Set the Way-Back Machine for...2016?! I thought this was twenty years ago, easy.

I mean, I got the action figure for it in 2017, which impossibly feels even longer ago. It's always disappointing when a long-standing character gets a redesign that's very obviously not going to stick around long-term, yet sometimes still gets an action figure. Hal and Sonar also don't have their classic looks either, because it was apparently time to try something new, as in something old...from 2016, Green Lantern #48, "Close to Home" Written by Robert Venditti, pencils by Martin Coccolo and Billy Tan, inks by Martin Coccolo and Mark Irwin.

Hal was a fugitive from the Green Lantern Corps at this point, and instead of the traditional power ring was using a prototype power...glove, thing. His nephew Howard was among those injured in a bombing, the work of long-time GL foe Sonar. Despite having fought him about 80 times, Hal flies from Coast City to Gotham for intel from Batman...so who's this armored bunny-guy? It's Jim Gordon, in his cup-of-coffee replacement stint as Batman! Hal's still able to browbeat the 'Rookie' into making with the information, since, hey, Batman would've, right? Sonar was still fighting for Modoran independence, and had taken leadership of the separatist front with sound-powered bombs. The Rookie lets him know the Modarans had a training facility in Kahndaq: GL flies over to try and shake them down, but they kill themselves with those bombs rather than spill. Furious he was getting nowhere, Hal demolishes, then buries, the terrorists and their base; while asking his nephew not to die.

Meanwhile, in space, more specifically the space where Oa is supposed to be, Parallax isn't thrilled that Oa is gone and the universe had "Sinestro-worshippers," but at least Coast City was still okay, right? Better keep it that way...by getting rid of Hal Jordan. 

Woof, this issue also features ads for the last X-Files episodes, and Dark Knight III: the Master Race, more things that have aged terribly. (I just stared into space trying to think of something better than 'like a piece of Fruit Stripe gum after three chews,' or my go-to, 'like a microwaved banana.')

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I wasn't expecting this one to remind me of "Born Again."

At least not in that way. From 1994, Daredevil #327, "Tree of Knowledge, part two: System Error" Written by D.G. Chichester, pencils by Scott McDaniel, inks by Hector Collazo.

I'm positive I read "Tree of Knowledge" back when it came out, and I don't recall being wowed by it, even though I quite enjoyed Fall From Grace and the intro of DD's armored suit. It probably didn't help that #328 was an "Interlude" without Chichester or McDaniel and may have killed any momentum stone dead; or #330 guest-starring Gambit because...Wolverine was booked solid? I don't know. (From the GCD synopsis for that one, "With Matt thought to be dead, Karen is given an opportunity to star in cyberporn." Or, as we call it nowadays, porn.)

Daredevil's working the trail of some hackers, which leads to an explosion on the Staten Island Ferry. While DD is rescuing bystanders from the river, another of the hackers is murdered, but he is stopped from going after the killer by the arrival of the Avengers. This is what reminded me of "Born Again," in that Matt doesn't seem to see himself as a peer to them, that they're operating on another level. On the other hand, he's held up by a rather lippy Black Knight, and DD could've made him eat that helmet. (Not unlike Iron Man's usual scam, I think the armored DD wasn't supposed to be the same guy as the original, as far as anyone knew, although duh; but that would explain the Knight's attitude.)

Meanwhile, Karen Page...was still in this book? Huh. When we checked out #325 a couple years back, she was wrecked after news of Matt's "death," and I thought she was already gone for another long stretch, but okay: she's taking photos of schlubs leaving porn stores, to be named and shamed. Is...is that okay? Yes, men should consider women "as human beings, instead of airbrushed toys!" but...Well, Karen may be about to get a taste of her own medicine, as she's approached by two of her 'producers' from her own days in front of the camera. It's a brief appearance, but her producers seem either brutally naive or methed-out themselves, as they act like old friends, or like she was a willing participant and not drugged out of her gourd. Obviously DD never met them, he'd still be beating their asses.

Even more meanwhile, at the morgue, Captain America is on the scene with federal prosecutor Kathy Malper, when another of HYDRA's tech goons shows up: Wirehead. He seems to see the world as a virtual reality game, and he and another cohort, Steel Collar, get away with the corpse of Killobyte. Matt briefly visits the recently returned Elektra, then goes to 'work' as con man/'social engineer' Jack Batlin. (Remember last month, when we saw a Thor issue where he realized his current secret identity was a bit crap? DD wasn't quite to that realization yet, but it was coming.) Finally, both Cap and DD have questions for teenage hacker Spectrum, which looks like it's going to come to blows between them!

