TALES OF WONDER SPECIAL: Daredevil Vol. 1-3 HC combo: $39.99

DAREDEVIL (VOL. 2) #26-31: Underboss

Daredevil #26
22 pages + cover • December 2001

A young underboss named Sammy Silke, the son of an associate and friend of the Kingpin, has a meeting with Fisk and his men, and brazenly challengeshis authenticity and leadership. Before the Kingpin's patience with the young buck wears thin, his men turn on him, and in a Caesar-like episode, plungetheir knife blades into him, overwhelming him with their attack.

Flashing back a week, Matt Murdock gives his closing testimony in a civil case against a corporation. He wins a huge amount in damages for his clients, buthe could always sense the way the jury was going with his power over his senses. As he and Foggy slowly make their way through the crush of reporters, aman dressed in street clothes and a ball cap tipped tightly over his brow steps up and unleashes a powerful wash of magnetic force that knocks everyoneaway from him, as well as cars and other objects. He checks with Foggy and then chases after the man, tracing the odor of battery acid that seems to pervade from the man's wake. As Daredevil, he finally catches up to him, and the man says to Daredevil that his emplyers told him to expect the Man Without Fear. He once again unleasheshis powerful force wave against DD, slamming him back into a wall. But he gets up and charges the man, punching him several times and demandinghe reveal who he is and who sent him to perform this mindless attack. The man gives up, claiming his powers are drowned out after usage and must take time to recharge.

Daredevil #27
22 pages + cover • January 2002

A veteran cop training a rookie cop come upon Daredevil beating the snot out of the villain Nitro in an attempt to get information about his employers.Instead of following the vet cop's lead, the rookie tells DD to step away from Nitro and then fires a shot at him, accidentally hitting Nitro in the leg. Daredevilis forced to leap away, while the old-timer reads the riot act to the rookie cop, telling him that Daredevil gets a wide berth in this neighborhood from the cops.

Later, Matt meets Foggy in the hospital and explains what happened; how Nitro was an assassin out to get Matt Murdock, and wound up killing three innocentbystanders. Foggy suggests that the Kingpin was behind it, that perhaps he was finally out to nail Daredevil once and for all. Foggy's mother shows up, andMatt heads out as Daredevil to confront the Kingpin, demanding to know why he sent Nitro to attack the courthouse. Kingpin disavows any knowledge of this event. DD picks out the new kid, Silke, from his entourage and knocks him back with his billy club, suggesting to the Kingpin to keep his boys in line.

Flashing back three months previous, Sammy Silke plays poker with the Kingpin's inner circle, where they suggest to the new guy not to mess around in Daredevil'sterritory. There, he reacquaints himself with his childhood friend, the Kingpin's son, Richard, who is sullenly and silently drinking at the bar.

Flashing back to the current day, Ben Urich receives a tip that the Kingpin is dead.

Daredevil #28
22 pages + cover • February 2002

SILENT ISSUE:

Matt Murdock walks into his office and finds a hand-scribbled note on his desk, warning him that there is a half-million dollar bounty on his head, and to try not to die. Matt reflects back on the deaths of Karen Page and Elektra, placing them squarely within the realm of his activities as Daredevil. He also knows that it has been Bullseye who has been the one who has always haunted him and the ones he loves. Soon, he senses the laser pinpoint of the sniper assassin Shotgun, sizing him up from across the way on the rooftop. But Matt disappears from his scope, and suddenly, Daredevil is upon him! He puts Shotgun away and finds the "open bounty" note on Matt Murdock tucked in his pocket.

Just then, he senses the villain Boomerang on an adjoining rooftop. He lets a boomerang fly, but Daredevil dodges it, grabs him, holds him up and the boomerang nearlybashes the villain upside his head. He grabs Boomerang and finds his picture tucked in his pocket. He hands him over to the authorities, and points out to the cop wherehe can find Shotgun. As he realizes that an bounty has been circulated on the life of Matt Murdock, he senses Bullseye in the nearby crowd, who for some reason chooses not to pursue him. Could it have been Bullseye who sent Murdock the warning?

Daredevil #29
22 pages + cover • March 2002

After receiving word of the Kingpin's attempted murder, Vanessa rushes to his side, where he has been secretly admitted to a hospital, where he remains in intensive care.She immediately sets out to find out who tried to kill her husband.

Flashing back three months, Sammy Silke has his first audience with the Kingpin and asks him to rub out a lawyer who is opposing counsel in a trial that affect's his father's business concerns. When the Kingpin finds out the lawyer in question is Matt Murdock, he quickly and decisively turns down the request, and shouts at the young man that nobody is to ever lay a finger on Murdock.

Flashing forward in time, Daredevil is on a rampage in the underworld, trying to turn over every piece of scum he can find to get word on who issued the assassination order on Matt Murdock. One guy finally squeaks, telling DD that it's the Kingpin who did it, only that the Kingpin doesn't want anyone to know it's him. Armed with this information, DD visits the blind Kingpin in his darkened bedroom, where the Kingpin denies once again that he has anything to do with this assassination order.

