JIGSAW versus DAREDEVIL & BLACK WIDOW

The Widow Part Two of Four (Marvel)
Where: Daredevil #62 When: September 2004
Why: Brian Michael Bendis How: Alex Maleev

The Story So Far...
It's been one year since Daredevil attempted to finish his endless war with Wilson Fisk by dumping the crime boss's defeated body in the street. He has declared himself the new Kingpin of Hell's Kitchen, but his reign has not gone smoothly.

Tabloid press have outed Matt Murdock as Daredevil, and despite his stringent denials, the blind lawyer is caught in a tangled web of public adoration, marital breakdown, and criminal liability. Enter: Black Widow.

Agent Natasha Romanova seeks refuge with her former lover when Nick Fury warns her of corrupt movements within SHIELD. The visit provides a welcome distraction for the man without fear, and the safety of public visibility for the Widow, but a night of playing superhero is about to compound their problems!

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Daredevil 3 (Athlete)
Intelligence: Black Widow 4 (Tactician)
Speed: Daredevil 4 (Olympian)
Stamina: Daredevil 5 (Marathoner)
Agility: Black Widow 4 (Gymnast)
Fighting: Daredevil 5 (Martial Artist)
Energy: Jigsaw 2 (Projectiles)
Total: Daredevil 26 (Metahuman)

The details of Jigsaw's origin have changed over the years, but the general premise remains simple: Billy "The Beaut" Russo was a hitman for the mob until he crossed The Punisher and got thrown face-first through a plate glass window.

Russo's face was shredded, but surgeons stitched it back together, leaving a hideous jigsaw pattern of scars. In his early appearances he wore a supportive exo-suit that covered all but his disfigured face. He wore it in early outings against Punisher, Spider-Man, and Nightcrawler, but predominantly relies on toughness, gunmanship, and connections in the underworld.

Daredevil knows the criminal underworld better than most, making his home in crime-ridden Hell's Kitchen. Local street toughs rarely get the drop on him thanks to his radar perspective and greatly enhanced senses. Jigsaw probably shouldn't be too much of a problem.

We've seen DD go up against Jigsaw's arch-nemesis in Daredevil #257 and Daredevil (Vol.2) #65, deftly handling Punisher's blend of military hand-to-hand combat and gunmanship. He's also turned the tables on Turk in Marvel Comics Presents #19, and bested super-powered brawler Tombstone in Daredevil #91.

Throw in Black Widow and Jigsaw's chances are pretty much shot. Natasha Romanova is every bit the supreme martial artist and acrobat that Daredevil is, keeping company with the Avengers and their many super-powered adversaries.

The Widow is a long time partner for Daredevil, having bunked with the blind lawyer in the seventies. We saw her provide the assist in Daredevil #79, while her most compelling battle on record was another team-up, with Iron Man, against the powerful armored Titanium Man in Iron Man #316!

Black Widow's back in town to lie low with her former lover and it looks like her presence makes Jigsaw's defeat a foregone conclusion. Did it? Let's take a look.

The Tape: Daredevil & Black Widow Ranking: Daredevil (#11)

What Went Down...
Bullets spray across the North Shore Pier. A hideously disfigured man yells obscenities into the night. His name is Billy Russo, but ever since The Punisher introduced his face to a pane of glass he's answered to the name of Jigsaw.

Inspiring his gun violence are two figures moving in the shadows. Jigsaw pins them down with twin submachine . Their bullets spray with wanton regard for accuracy, held at head height in the general direction of the intended targets.

Taking shelter from the gunfire behind steel barrels: Daredevil and Black Widow exchange a flippant flirtation. They're biding their time. Daredevil's radar senses give him a clear lay of the land. Jigsaw's sloppy shooting affords time to spare.

Daredevil calls an one-two play from their past team-ups. Black Widow mocks his old moves, but agrees to play along. They strike!

The vigilante heroes launch into a beautifully acrobatic assault. They dance between Jigsaw's bullets, sending his guns flying through the air, still firing, as they collide with his throat and chest in synchronized kicks.

The Hammer...
We can only presume the double-kick is the finishing blow. The next page shows Daredevil and Black Widow retreating to a rooftop to cool down, and reminisce about past post-battle romances.

We can at least be relatively certain of their victory: Jigsaw returns later in the issue having posted $15,000 bail. A tidy sum for being picked up and held in custody after his defeat.

He believes it's the price to pay for stepping too close to Daredevil's turf when he shows up in the offices of Murdock & Nelson looking to get into the "Murdock business".

Daredevil successfully overthrew Wilson Fisk and declared himself Kingpin of Hell's Kitchen twelve issues ago. Jigsaw has mistaken the new order for another arrangement in organized crime. He thinks he just needs to pay a cut to respect the new boss of the town -- but he's sorely mistaken.

