Featuring: Daredevil
Release: December 3, 1964
Cover: February 1965
12 cents
Written with the fabulously flawless fantasy of… Stan Lee
Illustrated in the magnificently modern manner of… Wally Wood
Lettered in the screamingly sophisticated style of… Sam Rosen
20 pages
| Previous | #302 | Next |
|---|---|---|
| Fantastic Four #35 | Reading order | Journey Into Mystery #113 |
| Daredevil #5 | Daredevil | Daredevil #7 |
A neat effect that’s unique to Daredevil is the little logo box. For the first few issues, it was just his logo in the top corner of the first page, not so different from what we see in other titles. Then the next couple issues added a close up of Daredevil’s face to the logo. Now Wood is varying the theme, showing a mini-picture of Daredevil leaping into action over the logo. We’ll get a new logo picture next issue.
I’d like to talk about super-villains vs. super-villain henchmen. Most of the villains we’ve met like to be in charge. They are their own boss and plan their own crimes. They sometimes team up, but then fight over who is in charge. Occasionally, independently minded super-villains can form a team and have someone be in charge, as with the Masters of Evil, led by Zemo.
The Enforcers are different. We met them when they were working for Big Man. Then later Green Goblin, then later Sandman. They don’t try to be top villains. They are for hire, and work for the big super-villains. Dr. Doom had a similar gang, the Terrible Trio. They’ve tried to strike it on their own as their own bosses, with limited success.
Of course, the Evil Mutants serve Magneto. He’s the big super-villain they take orders from.
Understand the two tiers of the super-villain hierarchy?
In this issue, we see Ox for the first time apart from his fellow Enforcers. But he’s still doing what he does, hiring himself out to super-villains. In this case he works for Mr. Fear.
Eel does something unique here. He was a super-villain in his own right, with his own plans and his own base of operations. He twice fought the Human Torch. But now he’s a henchman, working for the bigger super-villain, Mr. Fear. It’s something of a demotion for the Eel.
Eel does eventually assert himself when Mr. Fear keeps botching things, but he clearly spends most of the issue in a lackey role.
More importantly, Eel has a severe costume demotion. The changes mostly seem to be in coloring, and I must comment on coloring with care as it changes greatly from reprint to reprint, but this issue seems pretty consistent across versions. He’s traded in purple for green. Bad decision.
That’s not the last of the indignities heaped upon the Eel. His base of operations has changed from an aquarium with a helipad for his copter to a sewer. This is just not his day.
The plan was this. Hire a film crew to film your bank robbery so everybody (even the crew) will think they’re making a movie, even though they are actually robbing the bank. The only flaw in the plan I see is that now there is footage of your entire crime. Ox doesn’t even wear a mask. And he was just released on parole.
Robbing a bank on camera is definitely a parole violation.
We get a strangely placed ad for the Merry Marvel Marching Society. We usually see that logo in the letters page or house ads. Now they’ve placed it within the panel of a comic. I guess Stan really wants you to join the M.M.M.S.
The narrator claims Ox was last seen in Amazing Spider-Man #14. Did they forget about issue 19?
In general, I accept that this is fantasy. I point out some errors I notice, but generally suspend disbelief and roll with what’s in front of me. But sometimes, Stan pushes too far and tells a tale utterly disconnected from the reality I perceive.
He writes: “The obedient feline obeys its master’s command…”
And so goes the story of how Mr. Fear invents his fear potion, from which he makes a gas gun to spray people with fear.
A few years later, the Batman villain Scarecrow will concoct his own fear gas, and become perhaps even more famous for it than Mr. Fear.
The fear gas is a tough weapon, because as we’ve seen over and over, the worst thing any man can do is be a coward. Everybody is quick to turn on everybody for the slightest sign of cowardice.
I’m not convinced Mr. Fear has the best plans. Inviting the camera crew to film your robbery is not the best one, but I almost see the logic. His new plan to get Daredevil is this. He unveils a new Daredevil model at the wax museum, certain Daredevil will come see it. I have a lot of concerns here. The first note is that he himself described the wax museum as failing, which is why he turned to crime. It was failing because nobody was coming. Yet you’re sure Daredevil will come. Did Thor visit when you unveiled the Thor model? Did Dr. Doom?
