Marvel Comics in the 1980s Preview

Page 11

Daredevil #230

© 2015 Marvel Characters, Inc.

“Born Again” Frank Miller (script); David Mazzucchelli (pencils/inks) The action heats up in Daredevil #230 (May 1986) as the various plot threads begin to come together beginning with a new wrinkle that has an injured Matt Murdock picked off the street by a nun and taken to a clinic (Miller hints that the nun may or may not be Murdock’s mother!) Next, Karen Page, after selling her body for protection and safe passage from Mexico, gets closer to delivering her warning to Murdock that his secret

Daredevil #230, page 10: Ben Urich is ripped a new one by J. Jonah Jameson in this atmospheric scene. Frank Miller and David Mazzuchelli expand on a mostly unseen side of the Daily Bugle publisher first hinted at in Amazing Spider-Man Annual #15, which, not coincidentally, also involved Miller.

ID has been blown. The Kingpin, once so confident that he’d finally destroyed Daredevil, is plagued by growing doubts after losing track of him. Foggy Nelson and Murdock’s former girlfriend Glori O’Breen continue to move toward becoming an item. And finally, reporter Ben Urich, after having his fingers broken by a nurse “the size of your average truck” as a warning to lay off his search for Murdock, recuperates at home, forcing himself to not even THINK the name of...you know who! But far from marking time until next issue’s shattering climax, Miller continues to twist the screws on his characters as Urich is lectured by J. Jonah Jameson about what it means to be a reporter: “There are things you just don’t let happen in this racket,” Jameson says. “Number one is you never get scared away from a story. Not while you’ve got the most powerful weapon in the world on your side. This is five million readers worth of power. It can depose mayors, it can destroy presidents. And it’s been due to get aimed at the Kingpin for years now. But it needs you to do it.” But Urich is thoroughly frightened. He refuses to live up to Jameson’s stirring words. Then, leaving the office, he’s addressed by the janitor who congratulates him on not having more of his fingers broken. Meanwhile, Karen is being beat up by her john who threatens to kill her if she deserts him. Back to Urich on the phone, talking to Lt. Manolis (in traction after the same nurse who attacked Urich got through with him, except she’s not finished yet...) and listens as the bed-ridden man is murdered by the nurse. (“My employer would like you to hear this, Mr. Urich.”) The Dark Ages

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