The Abandoned An’ Forsaked - So, Did Daredevil Kill a Hooker or What?

CBR

By Brian Cronin

Published Apr 19, 2015

In this feature we examine comic book stories and ideas that were not only abandoned, but also had the stories/plots specifically "overturned" by a later writer (as if they were a legal precedent). Click here for an archive of all the previous editions of The Abandoned An' Forsaked. Feel free to e-mail me at bcronin@comicbookresources.com if you have any suggestions for future editions of this feature.

Today, we look at how Daredevil was wracked by guilt over his role in the death of a hooker. But did she really die? Let's find out!

The 1993 mini-series, Daredevil: Man Without Fear, retells Matt Murdock's origin as Daredevil. The series was written by Frank Miller and drawn by John Romita Jr. and Al Williamson. In the second issue, Matt is hunting down the men he holds responsible for the death of his father, Battling Jack Murdock. He tracks one guy down to a brothel, where things go horribly wrong...

He's haunted by this throughout the series.

However, for whatever reason, then-current Daredevil writer D.G. Chichester didn't address the events of the mini-series, which made people wonder if it was even PART of Marvel's continuity (as other aspects of the story conflicted with past Daredevil history - I might get around to them in future editions of Abandoned an' Forsaked, so please avoid discussing them in the comments).

It was not until J.M. DeMatteis took over for a pivotal transition period in the Daredevil title that Man Without Fear was firmly established as being part of Daredevil continuity, as DeMatteis had Matt essentially have a nervous breakdown over his guilt over the death of the prostitute. Here is Matt dealing with it in Daredevil #347...

And then in the following issue...

DeMatteis has Matt deal with this repressed memory (which Matt repressed due to Stick's training) in Daredevil #350, as he goes to learn more about the dead prostitute...

So yeah, she's definitely dead. At the end of the issue, Matt embraces his guilt and becomes Daredevil again, thus setting the stage for the next chapter in Daredevil's life (Karl Kesel's run).

Kesel's run ended up being fairly brief, as Joe Kelly took over the title after twelve issues. Kelly, at the time, had also recently launched Deadpool's first ongoing series, and in Deadpool #7 (released soon after Kelly began his Daredevil run - penciled by Ed McGuinness), he has Deadpool encounter Daredevil's old enemy, Typhoid Mary. They tussle, but something strange happens, something that sets the stage for a notable retcon (and also an example of Foundationed Deep. I guess I'll re-file this at some point in the future under Foundationed Deep, as well). Read on to see what happens!

During their fight, Deadpool kicks Typhoid Mary out a window...

This then leads to the 1997 Daredevil/Deadpool Annual, written by Kelly (a rare example of when a writer writes a major crossover between two characters that s/he is currently writing) and penciled by Bernard Chang, where Typhoid Mary confronts Daredevil and reveals that SHE was the prostitute he kicked out of that brothel window all those years ago...