The Mighty Marvel Checklist this issue has the concurrent Captain America issue: #427, three issues into "Fighting Chance," a twelve-issue-plus storyline with the Super-Soldier Serum breaking down and Cap's health collapsing. Which would lead to Cap getting his own armor suit of limited duration, but it's alluded to here: Cap is not in top form, while DD was in good shape and had his new suit. I don't think their fight was until DD #330, but that issue has Iron Fist on the cover, so I'm guessing it wasn't a 12-round brawl-for-it-all.
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Putting the genie back in the bottle, then smashing it.

We checked out the Venom chapter earlier this year, but today we've got the conclusion: from 1994, Daredevil #325, "Fall From Grace, conclusion" Written by D.G. Chichester, pencils by Scott McDaniel, inks by Hector Collazo.

The quest for this storyline's MacGuffin, the body-shaping "About Face" virus, is down to a few players: living vampire Morbius, a holdover from the previous issue, who is taken out by Daredevil early on. The Snakeroot ninja clan wants it for Erynys, the evil side of Elektra, to make her their perfect assassin. The cyborg Siege was still in the chase, mainly for former S.H.I.E.L.D. agent and fellow cyborg John Garrett, who follows Erynys like a lovesick, insane puppy. Hellspawn, the Daredevil-doppelgänger from Infinity War, wants it to become a real boy, or at least free of voodoo control. And Daredevil is just trying to contain the fighting from spilling over into his city, with mixed results.

DD should have bigger fish to fry, though: he manages to discredit a reporter that stole his secret identity from Ben Urich's files, although he suspects it would just be a matter of time before some nutball believes it and comes after Matt Murdock, or his friends. He also reconciles with Karen Page--they had broken up when Typhoid Mary went after him around DD #260, and I really want to re-read Ann Nocenti's run.

When the final fight for the virus comes down in the subway tunnel where it had been lost years before; DD and Elektra are forced to, as is often the case, go with the devil they know. Rather than risk Erynys get it, they give the virus to Hellspawn, who starts to transform before a furious Erynys kills him. Siege teams up with Garrett against the Snakeroot, while Daredevil throws Erynys's barbed sai at Elektra, knowing she would make sure to get Erynys in front of it. Her evil side returns to her, and Elektra cries over her loss of peace. And Matt discovers Hellspawn's corpse has turned into a double of Matt Murdock...and calls an audible. He lets the cops find "Murdock's" body, even letting Ben Urich, Foggy Nelson, and Karen Page think he was dead. (The Kingpin greets the news with a mere 'Heh. All good things come to those who wait..." but I'm not sure he was convinced.) Matt does tell his mom, the nun Maggie, who suggests his new name, Jack. DD gets ready to start his new life, only barely considering what the "About Face" virus could have done for him, but seemingly feeling he got the better end of the deal.

In hindsight, Matt's decision seems messed up--or, I guess not telling his friends seems messed up. Honestly, just because you have the opportunity to fake your death, doesn't necessarily mean you have to...does it?
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Not unlike the Hulkbuster armor, I think it's had more action figures than comic appearances...

I may have confused it with some other armor--possibly the Hulkbuster--or maybe a sarcastic comment I took at face value, but I swear I thought the Spider-Armor only lasted like three pages. It lasts at least eight, in 1992's Web of Spider-Man #100, "Total War" Written by Terry Kavanagh, pencils by Alex Saviuk, inks by Joe Rubinstein.

With the Kingpin currently out of the picture, it's gang war season in New York City again, and currently the New Enforcers are trying to destroy the Foreigner's evidence against them. New Enforcers? What happened to Montana, Ox, and Fancy Dan? This new group was a grab-bag of villains, including old pros like the Vanisher, the Eel, and Plantman; newbies like Thermite and Tangle; and robot types Dragon Man, Dreadnought, and the Super-Adaptoid. (The Super-Adaptoid by itself should've been plenty!) While Spidey's trying to deal with that lot, Richard Fisk--the son of the Kingpin, and former crime boss the Rose--has taken the identity Blood Rose and was going vigilante against the criminals plotting to take his father's place. Richard's motivation was always a bit questionable--was he plotting to destroy the Kingpin, or for his own power?--and was further complicated by his friend Alfredo, who had helped him as the Rose, then betrayed him and took his place. Alfredo was brought down, but then came back with a mysterious gauntlet stolen from another vigilante, Nightwatch. Alfredo named himself Gauntlet, and was coming back for revenge against Richard.

