Murdock and Marvel: 2007 Part 2

Episode 73 - Murdock and Marvel: 2007 Part 2

America continues to deal with the consequences of 9/11, and we are not mid-way through the 8 year Iraq War.  Something seems to be changing on the comics landscape, as dark themes, destruction and war get more prevalent, and stories retreat to more conventional and traditional themes. 

This is part 2 of the podcast. that will feature the year in Daredevil, the Spotlight story and the Takeaway for 2007.

 

The Year in Daredevil 

Appearances: Daredevil #91-#101, Daredevil: Father #6, Daredevil Annual #1, Incredible Hulk #100. Thunderbolts #108 and 110, What If? Avengers Disassembled #1, What If? Wolverine Enemy of the State #1, Avengers Next #4, Marvel Select Flip Magazine #19 and 22, X-23: Target X #1-6, Amazing Spider-Man #538, Spider-Man and Power Pack #3-4, Black Panther #25, Bullet Points #4-5, Civil War: Front Line #11, Fantastic Four: Then End #5-6, Punisher War Journal #4, Civil War: The Confession #1, Ultimate Spider-Man #106-107 and 109-110, Fallen Son: The Death of Captain America #1, Ms Marvel #14, Wonder Man #5, Hulk and Power Pack #3-4, Marvel Zombies: Dead Days #1, X-Men #200, World War Hulk: Front Line #2 and 6, Civil War Chronicles #1-2, Last Fantastic Four Story #1, New Avengers #34 

Writing: Ed Brubaker (#91-101) 

Pencils: Michael Lark (#91-93, 95-99, and 101), Lee Weeks (#94), Lark, Marko Djurdjevic, John Romita Sr, Gene Colan, Bill Sienkiewicz, Alex Maleev and Lee Bermejo (#100) 

Inks: Stefano Gaudiano (#91-99 and 101), Gaudiano and Al Milgrom (#100) 

• 2007 begins with the final three parts of the “Devil Takes a Ride storyline we talked about in 2006 That involved Murdock going to Europe and confronting Vanessa Fisk for all the trouble she’s been causing him as well as then freeing Fisk from prison. 
• In April, we get a one-shot story called Our Love Story (with a cool cover from John Romita Sr) that talks about the relationship Milla Donovan has with Matt Murdock and Daredevil. 
• Next, we get long story arch titled “To the Devil, His Due”.  Murdock and company are brought in to defend Melvin Potter, the Gladiator, who has been accused of killing inmates in Ryker's Island prison; Melvin claims that he didn't do it, even though all evidence points to the fact that he did. As the story progresses, Potter escapes prison and goes on a killing spree, Milla starts going to a psychiatrist and Lily Luca – the woman who double crossed Murdock in Europe during the Devil Takes a Ride story comes to New York looking for Murdock’s help. 
• When Potter shows up to ruin a dinner date between Milla and Matt, Murdock figures out that someone is behind the Gladiator’s recent behavior and must stop Potter from killing Milla. The story ends with Potter getting arrested and Daredevil turning his sights on the person behind Potter’s behavior change… Mr. Fear. Meanwhile, in a moment of jealous anger directed toward Lily (induced in no small part by Mr Fear’s gas), Milla accidentally kills a man in the subway. 
• That leads directly into a “Triple sized” issue 100 featuring 7 artists and a huge six-part story titled Without Fear that finishes the year and bleeds into 2008. Issue 100 will be the spotlight story this week. For this recap, Daredevil confronts Larry Cranston aka Mr Fear but Fear is able to escape and when he returns home Murdock learns Milla has been arrested for murder.
• As the Without Fear story continues, we see Turk is now in the employ of the Hood who has designs of his own on New York and Hell’s Kitchen. Daredevil learns of a chemist who assisted Mr Fear in his latest version of the fear gas who is now dead, and Milla fails her psych evaluation and is sent to Bellevue hospital under protective custody. Milla is eventually allowed to return home with a home health nurse to monitor her actions. But then she attacks the nurse after being visited by Lily Lucca which gets her sent back to Bellevue. Hood and Fear team up for a time but disagree on “the big picture”.  
• Ultimately the story ends with Daredevil confronting Mr Fear and demanding a cure to Milla’s condition – to which fear reveals there is no antidote.  Turning him over to Detective Krutz, Cranston confesses that he is responsible for Melvin and Milla's recent action and claims he did it to Matt Murdock because he does not like him. Lilly Lucca, who went to Murdock’s home because of Mr Fear, has disappeared and Murdock tells Foggy he’s responsible for ruining Milla’s life. 
• Meanwhile, in the Daredevil Annual that was released in December, Carlos Muerto aka Black Tarantula is released on parole, and he looks up his old prison buddy, Matt Murdock, for a job and help in getting his life back in order. And though it works for a time, ultimately, they end up going their separate ways. This is a story by Ed Brubaker with Andre Parks as writer. Leo Fernandez and Scott Koblish on art