The Early Stan Lee Issues (# 1-17)
This section covers the issues of Daredevil written by Stan Lee prior to the addition of definitive DD artist Gene Colan to the mix.
Daredevil #1: "The Origin of Daredevil"; 23 pages
Writer: Stan Lee
Artist: Bill Everett
In his first recorded adventure, Matt Murdock puts on the yellow and black tights of Daredevil to avenge his father's death at the hands of The Fixer
As much as I'd like to start off this new version of The Daredevil Companion claiming classic status for the very first story, it's very hard to look past some very noticeable flaws in this issue--not the least of which is the story's obvious debt to the origin of another Marvel superstar, Spider-Man.
The fact is there are so many similarities to the wallcrawler in this tale that you really have to question the wisdom of making reference to Spidey (even back then the most popular of the Marvel super-heroes) both on the book's cover and title page. Once again we have a hero who's picked on by his peers and considered an outcast with a father figure who is murdered by criminals. We have an accident involving radiation being the catalyst for the man's development of paranormal abilities. We even have the hero creating his costume by himself out of what he has on hand, and a romantic interest being introduced via the hero's work environment.
However, one of the things that is interesting upon reading the story all these years later is the number of deviations Stan Lee takes--primary among them the choice that Matt is in many aspects a success in what he does. When young Matt Murdock burns to become more physically fit like his father, he decides to train in secret. Even though he's blinded, his work ethic is such that he not only becomes a successful student but the Class Valedictorian. You get the impression that Matthew Murdock would be a hero even if his father wasn't killed by the Fixer's men, because he is so good at what he does. Unlike the Matt who borders on mental illness that we become familiar with in the Miller era and beyond, this is a guy whose confidence is incredible ....
There's a very old school feel to this issue, and not just because it was written during that time when Stan was perfecting his blend of hyperbole and goofiness. Part of it is the art of Bill Everett, which is very effective but minimalist, never using more lines than are absolutely necessary. And part of it is the fact that Matt's first foe is The Mob, which paradoxically makes it feel quaint while also reflecting things to come in re: the kind of stories that will work the best. Compare it to the next issue, which features a lot of strange, goofball contrivances and a nutty romp through the Baxter Building--the low-tech bad guys of this origin feels right, and it's not for nothing that Miller stumbled on making the Kingpin the main bad guy for Matt when he makes the scene.
As we all know, this issue features the initial costume--which, quite frankly, looks a lil' dorky. There's a definite disconnect between the character's name and the color scheme (yellow does not scream out 'devil' to me, even if you sport lil' horns on your heard), and future issues will find ways to make Matt's threads even goofier . Luckily, Wally Wood redesigned the costume in a few months, a design that was so simple and sleek that it's remained the character's uniform (with the exception of one very unfortunate period) to this day
So, while it's not an instant, deathless classic like Spider-Man #1 , it's hard not to say the story has a certain charm. It may be low-key, but "The Origin of Daredevil" is pretty readable even now.
Daredevil #2: "The Evil Menace of Electro!"; 22 pages
Writer: Stan Lee
Artist: Joe Orlando, pencils; Vince Colletta, inks
The Fantastic Four hire Matt Murdock to do an assessment of the Baxter Building prior to their signing a lease renewal while they're away at Washington. Good thing that Matt's Daredevil, since Electro is planning to raid the building at the same time to make off with Reed Richards patents.
In my review of Daredevil #1, I made a comment on how the book benefited from a very simple, streamlined story. In this review, I'll be commenting on how all-fired cluttered this story is.
There's really no two ways about it: this story is a mess and a half. I wonder if it was a little more rushed than other issues of the period, because the plot seems built wholly on contrivances holier than the Pope--beginning with the rather baffling idea of sending the very blind Matt Murdock to do an assessment of the Baxter Building. Now the reader knows that Matt has special senses, but it's baffling how neither Foggy or Karen seem to find assigning Matt the task odd (this may be the source of the many, many years of writers treating Foggy as a goof of the first order). There's also the arbitrary use of Electro, in a role that could be filled by any one of (at that time) a dozen villains--in fact, probably should have, considering how the character was not portrayed as much of a big time schemer in his previous appearance. There's the fact that for a Daredevil story it's very Fantastic Four specific, utilizing the Baxter Building as a backdrop, the Pogo Plane as a major prop etc (one wonders if this was a discarded plot for the Human Torch series over in Strange Tales ). And there's just the way Stan contorts logic, and Daredevil's powers, in such a way that he's not killed within the first half of the story. Heck, there are moments like DD's escape from the Pogo Plane where his powers are amped up and misrepresented to get him out of danger.
