Bad Boys Don’t Cry

In the middle of a Wisconsin blizzard, Foggy Nelson complains about being sent on a wild goose chase while his law partner, Matt Murdock, gets to have all the fun. He apologizes to his passenger, the Black Widow, saying he always enjoys her company and that he is complaining about the snow. Natasha, however, is enjoying the weather as it reminds her of her native Siberia in the summertime. Nelson admits that this isn’t so bad when you consider that Matt — as Daredevil — is putting his life on the line as they speak.[1]

At that moment, in the sewers of New York, Spider-Man and Daredevil have been surrounded by the Gang of Four. The gang — which includes the Owl, Stilt-Man, Copperhead, and the Gladiator — have the two heroes at their mercy after Daredevil was knocked out in an explosion. Before they can eliminate the two heroes, Spider-Man tricks the gang into thinking they killed Daredevil, and more incredibly, that Daredevil is his brother. This is all a ruse to get them talking about how they all managed to escape from prison. The villains decide to indulge the web-slinger before they kill him. Stilt-Man starts by telling Spider-Man that he was incarcerated in a mental institution due to his Napoleon Complex. Not long after this, the Owl was imprisoned in the same facility, and Stilt-Man was drawn to him due to the Owl’s knowledge of villainry. A week after that, they were joined by the Gladiator.[2] The trio decided to form their own gang and when they were given day-release to a minimum-security facility for recreation they used the opportunity to escape. Once they were out, the trio then recruited Copperhead into their cause and began actively working on overthrowing the Kingpin. This gives Daredevil time to recover from the blast and when Stilt-Man tries to shoot the web-slinger, Daredevil ruins his aim by throwing sewage into his foe’s face.

Meanwhile, Foggy and Natasha arrive at Waterway Imports a subsidiary of Fisk Enterprises. While walking to the building from their car, Foggy complains about how cold it is. Natasha decides to make Nelson squirm a little by telling him how in Russia they fought frostbite by huddling naked together and rubbing affected parts of the body in order to keep warm, promising to teach Foggy how to do this once they are all done.

Back in New York, the Gang of Four try to attack Spider-Man and Daredevil, but the pair manage to escape up to the surface through the hole Stilt-Man blew in the ceiling of the sewer tunnel. Spider-Man deals with the others while Daredevil goes after the Owl. However, the Man Without Fear has to double back and help his friend when Copperhead sneaks up being the web-slinger and hits him over the head with a pipe. After Spider-Man is back on his feet, Daredevil battles the Owl and quickly realizes the man he used to fight is gone and all that is left is some deranged animal. That’s when the Kingpin and his gang arrive to watch the battle. Seeing this sorry scene, Wilson Fisk admits that he doesn’t know if he should laugh or shoot.

At that same moment, Foggy Nelson is being inundated with paperwork from Fisk’s accountants. Meanwhile, the Black Widow is sneaking around the building. In one office, she knocks out a pair of guards. When the second one falls on a suit of armor, it triggers a secret passageway into a private records room.

Simultaneously, the Kingpin mocks the Owl’s bid to usurp his empire and mocks the him for even trying. He then orders his men to kill them all, telling Daredevil that if he survives this he expects to see his alter-ego in his office on Monday morning to discuss his case. Spider-Man and Daredevil soon find themselves in a crossfire between Fisk’s mobsters and the Gang of Four. Just when things couldn’t get any worse, the NYPD also arrive on the scene. When Spider-Man tries to tell the cops to get to cover, some of the officers lose their cool and begin opening fire on the web-slinger. Although Spider-Man can easily dodge their bullets, he is attacked from behind by the Owl. In the din of the battle, Daredevil sense that there is something wrong and that’s when his abilities detect that Copperhead has been watching the entire battle from the roof of a nearby warehouse. It’s at this time that Daredevil realizes that Copperhead also doesn’t have a heartbeat. Confronting the villain, he realizes that Copperhead didn’t get recruited by the Owl, it was the other way around. When Daredevil asks Copperhead how he survived their last encounter, as he was surely dead, Copperhead removes his mask and opens his cloak revealing his body is nothing more than a rotting corpse. He then tells Daredevil that he is dead.[3]

Recurring Characters

Daredevil, Spider-Man, Kingpin, Gang of Four (Owl, Copperhead, Stilt-Man, Gladiator), Foggy Nelson, Black Widow

Continuity Notes

1. Both the Black Widow and Foggy Nelson know Daredevil’s secret identity at the time of this story. They learned his secret in Daredevil #84 and 348 respectively.

2. Owl, Gladiator, and Stilt-Man were all incarcerated following their defeats in Spectacular Spider-Man #219, Daredevil #367, and 377 respectively.

3. Copperhead died after being struck by lightning in Daredevil #124-125. How he came to become an undead creature is explained next issue.