Daredevil Annual #7

History

The issue was written primarily by Gregory Wright, with Eric Fein contributing the Ben Urich back-up ('The Dark Lady'), and it was published with a cover date of May 1991 under editor-in-chief Tom DeFalco and editor Ralph Macchio. The crossover concept — placing Nick Fury as a connective thread between three separate annuals starring Daredevil, the Punisher, and Captain America, without having the heroes themselves meet — was a structurally distinctive choice that distinguished the Von Strucker Gambit from contemporaneous annual events. The cover was rendered by Mike Mignola, whose clean, atmospheric line work lent the issue a visual distinction noticeably different from its interior artists (Ron Garney, Butch Guice, Larry Alexander, June Brigman, and Don Hudson, among others). The story continued a narrative thread already running through the Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. ongoing series.

Trivia · 8 facts

• First appearance of the Crippler (Carl Striklan), created by Gregory Wright and Jackson (Butch) Guice; Striklan defects from Hydra by the story's end and goes on to become a member of Silver Sable's Wild Pack.
• First appearances of Dakini, Guillotine (Nicos Pelletier), Sathan (dies in crossover), and Ron Takimoto — all Hydra genetically engineered assassins introduced for this storyline.
• Part 1 of 'The Von Strucker Gambit,' a three-part annual crossover concluding in Punisher Annual #4 (Part 2) and Captain America Annual #10 (Part 3), all cover-dated May 1991.
• Nick Fury is the connective supporting character linking all three annuals; uniquely, the three lead heroes — Daredevil, the Punisher, and Captain America — never cross paths directly across the crossover.
• The issue is an anthology-format annual with five distinct stories: the Prologue (script by Gregory Wright, art by Butch Guice), 'Crippling Death' (Wright/Ron Garney/Doug Hazelwood), 'The Dark Lady' starring Ben Urich (script by Eric Fein, art by Don Hudson), 'Malicious Justice—or Injustice?' (Wright/Larry Alexander/Fred Fredericks), and 'Guns Don't Kill' (Wright/June Brigman/Roy Richardson).
• Cover art by Mike Mignola — a notable artistic contributor given his later prominence as the creator of Hellboy.
• The Von Strucker Gambit was tied to ongoing continuity in the Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. monthly series, functioning as an expansion of that book's Hydra storyline.
• The issue has been reprinted in the Marvel Epic Collection: Daredevil Vol. 15 — Last Rites, which collects Daredevil (1964) #283–300 alongside this annual.

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Variants (1)