The whole thing comes down to a slugfest, with Spidey's new armor--an "experimental hard-web agent" that had to cost Peter Parker a few bucks--giving him enough of a edge to mop up most of them. Several of the New Enforcers, Richard, and Alfredo are all left for the cops; although Spidey is confused since Richard and Alfredo look very much alike, and he had thought Richard had been shot. Nightwatch recovers his power gauntlet, and the rest of the issue is the new hero's origin, where a young man is saved by a dying vigilante, who appears to be an older version of himself! This origin may have been retconned some time later...

I picked up the Web-Trap Spider-Man last month, but there have been a few versions. He's got a pretty good spring-loaded launcher arm, too. I don't recall if I bought it before the comic here, though.
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Sure, Frank's supposed to be the crazy one, but he doesn't have visions or see ghosts or whatever. Or talk about his feelings.

I did a write-up on Daredevil #343 over a year and a half ago, but yesterday, as I write this, I found #344 in the quarter boxes. Just #344, oddly. I didn't think Warren Ellis had done the next issue, and I was right on that much: J.M. DeMatteis takes over for a few. Nor does this issue explain why the cops were going nuts the previous month, but this issue's got it's own problems: the Marvel Edge line-wide crossover, "Over the Edge" gets it's second part here. Part one's covered here, so you can catch up if you have a burning need to. Short version: brainwashed and crazy, the Punisher's been convinced Nick Fury ordered the mob hit that caused the death of his family, so he's trying to kill him.

But even though Frank's the crazy one, Matt and Nick are both having flashbacks too: Nick's lost in remembering his childhood in Hell's Kitchen, which by all accounts wasn't a cakewalk, but has to beat the hell out of having the Punisher gunning for you. Well, times might be tough, and Nick might feel like his time has passed, but at least he still has his son...what!?

I had never seen any mention of Nick having children, before or since: Mikel is mentioned here, for reference. It's totally plausible that Nick had an illegitimate kid. It's a little less so that the kid's in his twenties and using his uncle Jake's codename Scorpio. Still, by this point in the issue, the Punisher's already delivered Scorpio an uncharacteristicly savage beating, even for someone named the Punisher.

Meanwhile, someone's hopping around a cemetary, and the grave of Matthew Murdock has been dug up. Remember, this was back when Matt was using the name 'Jack Batlin,' but he's getting increasingly dissatisfied with it. Partially, because if you're going to go to all the trouble of creating a new identity for yourself; maybe you don't want the new you to intentionally, by design, be a total douche. It doesn't matter if being a jerk throws off suspicion, you're going to have to live like that, all day every day. We didn't even see Matt act the role of Jack very often, but Mike Murdock seems more likeable in comparison. (Those issues where Matt passes himself off as his own zany twin brother weren't readily available in the Essential format back in 1995, but I wonder what parallels could've been drawn? Not too many: Mike Murdock's been swept under the rug.)

So, Matt hates his fake life, his metal costume, and shaving; and is taking it all out on the punks of the city a wee bit excessively. Unfortunately, Matt gets a flashback to his childhood, which was bad even before he was blinded, taking beatings in the schoolyard as he tried to stay true to his promise not to fight. "Daredevil" was his tormenters' nickname for him, and lost in the moment, DD takes a swipe at Fury for calling him that. (I think one of Chris Giarrusso's first Marvel strips suggested how different things would've been if Matt's childhood nickname had been 'Dorkface.')

Matt and Nick have a moment to respectively ponder their own and each other's childhoods, before the Punisher starts shooting at them. Between the two, they're able to pin Frank, although DD catches one in the shoulder: what damn good was that costume again? Frank has left his backup plan in place, though: the trussed-up body of Scorpio in a schoolyard. Panicky, Nick tears off to rescue his boy, and Frank easily punches down DD to escape. For his part, Matt says lack of sleep and blood did him in; and given that he's usually able to take Frank, you might have to give Matt that one.

