Tuesday, December 06, 2005

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!


27 comments:

Angry Android said...

What could happen in real life that would derail Earths Mightiest Guest Stars Week? Inquiring minds want to know!

By the way, shouldn't Tony Stark be worried that his blood has enough alcohol to ignite when near open flames?

Anonymous said...

God damn, but that Reborn storyline was some of Frank "The Tank" Miller's best work. Ever.

Somewhat off topic, but was wondering if young Dave ever bought that X-Men vs. Avengers limited series that came out way back when? The one with the crappy Silvestri art? If so, would love to see your take on it some time.

(word verification: fkimn. I believe that's the sound effect of Bullseye's throwing cards ricocheting off a fire escape)

Anonymous said...

I would have loved to see a Miller Cap series. One of my favorite lines ever is Cap's "I'm loyal to nothing general, except the dream."

Anonymous said...

Best non-Watchmen superhero story ever. End of.

God, I miss Mazzucchelli. He hardly draws anything anymore.

Rob Schamberger said...

I always thought Iron Man was a tool until I read this blog.

Edward Liu said...

I still get a macho kickass charge out of the "A voice that could command a god...and does" 2-panel sequence. Amazing sum-up of Captain America that, combined with the costume, tells you everything you need to know about him.

I also loved how Mazzuchelli doesn't even bother drawing all of Thor -- you see the big red cape and the boots and the silhouette of the hammer and that's all you need.

"Those who can fall silent." First time I read those pages, I knew how they felt.

Anonymous said...

Somehow I got Daredevil #233 long before I ever got to read the rest of Born Again, and it still kicked ass. If you ever see it, there's an old Marvel Fanfare Captain America issue drawn by Miller and written by Roger Stern (I think). Kinda sappy, but still great.

Anonymous said...

I like the red-and-silver Iron Man armor.

There. I said it.

Anonymous said...

Marvel should have shut down Daredevil for a year after the Miller/Mazuchelli run. It has the highest panel-to-F@#k Yeah! ratio of any book I've read before or after (including Batman: Year One). And what did we get in issue 234? Madcap. I bailed out a couple issues later and I've never gone back. Bendis Schmendis.

Brian Cronin said...

Wizard recently pointed to the Red and Silver armor as the most memorable armor.

This is why Wizard is evil.

I mean, they correctly identified the Daredevil and Cap armors as being hideous, but then said that the Silver and Red armor was great?

Bah.

Bah, I say.

My word verification sounds like a supervillain - mrwcuz.

Mr. Wcuz

Didn't he used to mark his body every time he killed someone?

thekelvingreen said...

See? Bendis must have read this issue when he was preparing his Daredevil run, so how come his Avengers are so very much worse than Miller's?

Stupid Bendis.

Ken said...

I've said it before and I'll say it again: Best. Cap. Ever.

Anonymous said...

True, Miller's Cap was great. I almost want a Cap series by Miller now. Almost.

Also, we need more F@#k Yeah moments!

Anonymous said...

"I'm the goddamn Captain."

Anonymous said...

" "I'm the goddamn Captain."

Oh my god I almost pissed myself!!

Anonymous said...

Cap and Thor are so damn majestic. Two panels, one apiece, and I want to be an Avenger NOW! I could put up with insane mutant red sorceresses and alternate universe Kangs so long as I got to hang out with the Hammer and Shield. In fact, I'll thumb-wrestle Jarvis for the honor of rinsing Cap's star-spangled undies with these unworthy hands and laying mints upon the pillow that would touch the fair golden locks of the Mighty Thor.

And I would feel ashamed if I did not also mention the incomparable Ben Urich. If "Born Again" is Airwolf, Urich is the pilot. If "Born Again" is F@*$ Yeah, Urich is the...uh, pilot. In fact, I'd thumb-wrestle Robbie Robertson for the honor of, well, nothing--Robbie's a BIG man, he'd break my thumbs!--but if he offered me a job at the Bugle, I'd take it. Because of Ben Urich.

Anonymous said...

