Issue(s): Daredevil #359, Daredevil #360
Cover Date: Dec 96 - Jan 97
Title: "The devil you know!" / " Alone against the Absorbing Man!"
Credits:
Karl Kesel - Writer
Larry Hama & Cary Nord / Cary Nord - Penciler
Matthew Ryan - Inker
Paul Tutrone - Assistant Editor
James Felder - Editor

Review/plot:
Again we have Cary Nord penciling over someone else's layouts (Larry Hama again) followed by Nord doing an entire issue.

Now that we know Karen Page is a radio host, this issue is mostly from the perspective of her taking calls about Daredevil. The current post-Onslaught state of the world is very much on people's mind. Daredevil's too.

It's interesting to me that this image probably wouldn't have made much of an impact on me at the time, but post-911 i can better imagine how it would make people feel.

One of the callers is clearly Mr. Hyde in his Calvin Zabo persona (although the MCP doesn't list him).

Another is Rosalind Sharpe, and she conferences Foggy in, describing him as Daredevil's closest friend (note also the caller who is not happy about Karl Kesel's lighter tone on the series).

This will result in some minor celebrity status for Foggy (and therefore publicity for Sharpe's firm).

Another caller is DD himself, who warns Karen on-air that WFSK is known for mob connections and criminal activity.

At the very end of #359, Daredevil runs into the Absorbing Man.

Now, look. I get that the Masters of Evil were mentioned earlier, and that the idea is that Daredevil has to pick up the slack now that so many other heroes are gone ("if I don't stop him, NYC will become the vacation spot of the criminal class"). But readers of this site know that i have very strict beliefs when it comes to characters' power levels. Mr. Hyde is kind of grandfathered in since he's been a Daredevil foe since early on. But my initial reaction is that a Daredevil vs. Absorbing Man fight should only go one way. Being full of self-doubt, i start to question myself and say, well, if DD can trick him into absorbing cardboard and then trap him in a cardboard box (Thor #236), or something like that, i guess i'd have to allow it. But no! Goofy ideas like that should be ignored, not perpetuated! Absorbing Man is a Thor level villain. He should mop the floor with DD!

Writers tend to disagree with this, and have views like any hero should be able to beat any villain with enough tenacity or whatever. But it never works the other way. You never see the Eel figuring out a way to beat all the Avengers.

Initially it seemed like Karl Kesel was going to go in an interesting direction here, show us that something unique about Daredevil's radar sense makes it possible for him to beat the Absorbing Man. It start off that way, with DD detecting the difference in temperature as 'Sorby goes from brick to steel.

And that will be key to how DD defeats him, but in a more basic and not-so-plausible way.

During the fight (while we're being introduced to a Detective Danny Levin), Absorbing Man turns into paper...

...and i'm like ok, here comes the cardboard box. But nothing comes of that. We also have a situation where he absorbs hot coals, and DD is able to shatter his arm.

But as Absorbing Man says, it's not like he hasn't reattached himself before (first time was in Secret Wars when Wolverine sliced his arm off, and he wasn't so sure then).

The defeat comes after Absorbing Man converts himself to diamond. As Daredevil says, every diamond has flaws and that could be something Daredevil could exploit. But it shouldn't be easy, and Daredevil himself says he doesn't have time to take advantage of that. It's just sheer luck that he survives.

That's where i draw the line. No miracles. Fight's over. Absorbing Man won. New York City becomes Super-Villain Vacation land until Hercules can put a team together.

Instead, Daredevil uses the handle of a gun (!) to chip away at Absorbing Man like he's made out of warm ice.

Bah!

In other news, the mystery of Rosalind Sharpe is ended. Sharpe is Foggy's biological mother. The woman he calls mom is his dad's second wife.

Mrs. Nelson is hurt that Foggy would spend time with Sharpe.

At the very end Matt returns to Karen. There's no sign of the jealousy we saw in Joseph Kelly's fill-in.

Putting my nerd-rage aside, it's a really good issue. The truth is it's a much better conclusion than quite a few of Absorbing Man's fights.

Quality Rating: B+

Historical Significance Rating: 1

Chronological Placement Considerations: N/A

References:

• Foggy receives an invite to a party that we'll see in Spider-Man #75.
  
• While Foggy's on the radio, a flashback shows the scene from Daredevil #6 where he helped DD against the Eel (although not the one that appeared two issues ago), Ox, and Mr. Fear.

Crossover: N/A

Continuity Insert? N

My Reprint: N/A