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kudosmyhero · 2 years

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Daredevil Annual (vol. 1) #1 - Electro, and His Emissaries of Evil!

Read Date: June 30, 2022 Cover Date: September 1967 ● Writer: Stan Lee ● Penciller: Gene Colan ● Inker: John Tartaglione ● Colorist: Stan Goldberg ● Letterer: Sam Rosen ● Editor: Stan Lee ●

SYNOPSIS:

The story opens to Daredevil exercising in his private gym. He is wearing Daredevil's Suit, without its mask. He uses the blind glasses of Matt Murdock. He finishes the final exercise and muses about how quiet things are in his life at the moment. He uses the elevator to go to his own apartment upstairs. Both the gym and the apartment are located in a private building owned by Matt Murdock. There are no other tenants, in order to protect his secrets. Being a successful superhero is expensive, but he has money from his successful law practice. He wonders how the other superheroes finance their careers.

Daredevil realizes that he is talking to himself again. He blames it on not having anyone in his life to confide in about his secret identity. He does not dare to take Foggy Nelson and Karen Page into his confidence, because that knowledge may put their lives in danger. He does not want risk the safety of either his loyal law partner or the girl his loves, just because Daredevil needs an audience. He just feels lonely at times.

Matt Murdock's Brownstone Apartment is protected by electric eye alarms and hidden wall panels. Daredevil does not feel like he has a real home, and currently has no family. To get out of his mood of self-pity, he prepares for a night out as Daredevil. He reasons that in New York City there are 8 million people, so there must be some fascinating feat of derring-do for him to perform.

He uses the cable of Daredevil's Billy Club to patrol the city. He is initially quite bored, and his radar sense fails to locate any trouble-makers. Then he locates two familiar heartbeats and two familiar voices. The heartbeats and voices belong to Electro and the Matador (Manuel Eloganto), his old foes. The two super-villains are conversing in the street, dressed in their uniforms. Electro has spend months creating a new team, the Emissaries of Evil. Their purpose is to destroy Daredevil. He has contacted and recruited the most powerful enemies of Daredevil, and now he wants the Matador to become the team's fifth and last member. Electro promises to lead them to victory. The Matador swears his allegiance to the team, though he does not care about who will lead them. He thirsts for revenge, because Daredevil is the only man who ever defeated him. He wants Daredevil to feel the bite of the Matador's deadly blade.

Daredevil appears and challenges the two villains to a fight. He falls on the Matador and mocks him for talking too much. He gives a double kick to Electro. Electro retaliates with an electric bolt, and warns Daredevil that he has has no defense against electricity. Daredevil uses the advance warning to evade the attack. He gives Electro another double kick. The Matador attacks with his cape, but Daredevil launches an effective counter-attack. Daredevil suddenly realizes that Electro is about to attack again, but has no time to properly evade the attack. An electrical bolt strikes Daredevil's shoulder. He falls down, seemingly unconscious.

Electro decides to leave the street before the police arrives, and the Matador follows him. The Matador points out that they could simply finish off Daredevil, now that they have the chance. Electro considers this fight to be a warning to Daredevil, that his days are numbered. He does not want to end his revenge plan early. When they leave, it is revealed that Daredevil was playing possum. He hoped that the villains would get withing grabbing distance for him. He feels dizzy following Electro's attack, but he is not seriously hurt. He uses his cable to leave the street.

As Daredevil swings around the city on his cable, his dizziness persists. The timing of his moves is off and his balance is affected. He falls down and lands on a roof top. He is still dizzy and now his entire body is in pain from the fall. He decides to walk to his apartment. He feels lucky that the streets are deserted and nobody sees him entering Matt Murdock's apartment. He feels worried. He has overheard that the Emissaries consist of five members, but he knows the identities of two of them. He has to figure out who the other three villains are.

The scene shifts to a private jet, flying over the Atlantic Ocean. The jet transports the Gladiator, who has spend some time living in Europe as a member of the Maggia. Electro contacted the Maggia in order to get in contact with the Gladiator. The Gladiator found the recruitment offer to irresistible, because it promised to give him a chance to triumph over Daredevil. His previous defeat at Daredevil's hands still haunts him. The scene shifts to a secret chamber within Melvin Potter's costume shop. The villain changes into uniform, now wearing a modified version of the Gladiator's suit. He feels ready to face Daredevil.

