Cover: Wally Wood

Daredevil #7

Apr 1965 · Marvel · 0.12 USD

📊 ~43,704 copies sold its debut month

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“In Mortal Combat with... Sub-Mariner!”

About this Issue

Daredevil #7 is one of the most consequential single issues of the Silver Age because it introduces the all-red costume with the double-D logo that has defined the character's visual identity for more than sixty years — replacing the original yellow-and-red suit designed by Bill Everett and Jack Kirby. Beyond the costume change, Wally Wood's rendering of a hopelessly outmatched Daredevil throwing himself at the far more powerful Namor established a defining character trait: Matt Murdock's willingness to take a beating for principle, even against unwinnable odds. The issue also functions as a key node in Marvel's interconnected Silver Age universe, with the Krang-led Atlantean uprising planted here serving as the direct springboard for Namor's solo strip launch in Tales to Astonish #70. Its cross-title storytelling ambition and the permanence of Wood's costume redesign make it a genuinely landmark release in the early life of the series.

In "In Mortal Combat with... Sub-Mariner!", Daredevil finds himself caught in a clash between the Sub-Mariner and humanity, after Namor hires Matt Murdock and Franklin to sue the surface world on his behalf. When diplomacy fails and Namor’s rage turns to violence, Daredevil must face the Atlantean prince in a battle that tests both strength and principle. Written by Stan Lee and brought to life with dynamic art by Wally Wood—both interior and cover—this 1965 issue delivers a tense, high-stakes showdown with the sea king, all before he departs for Atlantis to confront a new threat.

writer Stan Lee · artist, inker Wally Wood · letterer Artie Simek · cover Wally Wood

ComicBooks.com Value

Our Model is In Beta

Raw (VG) $153

CGC 9.6 · 5 in census $32,904

CGC 9.4 · 12 in census $10,297

CGC 9.2 · 34 in census $4,203

CGC 9.0 · 63 in census $2,347

CGC 8.5 · 123 in census $1,380

CGC 8.0 · 162 in census $955

Show all 21 grades ▾

CGC 7.5 · 200 in census $679

CGC 7.0 · 255 in census $546*

CGC 6.5 · 236 in census $423

CGC 6.0 · 212 in census $377

CGC 5.5 · 189 in census $355

CGC 5.0 · 223 in census $305

CGC 4.5 · 206 in census $294*

CGC 4.0 · 189 in census $205

CGC 3.5 · 162 in census $141*

CGC 3.0 · 114 in census $141

CGC 2.5 · 57 in census $138

CGC 2.0 · 36 in census $135

CGC 1.5 · 8 in census $95*

CGC 1.0 · 4 in census $85*

CGC 0.5 · 92 in census $79

* estimate — limited direct-sales data at this grade

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

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History

Wally Wood — a titan of EC Comics science-fiction and a MAD Magazine pioneer — joined Daredevil starting with issue #5 after leaving MAD in 1964 and finding himself in a professional rough patch; Stan Lee recruited him at what one contemporary account describes as a low ebb in Wood's career. Wood penciled and inked issues #5 through #8 solo, and later collaborated with Bob Powell on subsequent issues. During this brief but creatively concentrated run, Wood introduced the character's radar-sense visualization and, by issue #7, overhauled the costume entirely — stripping away the yellow fabric to produce a starker, more three-dimensional red suit that he felt better suited Daredevil's street-level, underdog character. According to Roy Thomas, Wood had been slated to move on from Daredevil to helm the new Sub-Mariner solo feature in Tales to Astonish, but his contentious working relationship with Lee ended that plan before it materialized.

Trivia · 8 facts

First appearance of Daredevil's iconic all-red costume with the double-D chest logo, replacing the original yellow-and-red design from Daredevil #1 (1964).
Written by Stan Lee; full art (pencils, inks, and cover) by Wally Wood; colors by Stan Goldberg; letters by Artie Simek.
Published April 1965 (cover-dated April 1965; on-sale date documented by the U.S. Copyright Office) at a cover price of 12 cents; 36 pages total.
The story title is 'In Mortal Combat with… Sub-Mariner!' — Namor visits Nelson & Murdock to hire them to sue the human race, is rebuffed, goes on a rampage, and ultimately escapes back to Atlantis after Lady Dorma warns him that Warlord Krang has seized his throne.
The issue directly sets up the Sub-Mariner's solo launch in Tales to Astonish #70 (August 1965), which explicitly continues from the events of this story — an unusually tight cross-title continuity handoff for the era.
Wally Wood also drew an original full-page Sub-Mariner/Daredevil pin-up included in the issue.
The story has been reprinted numerous times, including Marvel Super-Heroes #27 (July 1970), the Marvel Treasury Special Giant Superhero Holiday Grab-Bag (1974), The Mighty World of Marvel (Marvel UK) #75–76 (1974), Marvel's Greatest Superhero Battles (Simon and Schuster, 1978), and the Mighty Marvel Masterworks: Daredevil Vol. 1 (2021).
Warlord Krang and Lady Dorma appear in the issue; Krang's first appearance in Marvel continuity is debated — the Complete Marvel Reading Order credits Fantastic Four Annual #1 (1963) as his debut, predating this issue.