Daredevil (1964 series) #221

On a dark, rainy night, Matt Murdock leaves a wreath of flowers at Heather Glenn’s grave. As Daredevil, he then goes to see Ben Urich at the Daily Bugle for information. He’s looking into the Council of Ten, the group who orchestrated the theft of Heather’s patent last issue. Ben tells him that they’re a bunch of Neo-Fascists who’ve patterned themselves after a similar group from the 13^th century. According to Ben, their leader is a man named Emilio Reuss, stationed out of a medieval palace in Venice. When Ben asks Matt if he blames himself for Heather’s death, Matt admits he’s not sure, but feels that he can at least stop the Council for her. Matt then heads back to his office where he finds Foggy working late. Matt tells Foggy that he has to go to Italy, despite Foggy’s warnings that their law firm is rapidly sinking and may not be there when he gets back!

Matt then flies to Italy and takes multiple modes of transport ending with a gondola ride right up to the Council of Ten’s palace. He changes to Daredevil and starts to climb up the outside of the building, unaware that the Council is watching his every move from inside! They send a defender to intercept him and when Daredevil reaches the roof, he’s met by a seeming armored knight! Daredevil’s initial kick proves ineffective, and afterwards he realizes that the knight has no heartbeat; he's fighting a robotic suit of armor! He evades the robot’s attacks until he manages to trick it into toppling over the edge of the roof, smashing apart on the dock below! Daredevil enters the palace and soon finds a priest in a chapel area. Daredevil then narrowly avoids a falling trap cage, only to then fall into a trapdoor with spikes at the bottom! He braces himself against the sides, left at the mercy of the Council’s leader Reuss!

The Council tie Daredevil up and lead him into the dungeons of their palace. They reveal that they wish to restore order to a lawless world in a manner similar to Mussolini, collecting what they need in secret. They throw Daredevil into a cell and quickly brick up the entrance. The priest of their group is clearly reluctant and tells Daredevil that salvation lies in the ground beneath his feet. Armed with these words, Daredevil frees himself from his bindings and quickly discovers the only weak point seems to be in the floor. He works long and hard to pry up the loose stones until he creates a hole large enough to squeeze through. He drops down into an almost identical cell, except for the inclusion of a rotting skeleton of an ancient soldier. He uses the dead soldier’s sword to chip away at the cell’s wall bit by bit. Eventually, with one last push, he breaks through the wall and the canal on the other side comes rushing in!

This causes the whole building to start tilting, which alerts the Council that something is going on! Daredevil quickly confronts them, using an old shield to block their shots before taking out a couple with it. Reuss takes refuge in the chapel and arms himself with a pointed candlestick as a weapon. Daredevil enters, the confusion from the building coming down around them messing with his radar. Reuss sneaks up on Daredevil but before he can stab him, Reuss is killed by a falling windowpane, and Daredevil and the priest flee the collapsing building. Back in New York, Matt visits Heather’s grave once more, telling her that he avenged her. He admits he didn’t do it for justice, and maybe not even for her, but for himself. He hoped it would ease his guilt over Heather’s death, but it didn’t, and he realizes that nothing will ever be enough. So, he decides to do the only thing he can do: keep on living.