Daredevil (1964 series) #242

A regular factory worker named Joe meets with the rich owner of the plant he works at. The owner waxes about the benefits of capitalism and conquering the American Dream and tells Joe to do what he did or else let trickle-down economics take care of things for him. Joe tries to reason with him that there just aren’t enough jobs paying a livable wage for people and the rich man just blames the media for exaggerating that, claiming no one wants to work anymore. Seeing that the man’s dog gets better treatment than him, Joe frustratedly grabs a plate of caviar and stuffs it in the rich man’s face, pouring wine in after, all while yelling about the unfairness of what regular people are forced to do just to survive! Joe then snaps out of it and realizes that the rich man has suffocated, and he’s responsible! Joe initially panics, not meaning for things to go this far but quickly accepts his guilt. He tries calling the police to report his crime, but they put him on hold so he tries the Daily Bugle instead. He reaches a reporter named Simon LeGrange who tells Joe he’s like a modern day Robin Hood and not to feel bad for taking a stand! Simon then heads out to meet with Joe, feeling this could be his big break!

Elsewhere, Daredevil catches a gang of guys trying to rob an old man at a bank ATM. He takes them all out as quickly and harmlessly as possible before locking them in the vestibule for the police to find. He walks with the old man he saved, who notes how much restraint Daredevil showed with the criminals, even though the media paints him as a violent psychopath. While Daredevil isn’t too concerned about his media image, the old man wonders if perhaps there’s a destructive side to that mindset. Meanwhile, Simon gets to the rich man’s house to find that Joe has painted red dollar signs all over the room as a statement. Joe plans to use this act as a way to scare rich people into giving to the less fortunate, and he wants Simon to get the word out. Joe plans to threaten the rich to act better, or he’ll come for them, using Simon and the Bugle as his voice, while Simon feels that this could be an even better story than he initially thought!

Back at their apartment, Karen watches some news reports about Daredevil and expresses her concerns to Matt when he comes home. While Matt is just as unfazed with his media image as before, it’s stressing out Karen, who feels like it’s starting to affect her! Matt then discovers the news of the Caviar Killer, as Joe has been branded, and heads to see if Ben Urich knows anything about it. Some time later, Joe sneaks into the penthouse of another wealthy couple and strangles the wife with her own pearls while her rich husband remains blissfully unaware. At the Daily Bugle, Simon gleefully regards the response his story has gotten, noting that the Caviar Killer has tons of fans who believe in what he’s doing, and plans to schedule an exclusive interview soon. He’s then confronted by an irate Ben Urich who accuses him of jeopardizing the Bugle to further his own career! Ben feels they’re only giving the Killer more power by giving him a voice, and that encouraging these killings in this way will only make them just as responsible! LaGrange decides to leave and take his story to a major TV network, while their boss plans to call the police, so as not to implicate the Bugle. Daredevil then taps on Ben’s window, and tells him that he’ll take it from here, while Ben tells him to be wary of all the media coverage.

Over the coming days, more reports come in with more killings by the Caviar Killer, with opinions split down the middle! Finally, Simon sets up an impromptu broadcast from a remote location for an interview with Joe, only a crowd of his fans have shown up as well! As he begins the broadcast and sweeps over the crowd, Joe reveals himself and clarifies that he never wanted anyone to die but that someone had to do something. Daredevil drops down into the crowd to try and take Joe quietly, but the crowd swarms him, telling him they believe in what Joe’s doing; they consider him a hero! They attack Daredevil who knows he can’t fight back or he’ll only justify the media’s view of him. Eventually though, he considers the danger to be too great and starts to defend himself against the crowd, while the cameras watch! Daredevil attacks the crowd of people, until Joe finally surrenders himself, saying he never wanted things to go this far! The police arrive and take Joe and Simon away for questioning, as Daredevil blames Simon and the media machine for how things escalated. Daredevil tries his best to help the crowd of people he was just fighting as back at their apartment, Karen struggles reconciling the violent man she sees on TV with the man she knows Matt is, and wonders if one of these days, he’ll wind up dead!