BLACKHEART versus DAREDEVIL & SPIDER-MAN

Blackheart! (Marvel)
Where: Daredevil #270 When: September 1989
Why: Ann Nocenti How: John Romita Jr

The Story So Far...
It began in 1658, with the brutal murder of a woman named Abigail Housman.

Her body lay undiscovered on a gentle, but lonely hillside, soaking the land with blood for hours, as crows circled knowingly over the site. This was to be the first vile crime committed to the place known as Christ's Crown. 

The hill would host centuries of unspeakable horrors, growing unnatural tangles of thorny rose plants, and a mythic foreboding, as further acts of murder and carnage came to drench it in anguish and agony. Reputation that would arouse the irreverent interest of romantic thrillseekers such as amorous Peter and reluctant Sarah. A final betrayal that prepares the land for harvest and the birth of a son to the devil Mephisto -- a thorny demon called Blackheart!

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Blackheart 6 (Invincible)
Intelligence: Spider-Man 5 (Professor)
Speed: Spider-Man 4 (Olympian)
Stamina: Blackheart 6 (Generator)
Agility: Spider-Man 5 (Cat-Like)
Fighting: Daredevil 5 (Martial Artist)
Energy: Blackheart 5 (Lasers)
Total: Spider-Man 29 (Metahuman)

Blackheart is the spiny hellspawn of notorious devil Mephisto, born to a crown of thorns atop a gentle hillside. A desolate place, soaked in centuries of blood and tragedy, first growing a wild thicket of roses and grim foreboding, before bearing the newborn demon from deep within its grassy heart.

A final act of evil - of unromantic violence - brought forth the Blackheart, whose immense power appeared to twist and torment him from the moment of his birth.

This is evil as only 1989 could envision it: A gothic horror, blindingly dark in its poetic beauty and sadness, stinking of burnt ink and the sweetest of roses, with weeping eyes like burning red flowers. Blackheart craves sacrifice and recognition, gratefully receiving the death of the good and wicked in equal measure, before lashing out at the father who encourages and callously dominates his existence.

If you only know Blackheart from his unlikely appearance in Capcom's Marvel Super Heroes video game, or its eventual sequel Marvel vs Capcom 2, then you've got as much to learn as the infant demon. Don't worry - it's not complicated.

Daredevil is the kind of tortured soul that a demon loves to play with.

Matt Murdock's heart is stained with tragedy as well, but his resilience makes him the perfect prize for demonic connoisseurs. He's a worthy adversary teetering close to the edge -- the perfect prey for Blackheart to learn a more sophisticated brand of evil than the lowly act of merely killing like man. DD must be corrupted!

We've seen him come close before, like when he tracked down Slade -- one of the men responsible for killing his father, Battlin' Jack Murdock. Or when Mysterio turned his life upside down, and when he decided to stop Bullseye and Kingpin to declare himself the Kingpin of Hell's Kitchen.

No matter how close he got, whether fighting a demonically possessed Jester or super-human foe like Tombstone, Daredevil always managed to stay on the side of angels. Of course, it doesn't hurt that he has friends to back him up in times of need too, like when he faced Klaw & Killmonger, tangled with Jigsaw, and fought the murderous Carnage during the breakout at The Raft.

Spider-Man knows what it's like to be tormented too. Like Daredevil, he's been the subject of Mephisto's infernal interest, sacrificing his marriage to Mary-Jane and enduring a twisted Christmas.

Spidey's demon days have pitted him against the self-righteous Demogoblin, a Dormammu enhanced Hood, and mystically compromised Luke Cage! So you can bet he'll swing to the aid of his buddy DD, just like Daredevil did when Spidey was up against the Sinister Twelve! Will friendship win in the end? Let's find out!

The Tape: Daredevil & Spider-Man Ranking: Spider-Man (#2)

What Went Down...

Reflecting on the turning of his fortunes and return to a lighter mood; Daredevil lands perched on a fairground rollercoaster track.

