DAREDEVIL #353-357 (1996): Kesel/Nord run begins

Two kids try to kill themselves with a handgrenade and Daredevil stops them…

…by making the bomb zig-zag across the roof to a save place (perhaps making a Batman The Movie reference along the way?).

Then there’s a Mr. Hyde fight. DD finds him on a rooftop with a dead body, and assumes Hyde killed the woman.

He didn’t (see below). DD beats him. But the fight is fun.

Stylewise, it seems that this run will feature the joking/swashbuckling kind of Daredevil. Not a huge fan of Daredevil being a wannabe Spider-Man.

Speaking of whom…

There’s a Spider-Man team-up. But it’s with Ben Reilly, and you all know how I feel about him. (He’s not my Spider-Man.)

During these adventures, Matt Murdock returns and tells Foggy that he had been in hiding from Kingpin but now everything’s safe so he’s back. Karen Page returns, too. We see that this new creative team will reintroduce the Foggy-as-reluctant-partner dynamic.

Nelson and Murdock are then recruited by a big law firm to defend Hyde, who was in fact framed for the rooftop murder. I do like when Daredevil beats people up and Murdock defends them. It’s an endlessly entertaining dynamic.

Lois Lane covers the trial. Wow. both a Batman and a Superman reference in one story! (OK, the Batman reference was a stretch but I’m calling it.)

Hyde is not the easiest client, but they win nonethless.

I’m cautiously optimistic that this will be a good run!

It turns out that Hyde didn’t kill the woman. But she was killed at his warehouse, and when Daredevil investigates he finds Pyro.

Meanwhile, Misty Knight and Colleen Wing were hired to investigate the warehouse as well. Daredevil teams up with them.

And gets a little “handsy.” Overall, that somewhat sexist and patronizing exchange is pretty in-character for Daredevil.

It turns out, The Enforcers were behind this whole thing. I know, they’re hardly big name baddies, but they have a long history with DD so it feels right to have them be involved. Daredevil beats them all up and Matt exonerates Mister Hyde.

The cliffhanger is that Karen Page has a new job…And she’s working for Kingpin’s radio station!

Nice extended story with plenty of twists and fun turns. Good stuff!



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