DAREDEVIL #180

"THE DAMNED”
Story & Art : Frank Miller | Finished Art & Colors: Klaus Janson
Letters: Joe Rosen | Editor: Denny O’Neil | Editor-in-Chief: Jim Shooter

The Plot: Daredevil beats up Turk, Grotto, and an associate of theirs. Meanwhile, Ben Urich develops the photos he took of the Kingpin’s meeting with Randolph Cherryh and realizes that the vagrant woman he saw may be Kingpin’s wife, Vanessa. He informs Daredevil and together they descend beneath the city in search of her. Eventually DD goes on alone, ordering Ben home, but Ben is immediately kidnapped by a group of vagrants.

At the same time, election results come rolling in Cherryh wins the mayorship of New York in a landslide. Underground, Daredevil is brought before the vagrants’ King, who has taken Vanessa as his queen. The King attempts to feed DD and Ben to his alligator, but the man without fear frees himself and defeats the beast, then the King as well.

Later, Daredevil brings Vanessa’s wedding ring to the Kingpin and offers a trade: Vanessa for Cherryh. Kingpin agrees and Cherryh withdraws from the mayoral race, admitting the Daily Bugle’s allegations against him were true. Kingpin wants someone to pay for this, and orders Elektra to kill Foggy Nelson.

Sub-Plots & Continuity Notes: Two weeks have passed since last issue, during which Daredevil has had his ankle in a cast thanks to Elektra’s bear trap, while Ben has recovered from her sai attack. In that time, Ben has taken Elektra's advice and spiked his story on Cherryh’s mob ties, forcing Jonah Jameson to publicly retract the Daily Bugle’s prior articles to that effect.

FANTASTIC FOUR #240

"EXODUS"
Words and Pictures: John Byrne | Letters: Jim Novak | Colors: Glynis Wein
Editor: Jim Salicrup | Editor-in-Chief: Jim Shooter

The Plot: The mutant Quicksilver arrives at the Baxter Building, and after a brief misunderstanding skirmish, informs the Fantastic Four that the Inhumans need help: they are assaulted from without by the sinister Enclave, while inside their hidden city of Attilan, a plague has infected them and led to the deaths of numerous Inhumans. The FF readily agree to assist, and Quicksilver summons the teleporting Inhuman dog, Lockjaw, to bring them all to Attilan.

There, the heroes find that the war is over, ended by the sacrifice of the Inhumans’s insane enemy, Maximus. But he plague remains. Reed determines it’s caused by exposure to the ever-increasing volume of pollutants in the Earth’s atmosphere and declares that the Inhumans must move. When he learns that Attilan has been moved before, Reed suggests that it be transported again, to the Blue Area of the Moon. The Inhumans agree and, after the FF assist in prepping the city and plotting a course, Inhuman king Black Bolt transports Attilan to its new home.

Later, in the aftermath of the move, Inhuman princess Crystal, wife of Quicksilver, gives birth to a daughter.

THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #226

"BUT THE CAT CAME BACK..."
Writer: Roger Stern | Artists: John Romita, Jr. & Jim Mooney
Letterer: Joe Rosen | Colorist: Bob Sharen | Editor: Tom DeFalco
Orderly: Jim Shooter

The Plot: The Black Cat escapes from Mitchell State Hospital in upstate New York and returns to her life as a cat burglar. But she feels unfulfilled and pines for Spider-Man. She sends him a sky-written message, and he meets her at the site of their first encounter. There, the Cat tells Spidey that she will go straight for him, and as a show of good faith she gives him a priceless painting she stole from mob boss Phil Bradshaw, along with an invitation to meet again at a party thrown by Bradshaw the next night.

Spider-Man returns the painting to NYPD Captain Jean DeWolff and gets wind from her that the party may be raided by the police. The web-slinger meets the Black Cat at the party in a Jawa costume and a fight breaks out. Spider-Man and the Cat defeat Bradshaw's goons, and Bradshaw himself is arrested by DeWolff and her men. Afterward, the Cat reiterates her desire to go straight, and she and Spider-Man share a rooftop kiss.

IRON MAN #156

"THE MAULER MANDATE!"
Writer: David Michelinie
Breakdown Art: John Romita, Jr. | Finished Art: Pablo Marcos
Letters: Joe Rosen | Colors: Don Warfield | Editor: Jim Salicrup
Editor-in-Chief: Jim Shooter

The Plot: Scott Lang is taking inventory at Stark International's newly acquired subsidiary, the Cord conglomerate, when he discovers the Mauler battlesuit. Before he can act on his discovery, Scott is knocked out by a mercenary named Brendan Doyle, who takes the armor and attacks Stark International. Doyle is driven away by Iron Man, with some help from Rhodey, who the mercenary recognizes from their time in the same mercenary troupe.

Doyle later breaks into Rhodey's apartment and coerces him into getting them both past Stark security so he can carry put his mission to destroy all records of the development of the Mauler suit. But Iron Man again arrives to confront Doyle, and Rhodey again a aids our hero. Finally, given a choice between killing Rhodey or abandoning his mission, Doyle retreats, thus canceling a years-old debt between the two.