This story also begins what will be a rather strange trend in the series. Electro marks the first of a rather large number of villains borrowed from other heroes' rogue galleries. It sets a trend that sees many refugees from other comics ending up here, including The Cobra and Mr. Hyde, the Scorpion, the Beetle, and, most importantly, The Kingpin. This practice continues to this day, with Nitro showing up in one of the earliest Bendis issues.
So is there a reason this story is saved from the basement? Well, it's undeniable that "The Menace of Electro," with all its stupid, goofy plotting and overall silliness, has a vigor and energy that's a lot of fun. The story does not lag; if anything, there may be too much going on. The breezy, breakneck pace is what makes a lot of the early Marvels tick--it's certainly what drives those Ditko Spider-Man issues--and while it falls a bit flat here, it certainly prevents the story from going all the way down the tubes.
This is first of three issues penciled by the legendary Joe Orlando. Orlando was a member of the EC shop, and went on to be the guiding force behind DC's line of horror books--shepherding the creation of Swamp Thing and the seminal Michael Fleisher/Jim Aparo Spectre along the way. This is a very rare example of super-hero work by Orlando and, even though he seems uncomfortable at times, the energy he brings to the story is undeniable. He'll get better material to work with in the next two issues (even though he is saddled with the unfortunate 'shoulder pouch' that was thankfully lost when Wally Wood redesigned the hero), but it's pretty remarkable to note that even with this mish-mash, Orlando excels.
"The Menace of Electro" is a mess, but at least it is a mess that's not boring--and is even intermittently amusing. It's obvious that the series is stumbling around trying to find a direction that it won't discover until the arrival of one of its greatest artists.
Daredevil #3: "Daredevil Battles The Owl, Ominous Overlord of Crime!"; 22 pages
Writer: Stan Lee
Artist: Joe Orlando, Pencils, Vince Colletta, inks
After being caught in his unethical business practices, financier Leland Owlsley calls on Matt Murdock to get him out of jail. Matt succeeds, but ends up having to intervene as Daredevil when the newly freed Owlsley decides to finally act on his new ambition and take over the underworld in New York--with Matt as his fall guy if things go wrong.
Before we begin, I have to say...they don't make titles like that anymore, do they?
Even though it suffers from some of the problems of the previous issue, this is a significant story for introducing the first super-villain expressively created for Daredevil--and the character who was intended to be DD's arch nemesis. Even as late as the 70's, Marvel ad copy was assigning Leland Owlsley the title of "DD's most nefarious foe," which is odd considering the perception one would get from reading the book that the Owl was a minor bad guy at best. Still the idea of The Owl being at the top of DD's rogue's gallery persisted until Frank Miller imported the Kingpin to become the One Big Threat, a position the large gentleman takes up to this day.
And to be fair, the Owl does make something of an impressive showing here. A lot of this is due to Orlando's pencils; its obvious that he's the most comfortable with this story, complete with the gothic-looking villain and the horror-movie sets of the last act. And the way he's maneuvered to be to business what Matt is to the law makes him an appropriate 'parallel development' sort of character. While I question the reason for the character's gliding powers, which seemingly come out of nowhere and appear tacked on at the last minute, The Owl is rich enough a character to support multiple stories pitting him against our hero as both Matt and Daredevil.
That the reader comes away with an impression of the Owl is pretty amazing considering the highly disjointed nature of the story itself. Much like the previous issue's romp with Electro, this issue seems to have segments that come from three or four different books. First the Owl is an unscrupulous businessman, then he decides to become Gang Lord of New York, then he recruits a gang, then decides to go back to kidnap Matt Murdock to coerce him into being his lawyer/patsy, then... You definitely get that sense that Lee plotted this thoroughly on the fly at a particularly exciting lunch meeting with Orlando, and that the issue's forward momentum was a secondary concern. Still, the energy that salvaged "The Evil Menace of Electro" is still there, and is even more effective with a storyline less cluttered by the inappropriate inclusion of all the FF argle-bargle that marred issue #2.
