Daredevil #42 (1968)
By Stan Lee, Gene Colan, Dan Adkins
Background: Matt made everyone believe he had a twin brother named Mike who was secretly Daredevil and has now died. Foggy is running for DA.
So, What Happens? At Nelson & Murdock, everyone is mourning the heroic death of Daredevil, whom they believe to be Matt's twin Mike. Everyone, that is, except for Matt himself, who came up with that story. In the meantime, a new masked criminal calling himself the Jester is on the loose, using modified toys for his robberies. He is a former failed stage actor, who eventually decided to get revenge for his public's lack of appreciation. Candidate major Richard Raleigh reads about him and hires him to take care of Foggy, who is running for DA and he fears would be too difficult to corrupt. The Jester attacks when Foggy is out for a walk with his fiancé Debby, Karen and Matt, kidnapping the latter for leverage. Matt announces that the original Daredevil had trained a replacement before dying and switches to his superhero alter-ego as soon as he is alone. The fight with the Jester goes on longer than usual since Daredevil had not been keeping up with his training, but eventually DD lets his foe escape to find out who had hired him. At Raleigh's office, they find the candidate dead, but Jester manages to escape.
Notes: Richard Raleigh is the main antagonist of Spectacular Spider-Man #1, a failed attempt at joining the black-and-white comic-magazine market. The Jester has a lengthy profile at the Marvel Appendix.
Something Silly This Way Comes: Matt has renounced his Daredevil identity, but still wears his costume under his everyday clothes and carries a vial of acid to destroy them if necessary. The Jester locks Matt in a room with no windows for a few moments and is not at all surprised to find Daredevil in his place.
Review: If I had to use only one word to define this story, it would be "average". It's not a terrible effort by any means, and it actually has a nice flow to it, but it's just not particularly entertaining either. Frank Miller once commented that Daredevil used to have a weak rogues' gallery in his early years, and the Jester fits that mould. An obvious cross between the Joker and Toyman from rival DC Comics, the villain starts quite well with a bizarre approach to crime and chaotic behaviour, but quickly falls apart after an uninspired origin flashback and ends the story as little more than a gun for hire. Considering that in 1968 the Batman TV series was still on screen, it's possible that Stan wanted to capitalize on its successful combination of camp and action, but the story is neither really goofy enough to be fun, nor thrilling enough to be adventurous.
The art is a saving grace, but not even Gene Colan is without sin as the Jester's costume looks terrible. Even at his silliest, the Joker has his creepy look to fall back on, but there is nothing creepy in what looks like a glorified green, orange and purple bag. Thankfully, everything else is really good: faces are detailed and expressive (the Jester's oversized teeth being a nice touch), fights are dynamic and Karen Page in particular looks gorgeous. Sadly, this time it's not quite enough to save the day.
Final Verdict: The creation of a new villain can't save a somewhat mild and uneventful story. 2.5/5
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