Obsessively putting our comics in chronological order since 1985.
| 1965-10-01 00:31:30 |
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Daredevil #9
Issue(s): Daredevil #9
Cover Date: Aug 65
Title: "That he may see!"
Credits:
Stan Lee - Writer
Wally Wood - Layouts
Bob Powell - Finishes
Bob Powell - Inker
Review/plot:
Last issue Karen was on Matt's case to go see a doctor that might be able to cure his blindness. That storyline continues here. It turns out that the doctor, Van Eyck, has moved to the country of Lichtenbad, which is ruled by Klaus Kruger. Kruger was a foreign exchange student in Foggy and Matt's law school, and a brilliant, athletic man.
Talking to Kruger, Matt realizes that there's something suspicious about him, so he agrees to travel to Lichtenbad, which he discovers is actually something of a medieval police state...
...and Dr. Van Eyck is a prisoner.
With no apparent regard for his secret ID, Matt changes into his Daredevil costume and rebels against Kruger.
Kruger really is like a bad Dr. Doom. His own kingdom with medieval trappings, mixed with super-science technology, including robot guards.
Unlike Doom, he's completely nuts, and when things stop going his way he tries to launch a radioactive cobalt cloud that will wipe out all of mankind.
Van Eyck, at least, is smart enough to figure out that the patient he's been treating is also Daredevil. But he dies sacrificing himself to stop Kruger's cobalt cloud.
Kruger also dies, and Daredevil doesn't seem too broken up about it.
The resistance force of Lichtenbad are a bunch of naysayers. As Daredevil is rescuing him, a bunch of Kruger's prisoners follow him, whining and worrying every step of the way.
With the main plot being a bit silly, it's interesting to look at the support characters instead. Karen has herself convinced that she's only badgering Matt into getting his eyes fixed for his sake. If she'd instead just tell Matt that she could love him the way he is, we could move past a lot of this drama.
Meanwhile, Foggy goofs off in the office thinking that his blind partner won't know any better.
And since he's also deeply in love with Karen, he finds himself in a spiral of bitterness, first wishing that Matt's operation fails and then hating himself for it.
He's thin now, but we all know he's consoling himself at night with alcohol and Ding Dongs.
Quality Rating: D+
Historical Significance Rating: 2 - early DD story
Chronological Placement Considerations: N/A
References:
- There's no footnote for this, but Foggy asks Karen for the file on the Sub-Mariner case, which is a reference to Daredevil #7.
Crossover: N/A
Continuity Insert? N
My Reprint: Marvel Super-Heroes #29
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Comments
Kinda heartless for DD to give that guy his euology before he even hits the ground.
Matt, Foggy, and Kruger knew each other from law school, way after Matt's accident. but when Kruger walks into their office, he says he learned of Matt's blindness from talking to Karen on the phone.
Foggy just keeps pushing that bitterness down inside him, letting it fester. brilliantly, he continues to be Matt's "best friend" in order to be on hand to sabotage Matt's love life forever (as seen in the current DD story where the first thing he did when he thought something was wrong with Matt was use it to tank Matt's relationship with Kirsten McDuffie - ADA).
I remember reading this comic in the 60's and liked it a good bit, especially for Wally Wood's artwork.
Gotta love them prisoners!
I dunno, I actually found Van Eyck's noble sacrifice here to be rather moving. But only DD knew.
I thought Foggy's interest in Karen was a bit of silly and unnecessary melodrama. I know it was the obvious 'thing' to do to create a love triangle, but it kind of doesn't work with someone Foggy, a likeable enough character but just not a credible romantic rival.