The press has also seemingly outed Matt Murdock as Daredevil at this time, but he maintains a façade of innocence by deflecting any acknowledgment that he's the red garbed vigilante - or new Kingpin - even to Jigsaw. The veil of plausible deniability will  be crucial to restoring the status quo, but also leads to a fun, unexpected trap when Jigsaw comes looking for a reprisal at Murdock's home in the final issue of the arc.

This is part two of a four issue story billed around Black Widow. At a glance it seems like a deviation, but it actually compliments the continuum of Daredevil's tumultuous existence, even as it affords some sense of relief from it.

The arc plays like a deliberate chance to revisit DD and Black Widow's iconic relationship for its own sake, while also pitting him against one of the great Marvel street criminals he hasn't dealt with all that much. It's definitely ticking those boxes for a storied run, but both external elements compliment the building pressure of Matt Murdock's failing marriage to Milla Donovan, and his rash decision to declare himself the very thing he hates.

Black Widow plays a quality guest role as a major protagonist in the arc. She's a character long associated with team-ups and memberships. She of course co-starred in Daredevil in the early seventies, making frequent return appearances in the years since. Remarkably, she didn't get her own titular series until 1999!

I'd presume gender bias in the market had a role to play, along with the decline of the Cold War, and perhaps less interest in spy stories after a boom in the 60s. It was probably a missed opportunity, but when I was growing up reading back issues it did give her a suitably mercurial quality. You never quite knew for sure where Black Widow might strike next!

Scarlet Johansson was originally scheduled to star in her first solo cinematic adventure last month, but the COVID-19 global pandemic pushed the release back to November while theatres remained shut.

I figured it was still a nice time to dig in to one of the Black Widow team-ups I've enjoyed over the years. Hopefully you've enjoyed it, too! You might also like to revisit Iron Man #316, and keep your eyes peeled to the Black Widow tag, or Secret Archive index for future updates.

Secret Wars on Infinite Earths has featured well over 600 battles! If you like superhero smackdown and want to see the service prosper you can contribute to the cause via Patreon. Patrons gain inside access to the schedule, and can get involved with special feature articles and polls.

You can check out the entire issue and story from today's featured fight in Daredevil Vol. 4 or Daredevil by Bendis & Maleev Omnibus Vol. 2. Using the Amazon purchase links provided to do your shopped won't just get you a great deal -- it will also support the site at no extra cost!

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Winner: Daredevil & Black Widow
#9 (+2) Daredevil
#56 (+33) Black Widow
#918 (new) Jigsaw

THE HOOD versus TIGRA
The Trust: Part Four (Marvel comics)
Where: New Avengers #35 When: December 2007
Why: Brian Michael Bendis How: Leinil Yu

The story so far...
Parker Robbins, aka; The Hood; has begun a quest to become the kingpin of supercriminals, and with Earth's mightiest heroes divided after the civil war, and harboring suspicions of a Skrull incursion; his success rate is high.

After suffering a brutal defeat at the hands of the Avenger, Tigra; underworld stalwart and longtime Punisher adversary, Jigsaw, finds an invitation waiting for him, after an adrenaline fuelled getaway. Tired of his many defeats, the hideously scarred hitman ventures out to become part of the Hood's organization.

As a show of power to the heroes, and a gesture of good faith to the pledging Jigsaw; the Hood turns his many powers to seeking out Greer Grant, better known as registered Initiative agent; Tigra. Privvy to a great many secrets, the aspiring kingpin of supercrime has no trouble locating the feline fatale, and sets out to exact retribution.

Previous Form:
Tigra (#253): Joined the Pro-Registration Avengers on their domination of the Anti-Registrants.
The Hood: Making his debut in the Infinite Wars.

Tale of the tape...
Strength: Tigra 2 (Average)
Intelligence: The Hood 4 (Tactician)
Speed: Tigra 3 (Athlete)
Stamina: Draw 3 (Strong Willed)
Agility: Tigra 5 (Cat-like)
Fighting Ability: Draw 3 (Street Wise)
Energy Powers: The Hood 4 (Explosives)


- A career thief; Parker Robbins would fullfil an underlying lifetime ambition to become a supervillain when, whilst robbing a warehouse said to contain unspecified treasures, is revealed to house the demon Nistanti.

After taking the demon's mystically charged boots and cloak, Robbins would soon discover he was in possession of powers that could elevate him to a status comparable of his villainous inspiration, Electro.

As The Hood, Robbins is capable of defying gravity by effectively walking on air, can turn invisible for as long as he can hold his breath, is capable of generating energy bolts, and continues to carry his weapon of choice, two hand pistols.