The scene shifts to a flashback, taking place months before the main story. Electro rescues an immobilized Stilt-Man from the waters of a river. He has decided to make Stilt-Man his first recruit. The scene shifts to Electro's residence. It is a strange, lonely house atop a lonely hill. The villain has created an electrical storm around his residence. Electro uses the storm to restore power to Stilt-Man's Suit. He tells his new recruit that he will need his strength to destroy Daredevil. The flashback ends.

The scene shifts to the present time, at the Nelson and Murdock Law Office. Matt Murdock is strangely late to arrive, and Karen Page is worried about his safety. She considers him helpless, a blind man trying to make his way through life. She finds him so brave and so helpless. Foggy Nelson tries to relieve her fears. He is secretly quite frustrated. Foggy is attracted to Karen, but she has fallen for his partner. He is getting worried about Matt himself and suggest calling his home. The office phone rings. Matt is calling to explain his absence. He claims he has overslept this day, and he has to attend to a few personal matters. He will not be coming to the office at all, but promises to come to work early for the next day. Karen is unaware that she is speaking to Daredevil, who is in full costume and about to search for the Emissaries.

Following a good night's sleep, Daredevil feels back into shape. He spends hours searching around town. Office workers stop their works and gaze at him through their windows. As he approaches the docks of the city, the Matador prepares to face him in battle. He has been hiding in the docks for a while. He notes that Daredevil is moving slowly, as if he wants to be discovered. The Matador waits to ambush the man, then uses his cape to cover Daredevil's eyes. Daredevil recognizes him anyway and punches him in the face. The Matador is puzzled at how Daredevil saw where to strike from beneath the cape.

The Matador is on the ground and has lost his cape, but holds on to his sword. He uses the sword to attack Daredevil, but his opponent evades his attacks. Daredevil punches the Matador again, causing the Matador to drop his sword. The Matador has no more weapons, but charges Daredevil like a bull. He gets his hands around Daredevil in a powerful grip. They wrestle for a while, but Daredevil manages to throw the Matador to the waters below them. Daredevil waits for his opponent to surface, but the Matador swims away.

Daredevil returns to patrolling the city. He uses nutriment capsules as his only meal. As night falls on New York City, Daredevil returns to ground level. In an alley, Daredevil is quickly approached by the Stilt-Man, who has been following him. The Stilt-Man starts shooting at him with his energy weapon, but Daredevil evades the attack. Daredevil confirms that Stilt-Man is one of the Emissaries, then uses his cable to tie himself around Stilt-Man's Suit. Daredevil then gives a powerful kick to Stilt-Man's armor. The kick has no effect on the Stilt-Man, but injures Daredevil's leg.

As Daredevil is in pain, the Stilt-Man gets overconfident. He lowers himself to Daredevil's height, pulls his energy weapon, and prepares to finish off his opponent. He is within striking distance of Daredevil, and the Daredevil indeed strikes him. The Stilt-Man thinks the attack will have no effects, but Daredevil actually clicked the button which activates his stilts. The rapidly emerging stilts send the Stilt-Man in collision course with a wall, which he strikes with all the power of a projectile weapon. The wall of the building collapses. Meanwhile, Daredevil escapes. A police car arrives to investigate the scene. The police officers find a giant hole in the building's wall, and suspect that someone used a battering ram.

Daredevil limps his way to Matt Murdock's apartment, with his injured leg in pain. He finds a recording tape left at his door. He enters the apartments, strips off his costume, and wraps his ankle in bandages. He then listens to a message from Foggy Nelson. Foggy informs Matt that the Stilt-Man has been sighted in the city. He does not want Matt to walk the city alone, in case the villain threatens him. He should not even come to the office alone, but alert Foggy and Karen to escort him. Matt is pleasantly surprised that Foggy is worried about his safety.

