Marvel Immersion Project: Daredevil #190-191, Giant-Size X-Men #1, X-Men Annual #3, Captain Marvel #25

Once I finished my Daredevil run (see below), I looked back over the Comic Book Herald list I've been following only to find that I missed a couple of X-Men issues along the way.  So, I'll be taking a step back before giving over completely to Captain Marvel next week.

My Recent Reads

Daredevil #190

Originally Published January 1, 1983

Writer: Frank Miller

Artist: Klaus Janson

• Daredevil, Black Widow and Stone race to prevent The Hand from resurrecting Elektra.
• They succeed but Stone finishes the job anyway.
• Elektra is back.

Daredevil #191

February 1, 1983

Writer and Artist: Miller

• For this, his final Daredevil issue in this run, Frank Miller served as both writer and artist.
• This is one of the stranger, darker and more interesting issues of Miller's tenure.  It begins with DD at the bedside of Bullseye, his still paralyzed nemesis.  DD is playing Russian Roulette, pulling the trigger for both of them.
• Now flashing back, when he visits the home of a potential client, Hank Jurgens, Matt Murdock also meets Hank's son Chuckie.  Chuckie not only idolizes Daredevil but believes he himself is Daredevil.
• Naturally, the story gets complicated.  Hank is being blackmailed and when he confronts his tormentor, Hank pulls out a gun.  DD intervenes and hits Hank.  Unfortunately, Chuckie witnesses the entire incident.
• Now traumatized, Chuckie shoots a bully on the playground with Hank's gun.  The bully survives but Chuckie's still a mess and DD is left to confront his own role in the horrible story.
• In the end, DD walks away from Bullseye's bed, revealing the roulette gun was empty the whole time.

Giant-Size X-Men #1

June 1, 1975

Writer: Len Wein

Artist: Dave Cockrum

• This book immediately precedes the run I started in this post.  
• Most importantly, this story introduces Storm, Colossus, Nightcrawler and Thunderbird and temporarily expands the X-Men roster to 13.

via Marvel Database

• Also spotted, though not named, is Colossus's younger sister, Illyana.  One day, she will become Magik.
• The augmented team battles Krakoa, a sort of composite, colony, mutant, island organism.

X-Men Annual #3

January 3, 1979

Chris Claremont/George Perez & Terry Austin

via Wikipedia

• Arkon comes to Earth to kidnap Storm in order to bring her back to rescue his imperiled world, Polemachus.
• Naturally, the X-Men must go retrieve her.
• They are convinced of Polemachus's desperate situation and are enlisted to save the day.

Captain Marvel #25

March 1, 1973

Mike Friedrich/Jim Starlin

• And now we jump back in time: before Claremont's X-Men, before Howard the Duck, before Miller's Daredevil.  Heck, in March 1973, Gwen Stacy was still alive.

via Marvel Database

• At the time, Captain Marvel was still a dude: Mar-Vell.
• When I last left the Avengers in #97, Mar-Vell and Rick Jones were two separate people.  Now, they're alter-egos.  It's confusing, as are the shape-shifting Skrulls who seem to pervade Captain Marvel stories.
• Rick Jones is framed for the murder of Benjamin Savannah, a professor and also a friend to Mar-Vell/Rick.

Yon-Rogg via Marvel Database

• The set-up job is conducted by Super-Skrull and Skragg who, over the course of the story, impersonate many different characters, including Yon-Rogg.
• Mar-Vell/Rick battle the Skrulls, who escape in the end.