You're right about Cap stealing the show. But in a /good/ way.

Best line in that book:

Cap: He wears the flag.

DD: I hadn't noticed.

And the end of Nuke: "But you said... said you would never /do/ that..."

Yeah, this is one of Miller's best. IMO it's marred only slightly by the last panel (Matt and Karen, 2gether Again!). I think it's even better than the previous issue, which is saying something.

And, BTW, did you notice how much damn /story/ Miller packed into those issues? Cripes, today this would take 20 issues and two TPBs to resolve.

My word is bauugxk. Which reminds me: are you going to do Howard the Duck any time soon?


Doug M.

Anonymous said...

"I'm the goddamn Captain."

"I make it goddamn happen."

Anonymous said...

Crunchitize me Goddamnit!!

Mister Sinister said...

Nuke was goin crazy because he DAMN WELL needed some white? What's white? Cocaine? Peace? White Girls? White Chicks starring the WAyans Brothers? White Christmas? Red, WHITE, & Blue?

Captain's clazed look at Nuke agrees with me.

Its like he's thinking
"WTF is this guy mumbling?"

Kingpin is the Blob w/ a suit & good accent. & now he's John Coffee

Anonymous said...

I have to admit, Iron Man looks cool even though he’s wearing the Christmas Armor.

Call it the Christmas Armor if you wish, but it has a mere fraction of the goddamn Yuletide spirit of Wonder Man's Christmas Tree costume. Now that thing was atrocious.

Actually, like prof. fury, I liked the red-and-silver armor. Partially because that's when I started collecting IRON MAN, although I was familar with the character previously. I mean, sure, they couldn't call him the "Golden Avenger" anymore, but that's a pretty minor quibble. And the suit hadn't looked like it was made out of iron since Tony first painted the clunky suit gold, so it was kind of silly for people to be purists about the color. I just thought the darker red made a nice contrast with the silver, and the suit was a little bulkier and more powerful-looking with the shoulder pads, so it was a nice look. And that armor did have some new gadgets on it, like the chameleon field (which they pissed away later) and I believe the pulse bolts also, among other things. Nothing wrong with the repulsors or the unibeam, but a gadgeteer like Tony should have lots of cool new toys on every upgrade, and that hasn't always happened. But the red-and-silver was just one more in the long line of Iron Man suits, better than some, worse than some, but nothing worth freaking out over either way. Change is one thing you can absolutely count on with Iron Man's armor, and that's the way it should be.

Anonymous said...

mister sinister, in the Miller version, Nuke took red, white, and blue pills (he was a patriotic drug fiend) with the following functions:

Red=amphetamines to boost his adrenaline in a fight
White=barbiturates to bring him down
Blue=sedatives to keep him calm and relaxed

But according to his current origin they were just placebos, and he had an extra mechanical heart that injected those chemicals into his bloodstream. Sounds like they pretty much FUBAR'd his origin in WOLVERINE: ORIGINS, but here's a pretty thorough profile on him.

Anonymous said...

借錢 票貼 借錢 借貸 借貸 借錢 當舖 借貸 當舖 當舖 票貼 借款 借貸 借錢 票貼 二胎 週轉 融資 借錢 借款 當舖 二胎 票貼 借貸 借錢 借貸 票貼 當舖借錢 借錢救急 支票貼現 借錢方法 借貸法則 借貸救急 汽車借款 借貸sos5880 票貼sos5880 二胎sos5880 融資sos5880 借錢 借貸 票貼 借貸 借錢找星光 借貸找星光 票貼sos5880 借錢 當舖 票貼 借錢 借貸 票貼

Anonymous said...

