DAREDEVIL #179

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

The Plot: Ben Urich meets with an informant in a movie theater, but the informant is killed by Elektra, who warns Urich to back off of the Kingpin. Ben returns to the Daily Bugle and calls Matt Murdock. Soon Daredevil arrives and upon learning of Elektra’s involvement, he heads out to find her.

The next day, Ben meets with mayoral candidate Randolph Cherryh at the gym, and Cherryh’s men rough Ben up. Daredevil arrives and escorts him to safety, then listens in as Cherryh phones the Kingpin and sets up a meeting for the next day in Little Italy -- but DD is unable to attend due to a court date. Against the scarlet swashbuckler’s wishes, Ben spies on the meet, taking photos.

That night, Ben meets with another informant who directs him to a nearby building to find Cherryh’s mistress. But Daredevil shows up and, believing this a trap, goes in instead. As Ben watches, DD emerges from the building battling Elektra. She gets the better of him with the help of a bear trap* and knocks a brick wall down on him. Then, hearing Ben’s telltale cough nearby, she hurls a sai at him, stabbing him in the back.

* Yes, you read that right.

Sub-Plots & Continuity Notes: Cherryh observes that Ben is only around forty years old here. He's always seemed older to me; usually somewhere in his fifties.

FANTASTIC FOUR #239

"WENDY'S FRIENDS"
Author: John Byrne | Letterer: Jim Novak | Colorist: Glynis Wein
Editor: Jim Salicrup | Editor-in-Chief: Jim Shooter

The Plot: The Thing’s Aunt Petunia shows up at the Baxter Building and asks the Fantastic Four to come with her to Benson, Arizona, where seven people have been frightened to death. The FF and Frankie Raye travel with Penny and meet the Thing’s Uncle Jake, as well as a British historian and scholar of the occult named Dame Ruth Efford. Also present is Ruth’s friend, a young girl named Wendy.

As the FF investigate Dame Ruth’s excavation, which they believe may be related to Benson’s recent troubles, two more people are killed not far away. Later, Frankie brings Wendy home to find that her father is an abusive drunk. That night, Wendy runs away from home and into the desert. Soon, black creatures invade the town and the Fantastic Four fight to stop them.

Come morning, Benson is demolished and most of its citizens have departed. Wendy’s father shows up and declares he was tested by the black monsters and learned he could change, to become a better father. Declaring their mission in Benson complete, the FF depart. Later, Wendy heads back to the desert to sit with her friends, the black creatures.

THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #225

"FOOLS...LIKE US!"
Writer: Roger Stern | Artists: John Romita, Jr. & Bob Wiacek
Letterer: Joe Rosen | Colorist: Glynis Wein | Editor: Tom DeFalco
Chief: Jim Shooter

The Plot: Shortly before dawn in the Bowery neighborhood of Manhattan, two FBI agents have responded to a note from the serial murderer named Foolkiller, only to be disintegrates by their prey. That same evening, on the Empire State University campus, Peter Parker spies Foolkiller sneaking into the registrar's office and pursues as Spider-Man. The wall-crawler saves the registrar from death, but Foolkiller escapes.

The next day, following a visit to the Daily Bugle, Peter returns to ESU and speaks with his student, Greg Salinger, about the "fools" working in the campus mail room. Moments later, when Debra Whitman tells Peter that Greg called her a fool earlier that day, Peter realizes that Greg must be Foolkiller. He changes to Spider-Man and races to the mail room just in time to save the workers there from Foolkiller's wrath.

Foolkiller makes a run for it, but when he encounters a vagrant who informs him that only a fool would go up against Spider-Man, he turns his gun on himself. Spidey arrives and stops Foolkiller from committing suicide, then unmasks the maniac as Greg Salinger.

IRON MAN #155

"THE BACK-GETTERS!"
Writer: David Michelinie | Pencils: John Romita, Jr. | Inks: Dan Green
Letters: Joe Rosen | Colors: Bob Sharen | Editor: Jim Salicrup
Editor-in-Chief: Jim Shooter

The Plot: Gerrard, the son of Stark International's P.R. director, Artemus Pithins, is beaten after hours at his high school. The next day Mr. Pithins confides in Tony that a number of students have recently been hospitalized at the school, including a group who took some bad drugs and a young man who was run over by a car. Pithins asks if Iron Man might attend the upcoming career fair, and Tony agrees.

At career day, Gerrard is cornered again by a group of students, but his father comes to his aid. The students inform Pithins that Gerrard distributed the bad drugs on behalf of the student who had been run over, and these students want revenge. Pithins convinces them to forego violence and talk their problems out instead.

Meanwhile, outside, Iron Man stops a runaway tank, present for career day, which has been activated by a clumsy student, from demolishing the school.