Issue(s): Daredevil #61
Cover Date: Feb 70
Title: "Trapped -- by the Trio of Doom!"
Credits:
Roy Thomas - Writer
Gene Colan - Penciler
Syd Shores - Inker

Review/plot:
The Trio of Doom is the established partnership of Cobra & Mr. Hyde teamed-up with the Jester. I really don't buy the alliance; Mr. Hyde barely tolerates Cobra...

...and i imagine it's only some weird co-dependency that keeps them together. There's no way that i don't see Hyde ripping the Jester in half once he starts pulling out all his toy gimmicks and such.

I do see Hyde relishing the idea of taking over an amusement park and terrorizing the owner into doing his bidding. For a little while anyway. So the owner, Lemuel Frye, shows up at Foggy and Murdock's office because "I heard that you an' the D.A. wuz buddies with that guy Daredevil!".

We saw a similar thing with Donald Blake in last month's Thor #172, but it's especially bad for Daredevil, who's already had such difficulties with his secret identity, that people just show up looking for Murdock when they need DD.

Speaking of secret identity issues, i thought with Matt revealing his ID to Karen that we'd have a little less melodrama on that front, but... well, i guess instead of the constant shenanigans there's just a steady stream of complaints and passive-aggressive behavior.

Which is more realistic, anyway.

Roy Thomas has Karen recollect the adage "a man chases a girl until she catches him" while she's being angry at Matt over his secret ID, which i guess implies that her anger is at least in part deliberately manipulative?

The build-up to the fight with the Trio takes up a large portion of the issue, and this could have really been a two-parter...

...but the fight is oddly truncated when Karen shows up at the amusement park with the police. The villains surrender immediately once the police show up.

The idea that the villains will fight a super-hero but cave for the police is irksome, especially for Mr. Hyde, but i almost see it as a vindication for Karen. Back in Daredevil #58, when Daredevil claimed he would retire to marry her, but then the Stunt-Master showed up, she begged him to let the police handle it. But he didn't. And now she brings the police to a battle with three actual super-villains, and they have things under control in seconds. There's nothing in the dialogue to support this, but it's really like she's telling Matt that his super-heroics are not only a roadblock in their relationship, but also completely unnecessary.

Quality Rating: C-

Historical Significance Rating: 1

Chronological Placement Considerations: N/A

References:

• Cobra and Hyde were last seen in Daredevil #32.
  
• Matt makes unfootnoted references to the death of his "brother" Mike in Daredevil #41 and the death of Karen's father in Daredevil #57.
  
• Jester is "obviously out on parole since his capture" in Daredevil #46.

Crossover: N/A

Continuity Insert? N

My Reprint: N/A

Maybe we're supposed to assume that Hyde is knocked out when he collides with Cobra. (That's only slightly less lame.) The art isn't clear.

Even if he is stunned in those top panels, right below you see him docilely holding up his hands for the cops. The Mr. Hyde *i* know and love would be grabbing that car and throwing it, cursing and screaming the whole time.

Given Daredevil's comment of "one stone... two birds" I actually think we're supposed to conclude that both Hyde and the Cobra are knocked senseless by the collision. Both Daredevil and the Jester are acting like it's down to one-on-one in that next panel.

So by the time Hyde comes around, he's got a half-dozen guns in his face.

It is bizarre that they don't at least put some cuffs on him in the meantime, though.