His senses have never been sharper, but as he detects the blend of foul burning and rose incense, he finds he cannot home in on the ghostly movement that triggers his radar sense. The more he tries to 'see', the more the figure becomes elusive, moving without a detectable heartbeat. Suddenly -- it strikes!

With the grace of a high jumper -- Daredevil leaps across the streaming darkness that blasts against the coaster bracing.

Daredevil asks what the being wants with him, but Blackheart stares in silence and responds with another wave of his shadowy black power. This time the interlaced wooden struts supporting the rollercoaster shatter as DD leaps clear!

He cannot discern what the creature is, whether its power is mutant or mystic, but he can tell that it means to kill him. So amidst the falling debris of splintered amusement park wood - he flings his billy club and 'plays the trickster'.

The rope wraps around Blackheart's spiny shins and calves, pulling away the sure footing of idle feet still new to walking the Earth. Blackheart falls -- sending his next blast of dark energy errant.

The mere presence of Blackheart's energy begins to make Daredevil sick.

He knows this feeling, though rare, to signal the presence of pure evil. He maintains his focus, finding the precarious wreckage of the rollercoaster vulnerable to tipping. With a toss of his billy club -- he brings it down!

For a moment Blackheart is buried in the wreckage, but an ominous "ka-thoom" is harbinger for an explosion that sprays the debris across the park!

Sensing that Blackheart is stunned and moving slower now -- Daredevil takes his shot and rushes his silent opponent!

A high kick to the face. A right hook. A straight left. The demon is unfazed.

Blackheart regards the agony with curious amusement, but the novelty of these sensations can only last so long.

The demon's left hand becomes jagged and thorny, surrounded by the dark anti-glow of his black energy. Daredevil senses it, but knows he cannot get clear. It's over. The one shot that could finish him off. He can't avoid it. He doesn't have to...

Suddenly, out of nowhere, the spectacular Spider-Man swings across the amusement park and delivers a kick to the side of Blackheart's head!

The web-slinger had witnessed the smoldering smoke of the battle from a passing bus, and excused himself to take a closer look. It's a good thing he did!

As the pair exchange pleasantries, Spider-Man keeps himself in the line of fire, distracting Blackheart to give Daredevil a clearer leap, as he uses his own proportionate agility of a spider to jump over the streaming dark energy.

While leaping, Spider-Man sprays webbing into the featureless face of Blackheart -- covering his dark eyes to the mortal world around him.

As the demon desperately pulls at the webbing -- Spider-Man grabs hold of a nearby ticket booth and lifts it overhead. He doesn't know that 'bringing down the house' over Blackheart will have no effect. He tries his luck. It comes up short.

Once again the demon blasts the wreckage from his body and Daredevil scoops up a sheet of corrugated iron to shield the heroes from the blast!

The feat saves Spider-Man from a point-blank deluge of splintered wood and nails, but the impact of the blast has taken its toll on Daredevil.

Concerned for the reckless abandon shown by his friend, he tells DD to rest, and summons his superior spider-strength to take the fight to Blackheart head-on with an all mighty uppercut!

Spider-Man's fist 'kraks' against Blackheart's jaw, but Daredevil can sense that its having no effect. The only thing keeping them alive is Blackheart's animalistic, child-like confusion.

Ancient knowledge fills Blackheart's infantile mind as he gazes repeatedly out to the crowd forming at the edge of the amusement park.

He sees visions of a holy savior, a son like himself, making a supreme sacrifice for crowds just like those. The creature is compelled to make mockery of the noble sacrifice, but to what end?

The crowd speculates whether Blackheart gazes upon them with hatred or fear. Daredevil and Spider-Man aren't any more certain, but the pause allows Daredevil time to sense the crackling of a downed powerline, and the thatched network of metal extending beneath Blackheart's feet.

Daredevil calls the situation to his partner's attention, but Spider-Man is reluctant to resort to lethal force. His spider-senses warn him of danger and he wonders if Daredevil is acting like himself. Something seems off. Before DD can put electric wire to twisted steel -- Spidey dives on him!

