Obsessively putting our comics in chronological order since 1985.
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Daredevil #220
Issue(s): Daredevil #220
Cover Date: Jul 85
Title: "Fog"
Credits:
Denny O'Neil - Writer
David Mazzucchelli - Penciler
David Mazzucchelli - Inker
Ralph Macchio - Editor
Review/plot:
Frank Miller gets a "special thanks" credit.
Matt Murdock gets a call from Heather Glenn in the middle of the night, claiming it's an emergency, but when he shows up as Daredevil (she knows his secret ID), it turns out she's just depressed and wants to talk.
He leaves angrily, but it turns out later that she subsequently committed suicide.
The story is complicated somewhat by the fact that a group of foreign criminals raided Heather's apartments to get patent documents from Heather's father's company out of her safe, and Daredevil initially assumes they're responsible for her death.
Matt of course blames himself for Heather's death. This is only his second ex-girlfriend to die, but we're well on our way for "something horrible happens to Matt's girlfriend/ex" to being a re-occurring plot device.
O'Neil summons up a heavy fog that serves a symbolic purpose throughout this issue.
Mazzucchelli's art continues to be very nice.
The MCP lists Grotto as appearing in this issue, but not Turk. I'm assuming that's just an oversight.
Quality Rating: B
Historical Significance Rating: 3 - death of Heather Glenn
Chronological Placement Considerations: N/A
References: N/A
Crossover: N/A
Continuity Insert? N
My Reprint: N/A
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Comments
Hmmm, I thought the story was interesting up until the point that Heather commits suicide but then after that trails off. I haven't read issue 221 yet, so I don't know how it plays out but it be interesting to see how he copes with her death. Anyway, it all seemed to play out very quickly and there were no real obstacles to overcome. Surprised by the B grading.
At one point (issue#) did Heather become an alcoholic? A LOT happens in this title between the end of McKenzie and Miller's runs through now, and I tend to forget.
I think the first time she's seen having been drinking excessively is DD #189, after she's resigned herself to marrying Matt. That's still part of Miller's run. Then there's the scene shared between Iron Man #171 and Daredevil #195 (both by Denny O'Neil).
Ah yes. I was aware of the latter, having recently read Iron Man 171. Thanks.
Being a Daredevil's girlfriend is never a good idea.
Poor Heather Glenn. They really screwed her character. She was a great gf to DD, but Miller had to create Elektra... and after he had the great idea of having Heather live her life away from DD, O'Neil decides to kill her. Why? So unnecessary.
I also think Heather committing suicide was one step too far into Jude the Obscure territory, and I don't like the pall it casts over Foggy and Natasha's actions in Daredevil 189. In that issue there's a dichotomy between them doing a nasty and manipulative act which is nevertheless perceptive and for Matt & Heather's own good. With the direction this issue goes, they instead are contributors to Heather's death. I don't believe that ever gets called-out or even acknowledged in the series.
Did Heather ever play a major role? I only know her from the Miller run and this issue, and I only know about 'DD's ex-girlfriends' by reputation, but I actually thought it works if you see her as a short-term fling Matt had, who became obessed with him and destroyed herself s a result. Not flattering to Heather, but it does happen to people, and it makes a very powerful stepping-stone as Matt starts going insane in "Born Again."
I always thought it made a nice contrast with Glori. She's a nice girl, a mostly-normal girl. I assume she's become insane, mutilated and dead, but I'd prefer to think of her leaving Daredevil's life mostly intact.
Glorianna was killed off in the 90s by a former agent of the Kingpin called Victor Krueller. Krueller also was attacking other members of Matt's supporting cast. So you might think this had something to do with the feud between Matt and the Kingpin. But no. It turns out that all of Matt's supporting cast members just happened to be together before most of them met Matt and witnessed an attack on Krueller and Matt knew nothing about this. It met horrible reviews at the time and Chichester (who wrote it) used an Alan Smithee alias.
