Murdock and Marvel: 2014 Part 2

Description

Episode 87 - Murdock and Marvel: 2014 Part 2

2014 saw some sales figures that had not been achieved in decades, and pop culture was filled with comic book related movies and merchandise. Marvel was dominant again, and along with DC again climbed back to nearly 70% of the total market share in comic shops.

This is part 2 of the podcast. that will feature the year in Daredevil, the Spotlight story and the Takeaway for 2013.

The Year in Daredevil

Appearances: Daredevil v3 #33-36, Daredevil #1.5, Daredevil v4 #1-9, Daredevil: Dark Knights #6-8, Daredevil: Road Warrior Infinite Comic #1-4 (or #0.1), Fantastic Four #2 and 5-6, Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #200, Origin Sin #2-3 and #3.1, She-Hulk #4 and #8-9, Black Widow #7, Hulk #4, Captain America #25

Writer: Mark Waid and Chris Samnee (#33), Waid (#34-36 and #1-9)

Pencils: Jason Copeland (#33), Javier Rodriguez (#34 and #6-7), Chris Samnee (#35-36, #1-5 and #8-9),

Inks: Jason Copeland (#33), Alvaro Lopez (#34 and #6-7), Chris Samnee (#35-36, #1-5 and #8-9)

The year picks up right where we left off in 2012 — Matt Murdock was in Kentucky looking for info on the Darkhold, a ancient mystical book tied to the Sons of the Serpent. He was looking to track down Jack Russell, a.k.a. Werewolf by Night, hoping for answers. But before finding him, Daredevil ends up in the middle of an angry mob attacking some so-called “monsters.” He tries to stop it, gets shot, and the “monsters” — led by Russell — end up saving him. Even using some sort of restoration spell on him.
Once he’s patched up, Daredevil learns about missing Darkhold pages connected to a sorcerer named Lucien Sinclair. After a few magical trials, Matt takes Sinclair down, destroys his house, and handed Sinclair over to Russell — but keeps the pages for himself before heading back to New York.
Back home, Matt and Kirsten McDuffie go bold — they take to the rooftops and broadcast a live message calling out the Sons of the Serpent. The Jester, who kicked this story off with a fake TV broadcast, is strung up on the side of a building which suggests Dardevil may be walking into a trap. Despite that, Daredevil wipes the floor with them and saves Kirsten from being gunned down by a helicopter for good measure.
Meanwhile, Foggy’s cancer takes a bad turn. Two Serpent members step in with an experimental drug that temporarily saves him — but they want Daredevil’s help in exchange. One has a son on death row for a fire that killed twelve people, and they’re hoping Matt can help clear his name. Matt investigates the crime scene with Elektra’s help, fights Mamba and Constrictor, and then surprises everyone in court by admitting under oath that he’s Daredevil.
That confession sets off total chaos. The Sons of the Serpent storm the courtroom, a mistrial is called, and Daredevil fights them off. He exposes their infiltration of the Justice Department, but the fallout costs him his law license in New York. Kirsten steps in and says, “Let’s get out of here,” and the two of them pack up for San Francisco.
In April, we get a Daredevil 1.5 issue with 3 stories that are celebrating Daredevil’s 50th Anniversary and looking at possible futures for Matt Murdock. In “The King in Red” Daredevil takes on Jubula Pride (the Owl’s Daughter) after the rest of New York is blinded. He takes down Jubula and breaks the machine causing their sight to return. There’s a story from Brian Michael Bendis with art by Alex Maleev the form of a letter to a child from Stana Morgan – a woman who married Matt Murdock/Daredevil and was likely killed by Bullseye. Finally, in “The Last Will and Testament of Mike Murdock” has Matt and Foggy watching a video tape of Mike Murdock from back in the day. Written and Penciled by Karl & Kurt Kesel, Inked by Tom Palmer.
In Daredevil Road Warrior – a 4-part limited series released digitally in February and March (and later reprinted as Daredevil #0.1) in which we get the trip from New York to San Francisco for Kirsten and Matt Murdock which was far from ordinary and included several stops and plenty of fighting.
In May, we got the start of Volume 4 of Daredevil – with the same creative team that ended volume 3. Matt Murdock and Kirsten McDuffie are in San Francisco and started their own law office and Daredevil is fitting right in by saving little girls from kidnappings and/or bombs.
Over the next few issues, Daredevil goes up against SF’s new kingpin of crime – The Owl – with the help of another blind vigilante The Shroud. At times it seems like Shroud and Daredevil are working together, other times they are fighting it out. It’s complicated, I guess. They take down the Owl but Max/Shroud is still looking for Julia Carpenter whom he’s in love with. Meanwhile Foggy, in a wheelchair and fake beard, comes to Matt’s and Kirsten’s new law office.
In issue 5, we get a funeral for Foggy Nelson (though he’s not actually dead) after he confessed to wanting to “go out like a superhero” and then jumped into a big green machine Leapfrog used to attack San Francisco and was equipped with a bomb. His jump allows the machine to explode safely while allowing Foggy to die a hero.
In issues 6-7, we get a two-part story as part of the Original Sin crossover event. Daredevil is back in New York and has a vision of his father hitting his mother while he was a baby. He seeks out his mother for answers and finds out she’s been arrested and is being sent to Wakanda. He investigates and uncovering a potentially illegal plot involving a US General and Wakandan officials, he confronts Queen Shuri about it and secures her release. Finally able to ask about the vision, he learns she left due to postpartum depression. The story ends with a heartfelt reconciliation between Maggie and her son.
The year wraps up by setting up the next big arc — Kilgrave, the Purple Man, and his superpowered children — which spills into 2015. Which we’ll need to wait until then to discuss.
Lastly, we’ll talk about the Daredevil: Dark Knights limited series. This 8-book collection contains three stories – the first story “Angels Unaware” is write and penciled by Lee Weeks and is about Daredevil braving a snowstorm to get a heart from a crashed helicopter meant for a young girl. The second story, titled “A man named Buggit” written and penciled by David Lapham in which Daredevil follows a 10-inch man who has stolen evidence needed to save a client. The final story is titled “In the Name of the King” and shows a team-up of Daredevil and Misty Knight in the Caribbean written by Jimmy Palmiotti and penciled by Thony Silas. Honestly the less said about the last story the better.

This Week's Spotlight: No Spotlight This Week! Sorry.

Daredevil Rapid Fire Questions

The Takeaway

From ICv2: Data substantiates the emerging gender parity within geek culture.

Questions or comments

We'd love to hear from you! Email us at questions@comicsovertime.com or find us on Twitter @comicsoftime.

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THANKS TO THE FOLLOWING CREATORS AND RESOURCES

Music: Our theme music is by the very talented Lesfm. You can find more about them and their music at https://pixabay.com/users/lesfm-22579021/.

The Grand Comics Database: Dan uses custom queries against a downloadable copy of the GCD to construct his publisher, title and creator charts.

Comichron: Our source for comic book sales data.

Marvel Year By Year: A Visual History