Daredevil #18

Jul 1966 · Marvel · 0.12 USD

📊 ~37,185 copies sold its debut month

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“There Shall Come a Gladiator!”

★ 1st appearance — Melvin Potter

About this Issue

Daredevil #18 marks the debut of Melvin Potter, the Gladiator — one of the earliest recurring antagonists in Daredevil's rogues' gallery and one of the more conceptually unusual villains of the Silver Age. Potter is not a scientist, a spy, or a cosmic threat; he is a skilled costume designer who arm-chairs himself into supervillainy out of pure resentment toward costumed heroes, making him a strikingly human-scale foil for Matt Murdock. The issue also leverages the long-running romantic subplot between Foggy Nelson, Karen Page, and Matt Murdock in a genuinely comic-plot way — Foggy's scheme to impersonate Daredevil and impress Karen is what gives Potter his opening — tying character drama directly to the villain's first outing. Gladiator would eventually reform, marry, and become a trusted ally of Daredevil, a character arc that is rare for a Silver Age villain and that continued to pay dividends across decades of storytelling.

In "There Shall Come a Gladiator!", a costume store owner takes his fashion sense to the extreme, donning a gladiator suit and declaring himself a warrior—only to find his new persona attracts real danger. When Foggy Nelson, in a Daredevil costume for a staged fight, becomes the unexpected target of the Gladiator’s rage, Matt Murdock must step in to protect his friend, all while the city’s fog and shadows hide the truth of who truly defeated the gladiator. Written by Stan Lee and Denny O'Neil, with art by Johnny Romita and inks by Frank Giacoia, this 1966 issue features a striking cover by John Romita and Frank Giacoia.

writer Stan Lee · writer Denny O'Neil · artist Johnny Romita · inker Frank Giacoia · letterer Sam Rosen · cover John Romita, Frank Giacoia

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NM/M $2.72 VF+ $5.99 POOR $12.71 NM $24 NM $24 VG $24.99 VG $28 VG $29.24

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History

The issue was written by Stan Lee with scripting assistance from a then-new writer, Denny O'Neil — a caption on the first page notes that Lee wrote the opening pages before leaving for vacation and O'Neil scripted the remainder, making this among O'Neil's very first published Marvel work before he moved on to a celebrated career at DC Comics. John Romita Sr. handled both pencils and cover art, with Frank Giacoia providing inks and Sam Rosen lettering; this creative team was still relatively fresh on the title, as Romita had taken over Daredevil only a handful of issues earlier. Lee also served as editor, maintaining his customary dual role during Marvel's Silver Age production period.

Trivia · 8 facts

First appearance and origin of Melvin Potter as the Gladiator (villain); cover-dated July 1966, part of Marvel's Silver Age run.
Story title: 'There Shall Come a Gladiator!' Written by Stan Lee and Denny O'Neil; pencils and cover by John Romita Sr.; inks by Frank Giacoia; lettering by Sam Rosen; edited by Stan Lee.
This is among Denny O'Neil's earliest published Marvel work — a caption in the issue itself credits him with scripting the back half after Lee left on vacation.
The plot is driven by Foggy Nelson's scheme to impersonate Daredevil to win Karen Page's affections; he commissions a Daredevil costume from Potter's shop, inadvertently setting Potter's villainous plan in motion.
Gladiator is depicted as a purely human opponent — no superhuman powers — whose armored suit features deadly wrist-mounted rotating saw blades of his own design, reflecting his background as a master costume and prop fabricator.
The issue was reprinted in Essential Daredevil Vol. 1, Marvel Masterworks: Daredevil Vol. 2, the Daredevil Omnibus Vol. 1 (2017), and the Daredevil Epic Collection Vol. 1: The Man Without Fear (2016).
Melvin Potter was portrayed by Matt Gerald across all three seasons of the Netflix/MCU Daredevil series; the character's planned arc toward fully assuming the Gladiator persona was never completed on screen due to the show's cancellation after Season 3.
Potter's costume shop in the issue is depicted with life-size mannequins of Thor, Captain America, Doctor Doom, Doctor Strange, and Daredevil — a visual gag that simultaneously maps out the Marvel Universe of 1966 and underscores the issue's central thematic question about what a costume actually means.

Cast · 4 characters

Daredevil Foggy Nelson Karen Page Melvin Potter

Full credits

writer Stan Lee

writer Denny O'Neil

artist Johnny Romita

inker Frank Giacoia

letterer Sam Rosen

cover pencils, inks John Romita

cover inks Frank Giacoia

Full plot ⚠ may contain spoilers

▸ Reveal full plot — may contain spoilers

A burly costume store owner decides it is really the clothes that make the man and begins his career as the Gladiator. Foggy gets a Daredevil costume from Melvin who talks the tubby lawyer into setting up a staged super fight to impress Karen. Thinking his fight with Foggy will draw out the real Daredevil, Gladiator goes after him for real and Matt has to take a hand in rescuing his friend. In the night and the fog, everyone assumes it is Foggy as Daredevil that beat the Gladiator back.

Plot details indexed by the Grand Comics Database (CC BY-SA).