Chapter 9 | The Perplexing Origins of the Radar Sense
Panels
From Daredevil #1 (1964), by Stan Lee and Bill Everett
Matt, to the reader: “But my most important new ability is in the form of a built-in radar that I seem to have developed! It enables me to walk anywhere safely, without bumping into anything!”
“I feel a strange tingling sensation when I approach any solid obstacle, warning me which way to turn!”
Man: “Say, son… Want any help crossin’ the street?
Matt: “No thanks! I can make it!” Thinking to himself: “Little does he suspect I can cross more safely than he can… For I have every one of my remaining senses working at absolute peak capacity!”
From Daredevil #2 (1964), by Stan Lee and Joe Orlando
Caption: “And, in the street below, not suspecting the dread danger which awaits him above…”
Matt thinks to himself: “I can visualize the shape of the Baxter Building by the sound of the air currents hitting it… just as easily as if I could see it!”
From Daredevil #3 (1964), by Stan Lee and Joe Orlando
Caption: “Although this eyes are sightless, for he has been blind since the age of fifteen, Daredevil’s other senses are so sharp, so unfailing, that he can perform breath-taking feats which even a sighted person cannot match!”
Matt thinks to himself: “Luckily, my built-in radar sense tells me how far I am from a sold obstacle… So I always know when to dodge and when to grasp!”
Bystander #1: “Look!! Here comes Daredevil!!“
Bystander #2: “You’re too late this time! Even you can’t help that poor man!”
From Daredevil #3 (1964), by Stan Lee and Joe Orlando
Caption: “Later, back at the aviary of the Owl…”
Matt thinks to himself: “I’m in some sort of large cage! Judging by the slight air movement above me, it’s dangling exactly eight and a half feet from the ceiling… And from the sound of the Owl’s voice, it’s ten feet from the floor! Estimating the time it takes an echo to bounce back from the walls, it’s a huge room, roughly 325 feet in diameter! That tells me all I need to know… for now!“
The Owl: “I hope my two guests will be comfortable! If there’s anything you need, just ring for room service!“
From Daredevil #5 (1964), by Stan Lee and Wally Wood
Matt thinks to himself: “That heartbeat! That fast, nervous pulse rate! I’ve heard it before! Wait… Of course!.. The Masked Matador! I can hear the way his fabric folds when he moves! It’s his Matador costume! How clever of him! A costume party is the one function he can attend in his criminal guise without arousing suspicion! Others will think he’s one of the guests!
My radar sense indicates he’s standing against the wall… his back towards the crowd! I hear him turning a dial… softly… cautiously…”
From Daredevil #5 (1964), by Stan Lee and Wally Wood
Matt thinks to himself: “If only they’d be quiet! If only I could explain to them… My radar sense can’t function with all the commotion!“
The caption reads “Explanation of Daredevil’s radar sense”: “Normally, my radar sense goes out, hits objects around me, and bounces back, giving me a mental picture of my surroundings!
But when there is too much movement and confusion all about me, the “picture” which comes back is garbled and distorted!”
From Daredevil #8 (1964), by Stan Lee and Wally Wood
Matt thinks to himself: “The gas pedal is nailed to the floor… and the brake pedal has been cut! This is no simple accident!! Somebody planned it! Wait! That muffled ticking beneath the hood… My radar sense tells me…“
Matt, aloud: “…there’s a time bomb hidden in the moter! I’m driving a death trap!!“
From Daredevil #8 (1964), by Stan Lee and Wally Wood
Matt thinks to himself: “The bomb is ticking louder now! It’s nearing the instant of detonation! But I can’t desert the car… Without me to steer it, someone will surely by hit! I’ve got to keep guiding it… till the end! My only hope is the river! If I can reach there before it explodes, and plunge the car into the water..!“
Caption: “With iron nerve, with steady hands, the Man Without Fear guides the doomed vehicle at breakneck speed through the city streets, guided by his radar sense the same as a jetliner flying through a heavy fog…!
