After his beating at the hands of the Hulk in the previous issue, Daredevil lies in a hospital bed in critical condition. The faithful Black Widow remains by his side as a parade of visitors from the Avengers, Fantastic Four, and Heroes for Hire stop by to offer their support. Over the days his condition improves to the point where the doctors plan to release him. Suddenly Ben Urich bursts into the room and demands to speak to DD alone. The hero asks Natasha to leave and Urich reveals that he knows Daredevil is Matt Murdock, blind lawyer. When DD denies it, Urich asks him to prove it by describing a photograph he is holding up. Matt reluctantly admits Urich’s deduction is true. The photo is of Battlin’ Jack Murdock, Matt’s father, prompting Matt to relate his story to the Bugle reporter….
Growing up in Hell’s Kitchen, young Matt Murdock made a promise to his boxer father to apply himself to his education so that he could make something of himself. His studious ways caused the other kids to mock him, calling him "daredevil," so in frustration, Matt took up physical training on the side. As Matt entered college, his aging father found it harder and harder to find bookings because of his age so he was forced to sign with crooked manager "Fixer" Sweeney. Shortly thereafter, a US Army truck transporting radioactive materials through the city crashed when the driver suffered a heart attack; Matt heroically pushed an old blind man out of the vehicle’s path but a piece of the deadly material hit him in the face, blinding him. He lost his sight but discovered that the radiation enhanced his other senses, even giving him built-in radar to navigate on his own. Some time later, Jack Murdock’s career took and unexpected turn and he had a string of victories in the ring. Then Sweeney ordered him to lose his next fight—under threat of death. Matt is in the audience for the championship fight which at first goes badly for Jack. When Sweeney reveals that Murdock’s earlier opponents were paid to lose, Jack sees this as his last chance to make his son proud, and he beats his foe and is declared the winner…and on his way home that night he is shot to death in an alley. Seeking justice, Matt dons a red and yellow costume and invades Sweeney’s hangout as Daredevil. He beats the crook’s gunman Slade in a boxing ring and then pursues the boss out into the streets. With his enhanced senses, Daredevil is easily able to trail his quarry to the subway. After a brief chase, Sweeney suffers a fatal heart attack.
Back in the present, Daredevil tells Ben Urich that if the Bugle prints the story, his career as a crime fighter is over. Urich then does the hardest thing he’s ever had to do: he burns his notes, as a favor to a hero.