Daredevil (1964 series) #224

A guard stands outside a warehouse of the Continental Trucking company. Daredevil approaches and says he knows an exchange of drugs is happening inside before knocking the guard out. Daredevil fights through the warehouse while at the same time the drug leaders are threatened by someone in the top room. They shoot at their assailant to no avail and by the time Daredevil makes it there, all he finds are four piles of burned ash! The men were incinerated! Daredevil investigates the room more and discovers an old blind man named Abe who was present during the whole thing. Turns out Abe is an employee of the company, a loading platform worker turned janitor once a stroke left him blind. Abe has no information about the killer, except that he stole something of his. The killer mixed up his briefcase with Abe’s leaving Abe with the money meant for the drugs, while he took Abe’s bag containing his locket with his only picture of his late wife.

Meanwhile, the killer goes to see the other end of pipeline, the men meant to receive the drugs. Not long after, Daredevil arrives there to find the place on fire and everyone dead, just like at the warehouse. He then tracks down the headquarters of Continental Trucking to talk to the man in charge, Richard Knox. Daredevil fights through the building before finally encountering Knox. Knox tells Daredevil that the man after him is one of his former truck drivers named Mike Stone. Stone would often make deliveries of their drugs before he started keeping some to sell himself. Stone was let go and ended up literally fishing a strange mechanical suit out of the water that granted him amazing powers! Knox plans to use Daredevil to help him with his problem, knowing that DD won’t just let him be killed.

At the same time, Abe waits in a café for Daredevil to return with his locket. Later, Stone arrives to kill Knox only to find Daredevil waiting for him. Daredevil finds his attacks to be largely ineffective and the longer the fight goes, the more mad with power Stone becomes. He decides to try and goad Stone into becoming so angry he makes a mistake, which works until Knox decides to try and run for it. Daredevil gets stunned protecting Knox, and Stone starts to monologue. Daredevil realizes that Stone has no heartbeat and theorizes that rather than the suit powering him, that he powers the suit! He grabs at Stone’s faceplate, causing Stone, who has now become pure energy, to become scattered through the air! Daredevil arrests Knox and later he returns to the café to return Abe’s locket to him. Abe is grateful before shuffling out, and the waitress at the café thanks Daredevil for not revealing that the locket has no picture in it, something DD obviously didn’t even realize!