Flashing back two months, Sammy Silke is playing poker with the Kingpin's boys and is upset about the way the Kingpin turned him down on his request to kill Murdock, and how he seemingly lets Daredevil have the run of Hell's Kitchen. Just when he mentions Murdock, Richard Fisk speaks up for the first time, inviting him over to sit next to him at the bar.

In the current time, Vanessa prepares to move her husband to Europe where he can be cared for with less fear of another assassination attempt. She sternly questions her husband's right-hand man, Waldo Dini, who he knows that did this, and if her son Richard was involved.

Daredevil #30
22 pages + cover • April 2002

Ben Urich and Daredevil compare notes, with Ben suggesting that the Kingpin might be dead, and that the Murdock hit might be related. They also are astonished to figure that Daredevil's secret ID might be up for grabs.

Flashing back two months, Silke and Richard Fisk talk at the bar. The Kingpin's son informs Silke that Matt Murdock is Daredevil. He says that all of Kingpin's men know it, but the Kingpin doesn't know they know it because they know better than to bring it up. They have an awed respect for whatever reason that the Kingpin accommodates Daredevil's actions in the city. Silke erupts in anger that anybody would put up with such seeming insanity- that Daredevil is an enemy that needs taking out. Richard Fisk agrees with Silke's opinion, and together, they hatch a plan to get past the inertia for change that the Kingpin has instilled in his men. They meet with the Kingpin's inner circle of made men and clues them in on the plan: together, they will stand united and kill the Kingpin, with Silke taking over in the wake of his death. Silke is motivated by the feelings of power and the unwillingness to work in an organization run by a man willing to let Daredevil run free; Richard Fish is motivated by his loathing for his father, who beat him and mistreated himas a child.

The first part of their plan is to make it seem as if the Kingpin has put out an order for the death of Matt Murdock. This way, they hope to send a subliminal message to the Kingpin that his days are almost over, with the men below him challenging his authority. They give the word to Falzone, who is a known hiring agent for super-poweredassassins and thugs, and he agrees to put the hit out on Murdock.

Flashing forward, as the Kingpin is about to be boarded on the plane to Europe, she tells Waldo to take care of him there while she carries through with her plansto punish those who did this to him.

Daredevil #31
22 pages + cover • May 2002

Silke and the Kingpin's former lieutenants share a drink over their perceived assassination of the big man. Silke especially tries to lift the spirits of Richard Fisk, the son who helped spearhead the plan, but is solemnly reflecting on his father's murder.

Flashing back to the day before, Ben Urich and Daredevil have traced the murder hires as far back as Falzone in their attempt to figure out how his secret identity might be out in the underworld. While Urich does research at his computer, DD heads to Falzone's bar to find the man murdered, and his smell senses detect trace elements that Vaness Fisk might have been there.

Richard Fisk returns home to find his mother sitting in wait for him. She ruthlessly excoriates him for killing her husband, and then shoots him dead. She gives the order to Waldo Dini to finish the job on the rest of his accomplices. The order goes out, and all of Silke's helpers find their fates in a quick and vicious death. Silke himself is about to enter his hotel room when he is greeted by gunmen that fire at him. He escapes and makes his way to a phone, where he calls his father for help, but finds that his father has no interest in helping his son who tried to whack the Kingpin.

His next move is to turn himself into the FBI, begging for them to protect him. They refuse unless he turns over big information- like evidence on his father's operations. Silke refuses to do that, but offers them information on Daredevil's secret identity as Matt Murdock.

DAREDEVIL (VOL. 2) #32-37: Out

Daredevil #32
22 pages + cover • June 2002

The two FBI agents call in their boss, Mr. Davis, in at 3 am to fill him in on big developments in the Kingpin case. They inform himthat Sammy Silke came in and confessed to everything. During the interrogation, Silke filled them in on how and why he and his menkilled the Kingpin. They also connect the dots across the map to Vanessa Fisk, who seems to be the one who killed all the men whohurt her husband, including her own son. They also inform their boss that Silke offered up Daredevil's secret identity as Matt Murdock. The FBI agents did some research and found that the idea that Murdock might be the costumed hero not to be completely far-fetched.

Davis tells his agents that regardless of whether Matt Murdock is or isn't Daredevil, this information is to be kept confidential unlessit has a pertinent connection to the case. As he says this, one agent's jaw tightens a little bit....

The next morning, Foggy Nelson buys a paper at a newsstand and sees his friend Matt Murdock's face plastered on the cover of the Daily Globe with the headline declaring he is really Daredevil. Foggy can scarcely believe his eyes.

Daredevil #33
22 pages + cover • July 2002

As Matt Murdock wakens, his senses inform him of the circus that has assembled outside his door. He realizes that life as he knows it isover; the press has arrived and they are out for blood. Foggy enters Matt's home, denying that his friend is Daredevil. Foggy tells his friendthe Daily Globe used "unidentified sources" as the linchpin of their headline, and neither can figure who that would be.

