Frank Miller's Daredevil pt. 3

For today's blog, I ask you to step into the McT.A.R.D.I.S. with me. Let's travel back to Cold War West Germany, specifically:

and let's welcome our guest, 9-year-old Bryan!

Henceforth designated as Bryan, whereas 2014's pushing-4o-year-old Bryan will be designated as Me.

Me: Welcome, myself! I am from your future.

Bryan: (shrugs)

Me: I do an awful lot of speaking for you in these blogs, so I thought it might be fun to let you speak for yourself. What do you say about that?

Bryan: I don't know what a "blog" is.

Me: It's... never mind. You know "Tomorrow Is Yesterday," that Star Trek episode you watch all the time?

Bryan: I...

Me: Wait, not in 1984 you didn't, that came a little later, my bad. Well, I can't tell you. If I give you knowledge of the future, it might have grave consequences.

Bryan: What about "Days of Future Past?"

Me: I... (pause) All right, I might as well tell you. It's all true.

Bryan: Whoah!

Me: Seriously! I had to frag like 12 sentinels just to get here today. So, keep up with your cardio - you'll need it.

Bryan: What the hell is 'cardio?'

Me: Never mind. Would it interest you to know I'm wearing the same sweater/ collared-shirt combo you're rocking in that picture?

Bryan: Your Mom still dresses you in the future?

Me: Let's just get to the last set of Miller's Daredevils, what do you say?

Bryan: (shrugs)

Me: You have no idea how lucky you are to be getting into comics in the era you are. Take this 2-part Punisher story.

Bryan: I love this story. Angel dust seems super-scary.

Me: It does indeed. This is pretty much the first "serious" depiction of drug use in comics. Sure, Spider-Man and Green Lantern / Green Arrow tried to tackle the issue in previous years, but the 70s didn't do an especially good job at realism in comics. The whole "relevance" movement did not age well. You see... hey, are you listening?

Me: Dude! You can play Atari later. Pay attention.

Bryan: Well, stop with the history lesson. Borr-ring.

Me: Okay, let's stay on topic, you're right. No one had ever written the Punisher quite like this before, and it'll be a few more years before anyone does again. You don't realize it at the time... (Opens Bryan's chest of comics and spreads a few out)

Me: Well, the Punisher's not in the Marvel Team-Up Annual, but I know how much you like that one. And since it's by Frank Miller, it's somewhat related, so there it is. But this Spider-Man one -

Bryan: That's the best story ever!

Me: Yes, well, you won't enjoy it quite as much in 2014, but I grant you, it's a lot of fun. I bring it up, though, because Miller continues the characterization of the Punisher we see in DD 183-184 herein.

Bryan: (sigh) Denny O'Neil wrote that. Not Frank Miller. He just drew it.

Me: (flips open cover) By God, you're correct. I could have sworn -

Bryan: What else are you getting wrong, old man?

Me: ANYWAY. Denny was Frank's editor, and yes, he wrote this one. But it was Frank's version of the character, not Denny O'Neil's. I mean, like Bullseye or the Kingpin, before the Punisher appeared in Daredevil, he was just some random Spider-Man villain, not particularly interesting.

Me: See, from where I'm sitting in 2014, this sort of thing - the enemy enlists children; the war has gotten dirtier - is fairly well-worn. But from where you're sitting, this is all totally new, both for comics and for Frank Castle.

Bryan: I wish he'd get his own series. The Punisher is seriously bad.

Me: He will, and Klaus Janson draws it, to boot!

Bryan: Sweet!

(High five)

Me: Sadly, once Janson leaves, it gets kind of lame. Just my opinion - it wasn't shared at the time, to be sure. The Punisher is the most popular thing going in the late 80s. Him and Ghost Rider, believe it or not. It's short-lived, though, so buy accordingly. And the market crashes for good in the mid-90s, so make sure and get rid of everything before then.

Bryan: Can we look at DD 185?

Me: I'm glad you brought it up!

Me: See, I remember liking this one as a kid (and note, Janson's taken over full-time illustration duties) but I didn't realize how good it actually was until just a couple of weeks ago.

Bryan: Well, you just forgot. I've read this one a hundred times.

Me: Can't remember everything, kid. The humor of this one is great, though. A hallmark of Miller's run is multiple narrators. Here we get a hard-boiled, tongue-in-cheek narration from Matt's best friend and law partner, Foggy Nelson. The classic insider / outsider narrative.

"No Ifs, Ands, or Buts."