Though Daredevil ‘sees’ images rather than actual sights, so accurate is his sensory perception that he steers the onrushing car with the skill and precision of a master driver!”
Daredevil aloud: “Just a little bit further! I’m almost there!“
From Daredevil #8 (1964), by Stan Lee and Wally Wood
Matt thinks to himself: “He’s moving closer! Ordinary walls are no obstacle at all to my hyper-acute extra-sensory ‘radar’! I’d better learn who it is, although I’ve got a good hunch…!“
Matt says: “Sorry, Mr. Day! I thought I heard something! In fact, perhaps I’d better see if anyone’s at the door!”
From Daredevil #9 (1964), by Stan Lee and Wally Wood
Karen thinks to herself: “I’m sure it’s his blindness that makes him so cold, so distant! If only I could convince him that it doesn’t matter to me! I only want him to have that eye operation… to see again… for his sake!“
Matt says: “Foggy? Are you there? Karen says she has a surprise for me! Know anything about, partner? Foggy? What are you doing?“
Foggy says: “Eh, just straightening things up a bit, Matt! It’s been a busy morning! Anyway, part of Karen’s surprise whas in the newspaper this morning! I’ll read it to you, Mathew my boy!”
Matt thinks: “The ol’ son-of-a-gun! I can sense him holding a golf club clear across the room!”
Foggy thinks: “If I can just sink this last putt without him hearing it!”
From Daredevil #9 (1964), by Stan Lee and Wally Wood
Daredevil thinks to himself: “My radar senses can ‘see’ through the floor below me as though it’s made of glass! This castle isn’t as old-fashioned as it seems! It’s filled with complex electronic equipment… and enough power to blow up half a continent! But I’ll worry about that later! Right now, I’ve got to concentrate on saving my own little hide!”
From Daredevil #10 (1964), by Wally Wood and Bob Powell
Daredevil thinks to himself: “What’s that?! My radar hearing has picked up a radio message! It’s being transmitted from this yacht!”
Off-panel message: “Organizer to Frog Man… The time has come for our next move…”
From Daredevil #11 (1964), by Stan Lee and Bob Powell
Caption: “But, just then, the sightless attorney’s uncanny natural radar instinct takes over…”
Matt thinks to himself: “There’s someone ransacking out office right now! Just as I expected! This is all the proof I needed! But I’ve got to scare him away before Karen and Foggy blunder in and get hurt!”
From Daredevil #11 (1964), by Stan Lee and Bob Powell
Matt thinks to himself: “I’ve got to concentrate… To separate the thousands of sounds and mental images I’m receiving… until I find the one I seek!”
Caption: “Then, once away from the others, the crimson crimefighter again puts his uncanny radar sense into play…!“
Matt thinks to himself: “I And there it is! In the next room!”
Next, out loud: “Now for the moment of truth!”
From Daredevil #12 (1964), by Stan Lee, John Romita Sr., and Jack Kirby (layouts)
Caption:“Then, as the sightless adventurer totteringly stands erect, the most startling revelation of all strikes him with the impact of a cyclone…!”
Matt thinks to himself: “My radar sense… it’s gone! I can’t visualize what’s happening around me!!! That blow from Ka-Zar!! It must have done this to me!”
Out loud: “Now I really am a blind man!”
From Daredevil #13 (1964), by Stan Lee, and John Romita Sr., and Jack Kirby (layouts)
Matt thinks to himself: “My radar sense is working perfectly again! I can ‘see’ Ka-Zar rushing to attack me as clearly as if I were truly sighted!”
Ka-Zar: “Ka-Zar caged like beast! Never trust any man again! Not even you! Ka-Zar kill!”
From Daredevil #17 (1964), by Stan Lee, and John Romita Sr.
Matt thinks: “That sudden shift of air! Someone at the window! He’s dangling Foggy outside!”
Spider-Man: “Come on, Daredevil! The masquerade’s over now! You’ve got ten seconds to tell why you made me your target! How’d you ever get the nickname ‘The Man Without Fear’? You’re even afraid to admit who you are!”
