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A Forgotten Gem: Daredevil # 10-1 (Oct. and Dec., 1965) |
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Written by Commander Benson
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Thursday, 06 March 2008 |
 Every comic-book super-hero story doesn’t have to threaten the end of the world. This is a truth that, these days, seems to elude the Big Two publishers -- DC, which never seems to run out of Crises, and Marvel, with its Secret/Civil/ Whatever Wars. For that matter, many, if not most, super-heroes don’t lend themselves to galactic epics. It’s not that an intriguing and credible story can’t be crafted to show Spider-Man or the Batman as an Earth-saver. But it would stretch believability to its elastic limit to show them doing it on a regular basis.
These days, the attitude seems to be, in order to keep the readers on the edge of their seats, it must be a story which involves the sake of the world, or the galaxy, or the universe, or the multi-verse. The writers and the editors keep raising the stakes, in the continuing effort to make each adventure an “event”. But the fact of the matter is -- it is distinctly possible to grip a reader’s interest with a simple “good guys versus bad guys” tale that never veers outside Downtown,
U.S.A.
Case in point: Daredevil # 10 and # 11 (Oct. and Dec., 1965), which carried the two-part story “While the City Sleeps”/”A Time to Unmask”.
 The readers are put in the proper mood by the caption on the splash page of Daredevil # 10, which announces that they are about to read the Man Without Fear’s first genuine mystery story, “complete with a zillion suspects, countless clues, and perplexing plot twists.” Granted, that’s all part of Stan Lee’s zeal for hyperbole, but this time, it’s not that much of an exaggeration.
Interestingly, the then-current Daredevil artist, Wally Wood is the author. Lee informs us that Wood “always wanted to try his hand at writing a story, as well as drawing it.” This probably accounts for artist Bob Powell handling most of the pencil work for the two-parter, with Wood providing not much more than the inking. Fortunately, the two artists’ styles mesh, and the final results adhere to the look that Wood’s art had established for the series.
“While the City Sleeps” opens with a nighttime prison break. A helicopter drops what appears to be a bomb into the confines of a Federal penitentiary. Actually, the “bomb” is a sophisticated device emitting an electronic impulse which disrupts every electrical device in the area. The prison is plunged into blackness, and in the confusion, a man dressed in a cat costume descends from the helo. The infra-red lenses in his mask permit the intruder to see his way to the cell of inmate Monk Keefer. The Cat-Man frees Keefer. They are hoisted by cable back to the helicopter and make their escape. By radio, the Cat-Man communicates with his boss, the Organizer.
In short order, the Organizer recruits other lieutenants. By cutting into the television reception of small-time hood Frog LeBlanc, the Organizer contacts the former Navy diver (and present Navy deserter) and enlists his support. Similarly, by breaking into a telephone line, the Organizer entices the participation of another low-rent crook, Henry Hawk.
All we see of the Organizer himself is a figure in a black suit and wearing an all-encompassing black hood. Clearly, though, he has sophisticated (but not beyond the realm of what was capable in the 1960’s) electronic equipment at his disposal, along with the financial wherewithal to afford it, as well as the helicopter and the
Manhattan
skyscraper which houses his headquarters.
The Cat-Man and the three new recruits meet with the Organizer, who communicates with them over a television monitor. LeBlanc and Keefer and Hawk are outfitted with animal-like costumes in keeping with their special skills. The costumes include chest-mounted miniature cameras and two-way radios, enabling the Organizer to keep tabs on his lieutenants at all times.
The crime boss assigns crimes to each of his “animal men”. They may keep the ill-gotten gains of their misdeeds; the hidden purpose of the crime wave, as the Organizer informs them, is to discredit and undermine the city administration. His ultimate goal: total control of
New York City
’s government.
The Cat-Man, the Frog-Man, the Ape-Man, and the Bird-Man pull off their jobs without a hitch.