What is interesting in a 'so bad it's good' context is noting that at this point Lee still hasn't quite figured out DD's equipment. The first dozen of so issues will see Matt adding and dropping newfangled stuff for his 'cane weapon' at an alarming rate. This issue contains a particularly noxious addition to the hero's crime fighting arsenal--after a ludicrous sequence of DD traversing the rooftops on the way to the courthouse while bouncing his rolled up suit like a basketball, Matt is inspired to create a pouch to hold his street clothes. This travesty, which looks like Daredevil is carrying a bookbag on his back, was thankfully dropped once Wally Wood reports for duty with the fifth issue.
As mentioned above, this is arguably the best of the three Orlando-drawn issues, as the former EC artist is able to dip into his gothic horror bag of tricks for the Owl; even his high-tech 'Aerie' comes complete with dank dungeons that contain hanging cages, hidden arenas that store captured gorillas, and slimy staircases carved out of the rocks of the Jersey Palisades. And he does try his best with the silliness of the pouch, but no one could make that idea fly.
"Daredevil Battles The Owl, Ominous Overlord of Crime!" is a pretty decent read, and a good first showing for The Owl. It's not until later, after the book had changed hands a couple of times, that Leland Owlsley began to gain the reputation of being a feeb.
Daredevil #4: "Menaced By The Mystery of Killgrave, The Unbelievable Purple Man!"; 22 pages
Writer: Stan Lee
Artist: Joe Orlando, pencils, Vince Coletta, inks
Matt agrees to take on the case of Zebediah Killgrave, a purple skinned man who robbed a bank by politely asking the teller to hand him some money. While Daredevil tries to learn his secret, he finds he has to hurry--Killgrave has sexual designs on Karen Page.
Outside of The Gladiator and The Death Stalker, Killgrave is possibly my favorite Daredevil villain of all time. That being said, I have to admit that the Killgrave that so enthralled me was developed first by Jim Shooter, then by Frank Miller, in a handful of small stories in the 70's. Going back to the moment of his creation in this issue, I'm struck by how...well, dull, the character comes off.
Granted, the seeds that made Killgrave so fascinating are already there in this first appearance. The first scene, in which Killgrave goes up to a bank teller and politely asks him to stuff a briefcase with hundred dollar bills (but only new ones, and not too many because he doesn't want to damage the seams of the case) is magnificent. It's easily the best scene in the book, as it basically gives you everything you want to know about this guy in four panels.
Unfortunately, that's the only thing really that Lee has to say with Killgrave, as the story degenerates into a cycle of Daredevil pursues Killgrave/Killgrave finds some people (weightlifters! bystanders!) to fight Daredevil/Daredevil works towards a way to defeat Killgrave. Unlike previous near-misses like issue #2's mix-up with Electro, there's a definite lack of forward momentum, as if Lee had this great idea about a weird little man who can make people do anything and then realized he had nowhere to go with the premise. The plot is so lackluster that Lee forces a fascination with Karen Page onto Killgrave to drive Daredevil toward the climax. It's stories like this that make early Daredevil come off as actionless and floundering.
That sense of floundering isn't helped by the addition and subtraction of features on DD's costume. Lee must have finally realized how silly that back pouch Matt added to the costume was, because in this issue he forces a fight with civilians just to make our hero remove the unsightly hoodie...only to later decide to add a miniature tape recorder to his billyclub that he gives the unfortunate name of ‘The Snooper-Scope.' The Scope actually survives a few issues after the last major Silver Age costume revision in issue #7, but the idea of Matt's weapon being more tricked out than Batman's utility belt never quite shakes off its camp (lack of) appeal.
This is the last of Joe Orlando's issues, and his work is okay--although nowhere near as eye-catching as issue #3's romp with The Owl. There are some signs of rushing in the later half of the story (the lack of detail in Killgrave's face grows exponentially in relation to the closeness of the climax), and his weightlifters seem a tad...unatheletic...but Orlando does the best he can with a genre he had little interest in. It must have been a relief to him when Stan Lee hired Wally Wood to do the book--and considering that it's under Wood's pencils that Daredevil finally seems to gel, his arrival comes not a moment too soon.
So, even though Zebediah Killgrave goes on to become a really compelling bad guy in later stories by later creative teams, "Menaced By The Mystery of Killgrave, The Unbelievable Purple Man!" lack menace or mystery...although an argument can be made that it's pretty unbelievable.