Issue(s): Daredevil #155, Daredevil #156, Daredevil #157
Cover Date: Nov 78 - Mar 79
Title: "The man without fear?" / "Ring of death!" / "The ungrateful dead"
Credits:
Roger McKenzie - Writer
Mary Jo Duffy - Script on #157
Frank Robbins / Gene Colan - Penciler
Frank Springer / Klaus Janson - Inker

Review/plot:
Daredevil is having headaches and falling a lot.

But Foggy has arranged for a series of interviews with legal aides to help Matt who's been too busy to deal with his casework lately. They settle on Becky Blake, who is in a wheelchair (and seems to have quite a chip on her shoulder about it, too).

Afterward, DD hears that the Black Widow has re-joined the Avengers (along with Hercules, after the break-up of the Champions).

He breaks into the Avengers Mansion and attacks them all (Beast, Captain America, and even Hercules), while ranting like a super-villain.

The next two issues are drawn by Gene Colan, which is always welcome but especially so after an issue of Frank Robbins (blech). DD falls into a coma and the Avengers bring him to a hospital, where he has surreal dreams.

Deathstalker shows up to kill him but the Avengers fight him off...

...and DD wakes up as well.

Daredevil and the Widow immediately start making out. Hercules is... displeased.

DD and the Widow start hanging out together but then DD realizes he doesn't want to start that relationship up again. Instead he goes and finds Heather Glenn and makes up with her. The next day he goes to his office and finds that he's made dates with both the Widow and Heather for the same night (and Becky Blake is harboring feelings for him as well).

Luckily, the Ani-Men show up to attack the law office at that moment.

See the Considerations below regarding the continuation of this story. Issue #157 marks the debut of Mary Jo Duffy. Duffy was a regular letter writer (often as just Jo Duffy) and then joined Marvel in an editorial capacity. This issue is plugged in the Bullpen Bulletins as follows:

The insiders' hot tip of the month - buy yourself a copy of DAREDEVIL #157. Some of you will likely recognize the guest-writer's name, though she's relatively new to the scripting biz, and once you've been dazzled by her inaugural efforts, we're willing to bet that few of you will soon forger the lady's style!

She doesn't continue on this series (hence "guest-writer"), but she becomes the regular writer on Power Man & Iron Fist beginning the following month.

Quality Rating: C

Historical Significance Rating: 3 - 1st Becky Blake

Chronological Placement Considerations: The Black Widow returned to the Avengers in Avengers #173 when they called in all the reserve members. An indefinite period of time passes between DD's waking up from his coma and getting into a fight with the Ani-Men. Due to the fact that the Ani-Men story is continued in my Frank Miller Visionaries trade, this has been pushed forward a bit from its publishing date so it can be next to the conclusion of that story. Placement for Daredevil's appearances in other stories (like Peter Parker #26-28 and Captain America #234-236) is a bit tricky; according the MCP there's a gap after the first six pages of DD #157 where those issues takes place, and then the rest of that issue occurs. Accordingly, i've placed #157 here and the continuation of the Ani-Men story is included in a later entry.

References:

• During DD's coma-dream sequence, there's a reference to his father's death in Daredevil #1.
  
• When DD wakes up from his coma he immediately starts kissing the Black Widow. Hercules fumes that a few 'hastily spoken words' in Avengers #173 caused his break-up with the Widow.
  
• Daredevil's headaches and erratic behavior were apparently due to the fact that he got a concussion when he was slammed into a wall by Mr. Hyde in Daredevil #153.
  
• The Ani-Men were thought dead after an explosion in Iron Man #116. The Black Widow says that Iron Man even saw their bodies. Ape Man just says "You figure it out."

Crossover: N/A

Continuity Insert? N

My Reprint: N/A

The Frank Robbins story was so unpopular that it was later credited as nearly killing the book. I think this was the last thing he drew before retiring from comics.

The title to #157 references, of course, the Grateful Dead.

Just to complicate things, at this time Marvel had an editorial assistant named Roberta McKenzie, nicknamed "Dickie". I have no idea if she wrote any of the "Dickie McKenzie" stories usually attributed to Roger.

Frank Robbins was intended to be the permanent artist here, but early bad reactions to his issue(possibly in the Marvel offices) may have caused him to speed up his retirement.

I never liked Frank Robbins' superhero art work, but he was an excellent DC writer for Batman. Did he get a chance to do any long-term writing for Marvel?

In #158, Death-Stalker claims that these Ani-Men are not the originals.

Il est vrai que Frank Robbins avait un style pas vraiment pour le "monde Super-Héros", mais, s'il avait pas été encré/massacré par Frank Springer, l'histoire aurait-elle eu plus de succès ??!!

DAREDEVIL #157 is the issue that has one of the most intense endings I've ever read in a comic. I loved it as a kid and still enjoy it. The Ani-Men crashing into the law office. Bird-Man taking down the Black Widow. Ape-Man throwing Foggy into the wall. And Heather and Becky looking on in terror as the three Ani-Men corner their prey, Matt Murdock. This alone made me an Ani-Men fan for life.

There's some sites where people predict who would win a fight between various comics characters...

If you were told about a fight of Daredevil on his own versus Beast, Captain America, Black Widow and Hercules, I can't see many people betting that DD beats Beast in what seems to be a fair fight lasting a page, following which on the next page DD both knocks Hercules out with Cap's shield & knocks Cap out in 2 panels, and then takes several pages against Black Widow while the rest of them are out of action?

Hercules seems to be just down but not out at the end of 155, but at the start of 156, he appears to be unconscious and none of the rest of them join the fight until after DD breaks his programming and collapses... I guess you could say they were just waiting it out as they knew DD wouldn't be able to go through with killing Black Widow?

A striking example of how different fights went sometime before the Marvel Handbook was published and everyone knew how strong each character should be...