They say he NEVER misses. Is even a Man Without Fear up to the challenge of Bullseye? Your Major Spoilers Retro Review of Daredevil #131 awaits!

DAREDEVIL #131

Writer:  Marv Wolfman
Penciler: Bob Brown
Inker: Klaus Janson
Colorist: Michele Wolfman
Letterer: Joe Rosen
Editor: Marv Wolfman
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover Price: 25 Cents
Current Near-Mint Pricing: $325.00
Release Date: December 2, 1975

Previously in Daredevil:  When you think about it, the fact that Matt Murdock became ol’ Hornhead in 1964, but didn’t get his most recognizable villains for over a decade, is just plain crazy. But if you follow the earliest adventures of Daredevil, you won’t find any Elektras or Ikaris in the bunch. Instead, he faces the likes of The Gladiator, The Matador, and the Ani-Men. Two of his regulars, Frog-Man and The Stilt-Man, have become shorthand for ineffectual villains not only to fans, but in-universe. By the time 1975 rolls around, though, Daredevil is due for his own Doctor Doom, his own Doctor Octopus, or his own Kingpin. (That last one, he eventually gets by stealing the existing Kingpin from Spider-Man’s rogues’ gallery.)

As if to illustrate my point, Daredevil #131 begins with Mister Murdock, Esquire, facing down… THE ROCKETEERS!

Completely unrelated to Dave Stevens’ iconic ’80s independent hero, The Rocketeers are probably best known for eventually figuring into the backstory of The Torpedo, an ally of ROM The Spaceknight and regular part of Marvel’s roster of guys who just kept showing up here and there. Of course, they’re really just here for flavor, setting the story off with a bang, something that the art of Bob Brown manages to sell with aplomb. Brown’s biggest moment in comics is probably co-creating Talia al Ghul and the League of Assassins, but this issue’s debut villain is right up there, starting a long career of murder and mayhem… with a paper airplane?

While Matt Murdock is busy discovering that his girlfriend’s father is a notorious slumlord, Bullseye pulls off what has to be the first murder-by-ballpoint-pen in comic history. That execution gets the attention of Daredevil, who shows up to assist the police in unraveling Mr. Hunicutt’s death, then gets pinned down by Daily Bugle reporter Jake Conover. (You may remember him as the one who wrote “The Kid Who Collects Spider-Man” a few years later.) Jake also knows the truth about Bullseye’s history.

You may ask why a random reporter has such insights, but the answer is simple: Bullseye requested an interview! It’s a really neat little detail, reminding us that as much as Bullseye loves killin’, he loves people knowing how good he is at even more. As Daredevil exits the Bugle offices, he finds out just how serious Ben Poindexter is about it all, grenade-style!

Should Daredevil be dead, since we know that Bullseye doesn’t miss? It’s possible, but he’s got bigger dreams than blowing up the radar-sensing man in red.

At least, not without an audience.

Somehow, Bullseye has managed to lead Daredevil into a crowded Madison Square Garden show, despite the fact that the Man Without Fear should have been aware of the proverbial roar of the greasepaint and the smell of the crowd. The fact that Daredevil #131 features our hero falling from the skies and just walking to the denouement is a little bit weird, but it’s emblematic of this era of Marvel, where elves with guns wandered the streets, Luke Cage demanded his 200 bucks from Doctor Doom and Spider-Man was menaced by his own car, leaving us with a respectable 3 out of 5 stars overall. At least the bloodthirsty fans of Bullseye get to see him debut with one of his trademark makeshift murder weapons.

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DAREDEVIL #131

63%

63%

Ten Years Later, His First Decent Bad Guy

I honestly hate what Bullseye has become, but this issue is a lovely introduction, even if it suffers from a bad case of "70's Marvel."

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• Art

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