Me: I love the look of these damn things. I didn't - well, let me ask you to make sure. Do you have any idea who Alex Toth and Wil Eisner are?
Bryan: Nope.
Me: You will, later on. Miller's homage to their respective styles is all over these DDs. I - are you playing Atari again?

Bryan: Sorry, dude, but you lose me with this "homage" and "insider/ outsider" stuff.
Me: How can you even play this stuff? It's so... primitive.
Bryan: I'm sure you guys in 2014 are running kill scenarios in the Danger Room, but I've got to work with what I have.
Me: Oh, I know, just teasing. It's a good thing you - we, I mean - didn't grow up with the games available to the youth of 2014. We never would have developed this relationship with comics, for one.
Bryan: People still play videogames even though the Sentinels are attacking?
Me: I... yes. In-between Sentinel attacks. There's lots of down-time.
Bryan: Are we married?
Me: Yes.
Bryan: To Drew Barrymore?
Me: No.
Bryan: What the hell!
Me: Sorry. Should we wrap up DD 185? The bits with Turk are great.

Me: I love, too, how throughout Miller's run, we often see characters protected by other characters unknowingly. Whether it's Elektra looking after Matt or Matt looking after Foggy or what not - good stuff.
Bryan: I love the Turk and Grotto bits. Or when Turk becomes Stilt Man, next issue.
Me: Believe me, I almost screen-capped that entire issue. So much fun!
Bryan: What's "screen-cap?"
Me: That's classified.

Me: How about this business where DD's hyper-senses go out of control? Fun, right?

Bryan: Did you notice that great reversal of the joke in Josie's, with Daredevil being thrown through the window? I love that.
Me: Me, too.
Bryan: I'm not surprised.
(high five)

Me: This leads, of course, to Matt's seeking out his mentor, Stick. For the benefit of those who haven't read this, care to summarize?
Bryan: Um, well, Daredevil seeks out his old mentor. Stick. Who the Hand have a contract on. You remember the Hand, right?
Me: Of course.

Bryan: The Hand need a champion to take out Stick and his crew. (Stone, Claw, and Shaft.) So they resurrect Kirigi. Who doesn't last so long once he goes up against them.

Me: "There are many you must kill." Classic!

Me: I don't like how fast he's dispatched. But it definitely shows how bad-ass Stone and these guys are.

Me: Well, until they get killed, too, leaving just Stone, Daredevil, and the Black Widow to fight the Hand.
Bryan: The Black Widow is cool.
Me: Yeah, she's another one I'm kind of skipping over for these blogs. But she's fantastic here - as with everyone else in these pages, no one else ever handles her as well.

Me: Here's a fun bit of trivia for you. The actress who eventually plays the Black Widow is, at the time you're reading these, not even born yet.
Bryan: Is she pretty?
Me: She's annoying. But sure, she's pretty.
Bryan: Prettier than Drew Barrymore?
Me: I honestly forgot how much of a crush we had on Drew Barrymore back in the day. You're taking me back, kid.
Bryan: Why didn't they get her to play the Black Widow?
Me: Again, Sentinels.
Bryan: Oh. That's sad.
Me: It is. (closes eyes) Hold on to the nights, hold on to the mem-o-ries...
Bryan: Okay, well, back to Daredevil. The Hand still needs a champion, so who do they set their sights on?
Bryan / Me: (in unison) Elektra.

Me: Miller's 2nd-to-last issue, 190, reveals more of her backstory. She once knew Stick and Stone and the gang, but she was too "unclean."

Bryan: Leading her to the Hand. Of course, Bullseye killed her, so they have to resurrect her.

Me: How does that work out?

Bryan: Well, good and bad. They interrupt the ritual, but she's revived just enough for DD to hear her heartbeat. So he leaves Stone to fight off the ninjas and tries - unsuccessfully - to do the job himself.

Me: Let me quote Adam Besenyodi again from Back Issue 48 for this part, as I think he nailed it: "The genius of Miller's execution is having DD purge the evil in Elektra, thereby giving the reader permission to believe in the character by restoring her purity. We understand the Hand's resurrection would have left Elektra unclean, and Murdoch's sacrifice is for the currency of her soul. It enables her to move from darkness to light both  literally (from death to life) and symbolically " 

Me: This is visually represented by her moving from her red outfit to the all-white one we see at the end.

Bryan: It's even foreshadowed a bit at the beginning.

Me: You're right! How did I never see that before?

Bryan: I'm sure you're distracted fighting the Sentinels and all.