The scene switches to the following evening, with Matt Murdock walking in a park. His ankle has recovered. He is thinking about the Emissaries, but then his thoughts drift to his feelings about Karen Page. Night falls and the full moon appears. The Leap-Frog turns up in the park, searching for Daredevil. He is one of the Emissaries. He pays no attention to Matt Murdock, seeing him as just a blind man on a park bench. Matt recognizes him, and swiftly changes into Daredevil. He ambushes the Leap-Frog and grabs one of his legs.

Daredevil swings the Leap-Frog around and throws him to the ground. The Leap-Frog moves his legs to get Daredevil to let go of them, and regains his freedom. He kicks Daredevil in the face. Daredevil retaliates with his own kick to Leap-Frog's face, and then punches the villain. Leap-Frog suddenly escapes, while challenging Daredevil to follow him. Daredevil does manage to trail the leaping villain. He is aware that the Leap-Frog is leading him to a trap, but he wants to face the Emissaries.

The trail led Daredevil to the largest electric power plant in New York City. He realizes that has lost track of the Leap-Frog, and that the high-voltage lines serve to confuse his super senses. Daredevil is then ambushed by the Gladiator, who starts beating him up. The other Emissaries protest, as they want their own chance to fight Daredevil. Electro is the first in line, and uses an electric bolt to attack. Daredevil barely evades the attack.

Suddenly the Gladiator and the Matador team-up against Daredevil. Electro orders them to stop, but the Gladiator reasons that they need to all jointly attack the "slippery" Daredevil. The Matador holds on to Daredevil, as Gladiator beats him up. The Leap-Frog agrees with them and wants to attack as well. Daredevil uses a back-flip to throw the Matador to the Gladiator. He delivers a powerful punch to the Gladiator's torso, and then another one to the Gladiator's face. The Leap-Frog attempts to attack Daredevil from behind, but Daredevil turns around and kicks him. Daredevil then uses his Billy Club to strike the heads of the Stilt-Man and Electro.

A recovered Gladiator attempts to leap at Daredevil, but misses. Electro declares that Daredevil's speed and agility are no match for his shattering electrical power. Daredevil evades an electrical bolt by Electro, and the bolt strikes the Stilt-Man. Daredevil does not give Electro time to recharge and knocks him down. He hears two sets of footsteps approaching and decides to evade the attackers. He moves out of danger, as the running Leap-Frog and Matador collide with each other.

With the rest of the Emissaries disoriented, Gladiator challenges Daredevil to a single fight. This time, he attempts to cut Daredevil with his wrist discs. Daredevil evades his initial attack and then uses a steel beam to protect himself. The Gladiator easily destroys the steel beam, but fails to avoid a physical attack by Daredevil. The Gladiator is out of the fight.

With Daredevil momentarily distracted, the Matador tries to cover him with his cape. The Matador feels there is someone under the cape and delivers a beating. He feels confident about his victory, but then discovers that the man under the cape is a knocked-out Leap-Frog. Daredevil is actually standing behind the Matador and sucker-punches him.

Electro and the Gladiator are still dizzy from the battle and try to stand on their feet. Electro blames the defeat to their overconfidence, and attempts to rally his team. There is no counter-attack coming. Daredevil uses a coil of wire as a lasso, tying up the dizzy Electro, Gladiator, Leap-Frog, and Matador. There is no need to also tie up the Stilt-Man, who is unconscious. The villains try to use their combined strength to break through the wire, but Daredevil connects the wire to a power transformer. The transformer increases Electro's electricity and shocks the other three villains into submission. Electro's own strength is insufficient for him to escape. Daredevil promises that the police will release them, before transporting them to a prison. He thanks them for the workout.

The scene shifts to the Nelson and Murdock Law Office. Matt Murdock returns to work, claiming that Stilt-Man has been captured and it is consequently safe for him to get back to work. Karen Page tells him that she and Foggy have been phoning his home repeatedly, and they were getting worried. Matt claims that he was visiting his brother Mike. He finds an excuse to reprimand Karen over unfinished work. She does not like his attitude and storms out of the office. Foggy Nelson silently follows her. Matt feels like a heel for hurting her feelings, but he needed this argument to protect his secret identity. He is alone in the office, and reasons that he has always been a loner. And he will remain a loner for as long as Daredevil exists. The story ends.

(https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Daredevil_Annual_Vol_1_1)

FAN ART:

Electro by AlexelZ

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