Daredevil #126-128 (1975): 1st Torpedo

black family's house destroyed

Daredevil starts to be a unique, special comic for the first time since the first 50 issues.  In these issues, Marv Wolfman, Bob Brown and Klaus Janson create the character Torpedo (who goes on to bigger things in the pages of Rom The Spaceknight).

His origin: A former football star with the first name “Brock” has the chance to save a kid from getting hit by a car-just like Daredevil did in his own origin story-but DD swoops in and saves the girl.  Foiled, Brock decides become a superhero named Torpedo.  The interesting part of it is that the original Torpedo is a villain, who dies during a criminal enterprise that is foiled by Daredevil, so Brock steals his super-suit and tries to be a hero.

DD and hero-version of Torpedo fight and fight and fight, savage, blinding.

It’s the first time we really see Matt Murdock swept away with emotion.  They’re so caught up in the heat of the battle that they destroy an innocent family’s home.

It’s a real emotional approach to superhero conflict–one that we haven’t seen in Daredevil before and, really, only saw previously in a few issues of Spider-Man.

Issue #128 has the first appearance of Matt Murdock’s new brownstone, complete with a big home gym.

Also: This story introduces future fiancé to Matt Murdock, Heather Glenn.  She immediately crushes really hard on Murdock and essentially throws herself at him, which Matt seems to like (even if he resists it).  It’s a good way to develop his womanizing, ego-maniacal side.  And his willingness to get physical with a woman, too.  I never noticed before how Marv Wolfman was really the guy who started developing that.

Towards the end, we get the first appearance of Sky-Walker, who creates steps in the sky. And DD and Death Stalker fight on the steps.

It seems silly, but it works in the story. These are some good issues.

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