Me: That must be it. Well-spotted, though. Sadly, I don't think they ever returned to this idea of a purified Elektra leading the anti-Hand.

Me: This is pretty much my favorite comic of all time.
Bryan: And it will be for quite some time. If memory serves, you used to recreate this battle in the abandoned church with your / our action figures.
Me: Well... (turns red) sometimes.
Bryan: Don't be embarrassed. Playing with action figures is a perfectly fine thing for a 10-year-old to do. In fact, do both of us a favor: next year when you take the train to West Berlin, you create an epic storyline with your He-Man figures, and for years afterward you'll try in vain to remember the plot you came up with. Write it down, would you?
Me: I'll try.
Bryan: Well, there's only one issue left. But I don't want to say too, too much about it, since it serves as such a brilliant coda to the whole Miller run. Suffice it to say, though, it's a very somber and thoughtful meditation on all-things-Daredevil.

Me: I like it, but it's so different from the ninja stuff.

Bryan: You'll appreciate it more as the years go on, trust me.

Me: Don't trust anyone over 30, sorry.

Bryan: Oh, okay, Abbie Hoffman.

Me: Who's -

Bryan: Never mind, never mind. 

Me: Can I get back to my Atari now?

Bryan: Sure thing, kid. Nice to spend some time with you. 

Time has resumed its shape. All is as it was before. Many such journeys are possible. Let me be your gateway.

Frank Miller's Daredevil pt. 2

Part of the reason that Daredevils #168 through #191 work as well as they do is Miller's deft use of supporting characters. With the exception of Lt. Manolis (the police lieutenant whom Daredevil unknowingly delivers a briefcase full of newspapers from that screencap I posted last time) all of them get the chance to take center stage at some point. Space precludes me from thoroughly examining each of them, so I fear the Black Widow and Heather Glenn (both fairly important to the narrative) will join Turk, Grotto, and Ben Urich in the "I wish I had time to fully represent how well these characters are handled, but I don't" drawer.

The only thing I'll stop to emphasize is that there is no dead weight here; the absence of any character that appears in these issues (even the random ones, like taxi drivers et al.) would make the story poorer. That's a remarkable achievement in serialized entertainment. Miller takes the time to individualize just about everyone that appears in these pages, from the Kingpin's lieutenants to taxi drivers to barroom riff-raff.

Of the supporting cast that remains, some are so vital to how events unfold that they might as well be considered co-stars of the book. I'll save Foggy and a few others for next time, but let's start with:

Although created by Marv Wolfman (first appearing in DD #131) the character didn't fully materialize until Miller's run. When we first meet him, he's having violent hallucinations as the result of a newly-diagnosed brain tumor. Once the tumor is operated on, he's released from prison, only to get immediately swept up in the mob war between the Kingpin and his former crime bosses.

 

The sense of danger and violent mayhem that Bullseye exudes was unlike anyone else in comics at the time. 

Also noteworthy: he gets to narrate most of the sections he appears in. (Remember what I said about thought balloons being phased out over the course of Miller's run?)

As with kung-fu, Miller wasn't the first to employ this technique, but he did it so well that it's been copied widely ever since.

To save time, imagine I say something like "Good lord, look at this, folks - absolutely perfect" every time an action appearance appears from here on out.

It's difficult to say whether Bullseye or the Kingpin is the more pivotal "big bad" of Miller's run. Both complicate and impact Daredevil's life in equally profound ways.

Although not the character's creator, like Bullseye, Miller's reboot of the Kingpin was so comprehensive that it's been used as the template ever since.

He was primarily a (rather uninteresting) Spider-Man villain before Miller re-branded him as Marvel's criminal-empire version of Darkseid.

A dangerous and ruthless foe (as evidenced above) but sympathetic, too: he gave up his life of crime out of devotion to his wife, but said devotion is the weakness his enemies exploit to maneuver him back into it. (SPOILER ALERT: Bad move on their parts.) Here he delivers the kind of speech Miller would put in the mouth of many a character much less succinctly in later works:

Truth. Unfortunately.

But of course the most important supporting character / co-star of Miller's run is Elektra.

As discussed in Adam Besenyodi's excellent article in Back Issue #48, Elektra was designed around her Daddy issue, i.e. the Electra complex.

 

As Miller himself put it in later interviews: "A young woman who had her sexual interest centered on her father, and just as she was transferring those feelings to another man, her father was killed."

Reinventing herself as an assassin and wearing the scarf Matt brought to her the day her father was killed.