 The next morning, at the offices of Nelson and Murdock, pretty secretary Karen Page is reading the newspaper account of the crimes to Matt Murdock, but before the blind lawyer can turn his attention to investigating them as Daredevil, an ebullient Foggy Nelson comes through the door. That’s when we discover that this is an election year in
New York City
, and a new third party, the Reform Party, has offered Nelson its nomination for the office of
Manhattan
’s district attorney. Foggy invites Matt and Karen to join him at a yacht party held in his honour.
On board the sumptuous yacht, Murdock meets the host, wealthy Abner Jonas, who is the Reform Party’s candidate for mayor. Also attending are Milton Monroe, the Reform Party’s candidate for assemblyman, and Bernard Harris, borough president candidate on the Reform ticket. All wealthy, prominent men.
Foggy also meets someone of more personal interest; Harris’ daughter, Deborah, who was the pudgy lawyer’s high-school sweetheart. And, my, how Deborah has grown!
Night descends on the sea-going celebration when things take a more sinister turn. Matt Murdock’s heightened senses detect a radio transmission from the yacht. It is from the Organiser to an underling, directing an attack on someone on board. In one of his patented “blind man stumbles” routines, Murdock deflects a harpoon hurtling straight for Abner Jonas, the mayoral candidate. Pretending to fall over the side, Murdock changes to Daredevil underwater. He attempts to catch the Frog-Man but fails.
Daredevil is left with the knowledge of the Organizer’s existence -- and the fact that the Organizer was someone on the yacht.
The criminal mastermind directs another attack against the Reform Party; he orders the Bird-Man to steal the Reform Party’s campaign funds. Daredevil thwarts this. The Bird-Man escapes, but the Man Without Fear recovers the stolen funds. His analytical mind fits some of the pieces together: the Organizer is behind the crime wave striking the city; for some reason, he is targeting the Reform Party. Yet, the radio transmission Daredevil overheard broadcast from the yacht suggests that the Organizer is one of the members of the Reform Party.
The nagging question is, if so, then why is the criminal leader attacking his own party?
Meanwhile, on the domestic front, Foggy Nelson has fallen for Deborah Harris’ charms and they are fast becoming an item.
The Organizer decides to eliminate Daredevil’s interference. He lures the red-clad hero to the scene of a bank robbery being committed by his “animal men”. Through a ruse that causes Daredevil, using his super-senses, to open the bank vault, the crooks incapacitate the super-hero and escape with the vault’s contents. Daredevil is left looking like he aided in the robbery. His freedom to act will now be hampered by the efforts of the police to apprehend him.
While DD’s stock falls, the Reform Party’s is rising. Viewing the Organizer’s attacks against the Reform Party as an effort to defeat honest politicians, public support for the party is growing.
That evening, at her penthouse, Deborah Harris throws a party in support of Foggy’s candidacy. The other Reform Party candidates are there. Milton Monroe, the assemblyman candidate, expresses his disgust at Abner Jonas’ strident speeches blaming the current crime wave on corrupt members of the current city administration. When Jonas refuses to relent on his verbal accusations,
Monroe
withdraws from the assemblyman race.
The Bird-Man and the Cat-Man attack and kidnap Deborah Harris. Daredevil arrives too late to prevent the abduction, but he manages to kayo the Cat-Man, leaving him for the police. When the remaining “animal men”, with Deborah in tow, contact the Organizer, the crime boss, worried that the Cat-Man may talk under police interrogation, orders the Ape-Man to kill him.
The Ape-Man attempts to do this by tossing a bomb into the police precinct, but Daredevil, suspecting just such an action, is there to prevent it. He pretends to be knocked unconscious, then follows the burly crook back to their skyscraper hide-out. Eavesdropping with his super-sensitive hearing, DD is stunned to discover that Deborah Harris is in league with the crooks. Her kidnapping was staged in order to keep Foggy Nelson in line, if necessary.
