Previous Page   Next Page
#198
#199
#200
#201
#202
#203
#204
#205
#206
#207
#208
#209
#210
#211
#212
#213
#214
#215
#216
#217
#218
#219
#220
#221
Selector

Daredevil (1964 series) #203

Feb 1984 on-sale: Oct 25, 1983

Steven Grant
writer
 |  Geof Isherwood
penciler

Daredevil (1964 series) #203 cover

Story Name:

Trumps


Synopsis

Daredevil (1964 series) #203 synopsis by reviewer Anthony Silvestro
Rating: 3 stars

Daredevil comes upon a theft of a shipment of guns in progress at the docks. He beats up the goons when their leader, called The Trump, seemingly surrenders. Daredevil senses from Trump’s pulse his true intentions, allowing him to dodge Trump’s gunshot which still stuns him due to his sensitive hearing. One of the goons named Stymie uses the opportunity to try and run Daredevil over with their truck but Daredevil retaliates, sending them both off the pier and into the river. Without their truck to move their guns, Trump and his remaining men are forced to flee. Moments later, Daredevil pulls himself and Stymie out of the river and later goes to see Ben Urich for information on Trump. Urich digs up that he used to be magician and kid’s show host named Carlton Sanders that moonlighted as a heist man.

The next morning, Matt arrives at the jail where Foggy is in the process of negotiating with Stymie. Stymie is adamant he wants Nelson and Murdock to defend him and recognizes Matt when he walks in, even calling him Daredevil! Matt realizes that Stymie is one of the kids he grew up with that used to pick on him and jokingly call him Daredevil to taunt him. Matt agrees to take his case against Foggy’s objections, and Matt claims that he owes a lot of who he is now to Stymie, in a way. Later, Trump tries to figure out another way to get the guns he needs to sell and decides to rob the mob’s armory. He heads out, promising to tie up the loose end that Stymie represents. Later, at the office, Foggy and Becky are worried as Matt seems to have become obsessed with Stymie’s case. Foggy realizes the way Matt is turning down bargains, he seems to be trying to get Stymie the worst sentence possible! Matt denies this but Foggy runs out in a hurry to check on something.

Funko Pop! Marvel: Zombies - Gambit
For the special marvelite in you

Later still, Matt heads to the jail to meet with Stymie but recognizes a passing guard’s heartbeat as Trump’s! Realizing what that means, he finds Stymie dead in his cell but still warm. Matt resuscitates Stymie and quickly heads out in pursuit of Trump as Daredevil. He quickly finds Trump and their chase leads them onto a subway train. Trump manages to distract Daredevil and slip away, though Daredevil is left with a clue as to where he might strike next! That evening, Foggy visits an old candy shop and asks the shop owner there about Matt. He remembers both Matt and Stymie, claiming that Stymie and many of the other local boys acted very cruelly towards Matt. About that same time, Daredevil snatches up Turk for information on where Trump could be hitting next.

Not long after that, Trump and his men sneak into the mob hideout in disguise and quickly take control of their assortment of guns. Daredevil arrives shortly after, leading to a brawl with Trump. Trump ties Daredevil up and electrocutes him with his cane, leaving Daredevil at his mercy. He begins to beat him down with his cane, which just reminds Matt of when Stymie used to beat him up when they were kids. This gives Daredevil the strength fight back and put Trump on the back foot. Trump tries one last trick, a blinding flash that obviously has no effect, allowing Daredevil to punch him out. Later, Foggy calls Matt to the shop to confront him about his plans for Stymie. He knows that Matt plans to tank the case on purpose to get revenge. Once Matt realizes where they are, he runs out of there, his bad memories of that neighborhood causing him to freak out and break down, when Foggy quickly finds him to take him home. The next morning, Matt meets with Stymie to tell him that he won’t be taking his case after all. He asks Stymie why he picked on him so much and Stymie admits he never gave it much thought, and still doesn’t. Though the past means nothing to him, it still weighs heavily on Matt.

Marvel Comic Moon Knight 1:7 Scale Bust
For the special marvelite in you


Characters
Good (or All)
BENURICH  
Ben Urich
(Benjamin Urich)
DAREDEVIL  
Daredevil
(Matt Murdock)
FOGGYNELSON  
Foggy Nelson
(Franklin Nelson)
Plus: Becky Blake (Rebecca Blake).

Enemies
TURKB  
Turk
(Turk Barrett)
Plus: The Trump (Carlton Sanders).

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



Diamond Select Toys Marvel Gallery: Taskmaster PVC Figure, Multicolor, 9 inches
For the special marvelite in you

Main/1st Story Full Credits

Geof Isherwood
Danny Bulanadi
George Roussos
John Byrne (Cover Penciler)
John Byrne (Cover Inker)
Glynis Oliver (Cover Colorist)
Additional Credits
Letterer: Jim Novak.



Review / Commentaries


reviewer
Daredevil (1964 series) #203 Review by (October 15, 2025)

Review: We’re introduced to a new bad guy this issue, Trump (I ain’t touching that one), a pretty forgettable villain with a stage magician shtick. He actually only has six appearances total, and this is his only one in Daredevil. The Trump parts of this issue are pretty uninteresting, a generic plan of trying to get guns to sell to someone on the west coast. Honestly, it almost feels like filler, despite technically being the A plot. The part of the issue that could have been interesting involves Stymie, one of Trump’s goons that ends up being one of the guys that used to beat Matt up when he was a kid. Foggy realizes that Matt plans to tank his case on purpose as a means of revenge for how Stymie treated him. While this is ultimately extremely petty and out of character for Matt, there could have been something interesting there about pent-up resentment if it was handled better. As it is, they kind of tried for something poignant but it didn’t really land. The art is quite nice though; I actually liked it better than William Johnson’s art from the last several issues, with some decent action. Trump even tries to blind Daredevil at one point, an oft used trick of dramatic irony pulled right from the 60’s era of Daredevil! Overall, an okay issue at best, with some squandered potential.

Comments: First appearance of The Trump. Trump’s next appearance would be in Captain America #371.





Thor

The Marvel Heroes Library is a fan Marvel Comics site
Version 14.12.4 (Oct 15, 2025 - VS22)

Copyright © 1997-2025 Julio Molina-Muscara (creator, webmaster)
Site content is a collective effort by the MHL team and Marvel aficionados

Characters are copyright © Marvel or their respective owners. All portions of this Marvel fansite that are subject to copyright are licensed under a creative commons attribution 3.0 unported license All rights reserved