Flashing back, two days previous, the FBI agent Henry is warned by his boss not to release any of this information. But when he meets his estranged wife,it becomes clear that he has considerable financial and emotional strife in his life. Henry does some detective work to confirm the connectionbetween DD and Murdock. He stakes out Murdock's home and sees a form similar to the Black Widow flashing around the rooftops late atnight, entering, staying a time, and then leaving. After his partner informs him that Silke has been booked and that the office will not be pursuingthe information on DD/Murdock because S.H.I.E.L.D. has total access to his file, Henry decides to send the anonymous tip to the Globe, to cashin big time.

Foggy and Matt have a heart-to-heart conversation wherein Foggy pleads with Matt to retire his Daredevil costume once and for all, and warnshim that he can't reveal his ID or he'll be disbarred.

Daredevil #34
22 pages + cover • August 2002

J. Jonah Jameson rails against his reporters on how it was that the Bugle was scooped on Daredevil's secret identity. Ben stops his rant shortand tells him that Murdock isn't Daredevil. Jameson demands to know how Urich knows DD's real secret ID, and Urich refuses to tell him. PeterParker slips into the room and backs up Urich. Together, they hold strong and tell Jameson they're not going to be party to outing Daredevil's secret ID.

Later Urich and Peter confirm that they do, in fact, know DD's real identity, and try to think of a way to help their friend. Foggy, meanwhile, continuesto hammer away at Matt to give up the lifestyle that has caused so much personal misery to him over the years, to stop the cycle of pain that beingDaredevil brings to him and all those he loves.

Daredevil #35
22 pages + cover • September 2002

Daredevil peers down at the throngs of reporters pulling twenty-four hour vigils in front of his home. He races off into the night to do some good as Daredevil, to prove himself to the world once again. He finds a girl being attacked and takes on her assailants. The tussle flows into a diner, where he puts away the thugand helps the victim get her belongings back. But a jerk sitting in a booth makes fun of him as if he was the blind lawyer, Matt Murdock. But a rumble underhis feet draws his attention back to his home, and when he gets there, he sees Mister Hyde slamming a truck into the side of his brownstone, calling himto come out and face him. Before DD can show up, his friend Spider-Man shows up and takes him on, webbing the truck and then throwing it backat Mister Hyde. Daredevil finally shows up and crowns him with a the final blow, a tremendous whack upside the head with a mail box.

The press comes crawling out of their hiding places with all kinds of questions, as Spider-Man and Daredevil flee back into the night.

Matt meets with his friends Foggy and Ben Urich, and tells them he's about to make an announcement, but one which will unfortunately end hisworking relationship with Ben. The next morning, he meets the press in front of his door, prepared to make an official announcement.

Daredevil #36
22 pages + cover • October 2002

Matt Murdock tells the assembled press that he's not Daredevil. He also explains that he's filing a 400-million dollar libel suit against the Daily Globe.The Black Widow comes to see Matt Murdock, working her way past his bodyguards Luke Cage and Jessica Jones into his office. She tries to talk him into suiting up and going with her to pick a fight with some criminals somewhere, to work off some steam. Matt refuses to discuss the matter with her. She talksto Foggy and they argue about Matt's future course of actions, with Foggy telling her he's been trying to get Matt to quit. Natasha decides she's going to tryto help Matt get out of his funk, and she places a phone call to one of her spying associates.

Matt has dinner with Vanessa later that evening, and she passes onto him the name of the FBI agent who outed him. She tells him she's carved up her husband'sassets and sold them across the board to whoever would buy.

Luke Cage picks him up after dinner with Vanessa, and Matt explains that he's only there for appearance's sake, since he wants the public to know that Matt Murdockis a helpless blind guy. Before he enters his home, he senses a presence in the rooftops. He heads up to the roof and there she stands- Elektra.

Daredevil #37
22 pages + cover • November 2002

Elektra speaks few words, but informs Matt that Natasha called her and mentioned that Matt urgently needed to speak with her, so she came. Matt finds himselfruing Natasha's decision, but can't help himself taking advantage of the situation and pouring his heart out to Elektra. After telling her he wishes they werestill a couple of immature kids in love, she silently takes her leave of him, without comment. Matt realizes he went too far with her.

The Daily Globe's publisher's attorney, Ingersol, meets with Nelson and Murdock and tells them that his boss, Mr. Rosenthal, is willing to take this suit all the way, and that there will be no settlement. He says they know he's Daredevil and that they have him dead to rights.

Later that night, Daredevil pays a visit to Henry Dobbs, the FBI agent who sold his identity to the Globe. He leans on him and manages to convince him to drop his story.

At the next meeting with Rosenthal and his attorney, the mood is quite different. They are offering a settlement with Murdock, who works them up from a lowball figureto 150 million to be donated to charity and a retraction on the front page. But after a private conversation with Matt, Rosenthal calls the deal off. Rosenthal doesn't likeMurdock's attitude, and is thrown by the fact that Murdock worked the settlement deal to the exact point where he was willing to settle, sensing that perhaps Murdockwas working some super-sensory mojo on him as Daredevil. He kicks him out of his office, but first tells him that he's going to enjoy watching how Murdock reacts to the truth coming out for all to see.

-- synopsis by Gormuu