Perhaps inspired by Wilson Fisk; the Kingpin of crime his father had worked with; Robbins has begun a path to form a unified network of super powered criminals. With the aim of becoming the Kingpin of Supervillains, the Hood relies on guile and cunning, as much as the unique application of his mystic powers.

- Originally beginning her career with the costumed enhancements designed by Dr. Joanne Tumulo; Greer Grant embarked on a crime fighting journey as simply the Cat. Her adventures would bring her into confrontations with the terrorist organisation, HYDRA, and after being mortally wounded in such a battle, Grant would soon discover Tumulo's secret origins despite her death.

Rescued by the ancient reclusive race of Cat-People, the dying Greer Grant was granted a second chance at life, and the super human abilities of the legendary mystic champion, the Tigra! Possessing speed, strength, reflexes, and senses far keener than mere mortals, Grant becomes a brand new hero, and eventually becomes a stalwart of Earth's mightiest heroes - the Avengers!

The Math: The Hood The Pick: Tigra

What went down...
Doing her best to negotiate the opportunity to remain active in New York; Greer Grant strolls home after a long day on the beat as a registered superhero.
A transfer to Arkansas is about to become the least of her problems, as she transforms from woman, to Tigra, sensing the presence of an unwelcome guest in her humble abode.

The Hood emerges from invisibility, and immediately splatters the unsuspecting heroine's blood with the butt of his gun. The pistol whip maneuver knocks Tigra off her feet, leaving her open to a following shove that puts her face through her boutique mirror.

A second pistol whip on the way down further stuns the registered Avenger, but the fight isn't yet taken out of the mythic hero. From the floor she slashes wildly with her feline claws at the ready, but the Hood is wile enough to call upon his powers of intangibility just in the nick of time.

With unforgiving precision Parker Robbins fires a single bullet that hurtles into Tigra's knee. The Hood snatches Tigra by the hair and dials a number on a cellphone while reciting the address and details of her beloved mother.

Having heard the concerned voice of a mother, the Hood snaps the phone shut, and delivers his manifesto to Tigra. In no uncertain terms he demands Tigra's unquestioning obediance in exchange for her mother's safety, to be observed however, and whenever he demands, with the inclusion of leaving his villainous recruits immune.

Through a haze of pain and blood, Tigra pleads for the Hood to stop.
The aspiring Kingpin repeatedly asks the heroine if she "Got it?", beating her every time she fails to answer with anything less than a certainty.

Each horrifying blow is captured on videotape by the sneering Jigsaw; highlights to be paraded at the gathering of villains as proof of The Hood's intentions to take the fight to the heroes.

The hammer...
Suffice to say The Hood is on the road to becoming every bit the supervillain kingpin he hopes to be. Of course, with unconditional backing from the writers controlling your destiny, that's hardly surprising. Ohhhh, lifting the curtain to spoil the magic!

The Infinite Wars are governed by a good many things, and while there are many a classic fight that's gone unnoted thus far, there are certain battles we feel an obligation to cover. This one is among them.

I decided an early Christmas present was in order, to catch up on some of my New Avengers reading. These issues probably weren't at the top of my wishlist, but I decided the cost was worthwhile, given the sheer prevelance of this very battle. It was during House of M hype that someone infamously said events would 'rip the internet in half', and while Hawkeye's interdimensional return to life was met with mostly an indecypherable groan, it was the brutalizing of Tigra that made the internet stand up and start talking.

It should be well documented that Bendis' work traditionally attracts a fairly critical eye in these kinds of reviews. As one of the most talked about and analysed writers in mainstream comics, it's particularly easy to be enthusiastic about taking a look at a piece of his work in the positive, or negative, particularly given the polarizing nature of his output.

Blatantly bucking against a popular fanboy terror of speaking out of turn; I'm generally not too worried about being wrong. I think, as a man of intelligence and season, I can make reasonably good assessments of things based on information available, and do so with a willingness to admit error.

A few months ago I gladly indulged in the hype surrounding this event, even despite being vividly familiarized with the broad specifics of the issue. Ultimately it was a harmless gag [Poor, poor Tigra] referring, without much success, I assume, to the undeniable influence Frank Miller has had on Brian Bendis' writing.

Bendis is far from my favourite person in the world, with different ideals and standards than my own. That said, as a writer, he often meets on a similar ground as myself, and it's here that I inadvertently defend his work, as somewhat expected [Daredevil #75].

Much of the so-called "feminist" criticism of this issue came from the brutality by which Tigra was disarmed, the degree by which she was seen to retaliate, and the sinister undertones that even potentially implied pseudo rape.