End of part one, and what a part one it is! As a rule, mysteries in super-hero comics are rarely constructed with such complexity. The need to incorporate scenes of the hero’s derring-do reduces the space that can be given to developing the puzzle. Plot points are usually reduced to a couple of obvious suspicions and a red herring or two.
Here, Wally Wood crafted a very textured puzzle. The trail is serpentine, with several blind alleys. There are no obvious suspects or red herrings; suspicion is diffused equally among all of the members of the cast. Even the motive of the unknown mastermind is uncertain. We are told what it is, but certain actions he takes seem to run contrary to his aims. Batman, then in the throes of his “New Look”-return to his detective roots, rarely was placed in such a deeply layered mystery.
Wood’s story was also impressive in its use of Daredevil. Daredevil was one of the more appropriate super-types to make the hero of a mystery. His heightened senses and radar-sense give him an edge, but not so much of an edge that, logically, the puzzle would be solved by page two. He still has to think his way through much of it. Lawyers are frequently the sleuths in classic mysteries. They are given credit for having analytical minds, forged from long hours spent interpreting and applying often arcane points of law. I don’t know how accurately this characteristic applies to real-life attorneys, but Matt Murdock has certainly been shown to be thus. So when he makes logical deductions out of a collexion of facts, it rings true.
The plot even takes advantage of Murdock’s blindness. One of the tired, artificial sequences that often appear in mysteries, television and movie ones in particular, is the “party scene” where all of the principal characters come up to the hero, one after the other, and introduce themselves. It’s a fast way to advance the plot by getting all of the possible suspects before the viewer in one swoop, but it almost always appears staged. However, given the fact that Murdock is blind, it makes sense that the guests at the yacht party would introduce themselves to him, rather than the other way around.
 Curiously, the second half, “A Time to Unmask”, credits Stan Lee as the writer. A blurb on the splash page informs us that Wood wrote the first half “just for a lark”, and he left it up to Lee to work out the solution. I’m not sure I buy that. At least, not completely. First, I cannot fathom that Wood would script such a complex first half without having in mind who the hidden mastermind was, and certainly, he would have told this to Stan. Second, any solution would leave a great many loose ends -- from the intricate plot points Wood raised in part one -- and it would be tough to weave them without at least some direction from Wood.
Still, I don’t doubt that it was Lee who did the lion’s share of the writing on part two. His fingerprints are all over it, especially in Daredevil’s more jocular dialogue. Stan’s talent for putting wisecracks in the mouths of his heroes is distinctive for hitting just the right tone.
Part two takes up where part one ended, with DD, at the villains’ headquarters, learning that Deborah Harris is actually a member of the gang. The “animal men” discover Daredevil’s presence and they fight him off long enough to get away, after first tying up the Harris girl, to preserve her pose as an innocent kidnap victim. When Daredevil returns, he frees her, but does not reveal what he knows, expecting her to lead him to the Organizer. Deborah, however, does not seek out the crime lord; instead, a telephone call from him sends her to the Nelson and Murdock law office.
The action pauses while the plot focuses on the soap-opera aspect of Foggy’s growing affection for Deborah. The pudgy lawyer has it bad for her, and she plays him for all he is worth. Overhearing, DD is in a quandary -- if he tells his law partner about the girl’s duplicity, he’ll be crushed; if he doesn’t, Foggy will be used as a dupe of the Organizer.
And then, there’s the matter of Daredevil’s suspicions that a member of the Reform Party is actually the Organizer. He’s pretty sure that the crime boss is one of the top party members -- Abner Jonas, Milton Monroe, or Deborah’s father, Bernard Harris. He changes back to Matt Murdock and hints at his suspicions, hoping that Foggy will back out of running for district attorney on the Reform ticket. Instead, Foggy, tired of being in Murdock’s shadow, resents his criticism. But he respects Matt enough to go along with the blind lawyer’s plan to prove that something is fishy in the Reform Party.
Here is where the momentum of the plot shifts. Before, Daredevil could only react to the machinations of the Organizer and his hirelings; now, he is forcing the action. He has learnt enough to make the unknown mastermind react to him.