Nick mourns the death of his only child, until DD realises there's a faint heartbeat. Punisher dosed Scorpio with "a variation on his old 'mercy bullets,'" to make Nick think he'd lost his son, and left a scribbled note that "this is between us!"

For his part, Frank is shooting pictures of Fury, and telling a Polaroid of his family that maybe he'll know peace after he gets Nick. Maybe. No promises. (I had to take a second to look it up and see if Polaroids were around in 1976, and although they were, what are the odds Frank would have an intact picture after all those years?) Again, although Frank is supposed to be the crazy one, it's pretty rare for him to see the ghosts or memories of his wife and kids. Also, this issue doesn't specifically explain that Fury didn't kill Frank's family, but Frank's so insane here he doesn't question it either.

The issue ends much like it began, with two bumbling thugs fleeing in terror from Daredevil. Except this time, it's a Daredevil in the old, old school yellow-and-brown costume. Hey, this would've been a great reveal, if it hadn't been on the cover. Next month's issue teases "Identity Crisis," meaning another crummy story with that title...I don't know if Daredevil was a title that played to J.M. DeMatteis' strengths as a writer--his issues were about rebuilding and spiritual redemption, two themes you honestly don't see in this book very often. Generally, the runs people remember DD for are the ones where he's put through the wringer. Putting Daredevil back together is a thankless job at best, like building a sand castle with a line of bullies salivating over how to best smash it. Panels from Daredevil #344, "Over the Edge, part two: Old Soldiers" Written by J.M. DeMatteis, pencils by Ron Wagner, inks by Bill Reinhold.

Somewhere, I know I have the Hulk "Over the Edge" issues, and we may come to those down the line. This was in the middle of Peter David's tenure, and the smart Hulk didn't have a problem with the Punisher, so Bruce gives Fury a bit of the brushoff. Which means he felt that much worse about Fury's "death."

(Also, I would argue DD's Catholic background is just for guilt purposes: God doesn't seem to give him any solace, and I often think he's religious the same reason Nightcrawler is, because somebody thought it would be cute to have the devil-looking character believe in God.) Read more!

I probably should've set up a tag for it a while ago, but I have a lot of last issues, for a lot of books. Books cancelled before their time, books cancelled before another reboot, books cancelled because they never had a chance. Marc Spector: Moon Knight #60 feels like it was cancelled because the artist had better things to do..."The Final Phase" Written by Terry Kavanagh, art by Stephen Platt.

I never read a lot of the Marc Spector: Moon Knight, partly because it was just another book in the 90's glut, and like Nick Fury this book was nowhere near as good as past versions. Still, I had wanted to read this issue for a while, since Moon Knight dies and stays dead for a few years from here, and because I remembered Wizard back in the day, when it was acceptable to read it, hyping up artist Stephen Platt as the next big thing. And I can see why: some of his shots are very dynamic, McFarlane-esque, except without Todd's charm, design sense, or readability. I think, probably like some other bloggers, that I'm a little uncomfortable criticizing art; in that it's not like I could do any better. True, but...

This book is a mess. Granted, I haven't read all the previous issues, and have no idea who the Hellbent or Cadre or whoever are (and I don't think they ever appeared again) or what's the deal with Spectorcorp (and it's subsidiary, Phalkoncorp) and I don't care.

The only supporting cast Moon Knight really needs (besides his alternate identities like Jake Lockley), are Frenchie and Marlene; who are both there but both almost unrecognizable. Frenchie's never referred to as such, his proper name Jean-Paul is used instead, and he's apparently developed super-powers as part of yet another hidden enclave of super-powered loons. For good measure, he spends the issue in Professor X's floating wheelchair. And yet, there were fans that pitched a bloody fit when he was revealed to be gay, even though there wasn't a lot to support that in the early issues. Yeah, like the 'Bloodline Agenda' was telegraphed from issue one.

Marlene is there, just drawn really, really badly.

I should mention that I've seen better art since from Platt, but at the time I believe he was hustling his way through this to go do Prophet or something for Image.

After Moon Knight's death this issue, Doug Moench would bring him back a few years later. I'm not sure, but I think Moench passed his death off as a dream. I'd have to re-read it, nice Tommy Edwards art on it as well. But, if a comic is bad enough, the fans will accept any explanation to get back to good stories...

Tim O'Neil had a pretty good write-up a while back on the Essential Moon Knight, and that reminds me: he's got a book out, and it's worth checking out to see if it's for you. I'm not sure how I feel about it yet, but the preview is compelling.