Anyways, a lot of people come to see the new Daredevil statue, enough to make me wonder if this business is really failing. In fact, Mr. Fear’s plan works perfectly. Daredevil does come, but as Matt Murdock. So now Mr. Fear is hiding behind a curtain waiting for Daredevil. There is a whole crowd of people there, but he doesn’t suspect one of them is Daredevil? He’s just continuing to wait patiently.
In some sense, the dumb plan does work. When Matt visited the museum, he sensed the presence of the Ox, so decided to return as Daredevil. But this just gets to the absurdity of the lengths these villains go to to lure heroes to them, heroes who are looking for them anyway.
Foggy also spotted the Ox and also returned to investigate. Daredevil’s return makes sense. Foggy should have called the police. They at least address why he didn’t. Foggy gets a concussion in the fight, but also sees Mr. Fear’s face, leading the trio to try to kill him in the hospital.
Daredevil names the trio the Fellowship of Fear.
We get a lot of clarity on the love triangle status quo. Foggy has made it clear to Karen that he wants to marry her; Karen has some interest in the stability he will provide, but would prefer Matt, because she loves him. Matt loves Karen but doesn’t think she loves him, repeatedly interpreting her signs of interest to be anything else, so he pretends to be stoic and disinterested, successfully convincing Karen he doesn’t love her.
It’s almost indistinguishable from the Tony/Happy/Pepper triangle and is now just how I think all office environments worked in the 1960s.
Thanks to the wax museum, Wood shows off his ability to draw all our favorite heroes and villains.
Wax museum models sculpted by Mr. Fear:
- Rama-Tut
- Chameleon
- Mysterio
- Captain America
- Owl
- Electro
- Dr. Doom
- Hate Monger
- Diablo
- Beetle
- Kraven
- Zemo
- Iron Man
- Mastermind
- Ox
- Eel
- Daredevil
- Hulk
- Melter
- Vulture
- Thing
- Loki
- Dr. Strange
- Dr. Octopus
- Super-Skrull
- Thor
- Cobra
- Magneto
- Giant-Man
- Green Goblin
Three others are a little tricky to identify. One is a male non-rocky FF member with the top of his face cut off. I think it’s supposed to be Reed, but it could be Johnny.
And there are two members of the X-Men we see from the back. Either could be Cyclops, and neither matches anyone else’s back. For another, we should see Jean’s hair or Angel’s wings or Beast’s large appendages. Iceman’s costume is just underwear, not the full suit.
It’s December 1964. Let’s take a quick peek around the newsstand and see what those other publishers are up to.
- 80-Page Giant #7 (DC)
- Hawkman #6 (DC)
- Mystery in Space #97 (DC)
- Black Fury #51 (Charlton)
- Brides in Love #45 (Charlton– the final issue!)
- Teenage Hotrodders #11 (Charlton)
- First Men in the Moon #1 (Gold Key)
- Walt Disney’s Comics and Stories #293 (Gold Key)
- Archie’s Pal Jughead #117 (Archie)
- Richie Rich Millions #12 (Harvey)
Rating: ★★★☆☆, 56/100
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
- Eel
- Ox
- Mr. Fear/Zoltan Drago
- Karen Page
- Foggy Nelson
Story notes:
- Full title: The Man Without Fear learns for the first time what it means to be truly afraid when he is Trapped By… The Fellowship of Fear!
- Alternate title possibility: Trapped by.. The Fellowship of Fear!
- Mr. Fear compared by Stan to Purple Man.
- MMMS ad within the comic itself.
- Daredevil believes Ox is out on parole. He is correct.
- Drago a talented sculptor; but his wax museum is failing.
- Ox chosen because he’s too dull-witted to challenge Mr. Fear, and Eel because he is not strong enough.
- Reference to Strange Tales# 117.
- Foggy got Matt push-button tape recorder.
- Foggy’s family vacationing in Europe; how did Daredevil know this?
- No excessive trace of alcohol or tobacco in Foggy’s blood. ‘Excessive’ the key word.
- Mr. Fear’s mask protects him from gas.
| Previous | #302 | Next |
|---|---|---|
| Fantastic Four #35 | Reading order | Journey Into Mystery #113 |
| Daredevil #5 | Daredevil | Daredevil #7 |
