Daredevil #178
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeDaredevil #178 marks the first on-panel meeting between Daredevil and the Heroes for Hire — Luke Cage (Power Man) and Iron Fist — a crossover between Miller's gritty street-level crime world and the duo's own shared Marvel title that required a sequel issue (Power Man and Iron Fist #77) to resolve. Equally important is the scene in which Elektra defeats the Kingpin's assassination test and accepts his job offer, a pivot point that fuses her arc directly into Wilson Fisk's machinery and sets the stage for the darkest stretch of Miller's run. Together, these two plot threads showcase Miller's deliberate method of weaving the broader Marvel Universe into a tightly contained crime narrative, a storytelling approach that distinguished Daredevil from virtually everything else on the Marvel rack in early 1982.
In "Paper Chase," Daredevil faces a high-stakes legal and criminal maze as Foggy Nelson enlists Power Man and Iron Fist to shield a key witness tied to a mayoral scandal. Meanwhile, the Kingpin’s shadow looms larger as he quietly courts Elektra with a proposition that could change everything. Written by Frank Miller and drawn with gritty precision by Klaus Janson, this 1982 issue blends courtroom tension with street-level intrigue, all wrapped in a cover by Miller and Janson that captures the issue’s tense, shadowed mood.
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Titled 'Paper Chase,' the issue was written and penciled (breakdowns) by Frank Miller, with Klaus Janson providing finished art and inks — a collaborative division that defined their partnership across the entire run. Dennis O'Neil served as editor, with Jim Shooter as editor-in-chief; the issue also holds the distinction of being the first issue of the series to carry a 60-cent cover price. The story's crossover structure was coordinated with the companion Power Man and Iron Fist title, and the issue even contained an in-house promotional pin-up for that tie-in issue, drawn by Denys Cowan.
Trivia · 8 facts
- First meeting of Daredevil (Matt Murdock) and the Heroes for Hire — Power Man (Luke Cage) and Iron Fist (Danny Rand) — on panel in the Marvel Universe.
- Story titled 'Paper Chase'; written and penciled (breakdowns) by Frank Miller, with finished art and inks by Klaus Janson, colors by Glynis Wein, letters by Joe Rosen, and editing by Denny O'Neil.
- Pivotal Elektra scene: Kingpin secretly tests Elektra by sending assassins to her apartment; after she defeats them she receives his employment offer, formally beginning their alliance.
- Cover date: January 1982; on-sale (release) date: September 22, 1981. First 60-cent cover-price issue of the Daredevil series.
- The main story is a two-part crossover; it continues and concludes in Power Man and Iron Fist #77, making that issue a companion read.
- Supporting cast in this issue includes Foggy Nelson, J. Jonah Jameson, Turk Barrett, Grotto, and mayoral villain Randolph Cherryh — cementing Miller's crime-procedural ensemble.
- Reprinted in Daredevil Visionaries: Frank Miller Vol. 2 (collects #168–182), the Daredevil by Frank Miller & Klaus Janson Omnibus (2007, collects #158–161, 163–191), and Marvel's Epic Collection line.
- A promotional pin-up for Power Man and Iron Fist #77 by artist Denys Cowan appears inside the issue, reflecting Marvel's coordinated marketing of the crossover.
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Foggy hires Power Man and Iron Fist to help protect the stooge who is going to help Nelson and Murdock link Mayoral candidate Cherryh to the Kingpin. Kingpin talks to Elektra about employment opportunities.
Plot details indexed by the Grand Comics Database (CC BY-SA).
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