The Freudian reading is by no means essential to understanding and enjoying her character arc, but it is certainly interesting, particularly as subtext to the following:

Obviously, as a kid, none of this Electra Complex stuff registered with me. And while it may have been the starting point for the character, she transcends it fairly quickly. More than just the "woman from Matt's past," more than just the bad-ass female assassin (though she is sketched out brilliantly for both of those things) Elektra and Bullseye (and the Kingpin, too) are all such effective counterpoint to Daredevil's own convictions. Tangible reminders that regardless of the path he has chosen, he cannot save those who refuse to be saved. In traditional superhero comics, of the time at least, this would result in the hero's confirming his commitment to heroics in a "With great power comes great responsibility" monologue. In Miller's hand, all of this character-mirroring and inner conflict serves to drive Matt Murdock a little insane. 

That's what really confused me when other writers took over after Miller left. I'll get into this more next time, but Matt more or less snaps after all he goes through in these stories. Miller's last issue on the title (#191) has Daredevil breaking into the prison hospital and playing Russian Roulette with a comatose Bullseye, for f**k's sake, yet he's back at work and normal in #192. (Miller makes up - perhaps even over-compensates - for this when he returns to the title for the "Born Again" saga, as we'll see in pt. 4 of this series.)

Beyond the high drama of the Elektra/ Daredevil dynamic, there's the proverbial crapton of brilliant action sequences:

Finally, to paraphrase the movie title, We Need To Talk About Kirigi, the unspeaking, virtually-immortal ninja assassin the Hand hires to kill Elektra. Here's how he was introduced.

 

 

I am unable to put into words how completely this character impressed me at the time. I was unfamiliar with the "unstoppable killer" trope, so something like the following totally freaked me out.

It pains me not to include this entire fight sequence, spread as it is over a couple of issues.

 

F**king metal. When I was older and finally got to see things like Friday the 13th, I was completely unimpressed. Sure, Jason Vorhees was an unspeaking and unstoppable killing machine. But neither he as a character nor any of the Friday the 13th films as a context approached the levels of awesomeness that was Kirigi in Miller's Daredevil.

It's not just Jason Vorhees, though. I could never understand why my fellow comics fans were so taken with the revamped Ghost Rider, Carnage, Venom, or Lobo, in later years; they failed to clear the high bar Miller set in my imagination with Bullseye, Kingpin, Elektra, and Kirigi. Rightly or wrongly, these characters are my standards of comparison for all who came after. (And this is a huge part of why the Daredevil and Elektra movies piss me off as much as they do. They were given Van Gogh and turned it into Van Wilder.)

The midpoint of Miller's run (as writer/ artist) is Daredevil 181. It was at the time the most shocking comic I've ever read. Which wasn't saying much in 1982 / 1983, as I'd read only a few dozen comics. Regardless, this continues to define "event comic" for me (as do the Death of Phoenix and Days of Future Passed stories in X-Men.)

These few screencaps don't do it anywhere near justice.

I mean, good lord, that's brutal as hell. Forget about "Luke, I am your father," though that, too, of course, sent shockwaves through my brain. This slaying of Elektra exploded my world at the time and still makes me gasp. As much as this next sequence puts a lump in my throat.

Plenty of writers and artists have played the "girlfriend brutally murdered" card. (In comics, this trope would even develop a name: the women in refrigerators syndrome.) But this goes so far beyond tropes for me. I could no more look at this as "just another example of violence against women" as I could look at JFK as "just another victim of gun violence." This was all the bloody, shocking impact of death and violence (and what Daredevil and by extension all heroes fight agains) in a handful of panels. I've heard older comics fans talk about the death of Ferro Lad in Adventure Comics in a similar way, but this was the death of Ferro Lad on an exponential level. We see the brutality of murder and share the trauma, rage, and anguish that comes in its wake. 

And Bullseye doesn't even realize he's slain his arch-enemy's greatest love:

He figures out Daredevil's secret identity but convinces himself that he's wrong. This lends Bullseye's parting narration at issue's end even more gut-punching irony.

Before we close this installment, Matt spends the rest of next issue in aggressive denial over her death.

His obsession drives him to exhume the body in the cemetery and he finally surrenders to the overwhelming reality and totality of his grief.

As with that other shocking death from 1982, Elektra would return, but at least for the rest of my time as a Marvel reader, she and Matt never actually reunited. (More on this in pt. 4.) This lent Elektra's death (and Matt's falling apart over it) a weight no other comics death has ever had nor likely ever will.