buscema continues as artist this month. A note on the letters page tells us that he's filling in for Bob Brown because Bob is sick. There's no clue what the sickness is, but anything that lasts more than two months must be serious.

The crowd has become a lynch mob and is about to hang Daredevil. What's his crime? Does it matter? He manages to escape and goes to the district attorney's office to discuss his next steps. Not that the decision is difficult: find the Jester! Before he does that he goes back to his apartment to let Heather know he's still doing well.

There's another television broadcast from President Ford, telling the populace that (unnamed) super-heroes and the police have teamed up to attack the banks on Wall Street.

Daredevil follows some crooks to the Jester's lair. After a short fight, Daredevil is knocked out by gas. The crooks are sensible; they say that Daredevil should be shot. The Jester prefers to have fun; he throws the unconscious Daredevil into his Murder Maze.

The title says that the Murder Maze strikes twice. That's because the crook called Jefferson died in the maze in the previous issue.

Daredevil wakes up and makes his way through the maze. It leads from one trap to another, each deadlier than the previous one. Daredevil gets out by cheating. Instead of going forwards, he heads back the way he came and breaks through the entry door. The Jester flees, but Daredevil catches him in the street.

Daredevil appears on television to tell everyone that the Jester was responsible for manipulating the news. He says that people shouldn't blindly accept everything they're told, they should compare different news sources and decide for themselves. That's good advice. After the broadcast there's a news flash that the Hollywood actress Karen Page, Matt's former girlfriend, has been kidnapped.