I'm dogging it today: the Oldest and I have been playing the classic Marvel Super Heroes PS1 game. Love it. Borrowed it from my brother-in-law, and I'm gonna have a hard time giving it back... Read more!

"I'll be surprised if I don't kill myself tonight." So someone in this story says.

Daredevil #343, "Recross" Written by Warren Ellis, breakdowns by Keith Pollard and Arvell M. Jones, finishes by Tom Palmer.

"Recross" is a bit of an odd duck: Ellis swaps out his usual style of narration for Matt Murdock's, but it's a Matt Murdock that's faking his way through his Jack Batlin identity, and a head injury inducing cross examination. So it's a lawyer/superhero, playing phony con man, while providing his own legal commentary. It's also unusual in that it's a one-shot (to the best of my knowledge, I don't think Ellis ever wrote Daredevil again) that seems designed to break the then-current status quo of the book: while it would be at least another year before Matt Murdock would be a lawyer again, this was the first step towards ditching the oh-so-street con man angle and the very 90's armor costume. (Do a little digging, and it seems everyone had armor in the 90's, at least once, even if only for an issue. Even characters that really, really shouldn't, like Hawkeye, Spider-Man, Catwoman, Captain America...)

The story opens with a fat cop in a rage, nightsticking the tar out of some slob. 'Kay. Meanwhile, Matt is getting sick and tired of his fake 'Jack Batlin' identity--the name was originally his homage to his dad, Battlin' Jack Murdock. I think some later stories have changed his boxing (or wrestling, in some stories) monicker to Daredevil to gloss this one over. But, how a former lawyer with a strong moral center and sense of justice thought he would be able to live the rest of his life as a flippant street hustler is beyond me. (Or more accurately, how the creative team had thought that, although the switch was probably always intended as temporary.) Moreover, Matt's starting to think his new armor is just as fake of a Daredevil, and we hear the start of the argument against in Matt's head.

Interestingly, and I wonder how much of this is intentional, Matt's living like a slobby con-man, a lot less neatly and orderly than you would expect from a blind man. But then, his 'Jack' ID isn't supposed to be blind, just a lowlife. Irritated that there's no other clean clothes, Matt puts on his suit--not the armor, but the suit he wore as a lawyer, to go do laundry. He bags out on wearing the armor, going against a proud comic tradition of suits disguising any number of costume bumps or outright deformities. (If you don't believe it, get a good, thick long-sleeved shirt, and a bulletproof vest, and maybe stick a mask in your back pocket; and then put a full suit and tie on over that. If you don't dehydrate and pass out before quitting time, great, but with all that on you probably look like Jared from the Subway ads, and I wouldn't wish that on anyone.)



Page five brings us Matt's first blackout, as he's run afoul of the fat cop. Concussed, he doesn't know where he is or what's happened, but thankfully hasn't been beaten amnesiac. Yet. Even half unconscious, Matt is still able to take down the cop, and notices the cop's condition: "Read the low moisture on his dry eyes, wide open for too long." That's an interesting use of Daredevil's powers, although I would've thought he'd have to touch the eyes to read that. Yuck.

As the cop faceplants into a nap in a dark alley, Matt writes it off as self-defense, takes the cop's nightstick, and continues on to the laundromat. Hey, attempted homicide or not, those clothes weren't gonna clean themselves, now were they? It's also not the first time a bloody nightstick has posed a problem for Matt either, is it? (The Kingpin would try to frame Matt with one used to kill a man in Born Again.)

Page eight, and blackout number two: Matt and his laundry are in a poolhall, where five thugs from cental casting have a young boy bent over a pool table (?!) and are about to kill Matt. Having lost the nightstick, Matt improvises in a very British, and Ellis, fashion: striping, a pool ball in a sock. Ellis makes the effort to explain how Matt would know this trick ("When I was a lawyer, I did a study of British borstals--homes for violent young offenders."), so we're rewarded with a dapper looking Matt beating the living hell out of the thugs; while his inner lawyer explains and begins recross. How much would it suck to have a third-person lawyer voice rattling around the back of your head all day? Especially if all your legal knowledge was from Law and Order reruns. Nothing but 'Objection!' and 'Redirect, your honor,' all day long.

