DAREDEVIL #188

"THE WIDOW’S BITE”
Writer/Storyteller: Frank Miller | Penciler/Inker/Colorist: Klaus Janson
Letters: Joe Rosen | Editor: Denny O’Neil | Supervisor : Jim Shooter

The Plot: Black Widow fights her way out of S.H.I.E.L.D. medical custody and goes in search of Daredevil, but doesn't find him at either his brownstone or Heather’s apartment. Meanwhile, Stick speaks with Matt, who is in a sensory deprivation tank hidden in his basement, while Kirigi is given an assignment to kill Stick.

Widow is also unable to locate Matt at his office and continues her search. As Matt and Stick continue their conversation, Black Widow enters the Kingpin’s office but he, too, is unaware of where Daredevil could be. As the Widow fights Kingpin’s goons, he notices that she appears to be dissolving somehow.

Meanwhile, Kirigi enters Matt’s basement but he is defeated by Stick and his associates, Shaft, Claw, and Stone. As Matt emerges from the sensory deprivation tank, Black Widow arrives and collapses.

Sub-Plots & Continuity Notes: Black Widow visits with her friend and father figure, Ivan, before setting out on her quest. She notes that “…he's been through a lot lately,” but there's no footnote explaining the comment.

(However, stay tuned to this very site and we'll find out what she means in another month or so!)

The Widow’s costume makes its full debut here, rendered by Janson using what I believe is called “halftone”. She will remain in this costume for just about a decade, up through the early nineties.

Matt says he was hit by a second dose of the radiation that gave him his powers, but again there is no footnote. It happened in issue 185, “Guts”, though this is the first indication of the cause for his recent issues, which he previously seemed mystified about. It's almost like Miller forgot he hadn't clarified this earlier.

Stick tells Matt that the radiation has worn off by now, and that the radiation which originally blinded him wore off long ago as well. According to Stick, as with the radar sense explained some issues back, Daredevil simply has access to the same hypersenses any human could have if they trained hard enough.

Heather is drinking heavily since Matt forced her to renounce her company and accept his proposal. Still no word as to his motivation behind callously and mercilessly destroying her self-confidence this way.

Stick’s friends all wear white ninja uniforms. Shaft is an archer, Claw is armed with… claws, and Stone is a towering bruiser who uses a sword and apparently has uncuttable skin.

My Thoughts: I have mixed feelings about the new Black Widow costume. On one hand, this is what she was wearing when I first encountered the character as a member of the Bob Harras/Steve Epting Avengers, so I sort of have a soft spot for it because of that. But, that said, I think it's far inferior to her original look. The long red hair and black catsuit are so much more visually distinctive than her short cut and gray outfit.

I don't have mixed feelings, however, about Stick’s revelation that the radiation was not responsible for Matt’s hypersenses. I'll say now what I said when he made the same claim about the radar sense: this really makes Daredevil a lot less special in my mind, if literally anybody could have the same abilities as him. For whatever reason, it seems Miller is determined to make Daredevil as “normal” as possible; i.e. to remove any sort of superhuman ability from his repertoire. Certainly he's still got all these senses no one else has, but per Stick, anybody could have them if they wanted it badly enough.

Maybe Miller wants there to be one less radiation-powered hero in the Marvel Universe. Maybe he wants to justify his creation, Stick, and needs to take DD down a peg or two in order to do it. Or maybe he just thinks Daredevil having actual superpowers is silly. I don't know. But, whatever his reasoning, I don't like it.

Also, for some reason Miller refuses to refer to S.H.I.E.L.D. by name in these issues; it's simply called "the agency" and Nick Fury is referred to as "Nick" or "Colonel", but never by his full name. Maybe I'm reading too much into this, but as we move closer to the end of his run, I'm almost getting the impression that Miller is sort of... embarrassed...? about some of the more outrageous trappings of superhero comics. But then again, he does have ninjas resurrecting a centuries-old warrior at the same time, so perhaps not.