Cover: David Mazzucchelli

Daredevil #229

Apr 1986 · Marvel · 0.75 USD; 0.40 GBP; 0.95 CAD

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“Pariah!”

★ 1st appearance — Sister Maggie Murdock

About this Issue

Daredevil #229 — titled 'Pariah!' — is the narrative hinge of the 'Born Again' arc, the issue in which Matt Murdock reaches absolute rock bottom and, crucially, begins the first stirrings of his resurrection. Set on Christmas Day, the issue deliberately frames Murdock's degradation and discovery of his long-lost mother in the visual language of a Pietà, threading Roman Catholic imagery of suffering and salvation through both script and art in a way that was genuinely new to mainstream superhero comics. Its single greatest structural contribution to the Daredevil mythology is the first appearance of Sister Maggie Murdock — Matt's mother, a nun who had abandoned her family years earlier — whose debut transforms the character's origin and emotional core for every subsequent writer. The issue is also an outstanding example of how 'Born Again' as a whole redefined what a superhero story could be: the hero appears in no costume, is stabbed by a petty criminal rather than a super-villain, and is saved not by his powers but by family grace, all within a seven-part arc that the Modern Age of comics still measures itself against.

In "Pariah!", Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli deliver a raw, emotionally charged chapter in Daredevil’s story, told through the haunting memory of young Matt as he recalls the night his life changed—Turk, masked as Santa, stabbing him in the gut, and the quiet, steadfast care of Sister Maggie. As the present-day investigation into Murdock and the Kingpin heats up, Ben is warned to stay away, deepening the shadows around Matt’s past and the secrets still buried in Hell’s Kitchen. The issue’s stark, expressive art by Mazzucchelli—both interior and on the cover—lends a haunting weight to every panel, making this a standout moment in the series.

writer Frank Miller · artist, inker David Mazzucchelli · colorist Christie Scheele · letterer Joe Rosen · cover David Mazzucchelli

ComicBooks.com Value

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Raw (VF) $10

CGC 9.8 · 63 in census $122

CGC 9.6 · 78 in census $56*

CGC 9.4 · 53 in census $39*

CGC 9.2 · 16 in census $36*

CGC 9.0 · 15 in census $32*

CGC 8.5 · 7 in census $31*

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CGC 8.0 · 12 in census $20*

CGC 7.5 · 2 in census $20*

CGC 7.0 · 2 in census $20*

CGC 6.5 · 3 in census $20*

CGC 6.0 none in existence

CGC 5.5 · 1 in census $20*

* estimate — limited direct-sales data at this grade

Our model’s value — refined as new sales data arrives · CGC census counts shown where available

More listings for this title

Newsstand $3.5 VF $4.98 Newsstand $5.23 VF+ $5.5 FN+ $5.95 VERY FINE · Newsstand $7.57 FN/VF $8.4 Newsstand $8.5

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History

Frank Miller had revitalized Daredevil during his original writer-artist tenure from 1979 to 1983, then departed; after Dennis O'Neil served as series writer and prepared to leave in turn, editor Ralph Macchio invited Miller back for what Miller himself described as a far more radical reinvention than his first run. Miller returned as writer only, paired with David Mazzucchelli — an artist who had been drawing Daredevil since 1984 and whose style, while indebted to Miller's heavy blacks and hard lines, also drew on the warmer, more expressive traditions of earlier Daredevil artists such as Gene Colan and Wally Wood. The full creative team on issue #229 was Miller (script), Mazzucchelli (pencils and inks), Christie 'Max' Scheele (colors), Joe Rosen (letters), and Ralph Macchio (editor) with Craig Anderson as assistant editor — and the issue appeared on stands bearing the special 'Marvel 25th Anniversary' corner banner.

Trivia · 8 facts

Issue title: 'Pariah!' — Part 3 of the seven-part 'Born Again' storyline (Daredevil #227–233, February–August 1986).
First appearance of Sister Maggie Murdock (Margaret Grace Murdock) — Matt Murdock's estranged mother, a nun — created by Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli; she would later be portrayed by Joanne Whalley in Season 3 of the Netflix Daredevil series.
The issue is set on Christmas Day (December 25), and Turk Barrett — a recurring low-level criminal from Miller's earlier run — stabs the already-homeless and injured Matt Murdock while wearing a stolen Santa suit, underscoring how completely Murdock has lost his heroic status.
Matt Murdock does not appear in the Daredevil costume anywhere in this issue, reflecting his total collapse of identity at this point in the arc.
The issue closes with a visual echo of Michelangelo's Pietà: the wounded Matt is discovered and tended by Sister Maggie at his father Battlin' Jack's old boxing gym, launching the arc's redemptive second half.
David Mazzucchelli's ongoing visual motif — a full-page image of Matt's body curling progressively into a fetal position across issues #227–229 — reaches its endpoint here, with the subsequent issues depicting resurrection and return.
The cover, art by David Mazzucchelli, carries the 'Marvel 25th Anniversary' banner present on Marvel's 1986 line.
The issue has been reprinted in the Daredevil: Born Again trade paperback (March 1987), the Daredevil by Frank Miller Omnibus Companion (2007), a 2009 deluxe hardcover (which included sample pencil pages from this issue), and numerous international editions including French, Italian, German, Swedish, and Spanish collections.