Blackheart wants them to kill him. Wants them to choose the easy, wicked way out. To corrupt their spirit and souls. Just as his father suggested of the innocent woman he'd murdered upon his birth. Only - the heroes aren't falling for it!

They don't need to kill him. They just need to knock him out!

Daredevil and Spider-Man are united in seeing the sense of things and together they reel back and deliver and almighty double-team blow!

The punches rock Blackheart, but he doesn't fall. Instead, he reaches an epiphany.

Gazing back upon the amassed crowd, Blackheart remembers another thing told to him by his father: "Avoid the eyes of man".

He may have been right in believing Daredevil was a worthy foe to expose his true self too, but in bearing witness to his evil, the surrounding crowd may have taken his power. So instead of enduring further indignity, the demon chooses to leave -- an explosion taking him from the place of battle.

Daredevil grapples with the strange familiarity of the evil, and the lingering presence of one of the onlookers, as Spider-Man greets a grateful crowd, and DD finally realises the entity that must have been behind it all...

The Hammer...

Although not really defeated, Blackheart slinks back to the bristles of his cradle on the hillside of Christ's Crown, cursing his father's absence, and unwanted birth. He crawls and melts into the earth that first expelled him, wanting only to suffer and die, to wither from a dark and cruel world, hoping Mephisto will forget he even exists.

Break out the eyeliner and jangly guitars. I told you in The Tape that this was evil as only 1989 could envision it! The same year that unleashed Hot Topic and Jason Takes Manhattan upon an unsuspecting world.

Sure, How Soon Is Now? came out in 1984, and Blackheart literally 'goes home, cries, and wants to die', but I'd say the synthesis of flavours that make up his first appearance skews late eighties, if not '89 specifically. At the end of the day, this isn't about The Smiths. Maybe The Sisters of Mercy or Fields of the Nephilim...?

There's no punctured bicycle on this desolate New York hillside, but the pages of Daredevil #270 feel sticky with the lifeblood of music-infused counterculture of the time. The vitality of goth and post-punk is the real spillage that birthed Blackheart onto the page -- a walking shadow of rose thorns and loathing, rising in angst like a personification of every goth teen's poem-filled notebook.

There are other flavours in there, too. The violent lore behind Blackheart's origin has a vaguely literary quality, with its centuries of American gothic murder and injustice. While the setting of a New York hillside reminds me of urban legends about kids finding dead bodies in the grass or forests of New Jersey. It feels of a piece with the eighties slasher flicks that dominated the decade and had reached a point of being slick, colourful, sugary blockbuster versions of themselves.

Like a lot of those movies, there's a tremendous spirit of fun in this issue, despite its dark matter, as there is in all of Ann Nocenti and John Romita Jr's collaborative run. A favourite series we've touched upon in previous entries.

It's the kind of issue I would've delighted at picking up on a whim at the newsstand. It serves as a simple introduction of a new super-villain, while also furthering the on-going struggle between Mephisto & Daredevil, and giving us a good old fashioned team-up between DD and Spider-Man!

I wish comics were still reliably enjoyable like this. Nostalgically noting that spare change would've got me this satisfying chapter off the newsagent rack.

I think this still might be the definitive Blackheart comic, but I probably need to do a little more reading before I confidently make those kinds of proclamations. At the very least, DD #280 provides a convenient tonal key to understanding the core concept beyond its striking appearance -- providing you have some sense of the magical concoction of the times.

For reasons I'm still not clear on: Blackheart may be best remembered for his unlikely inclusion in the Capcom fighting game, Marvel Super Heroes, where he inexplicably replaced Mephisto in the loose adaptation of The Infinity Gauntlet, and subsequent series sequel, Marvel vs Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes.

The games do a good job of selling the visual, but the stylistic texture of the comic is missing, and gamers have almost certainly come away with a skewed perspective of the character. Not that comics of the time were much help, either.

