Technically, the Punisher arc started with issue #182, when Miller showed Frank Castle breaking out of prison, but #183-184 is the classic “angel dust” story, that for its time was so realistic that they gave a consulting credit (see above).
I must have read story twenty times, and I own it in three different formats (original issues and two bound volumes).
Also in this tale: Matt Murdock continues his awful-and-terrible behavior towards Heather Glenn, and asks her to marry him. Exploring this dimension of Daredevil is brave–he’s a hero in costume, but as a person, he tears this poor woman apart, taking advantage of her repeatedly, because he feels like he has to dominate everything and everyone.
This story is one of the best of the 1980s, and one of the top 10 DD stories of all time.
Issue #183’s cover has received many homages.
Yessir, another iconic cover, all right, right on the heels of the previous issues’ unforgettable tombstone-graveyard cover. I just can’t understand why DD thinks he’s in love with Heather Glenn! Yeah, she’s cute, and all, but just simply not in the same league with her competition. In issue#156, the Black Widow identifies Matt as “her man”, and who is going to be dumb enough to argue with the Black Widow-?? Obviously, DD needs a woman who can share his way of life, and that would be the Widow at the most, and Elektra at the least! What IS it about poor little Heather that Matt just cannot resist?? Is it her helplessness?? ( the ‘Alicia Masters’ Syndrome ) Is it her submissiveness?? Matt certainly is on the dominant side, so that would make Heather attractive to him. ( the “AC/DC” Syndrome ) I just…….. if I were to line up all the women that Matt has ever had, from most to least attractive, Heather would come in dead last! It’s just a matter of taste, I guess, but when you’ve bagged women like Elektra and the Black Widow……why settle on Minnie Mouse??? Just me. Word!
I never really thought of Matt as thinking he was “in love” with Heather. I saw it as a form of control–he wanted to exercise power over someone who had a lot of what he thought he needed (a close family, wealth, beauty, eyesight) and over someone who other people wanted. DD is a control freak.
I think we are on the same page, here. Matt’s definitely a “take-charge” kind of guy, but so are the Widow and Elektra, and Matt wants a chick he can totally dominate. I still maintain that what Matt REALLY needs is a woman who can share his way of life, ( and that would NOT be Heather Glenn ) but two dominants in a relationship usually wind up with nothing but conflict and misery. I believe that’s why the Black Panther and Storm didn’t work out.