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Daredevil (1964 series) #81

Nov 1971 on-sale: Aug 3, 1971

Gerry Conway
writer
 |  Gene Colan
penciler

Daredevil (1964 series) #81 cover

Story Name:

And Death Is a Woman Called Widow


Synopsis

Daredevil (1964 series) #81 synopsis by reviewer Peter Silvestro
Rating: 4 stars

Daredevil, trapped on Owl’s helicopter as it crashed into the Hudson River, is now sinking to the bottom, his thoughts on Karen Page. Elsewhere, Owl gloats over his victory, defeating Daredevil. And Karen faints in the TV studio, watching Daredevil go to his doom on the news program. Her agent Phil Hichok carries her away to get her some air….

As DD settles to the bottom, Black Widow dives into the water, having spied DD’s plunge and knowing it is destiny that put her there at that time. While she searches for DD in the murk, she ponders the possible jinx or curse on her that leads men to their deaths. She finds DD, noting bubbles escaping from his mouth and his eyes opening, and brings him to the surface. Soon, DD awakens and, reasoning that the police must think he is dead, decides to let it stay that way for now. He also realizes his billy club is missing as he runs off. Natasha is surprised that he did not acknowledge her presence since he must have seen her and concludes that DD must be ashamed to have been rescued by a woman….

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Meanwhile, Owl is being rebuked by Mister Kline for trying to kill Daredevil instead of capturing him as ordered. Owl bristles at his genius not being appreciated so Kline cuts ties with him and moves on to his next scheme. Owl likewise wallows in self-pity while planning his next caper….

Phil has brought Karen back to consciousness and confesses his feelings for her. She responds with an embrace….

Mister Kline reports to his superior that he has brought Black Widow into play, hoping a romantic entanglement may be precipitated, neutralizing Daredevil. Plus, the blackmail seems to be working on Foggy Nelson and soon he may be the Governor of New York under their control. Kline unmasks, revealing he’s a robot, now to be known as the Assassin….

Foggy Nelson is in his office late at night when he hears Daredevil enter. DD declines all offers of help until he collapses while trying to leave….

At the same time, the Owl and his gang crash a huge vehicle into the Treasury Building, firing knockout darts at the security guards. A few blocks away, Natasha and Ivan hear the ruckus and she cuts short her bank consultation and heads for the action. So Black Widow shows up as Owl and gang are looting the vault. While Foggy is out of the room, DD hears the police sirens and jumps out of the window atop a taxi, heading for the robbery. He arrives just as the Owl seems to have overcome Black Widow, leaping on his foe and smacking around the villain and his minions, delivering the decisive blow to Owl….

Epilogue: The police arrive and are directed to the subdued baddies. Natahsa indicates she is still annoyed over DD’s snub earlier but DD faints at this point. Natasha reminds herself not to get too involved because of the possible curse. Meanwhile, Kline broods over Owl’s failure, doffs his coat and walks into a brightly lit background to choose the Silent Ones as it is time for those who sleep….

Characters: Black Widow, Daredevil, Foggy Nelson, Ivan 
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Characters
Good (or All)
BLACKWIDOW  
Black Widow
(Natasha Romanoff)
DAREDEVIL  
Daredevil
(Matt Murdock)
FOGGYNELSON  
Foggy Nelson
(Franklin Nelson)
IPETROVICH  
Ivan Petrovich
(Ivan Petrovich Bezukhov)

Antagonists
OWL  
Owl
(Leland Owlsley)
Plus: Mister Kline.


Story #2

The Sinister Space Trap

Writer: Larry Ivie.
Penciler/Inker: .

Synopsis

By Peter Silvestro
Rating: 3 stars

Reprinted from STRANGE TALES #132.



> Daredevil (1964 series) comic book info and issue index



THE INVINCIBLE IRON MAN OMNIBUS VOL. 1 [NEW PRINTING]
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Main/1st Story Full Credits

Gene Colan
Jack Abel
Unknown
Gil Kane (Cover Penciler)
Frank Giacoia (Cover Inker)
Unknown (Cover Colorist)
Additional Credits
Letterer: John Costanza.
Editor: Stan Lee.



Review / Commentaries


reviewer
Daredevil (1964 series) #81 Review by (May 20, 2026)

Review: Black Widow meets Daredevil and changes the direction of his comic book for nearly four years. It also gives her a home until the ill-considered decision to put her in THE CHAMPIONS. By pairing her with DD she had a comfortable place to stay while gauging audience interest, which appears to have been positive, in light of her lengthy stay. She is portrayed as a fearless heroine yet wondering if she is cursed to kill any man she gets near. Not a typical character arc but natural if one carries the name Black Widow.

Best part: Not continuing the hectoring second-person narration from part one of this story. So now we can settle down to some normal sounding story. Sadly, she makes her debut in the middle of the wretched Mister Kline arc. Mister Kline was a mysterious villain who appeared in DAREDEVIL #78-84 and IRON MAN #41-45. But if you’re picturing an epic crossover of two heroes uniting to confront a master villain too powerful to defeat singly, forget it. The two series never cross over and the two heroes never meet. Instead what happens is, the same background baddie shows up in several apparently disconnected stories until writer Gerry Conway seemingly got tired of him and killed him off. Biggest unanswered question: Why would a robot smoke cigarettes?

Comments: Part two of two parts. First appearance of Black Widow in this title; she will be a regular until issue #124; her name is added to the title with issue #92. Her most recent appearance was in AMAZING ADVENTURES 1970 #1-8. Her main character note at this time was wondering if she is a jinx, bringing death to people she encounters, a callback to the deaths of two men in AMAZING ADVENTURES #5. Evidently the talk show host when Karen faints is Dick Cavett, real-life television personality from 1968 through the 2000s; I didn’t recognize him. Letterer John Costanza is credited as Jon Costa. Second story is reprinted from STRANGE TALES #132; at this time Marvel was expanding several of its titles and so had to include a second story to fill the page count. Issue includes a pin-up of Black Widow by Bill Everett.






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