If you left the arcade in 1995 in search of answers your only options were the original few appearances in Daredevil, a handful of uninspired cameos in '93 issues of Wonder Man, or a couple of splashy prestige specials starring the oh-so early nineties attention-seeking trio of Ghost Rider, Wolverine, and Punisher.

Those characters, especially in gratuitous appearances, always have a whiff of pubescence about them, but at least the stories followed up on some of the rich material left behind by Nocenti, leveraging the reference to cult activity at Christ's Crown for some devilish, nineties adventures.

Of course, if you ask me, I think Blackheart is better served by staying tethered to the angsty, soggy, rose-scented dark wave emocore of the late eighties. A slightly contemptible brand of darkness, as opposed to the samey edginess of 'bad boys' and hellspawn of the nineties.

Blackheart is more than just that beguiling visual. Beneath the design beats the heart of a mood, a vibe, a moment in time that was powerful and real. Every writer & artist tackling the character should be issued with a copy of DD #280 in its original pulpy printed format, and a playlist of period appropriate music, preferably curated by the great Ann Nocenti herself.

I think it would go a long way to making sure the character is more than just another bad guy covered in spikes and thorns and ordinary cliches.

I'm still looking forward to getting my disc copy of Marvel vs Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics on November 22nd, but it was nice to get ahead of the retro gaming fun by digging back into a favourite comic reference.

As ever, I enjoy coming back to 1989, and wonder what type of significance Marvel's output at that time had to Japan, and the Capcom game developers. A reference that made even less sense in Marvel Super Heroes than it did three years earlier for The Punisher.

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Winner: Inconclusive (Draw)
#514 (new) Blackheart
#2 (--) Spider-Man
#8 (--) Daredevil

TYPHOID MARY versus DAREDEVIL

Temptation! (Marvel)
Where: Daredevil #255 When: June 1988
Why: Ann Nocenti How: John Romita Jr

The Story So Far...
Unable to prove the culpability of Kelco Industrials in the blinding of a young boy - lawyer Matt Murdock wrestles with guilt in his nightmares. Meanwhile, he's conducting an affair with the boy's nurse -- unaware that all of these elements are brought forth by The Kingpin of Crime!

Wilson Fisk is behind the chemical company, and plans to use high-powered lawyers to flaunt their guilt and crush Murdock's belief in true justice. Likewise, the kindly Mary with whom Matt shares a kiss is in actual fact The Kingpin's latest assassin killing his rivals!

Unaware that he's being targeted in both his lives, Murdock makes the change to Daredevil when he senses danger on the streets. A decision that will at last bring him face-to-face with the deadly Typhoid Mary!

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Daredevil 3 (Athlete)
Intelligence: Daredevil 3 (Straight A)
Speed: Daredevil 4 (Olympian)
Stamina: Daredevil 5 (Marathoner)
Agility: Daredevil 4 (Gymnast)
Fighting: Daredevil 5 (Martial Artist)
Energy: Typhoid Mary 4 (Arsenal)
Total: Daredevil 26 (Champion)

When it comes to The Kingpin's personal bodyguards: the gold standard has always been Bullseye and Elektra - but in 1988, he found himself an assassin that took the danger to a wild and unpredictable new level!

Typhoid Mary is a stone cold killer whose dissociative multiple-personality disorder manifests between three main identities. Each possesses her innate mutant abilities, but wields them to a distinct degree.

The timid personality of Mary Walker would never be so callous, but when Typhoid Mary is unleashed - she uses her psionic, telekinetic, and pyrokinetic powers tactically against her opponents! That means she can spontaneously start fires, move light objects, and even mentally manipulate some opponents!

Typhoid Mary has also developed her fighting skills to be a high quality martial artist, known to wield dual katana swords. She was part of the Shadow Initiative when we saw her combining sword, fire, and telekinesis to decapitate Bloodscream, in Avengers: The Initiative #24!

She's had memorable run-ins with Deadpool, Spider-man, Wolverine, and Ghost Rider, sometimes in the guise of her destructive Bloody Mary personality, but her greatest opponent will always be Daredevil!