After the beatings, Matt tells the boy victim to call the police, and the boy tells him those were the police. And Matt blacks out, for the third time. He's starting to worry about that, but blacks out again shortly after recovering his laundry and the nightstick. Next, he's leaping from the rooftops in the rain, still in the suit, with the nightstick sticking out of his belt in a very uncomfortable looking fashion, chasing down a burglar. Matt says the burglar is a murderer, and that "there's a cop on the ground with a piton in his head," but it isn't shown. Also, Matt's a fine one to talk, since if he's been attacked by half a dozen mad cops this issue; the burglar may have a case for self-defense.

Although he gives lip service to the idea of the law bringing in our burglar-slash-murderer, but since the law is maintained by flawed humans, it too must be flawed. The law should be fair and strong, but sometimes it can't be trusted not to act crazy or save a young blind boy's dad from being shot after a boxing match. Which means the burglar's fair game. Matt breaks the burglar's thumb, presumably then leaving him for the cops, although we don't see that: he very well could've broken his thumb while he was clinging to the side of the building, and if he fell, then the fall killed him, not Matt.

Taking a gargoyle-waterspout shower, Matt tells himself his head is starting to clear, and that soon "this incredibly irritating 'counselor Jiminy Cricket' voice will clear off too." (This is probably what passes for medical care for Daredevil right then: Night Nurse is not going to take your conman psuedo-ID fake hmo!) The voice still has some life in it, though, and some fair questions for Matt: "Why are you defrauding yourself?...What kind of 'Daredevil' are you in your armor?...Whose law, or even justice, are you serving when you play the con man?"

Unfortunately, while the voice grills Matt, down at street level (which appears to be forty stories down in this panel, with really narrow streets) three prostitutes are shot in a drive-by.



Matt leaps into action, still being grilled by the voice, and without any cables, grappling hooks, or anything else to slow his fall, which now looks like about five stories. He bounces off the roof of a parked car (putting a pretty huge dent in it, and cracking the windshield but good! Property damage in the Mighty Marvel Manner!) as he chases down the shooter, who was singing hymns during the shooting. Luckily, I'm pretty sure Daredevil's sales weren't great at this point, which probably saved Marvel some religious-right flak, and thankfully Ellis steers well clear of Daredevil's usual Catholic hang-ups.

Meanwhile, the voice has the line that kills Daredevil's armor for me: "...a bulletproof costume that makes you look like a fetishist riot cop." Well, the armor only ever looked good when Scott McDaniel drew it, anyway: a common problem with Marvel's costume upgrades to armor was that while it often looked great when the initial artist (who usually designed it), it would look like hell drawn by anyone else. (See also: Thor's armor, ala Walt Simonson.)

The voice finally starts to fade, ending the recross; as Matt punches down the shooter, screaming "It's my life! And I'll do what I like!" Wow, it's like Teenage Daredevil! Next, he screams "I hate you!" and slams the door of his room...I hate to say it, but that might have made more sense. For some reason, I had it in my head that the shooter was a judge or a priest/clergy figure, but it's not stated. Daredevil may sneak in one last blackout then, as on the next page, Matt watches the sun rise from the rooftops. The really big sunrise. Again, I've never been to NYC, so I wouldn't know, but it looks like the sunrise on Mercury. OK, I've never been there either. Shut up.

So, Ellis set up the return of Daredevil's classic costume, drawing a line under over two years (!) of somewhat out-of-character armored shenanigans. You could reasonably argue that this story plants the seeds for getting rid of the Jack Batlin cover. That's all well and good, but why were the cops insane? Absolutely no explanation is given, or even hinted at, in this issue. And I didn't get the next issue, so I'm not sure it was ever explained, other than maybe '(Some) Cops suck!' This was indeed Ellis' only Daredevil issue: was it intended as a fill-in? A try-out? A starting block? A stopgap measure? I'm a big fan of Mr. Ellis, but I have no idea. I like to imagine the younger Warren wrote it on a cocktail napkin, between blackouts.

I did remember that there was an action figure of the armored Daredevil, but I think it was more or less a repainted regular DD. Plus, it came with a monstrous grapling-hook launcher that in scale with the toy, would've required two hands and a tripod to fire. That was also pretty early in the Toy Biz Marvel line, and those figures look primitive compared to recent versions. The armor was 'toyetic' enough that a decent version could be made, but I think Tombstone, Infinity Doppleganger Daredevil, and the Surgeon General are ahead of him there... Read more!