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Daredevil (1964 series) #170

on-sale: Feb 3, 1981
Frank Miller

Daredevil (1964 series) #170 cover

Story Name:

The Kingpin Must Die


Synopsis

Daredevil (1964 series) #170 synopsis by Anthony Silvestro
Rating: 5 stars

Daredevil jogs along the Canal Street Bridge, showing off a little, while an old jogger reflects on how he makes the city feel a little safer. Daredevil then heads to Josie’s to get information out of Turk. Turk jumps through the window and steals a cab, but Daredevil quickly catches up to him anyway. Daredevil grills Turk on the heavy criminal action that’s been floating around, and Turk admits that all of the current mob bosses have put a contract out on the Kingpin! This surprises Daredevil, as the Kingpin is retired and not even in the city. Turk reveals that he’s not even in the country, he’s stashed himself away in Japan, and the current crime lords want to draw him back to New York!

Just then, in Japan, Wilson Fisk himself goes through his regular workout, effortlessly defeating eight of his finest men in only seventeen seconds! One of them dares to call Fisk the Kingpin and Fisk threatens him, claiming to have left that life behind. Fisk’s wife Vanessa then arrives with a man from the Attorney General’s office. Fisk has certain files that would incriminate all of the current crime bosses, Fisk’s former lieutenants, and he’s offered a clean slate and a hefty sum of cash for the information. Vanessa plans to head back to New York to enlist Nelson and Murdock for legal representation on the matter, which concerns Fisk. All the while, Fisk’s right hand man, Lynch, thinks about how his boss has gone soft…

Back in New York, Matt arrives at his law office early to find Foggy already there, having obviously spent the night there. Matt can tell something is wrong with Foggy but before he can pry, Vanessa arrives with her men to enlist Matt and Foggy’s services. After hearing the whole situation, Matt thinks it may be a good idea, before he suddenly hears a gun about to be fired from across the street and pushes Vanessa out of the way of the gunfire. Matt slips away and finds an old hitman named Bruno on a roof across the street. Daredevil easily takes care of Bruno, who is outfitted with a flamethrower, catching him after he’s knocked off the roof. However, Bruno panics and accidentally burns through his lifeline, falling to his death! Daredevil notes that the crime lords are likely to enlist any hit man they can and realizes that Bullseye is due to be released from jail today! Matt heads back to his law office where he finds Lieutenant Nick Manolis has arrived, revealing that Vanessa Fisk was kidnapped during the scuffle!

Manolis drags them to the police station, which delays Matt just enough for him to miss Bullseye getting released. He follows the car Bullseye gets into back to a skyscraper office of one of the city’s current crime lords. They hire Bullseye to kill the Kingpin when he comes back to New York to save his wife, when Daredevil arrives reminding Bullseye about how he saved his life and therefore feels responsible for what Bullseye does with it. The two engage in a short but intense fight, until Bullseye kicks Daredevil out of the window. Bullseye shoots through Daredevil’s grappling line, causing him to freefall thirty stories! Daredevil slows his fall just enough by catching a flag on a gargoyle, landing hard in a garbage truck, battered and unconscious, but alive. Meanwhile, Fisk’s former men are interrogated about his imminent arrival, and a squad of guys are set to wait at the spot he’s to land. However, when they inspect the plane, they find it empty, before it promptly explodes! Fisk’s real plane lands just after, and he promises that, to save his wife, he’ll dismantle the current criminal empire and kill his enemies, each and every one! To be continued!


Characters
Good (or All)
DAREDEVIL
FOGGYNELSON
Plus: Nick Manolis, Vanessa Fisk.

Enemies
BULLSEYE
KINGPIN
TURKB

> Daredevil (1964 series) comic book info and issue index



Excelsioring your collection:
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Holy smokes, Batman!
(The Boy Wonder)

Main/1st Story Full Credits

Frank Miller
Klaus Janson
Glynis Wein
Frank Miller (Cover Penciler)
Klaus Janson (Cover Inker)
Unknown (Cover Colorist)
Additional Credits
Letterer: Joe Rosen.



Review / Commentaries


Daredevil (1964 series) #170 Review by (February 5, 2025)

Review: Frank Miller once again changes the series forever by bringing the Kingpin into the pages of Daredevil for the first time! Up until now, the Kingpin was a fairly cool Spider-Man villain, but this is when Fisk really becomes a villain for the ages. Miller forever transforms him for the better just as he did with Daredevil himself. In this tightly written issue, the Kingpin has a contract put on him by the current crime bosses, due to the incriminating files that Fisk has on them. They even abduct his wife in order to draw him back to New York! Bullseye is also hired to kill Fisk once he returns, leading of course to another short, but no less cool, showdown between him and Daredevil! Bullseye comes out the winner this time, with Daredevil left unconscious in a garbage truck, just a precursor to their next big, classic showdown a couple of issues from now!

This issue ends perfectly, with the Kingpin arriving in New York, expertly outwitting the men waiting there to kill him, and promising to kill each one of his enemies in order to save Vanessa! This is the perfect start to this story arc, perfectly setting up an epic continuation and a more ruthless and cunning Kingpin than we’ve seen so far! Just really tight writing and pacing. Though they won’t meet until next issue, this is the start of Daredevil and Kingpin’s historic rivalry and Miller’s reinvention of Fisk into both Daredevil’s archenemy and just a more compelling and ruthless villain in general! Miller once again massively improves the Daredevil mythos, with each issue of this stretch being an all-time classic!

Comments: Kingpin’s first appearance in a Daredevil comic. Kingpin’s real name, Wilson Fisk, is used for the first time. Bullseye’s list of weapons used for this issue are more conventional, using throwing stars and a gun.





Thor

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