The man without fear has a history of facing deadly assassins, but our record only contains two examples with mutant powers! He narrowly turned the tables on a Hand possessed Wolverine in Wolverine #24. No such luck when Deadpool used DD's own good nature to outwit him in Contest of Champions II #4.

A weakness for the ladies allows Typhoid Mary to get close to DD in his civilian identity, and with her psionic abilities there may be no opponent more equipped to get into his mind! He's a strong-willed individual, fighting on his home turf, but will superior hand-to-hand skills overcome fire and the mind? Let's find out!

The Tape: Daredevil Ranking: Daredevil (#13)

What Went Down...
Matt Murdock senses smoke and disturbance as he walks the streets of Hell's Kitchen. When his alter-ego of Daredevil returns in moments -- all seems eerily well. That is, until a flaming shirt precedes the violent crash of a church cross!

The hero effortlessly backflips clear of the falling crucifix, detecting danger with radar-like senses. They reach out to the rooftops, following a trail of laughter that leads to the source of the unexpected attack: Typhoid Mary!

Something familiar nags at the blind hero, but he cannot detect the altered rhythms of a Mary he knows in ordinary life. Just the streaking blur of a wild heart tearing the streets apart to lure its "Guardian Devil".

Typhoid drops from the rooftops, kicking up garbage that breaks her fall! The airborne wave of trash and refuse creates a fog of distraction. He doesn't sense Typhoid Mary until she's upon him - riding his shoulders to the ground!

He rolls with the tackle -- redirecting Mary to tumble through garbage across an empty lot. She lies amidst the smoldering trash, while DD continues trying to focus his radar senses. Her mental powers deny him a clear image!

She further attacks his mind, drawing convenient parallels between contract killing criminals, and a non-lethal brand of judicial justice. Temptations of violent solutions learned in daylight by her placid other self. Nagging familiarity.

She mocks his religion, and sends a wall of literal hot garbage with a flick of mutant telekinesis. A demonstration of power that annoys more than it hurts. An act of good faith to prove she could destroy Daredevil if she really wanted.

He pulls her out of the garbage and onto her feet, challenging rhetoric of Nietzsche and good & evil. She's unmoved by the contradiction of it all.

Face to face, their philosophies intertwine with concepts of justice and religion, while Mary's leg hooks around DD's. With fire at their feet she compares herself to the devil conversing with a priest. An opposite too exciting to resist! She pulls her heel back and betrays both their balance. They fall!

This time Daredevil lands hard on his back after the tumble. Mary's very presence burns and disorients. He's confused. She steals a kiss. He hates her.

Somehow Daredevil gets his legs up and drives his feet deep into Typhoid's gut!

The vicious kick launches Mary from his body. Sweat pours from beneath his red mask as Daredevil dwells on his disgust. He can't stand the heat and at last he's ready for a fight. If only there were anyone there to accommodate him.

By the time he's back on his feet Typhoid Mary is already gone!

The Hammer...
By the time Daredevil is back on his feet; Mary is already somewhere on the rooftops contemplating her prey. The fight may've been a dead rubber, but her split personality beat the man with dual identities (and a built-in lie detector).

She plans to "allow" her alter-ego of Mary Walker to continue falling in love with Murdock. Such vulnerability is sickening to Typhoid, but it all plays into her million dollar contract, and the Kingpin's advice to get him "through the heart". It's certainly a proven method for disrupting Daredevil's life - before and since!

We're kinda getting to my heart, too. Albeit, with much more positive results!

I've been hoping to get to back to more of Ann Nocenti's run on Daredevil for quite some time. It's a period I've come to regard with a great deal of fondness. I even called my shot a couple of years ago, specifically citing these early appearances of Typhoid Mary! She ranks with Lady Deathstrike as one of my favourite Marvel creations of the eighties. It's been a long time coming!

By now you probably know the story: Nocenti had the seemingly unenviable task of following Frank Miller's legendary association with Daredevil [in 1986].