Matt: “Spider-Man! Don’t let go of him!” He thinks to himself: “If only I could tell him… he has the wrong man!”
Karen: Matt… Stay back! There’s nothing you can do! He… He must be going mad!”
From Daredevil #30 (1964), by Stan Lee, and Gene Colan
Onlooker #1: “Look! Up there — It’s Thor!”
Onlooked #2: “He must’a lost lost his bus fare!”
Onlooker #1: “I’ll bet he’s after the Cobra — and Hyde!”
Matt as Thor thinking to himself: “Too bad I have to wear this nutty cape! By fluttering this way, it muffles some of the sound vibrations that guide me!”
From Daredevil #38 (1964), by Stan Lee, and Gene Colan
Caption: “And, at that very moment, we find the real Dr. Doom arrogantly striding through the virtually deserted streets…”
Dr. Doom thinks: “Strange… I seem to sense things rather than see them! The world appears different to me than before! My vision is clouded… yet sharpened, at the same time! Perhaps it is due to the opaque eye filters on this costume!”
Doom’s thoughts continue on the next page: “I suspect I have found the key to Daredevil’s unique ability! By obscuring his normal vision, he has found a way to actually sharpen the use of his own senses!”
Caption: “Although he’s on the right track, even Doc Doom doesn’t suspect the entire, fantastic truth… namely, that DD is totally blind!”
From Daredevil #46 (1964), by Stan Lee, and Gene Colan
(Note: this page follows the one that was featured among the Chapter 7 panels.)
Matt: “Now then, talk fast, please! I’m wanted down the hall!”
Guard: “We’re looking for Daredevil, Doc!”
Matt: “Sorry — I haven’t seen him! I thought he was transferred to the interrogation wing!”
Guard (to the other guards): “Hey! That’s a thought! Let’s go!”
Matt thinks to himself: “Okay, radar sense — don’t fail me now! I have to look like I know where I’m going! Too many guards down the hall — may still be watching me! I’d better make sure I find the med supply room! Behind this door — all sorts of pharmaceutical odors! I’ve got to chance it!”
Opening the door, Matt notices that: “It’s empty — but judging by the echo of the sound of the door opening — there’s another room behind it! Having a built-in sonar sense can be mighty handy at a time like this!”
Pharmacist: “Come in — come in! I thought you’d never get here!”
Matt thinks: “For a minute there — so did I! Okay, DD — let’s go! This is pay dirt!”
From Daredevil #58 (1964), by Roy Thomas, and Gene Colan
Karen: “And your brother ‘Mike’… The aerial explosion in which you ‘died’… even your ‘blindness’… They were nothing but ingenious frauds!”
Daredevil: “Two out of three right, my darling! I never had a brother… And that explosion was trumped up to flush out a would-be blackmailer! But, I have been blind for years… perhaps in more ways than one!”
Karen: “Really blind? I don’t understand..!”
Daredevil: “When you get down to brass tacks, Karen… Neither do I! As Matt, I told you once about the childhood accident that blinded me! That story was true, but not the whole truth! For, in some mysterious way, the same mishap that robbed me of my sight… Amazingly sharpened my remaining senses, to far beyond those of other men… enabling me to avoid disasters, and to perform athletic feats that few people even dream of!
Taste… touch… smell… hearing… All my senses were heightened! Except perhaps for that secret ingredient called… common sense! Why else would I never have told you before… that I love you?”
Karen: “And I love you, Matt… As if I haven’t worn my heart on my sleeve, since the day we met!”
Karen thinks: “But there’s still one thing… I have to try!”
Daredevil: “You can save your energy, beautiful! Maybe I can’t see, but I’ve got a radar sense that tells me you’re waving your hand… testing me!”
Karen: “I… I’m sorry, Matt! I didn’t mean to doubt you! It’s just that… I’m so confused!”
Daredevil: “That makes two of us! But there’s one point I’m clear on! We’ll never be apart again… Never!”
Karen: “Never…!”
