Featuring: Daredevil
Release: June 2, 1964
Cover: August 1964
12 cents
Written with raw realism by: Stan Lee
Illustrated with daring drama by: Joe Orlando
Inked with actual artistry by: Vince Colletta
Lettered with Perfect Precision by: S. Rosen
22 pages
Some like him and some hate him, but so far he’s the easiest inker to spot. None of the other inkers we are following do the crosshatching like Colletta.
Last issue, Orlando and Colletta gave us an unusual amount of background detail for the period. This issue gives less, as is the style of the time, likely induced by deadline pressure.
All that said, we get some good visuals from the art team, notably a trippy opening panel with a lot of eyes.
Last issue, Daredevil borrowed a villain from Spider-Man. He now gets his first super-villain of his own, the Owl. The Owl is the worst kind of super-villain: a Wall Street investor, described as a ruthless financial wizard. Also, he can fly and likes to trap his enemies in giant bird cages. Typical Wall Street guy.
We meet the Owl as we see the fate of one of his accountants, George Grey. It is not clear if he has any relation to Jean Grey of the X-Men or the character from 50 Shades of Grey.
“His world has crashed… because he had been willing to work for a scoundrel.” Life lessons like this are why kids should read comics. If only Michael Cohen had read this story as a child and taken its lessons to heart…
Super-villains are known for their ability to laugh maniacally, but rarely is it depicted quite so well.
Though right after I describe this as good for kids, it takes a rather dark turn, darker perhaps than anything we’ve yet seen in our reading. Framed for Owl’s crimes and financially ruined, George Grey suicidally steps into traffic, leaving a bloody corpse.
The scene is something of a shock when other comics have super-villains routinely lock defeated heroes in closets rather than kill them.
Daredevil already had the worst costume of any superhero yet. The one thing it needed to be truly awful was a hood/shoulder pouch contraption. The idea is that he can keep his civilian clothes in them while he is Daredevil. I have two concerns. The first is that it seems oddly cumbersome for a man who depends on acrobatic agility. The second is that it seems pretty easy for a villain to get a look inside the hood and get some hints about his dual identity.
Owl is the first villain to have a particularly cool lair. I mean, lots of them have castles, but none stuck to a theme as well as Owl has.
For the first time, Karen learns what it means to show romantic interest in someone secretly a superhero: she gets captured by a super-villain. If I understand the point of a secret identity, it’s so your loved ones don’t keep getting captured by super-villains. Yet, it doesn’t seem to help at all. Certainly hasn’t helped Jane.
Rating: ★★★☆☆, 54/100
Significance: ★★★★☆
I read this story in Daredevil Epic Collection vol. 1: The Man Without Fear. You can also find it in Marvel Masterworks: Daredevil vol. 1. Or on Kindle.
Characters:
- Daredevil/Matt Murdock
- Owl
- George Grey
- Franklin “Foggy” Nelson
- Karen Page
- “Sad Sam” Simms
- “Ape” Horgon
Story notes:
- Full title may be: “Daredevil Battles The Owl, Ominous Overloud of Crime!”
- Owl wealthy and powerful; true name forgotten by most; ruthless financial wizard.
- George Grey under indictment for fraud; fall guy for Owl; commits suicide.
- Owl hires Nelson and Murdock at random.
- Murdock’s suit wrinkle-proof; treats it like basketball.
- Murdock gets Owl freed on writ of habeas corpus.
- Daredevil designs hood/shoulder pouch to keep civilian clothes.
- Foggy and Karen go bowling.
- Owl’s Aerie across Hudson above Palisades cliffs (not far from where Giant-Man lives).
- Owl was always secretly a criminal; now he’s been exposed and can be open about it.
- Sad Sam best gunman in the East; a fast draw and excellent marksman.
- Ape as strong as an ape.
- Owl can glide.
- Karen again suggests eye operation.
- Karen curious how Daredevil knew her name.
- Owl wants to be overlord of crime.
- Owl drowns or perhaps escapes under water.
#223 story in reading order
Next: Avengers #7
Previous: Journey Into Mystery #107, Story B