Miller's last gasp came with Daredevil #233, concluding the short saga of a maniac super-solder named Nuke. There were a curious couple of issues drawn by Steve Ditko after that, possibly material already on file. Nocenti picks up threads from the Nuke plot to initiate her time as writer with Daredevil #236.

It's difficult to talk about Nocenti's work without comparing it to Miller, and I get the sense she kinda knew that. Her first issue features art by Barry Windsor-Smith, with a plain clothes Black Widow, and crew cut soldier-types, that feels a deliberately sympathetic transition from the Miller era.

Of course, it's easy to forget Miller peppered his issues with the colours of Captain America and the Heroes for Hire! He's probably best remembered for the costume-less deconstruction of Born Again, and the red fever of Elektra and The Hand, but those splashes of superheroics blend well with Nocenti's future.

By the end of her first year, she had Daredevil teaming with the likes of Black Panther and Wolverine! The spirit of Daredevil remained consistent with Miller, but she had a sense of cool that not only welcomed the colourful rabble of the outside Marvel Universe -- but aggressively embraced it!

Typhoid Mary feels inevitably cast in the mold of Elektra, but is also a bubblegum post-punk reflection of the world outside.

If Miller had drawn on cinematic seventies grit and noir fatalism to redefine Daredevil for the early eighties; Nocenti ripped the blinds off the window and showed that character the neon world around him.

The great John Romita Jr is probably owed a hefty debt for crafting a look that sings all the right notes. The big spikey hair, bulky neon pink top, Mad Max metal shoulder pads, and fishnets with swimsuit and boots are a masterpiece! It tells you everything you need to know about the threat and attitude of this wild character. She has only degraded with later re-designs.

As if all that wasn't eighties enough - she's also a pyrokinetic mutant wildchild in the vein of Carrie and dozens of other icons from the age. This was right around the time Jason Voorhees was coming up against a telekinetic troubled teen. It's thoroughly cliché, but in this package, going up against Daredevil - it works!

I've heard Mary is in the new series of Iron Fist on Netflix, but I'm not even going to pretend it will be anything but a waste of your time. These shows love to be boring and Typhoid Mary is a character who is anything but! You'd think a Pink Ladies leather jacket and some high heels would fit the budget, but this world of chumps just isn't ready for the real Typhoid Mary!

If you're ready for the real Typhoid Mary, you can always find refuge in the comics!

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Winner: Inconclusive (Draw)
#13 (--) Daredevil
#141 (+149) Typhoid Mary

DAREDEVIL versus PUNISHER

The Bully (Marvel)
Where: Daredevil #257 When: August 1988
Why: Ann Nocenti How: John Romita Jr

The Story So Far...
When Alfred Coppersmith lost his job to computerized machines, he perceived his enemy as all around him. In retaliation, he lashed out at everyone all at once - spiking over-the-counter aspirin with deadly cyanide!

To a man like former marine Frank Castle, spiked medication is like firing a random bullet into a crowd. It's an act of guerrilla warfare staged in the urban jungle of New York City. Hell's Kitchen is his new frontline, and as The Punisher he's the special operative to bring the bad guy down - by any means necessary!

 

Punisher's tactics have never sat well with Daredevil. As a lawyer by day, he invests his faith in the criminal justice system. He won't allow a disturbed man to be put to death. Even if it means stepping between Coppersmith and a bullet, making an enemy of The Punisher!

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Daredevil 3 (Athlete)
Intelligence: Punisher 4 (Tactician)
Speed: Daredevil 4 (Olympian)
Stamina: Daredevil 5 (Marathoner)
Agility: Daredevil 4 (Gymnast)
Fighting: Daredevil 5 (Martial Artist)
Energy: Punisher 4 (Arsenal)

This week we're taking the fight to the streets! Under different circumstances they would be fighting side by side against a common enemy. Two sides of the justice scale - driven against one another by a code of ideals!