Murdock and Nelson meet with Jonas, Monroe, and Harris and inform them that they have evidence of the Organizer’s identity locked in their office safe. There is no evidence; it’s a trap. If an attempt is made to steal the “evidence”, it will reveal one of the three Reform Party candidates is actually the Organizer. It works. Someone breaks into Nelson and Murdock and tears the place apart, looking for the non-existent evidence.
Things move fast from now on. Daredevil confronts Deborah Harris with his knowledge of her own criminal involvement. Knowing that the Organizer would attempt to kill her, as he did the Cat-Man, she agrees to help apprehend him. She sets up the Frog-Man to be caught by Daredevil. Donning the Frog-Man’s costume, the Man Without Fear beards the Organizer in his den. Through a clever manipulation of the Organizer’s own electronic equipment, DD tricks the mastermind into publically revealing his plans to control the city through the Reform Party. Only the sudden interference of the Ape-Man and the Bird-Man prevent the disguised hero from capturing the head man.
Voter support for the Reform Party collapses. At a press conference, Foggy, Abner Jonas, and Bernard Harris announce their resignations from the party.
All that’s left is to capture the Organizer and his two remaining lieutenants. And to expose the Organizer’s identity. The former is resolved by a royal donnybrook between Daredevil and the two “animal men”. It’s a classic Stan Lee slugfest, full of slam-bang action and witty commentary.
As far as who hides behind the Organizer’s hood, it is Foggy Nelson who sees through the criminal’s attempt to misdirect the blame to someone else. It’s a nice touch. Foggy was usually depicted as a dullard at best or a buffoon at worst. It’s gratifying to see him capable of some sharp thinking. In fact, even though it is Daredevil who spots the most crucial clue to the big man’s identity, it is Foggy who actually captures him.
There is a distinct pulp-novel feel about “While the City Sleeps”/”A Time to Unmask”. Daredevil would have been quite at home in the pages of Black Book Detective or Clues. His extra-normal senses put him only slightly into the super-hero category and more in the class of such pulp stalwarts as the Shadow and Doc Savage. His real identity of sightless attorney Matt Murdock is a classic misdirection; it is reminiscent of the use of blindness to conceal the true identity of the Black Bat.
Wally Wood and Stan Lee crafted a true crime drama. The Organizer’s scheme, while grand, was not outlandish. A city controlled by a single corrupt figure had been the basis for countless films and novels. The masterful touch of Wood and Lee’s story was that the progression of the evil plan was shown in its logical order. The Organizer had clearly worked it out and we saw it step by step.
 The same applied to the hero’s campaign to defeat the villain. The Organizer’s plan was already well underway before Daredevil could involve himself. In most of his early forays against the gang, Daredevil’s best efforts were too little and too late. The Man Without Fear was unable to take the initiative against the Organizer until he had collected enough snippets of information and pieced them together. These weren’t Adam West-Batman bursts of instant deduction; Wood and Lee showed it to be painstaking work, taking a host of possibilities and narrowing them down, incrementally, with each hard-earned fact. This is how real-life detective work proceeds.
Once he had enough facts, though, the scale began to tilt the other way. Then, the Organizer was forced to react to Daredevil, even as he -- and we -- watched his scheme unravel before his eyes.
This is what truly distinguishes the mystery story in these two issues of Daredevil. It proceeds in a sweeping arc, while most comic-book mysteries involving super-heroes (as well as too many on television) simply move from set piece to set piece. It is this dramatic rise which instils the sense of tension in the reader; the closer Daredevil gets to his opponent, the greater his danger and the farther he has to fall in failure.
For all of their “universe-shaking” impart, neither DC’s Crisis on Infinite Earths, nor Marvel’s Secret Wars held my attention, nor raised as much of a sense of menace in me, as “While the City Sleeps”. Fledgling writers would do well to study it and learn how to grab their readers without destroying the world in the process.
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