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Daredevil (1964 series) #188

on-sale: Jul 27, 1982
Frank Miller | Klaus Janson

Daredevil (1964 series) #188 cover

Story Name:

The Widow's Bite


Synopsis

Daredevil (1964 series) #188 synopsis by Anthony Silvestro
Rating: 4 stars

Black Widow fights against the SHIELD agents tasked with keeping her on the premises. Though Fury told her to sit back and let them investigate everything, she’d prefer to find her own way out of her predicament. She knocks out several agents before making her way to the apartment of her friend and associate Ivan. She tells him about getting poisoned but quickly realizes that he won’t be able to help her. She heads out, knowing SHIELD will check there next, determined to handle things her way. She contemplates what to do and her thoughts drift to Matt, deciding to go to him for help. She enters his apartment through the skylight only to find it empty. She briefly considers heading down to the basement but reasons he likely isn’t there.

Unknown to her, Daredevil is indeed down in the basement, in a sensory deprivation tank, being watched over by Stick. He explains what happened to Stick while the other members of the Chaste feel Stick is wasting his time. With his apartment a bust, Natasha tries looking for Matt at Heather’s apartment. Instead, she only finds Heather drowning her sorrows over the complicated state of her and Matt’s relationship. Meanwhile, a jonin of The Hand tasks the newly resurrected Kirigi with eliminating Stick! Natasha then tries checking the Nelson and Murdock offices. She finds Becky and an especially frustrated Foggy pondering the nature of Matt’s disappearance, one among many. Back with Matt, Stick tells him that the Hand are coming for him but Matt feels he can’t leave the tank. The other members of the Chaste feel it was a mistake to involve Daredevil in this but Stick feels he could be the best of them, given time.

Elsewhere, the Kingpin is handling a dispute with some of the other mob bosses, when Black Widow stops in. She quickly handles the Kingpin’s men before Fisk tells her he has no idea where Daredevil is. Natasha then starts to dissolve and runs out, the effects of the poison speeding up, which does not go unnoticed by Fisk. Back at the apartment, Stick tells Matt that he can leave the tank any time he wants. Stick says that the radiation has long since worn off and reiterates that it was never the radiation, Matt was simply opened up to senses that everyone has but had long since let decay. Matt suddenly stops being able to sense Stick’s presence and musters the courage to exit the tank, finding Stick in combat with Kirigi. Shaft, Claw, and Stone then coordinate their attacks and quickly and efficiently take out Kirigi, this time for good. Before Stick can explain further, Natasha stumbles in and collapses, succumbing to the effects of the poison! To be continued!


Characters
Good (or All)
BLACKWIDOW
DAREDEVIL
FOGGYNELSON
IPETROVICH
STICK
Plus: Becky Blake (Rebecca Blake), Claw, Heather Glenn, Shaft, Stone.

Enemies
KINGPIN
Plus: Hand (The Hand), Kirigi.

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



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

Main/1st Story Full Credits

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



Review / Commentaries


Daredevil (1964 series) #188 Review by (June 18, 2025)

Review: Black Widow is dying but refuses to just lay over, preferring to handle things her way! Turns out, her way includes spending the entire issue looking for Matt. She tries his law office, Heather’s place, she even tries asking the Kingpin if he knows where Daredevil is (allowing the two to meet for the first time). Meanwhile, Matt spends the entire issue in the basement of his brownstone in a sensory deprivation tank, while Stick lectures him. As a result, it feels like surprisingly little actually happens this issue. Even towards the end, when Kirigi attacks Stick and the other members of the Chaste, they take him out almost without a sweat. Sure, they work well in tandem but after being brought back to life for just this purpose, Kirigi ends up going out pretty anticlimactically. What’s more, this is his last ever appearance! He’s never used again in any capacity! Stick also again brings up the idea that Daredevil’s enhanced senses are ones that everyone has that they’ve just let decay, and that the radiation only opened him up to them. Miller leaves the series (mostly) in a couple issues, and this idea has never been brought up since by any other writer (which is likely for the best). Even with these oddities, the dialogue is still written well and the presentation as stylish as ever, making for a still very solid issue, even if I wouldn’t consider it one of Miller’s best.

Comments: When Black Widow visits Ivan, she interrupts him watching Casablanca. First time the members of the Chaste are named (though the name Chaste is not yet used). First meeting between Black Widow and Kingpin.





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