Matt Murdock dedicated his life to upholding the law in the courts as a lawyer by day, while by night he uses his radar senses and martial training to enforce it as the vigilante Daredevil. Murdock may be blind, but just like justice, he sees all! Those who escape the right in one walk of life run the risk of meeting him in the other!

Frank Castle dedicated his life to upholding the law as a soldier of the United States Army. Once home, the weed of crime claimed his loving family and he redirected his skills in warfare to enforce lethal justice as the vigilante Punisher!

When matched against one another, there's no denying Daredevil has the edge. His finely honed mastery of martial arts combined with the radar sense he developed after toxic waste took his sight surpasses the hand-to-hand training of The Punisher. We saw that in a previous encounter between the two, where Daredevil handily dealt the winning blow in as show of skill and athleticism [Daredevil #65].

The opponent comparison test highlights the differences between both men. In battles with Deadpool: Daredevil suffered defeat when Deadpool was able to exploit his selfless, heroic nature [Contest of Champions II #4]. On the other hand, Punisher's amoral approach and willingness to utilize the methods of the villain allowed him to soundly trounce the merc' with a mouth in Deadpool: Suicide Kings #2. Similar weapons-based tactics even helped The Punisher overcome rampaging powerhouse Rhino! [Punisher War Journal #3]

Against the criminals they both stalk, The Punisher's lethality makes him a formidable foe. Is he willing to go the distance against a man whose differences hinge on his unwillingness to take a life? Lets find out who the better man is...

History: Daredevil (1-0-0)

The Tape: Daredevil Ranking: Daredevil (#9)

What Went Down...

On a New York City rooftop, The Punisher holds a man above his head. His name is Alfred Coppersmith, but it hardly matters. He's just another criminal caught in the scope of the crazed vigilante. On any other night it would be any other scumbag. Perched moments from death, the only reprieve is a man who dares to be a devil. One shot to save a life - hinging on a blind man's aim.

An order to hold gets Punisher's attention. Daredevil pitches his billy club and catches him some place high. It weakens his hold and he drops Coppersmith hard on his head. Not as hard as it would've been on the pavement below.

Daredevil approaches and Punisher catches him by surprise with a fist to the gut. Hunched over like prize fighters they stare each other down. Punisher's the first to break his gaze. Something about Daredevil's cold stare turns even his eyes away. DD makes him regret it with a stiff left into a hard right cross.

The fight is on and it's on Daredevil's terms. Fists fly and hit their mark. He takes Punisher's trigger finger away with a shot that makes his arm a dead weight of muscle. Another body blow, another cross. The killer goes down.

Punisher evens things out with a sweep kick that hooks Daredevil's knee. With the tables turned Punisher can go for his knife. He only needs one good arm to plunge steel into flesh. Assuming Daredevil's quick reflexes don't roll the target out of the way. They do, and DD swings his arm back to club the back of his opponent's head. Castle eats the concrete roof. There are no rules here.

Daredevil hooks in a full nelson, but Punisher hoists him off his feet into an overhead toss. DD lands nimbly on his feet, but the break is enough time for Punisher to go for his gun. The stakes are rising fast!

The man in red goes back to the gut -- thrusting a kick deep into the death's head logo! The blow triggers a bodily chain reaction that relinquishes Punisher's grip on his sidearm. The desired effect. An enforcement of honor.

Daredevil presses the advantage, raining down a left to the jaw. He follows with a right, but Castle is under it. His shoulder dips and he counters with an quick uppercut. DD goes with it and fires back with an elbow to the gut.

Recovered, Alfred Coppersmith has been taking in the fight. It's the greatest battle he's ever seen. Better than a ringside seat in Madison Square Garden! He could've made a getaway any time -- should've -- but is transfixed by what he thinks to himself is downright superhuman. Then he remembers Punisher's gun.

The heroes stop fighting long enough for Daredevil to plead his case one more time. They're still too distracted to see Coppersmith pick Castle's pistol up. DD wants to take Coppersmith to court. Punisher wants him dealt with. They wonder where he went and as Coppersmith announces himself behind the handle of the gun, he contemplates crippling them to make an escape.