While I'm not inclined to deliberately attempt to undermine those opinions, I do find myself somewhat steered by the same law of logic that prevents me from mercilessly heckling Bendis at every available opportunity. I feel obligated, particularly to the uninformed readers who seek the high-priced value of accuracy in the Infinite Wars, to review good as good, bad as a bad, red as red.

Again recalling Bendis' fairly obvious connection to history established by writers like Miller; we track back through New Avengers back issues, where one of the most famous depictions of murder with a phallic metaphorical undertone, was recreated not once, but twice, without much recourse.

Granted, the circumstances were less overtly sinister, and the exchange between two female characters, but while this potentially undermines the consistency of outraged muckrakers, I hope to purvey a different point. A point about the consistency and context of this world that has presented the videotaped beating of a superhero.

Ultimately, I don't think Bendis' writing makes any effort to factor the character's sex into the scenario. While it would be fair to draw sexualized conclusions from the scene, the barebones of the action are that of an ambush attack on a hero of a fairly low grade power. As you'll observe in the tape, we rate Tigra in a class beneath The Hood, whose powers are far more versatile than Tigra's basic human upgrades.

This could potentially have been an assault on any number of male characters, with Frank Castle mentioned immediately after the scene. Granted, the same statement of intent could've been made with such a character, he traditionally isn't inclined to be subject to manipulation, which is the secondary intent of this scene. Tigra, a character seen to have shifting alliances in many stories recently, now finds herself forced into a corner to obey the villains.

To again refer to well known references in Bendis' creative repetoire, The Shield comes to mind. A cop series differentiated by it's uncompromising depiction of the urban warzone, and the harsh interactions of humans within it.

So, is the material offensive? Ultimately, at best I could indulge an argument of content in a mainstream superhero comic, but to anyone looking, the book does clearly bare the Marvel rating of A for Adult*. Whether or not it's fair to direct one of your A-list superhero team books to a mature audience is debatable, particularly in a world where Marvel have been smart enough to produce a growing line of kid-friendly Adventures books, the Avengers included.

*EDIT (Dec 8, 2007): Matt rightly points out that I really should've checked up on the Marvel ratings. A is an unspecified category recommending readers be age nine and up. I wouldn't be up in arms, but I would agree that this kind of violence might be a bit better managed to readers thirteen and up.

I personally enjoy and feel the gritty reality of the world these heroes live in is crucial to the legitimacy of the genre. If superheroes are going to maintain their majority stock in the medium, they have to be seen to be earning it, and as most fans well know, the sok, pow, shazam of days past is embarassingly referred to as 'the sound of comics trying to grow up.'

No, this kind of material isn't the mark of maturity or good writing.
It's simply a facet with very specific real world references that good writing can latch on to, and represent for a quota I think is essential if anyone is to take these worlds of super criminals seriously. Bendis juxtaposes this brilliantly with his dismal superhero outings in the first twenty-or-so issues of the New Avengers titles, pressed up against this latest array of on-going, fluid, grounded takes on the Avengers characters and the perils they face.

He may be an absolute tit, but I think it's an unfair, and preconvinced agenda that comes to a comic like this, and completely overlooks it's context and reality. Maybe, like my own (initially), some opinions are based only on the information available from second-hand sources. Sources that perhaps don't expand the context, or highlight images like the shadowed portion of the assault, or the gathering of supervillains who revel in the modern, YouTube happy slap style screening of the incident.

We've discussed it before [Superman/Batman #15], but I think it bares repeating: Like action movie stars, the best characters are the ones who are affected by the perils that surround them. Likewise, to shy away from the great evils that exist out there, is to discount the acknowledgment and bredth of the heroes who face them. Without crime to overcome, the hero is meaningless.

And that, no doubt, is not the last you'll hear of the Tigra affair.
Be encouraged to lodge any opinions you might have, and stay tuned for, what I hope, will be some interesting furthering of the discussion. We'll have to wait and see how that one pans out.

Meanwhile, as if this massive entry wasn't a big enough deal as it was, it's also the epic night of fights! Let The Hood's message ring out to the superheroes and Bahlactus alike, for the new Kingpin of Super-Crime means business!
Do you mean business? Once you've finished browsing the annals of the Infinite Wars, why not check yourself in to a world of pain perspective, as per Friday Night Fights!

The Fight: 4.5 The Issue: 5.5

Leinil Yu continues to be an aboslute treat on this book, delivering kinetic, sketchy inks. Dave McCaig joins Dave Stewart for a colour palette by scanner struggles to come to terms with, but consider that a compliment more than a complaint! It's too early to find this work in trade, but you might like to check out the previous arc while you wait! Sweet Christmas!