現在來談談
台中搬家公司的未來展望,買新房子想從北屯搬到台中七期,當然要找台中搬家公司來執行台中搬家,明年台中縣市就要合併升格,到時候就無所謂台中縣搬家公司了,就只剩下台中市搬家公司。一搬來說大台中地區包括台中縣市,也包含彰化及南投,所以網路上找中部地區搬家公司,就會用南投搬家公司或者彰化搬家公司


再來談行的問題,景氣不是很好很多人買不起新車只好買中古車囉!中古車買賣是需要技巧的,胡亂買中古車可能會吃大虧的,消費者可要睜大眼睛看清楚,免得買了後悔不已。如果買新車的話,就沒有剛剛的問題,新車業務員在交車時一般都會幫車主貼隔熱紙,就是我們所說的汽車隔熱紙,不過他們貼的隔熱紙品質都不是挺好的,相信很多車主有許多不愉快經驗吧!有了車之後免不了要學開車吧!一般學開車是要到駕訓班,當然也可以叫做汽車駕訓班,聽說學費不便宜喔!還是省一點好,不要亂花錢。

經濟不景氣,討論借錢的話題很多人應開有興趣,在台北想借錢或者汽車借款可以到台北當舖或者是台北市當舖台北縣當舖當然也可以,如果是住在台北火車站到台北市當舖借錢比較方便。那我住在內湖就可以到內湖區當舖借錢融資囉!住在東區就找信義區當舖借錢,以此類推。一般支票貼現也有辦理,銀行有辦理票貼當舖也有阿,而且比銀行更方便,利息雖然高一點不過時效性卻非常好,一般工商人士短期借款就很喜歡到當舖的原因。我家現在住在桃園想融資票貼就得到桃園當舖,方便的桃園借錢真的幫到我了,桃園汽車借錢也非常有名,很多人都需要協助。住新竹的人往新竹當舖借貸是比較方便。來到台中手頭不方便,想週轉借貸一下台中當舖是有這樣的服務,報紙或者網路上隨時都可以查到台中
縣當舖
的資訊,因為台中當舖是非常有名的,服務也相當好。往台灣南部走先碰到的是嘉義當舖,借錢票貼一樣容易,聽說嘉義還蠻好玩的,火雞肉飯不錯吃喔!再往南走將會遇到高雄當舖,高雄人是很熱情的,借錢當然也不囉唆,依據話就搞定。鳳山再過一點點就到達台灣最南邊的屏東,一樣有屏東當舖可以服務缺錢的人,住在台灣真方便,哪裡都可以週轉融資。

有錢之後男人花樣變多了,想輕鬆一下,台中大大有名的就是台中護膚台中指油壓,不去體驗一下怎麼可以呢!食色性也這是孔老夫子講的,想找一些網路上情色消遣,只要關鍵字打上一夜情,視訊聊天,免費視訊聊天,免費視訊,視訊交友,情色貼圖,讓你看的眼花撩亂,爽快不已,E時代就是這麼方便,彈指可取情色
資訊。找女朋友到motel去休息,要挑好一點有情趣的汽車旅館,這種錢是一定不能省的,燈光美氣氛佳才能辦好事。

身體要強、要勇,買花旗蔘來補身一定有用,不過要用加拿大來的西洋蔘功效比較好,不信可以問一下專家的意見,相信他所給的答案就是粉光蔘。

Anonymous said...

情色貼圖論壇最近幾乎都消失殆盡這是怎麼回事呢

Dolphin said...

35.Live Keywords:
高雄瑜珈 瑜珈補習班 乳酪蛋糕 巧克力 chocolate 台中乳酪蛋糕 保健食品 太陽能熱水器 扭力校正器 防爆工具 汽車隔熱紙 3M隔熱紙

36.Hot Keywords:
鈦項圈 鈦項鍊 液化鈦 鈦鍺手鍊 百達翡麗 勞力士 江詩丹頓 沛納海 IWC 歐米茄 高仿手錶 SEO

37.Live Keywords:
勞力士 整形 拉皮 棧板 團購 老酒收購 香港民宿 大陸新娘 植髮 結紮 雙眼皮 防治白蟻

38.Hot Keywords:
百達翡麗 眼袋 抽脂 格子舖 棧板 老酒 香港旅館 大陸新娘 瘦小腹 泌尿科 整形 除白蟻

Chair Manufacturers in Mumbai said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.