Then Daredevil deals with him. Faster than Coppersmith can think with a flick of his wrist and the toss of a billy club. Lights out for the bad guy. Non-lethal. Next time they see each other it'll be blind lawyer Matt Murdock ready to plead his case to the courts. This time, justice will be served.

The Hammer...

In the matter of moral debate and the course of justice, it's clear Daredevil won out this time. We're more concerned with the outcome of physical superiority, and on the terms of what's presented we must call this a draw!

This story has an overlap with events depicted in Punisher #10. Perhaps in a future instalment we'll explore this fight and the rivalry between Punisher & Daredevil in greater detail. For now, we leave it there.

That leaves us free to acknowledge that todays featured fight was inspired by Daredevil Season 2 coming to Netflix on March 18th. We tackled the subject last month in a Hero of the Week entry [Punisher], and this was the last opportunity to see the rivalry play out in the all in important comics medium before we dive into a month of other hero-on-hero battles.

I find myself becoming less enthused about the live-action version the more its revealed in promotion. On paper, Jon Bernthal makes a solid Punisher, but the show, like so many live-action offerings, simply lacks the commitment to giving the experience a totally unique feel. I'd have to watch the show to fairly comment on the content, but the first bites with the eye are underwhelming. In today's knock down, drag out comic book fight the battle is described as super-human -- equal to the greatest prize fight, but greater in effort. Magnificence is something these shows all too often shy away from. I hope they surprise me.

John Romita Jr owns much of the magnificence of Daredevil #257. His attention to storytelling ensures the fight is blow by blow coherent, choreographed - but also making use of the visual comics medium. You'll notice most panels featured above lack backgrounds. A coincidence of selection that does not capture the overall use of layouts, or the way the story -- told from Alfred Coppersmith's perspective -- weaves in and out of comic book, and tunnelling POV focus.

Though far from a carbon copy, the influence of the best remembered Daredevil writer/artist of the eighties is everywhere. You can get a sense of a consistent visual language from the few panel selections featured from Daredevil #163 in a past feature. Frank Miller looms large over the character to this day, let alone in 1988 when today's feature was published. There are key differences that separate the late eighties from Miller's work that demand special attention, though.

In 2016, we've been hitting on a lot of characters and stories that haven't been featured in ten years of Secret Wars on Infinite Earths. I'm very excited to finally induct Ann Nocenti into the site canon!

Nocenti is an influence who doesn't get enough credit for advancing Daredevil from the noir-tinged isolation of Miller's deconstruction and rebirth. She was a writer who did an honourable job maintaining the Miller Hell's Kitchen, but played in two worlds, allowing the epic urban hero to co-exist with the Marvel Universe. Where Miller's ideas are the definitive source of inspiration behind live-action adaptations, the best of Nocenti's run may never see a screen. It's too often wholehearted in its dedication to being a wonderful comic book.

While we highlighted the main event advertised on the cover, a lot of the issue is dedicated to the on-going development of Typhoid Mary - a Nocenti & Romita Jr creation. If Miller's Elektra can't make it to the screen in tact, you can bet your bottom dollar the deliciously bubble gum, punk-rock apocalypse of 1988 Mary will never stand a chance!

I was reminded of Typhoid Mary's exploits last December, while reviewing Savage Dragon #7. Now that we've opened the page to Ann Nocenti, I'm sure we're one step closer to getting to that good stuff. In the mean time, I'm going to leave you with but a vague taste of my gushing enthusiasm.

As always, you can join me in the reading circle by taking advantage of the Amazon link provided [right]. Shopping via the link will help support further exploits in The Comic Book Fight Club. You can find all past exploits in the Issue Index Archive.

Be here next week as we tackle one of the reader's most requested hero on hero fights of all time! Another modern classic battle bumped from our 10th Anniversary spotlight! Check back during the week to catch any additional updates, including the Hero of the Week - and tell your friends!

Winner: Draw

(--) #9 Daredevill
(--) #64 Punisher