Daredevil #173-176

Daredevil #173-176

Originally released in 1981

Written by Frank Miller

Art by Frank Miller

Picking up where I left off with Frank Miller's Daredevil, we start with a one-issue storyline about Matt Murdock trying to help a former foe of his, Melvin Potter (a.k.a. the Gladiator) to reform.  This is made more difficult when a criminal who closely resembles him (a man named Michael who dresses like a Mad Max 2 reject and is obsessed with "punishing" others, especially women) is assaulting people, leading to Melvin being blamed.  I don't know much about how the Gladiator was handled before this, but in these issues, Melvin is likeable and I quickly found myself hoping that he actually gets redeemed, rather than falling back into supervillainy like so many other villains do.

The next few issues bring Elektra back into the story, and she's bringing the Hand and Stick along for the ride.  Stick, introduced in the last of these issues, is Daredevil's former mentor who helped him to hone his senses into something like radar, while the Hand are a group of ninja assassins that Elektra was a former member of.  It seems like Frank Miller is eager to include Japanese culture in here, as these three issues take a lot of time to describe and build up the Hand, including its seemingly immortal member Kirigi. (the man takes (among other injuries) a sword straight through his chest, sticking out of his back, and walks it off)

The series has its fair share of drama - Foggy Nelson has seemingly cut all ties with Matt, feeling guilty about his own financial incompetence hurting their business, while Matt's activities as Daredevil cause strain on his relationship with his girlfriend Heather.  However, there was a surprising amount of comedy, particularly in issue 176.  One random thug winds up having his house broken into by (in no particular order) Elektra, Daredevil, perpetually luckless thug Turk Barrett (who is using a mechanical battlesuit to try and kill Daredevil while the hero is temporarily weakened), and Heather, all of whom are looking for Stick.

Issue 176 also serves as a tense game of cat and mouse.  Daredevil's enhanced senses were weakened by a Hand attack, forcing him to seek out Stick for help.  As a result, he can't sense Elektra following him, saving him from certain death.  However, Elektra's so focused on Matt that she's seemingly unaware that Kirigi is alive and following her, leaving it a question of who's going to strike first and when.

I feel like any praise that I have for this series would have already been said decades ago, but I'm really enjoying it, and it seems to mark a turning point for Daredevil as a character, with many of his later runs seemingly taking inspiration from the tone of this one.  The love-hate relationship between Matt and Elektra is a compelling one, and even though Elektra won't go as far as killing Matt, it's never clear if she's going to be on his side or against him at any given moment.  The inclusion of Stick seems like it will be an added complication, and I can't wait to see how it plays out.