DAREDEVIL #233 Marvel Comics, 1986

…and we’re back. Sorry about the lag in posting, particularly during Earth’s Mightiest Guest Stars Week, but sometimes Real Life intrudes on Happy Blogland. As a matter of fact, sometimes Real Life illegally annexes Happy Blogland and rolls a few panzer divisions across its western borders to seize long-disputed territory, despite international protests.

But I’m back and I’m going to extend Earth’s Mightiest Guest Stars Week into a second interminable week. Damn it, there are so many Avengers guest-appearances that I could not fit them into one puny week!

Here’s Daredevil #233, the climax to Miller and Mazzuchelli’s “Born Again” storyline. This comic contains one of the most memorable Avengers guest appearances, although it’s really little more than a cameo. Still, it rules.

I won’t bother you with a recap of the “Born Again” plot – I covered that briefly in a post about the big F*@% Yeah moment in issue #232. Suffice to say that in this final issue of the saga, Daredevil is finally back in costume and back in action. The Kingpin has flushed DD out by unleashing the rabid super-soldier Nuke on the Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood. As the neighborhood burns, Daredevil suits up and just kicks the living bejeezus out of Nuke. He’s got the psycho on the ropes, throttling and pummeling him –

- and then The Avengers show up and take over.

The entire sequence is narrated by Daily Bugle reporter Ben Urich, who is uncomfortably close to the carnage. Like, “ahh ahh my coat’s on fire” close. Urich’s street-level perspective of the events gives the whole sequence a sense of awe and grandeur. Seen through Urich’s eyes, The Avengers are larger-than-life figures:

I love the way The Avengers are portrayed in this comic book. They arrive in a crack of lightning and a sudden downpour, descending from heaven like Greek gods. Wisely Frank “The Tank” Miller sticks with just the Big Three and doesn’t dilute the mythic effect by having frickin’ Ant Man buzzing around Ben Urich’s head and yelling in a tinny voice: “Hey mister! You’re coat’s on fire!” Because that would be stupid.

The Avengers aren’t just here to save lives and secure the scene, they’re also here to take Nuke into custody – and they’re not fucking around:

In real life when you stand in front of a burning helicopter and make declarations, people are usually too distracted by the inferno to pay attention to what you’re saying. But if you’re Iron Man, flaming aircraft are nice backdrops which add to the overall vibe and make you look like a bad-ass. I have to admit, Iron Man looks cool even though he’s wearing the Christmas Armor.

Daredevil backs off and The Avengers take Nuke, which is a good move, really.

Captain America is disturbed by this broken mirror image of him, and he plays heavily into the climax of the “Born Again” storyline. Almost too heavily, really. Miller’s version of Cap is so compelling that he kind of steals the show.

Daredevil #233 – a brief but excellent appearance by Earth’s Mightiest Guest Stars!