Cover: Rick Leonardi & Al Williamson

Daredevil #248

Nov 1987 · Marvel · 0.75 USD; 0.95 CAD; 0.40 GBP

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“A Cage in Search of a Bird...”

★ 1st appearance — Bushwacker

About this Issue

Daredevil #248 is the debut issue for Bushwacker (Carl Burbank), a cybernetically modified former CIA assassin and ex-priest who became one of Ann Nocenti's signature Daredevil villains and has remained a recurring Marvel antagonist for nearly four decades. The issue also marks the practical creative turning point of Nocenti's celebrated run — multiple critics and readers identify this as the issue where her tenure truly found its footing, preceding the arrival of John Romita Jr. by just two issues. The story's central moral argument — Daredevil stopping Wolverine from killing Bushwacker only for Bushwacker to go on murdering again — is among the earliest in Marvel's Copper Age to openly indict the hero's own convictions, making the reader complicit in the failure of principle. Beyond Bushwacker, the issue seeds several long-running threads of the Nocenti era: Matt Murdock's disbarment, Karen Page pushing him toward a free legal clinic in Hell's Kitchen, and Foggy Nelson's unknowing entanglement with a Kingpin-run company.

In "A Cage in Search of a Bird...", Matt Murdock faces a moral crossroads as Karen insists he launch a free legal hotline, testing his commitment to justice in a city that often ignores the vulnerable. Meanwhile, Foggy’s new role at a corporation tied to the Kingpin puts him in a precarious position, while Daredevil investigates a company linked to a tragic case of toxic waste—and Wolverine tracks the deadly Bushwacker across the shadows. Written by Ann Nocenti and illustrated by Rick Leonardi, with inks by Al Williamson, colors by Petra Scotese, and letters by Joe Rosen, this 1987 issue blends personal stakes with gritty urban tension, all framed by a striking cover by Leonardi and Williamson.

writer Ann Nocenti · artist Rick Leonardi · inker Al Williamson · colorist Petra Scotese · letterer Joe Rosen · cover Rick Leonardi, Al Williamson

ComicBooks.com Value

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Raw (VF) $4

CGC 9.8 · 45 in census $55

CGC 9.6 · 19 in census $25*

CGC 9.4 · 9 in census $20

CGC 9.2 · 8 in census $20*

CGC 9.0 · 5 in census $20*

CGC 8.5 · 7 in census $20*

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CGC 8.0 · 3 in census $20*

CGC 7.5 · 4 in census $20*

CGC 7.0 · 2 in census $20*

CGC 6.5 · 1 in census $20*

CGC 6.0 none in existence

CGC 5.5 none in existence

CGC 5.0 none in existence

CGC 4.5 · 1 in census $20*

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

More listings for this title

VG $2.49 FINE $2.49 Newsstand $2.99 NM $3.25 VERY FINE $3.99 VF $4 VF+ $4.21 NM $4.95

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History

Ann Nocenti had taken over as regular Daredevil writer with issue #238 (January 1987), stepping in directly after Frank Miller's landmark run and becoming the first woman to write the character as an ongoing series responsibility. For #248 she was paired with penciler Rick Leonardi — who had previously contributed fill-in work on high-profile Marvel titles — with Al Williamson on inks and Ralph Macchio as editor under editor-in-chief Tom DeFalco. Nocenti's approach throughout her run was to ground Matt Murdock in street-level societal issues including corporate toxicity, anti-mutant hatred, and the failures of the legal system, all of which are layered into this single issue. John Romita Jr. would join as regular penciler two issues later with #250, but the Leonardi-drawn Bushwacker two-parter (#248–249) is widely credited as the moment Nocenti's run shifted into high gear.

Trivia · 8 facts

First appearance of Bushwacker (Carl Burbank): a cybernetically altered former Catholic priest and ex-CIA operative who can transform his arm into various firearms; created by Ann Nocenti and Rick Leonardi.
First appearance of Marilyn Rogers, Bushwacker's wife, who seeks legal help from Matt Murdock after suspecting her husband is dangerous — a key plot device linking Bushwacker's debut to Daredevil's supporting cast.
First appearance of Tyrone Janson, a supporting character introduced in this issue's Hell's Kitchen subplot.
Story title: 'A Cage in Search of a Bird…' Written by Ann Nocenti, pencils by Rick Leonardi, inks by Al Williamson, colors by Petra Scotese, letters by Joe Rosen; edited by Ralph Macchio.
Wolverine appears as a co-protagonist hunting Bushwacker for a string of mutant murders, establishing a Daredevil–Wolverine dynamic that carries through issue #249 and recurs across the Nocenti run.
The issue advances Nocenti-era status quo changes: Karen Page persuades a disbarred Matt Murdock to open a free legal hotline, and Foggy Nelson is revealed to be unknowingly working for a Kingpin-controlled corporation.
Daredevil's decision to stop Wolverine from killing Bushwacker — allowing the villain to escape and kill again — is one of the run's defining moral dilemmas, interrogating the hero's own code of non-lethal justice.
The issue has been collected in the Marvel Epic Collection: Daredevil Vol. 12 – 'It Comes With the Claws' (Daredevil #234–252) and in the Daredevil by Nocenti & Romita Jr. Omnibus Vol. 1 (Daredevil #234–266, 2025); a newsstand edition and a Mark Jewelers insert variant were also produced alongside the standard direct-edition printing.