Daredevil Vol. 1 No. 178

This volume is issue No. 178 of Daredevil Vol. 1, containing the main story Paper Chase from the January 1982 issue (released September 22, 1981), 21 pages in total. It was written and laid out by Frank Miller, inked by Klaus Janson, colored by Glynis Wein, lettered by Joe Rosen, and edited by Denny O'Neil. The story has two threads. One thread is Elektra: she returns to her apartment and finds several armed assassins waiting for her; she dispatches them all almost effortlessly, then reads a note left by the Kingpin. The Kingpin writes that if she is still alive to read this letter, it means she is indeed as deadly as rumored; he invites her to discuss a job opportunity within the organization. That night, Elektra breaks into the Kingpin's office building, defeats the guards along the way, and finally stands before the Kingpin. The other thread is Matt Murdock and Foggy Nelson. They are litigating for the Daily Bugle: mayoral candidate Randolph Cherryh has been exposed as connected to the Kingpin and sues the newspaper. A young man named Sheldon holds a check signed by the Kingpin to Cherryh's campaign account; he demands an exorbitant price while being hunted. Worried about his partner's safety, Foggy privately hires the Heroes for Hire Luke Cage and Iron Fist as bodyguards. Matt finds the two a hindrance because their presence disrupts his plan to extract information. So he makes an excuse to leave, jumps down the elevator shaft, and escapes to continue investigating. During the parade, Sheldon and Cherryh prepare to exchange the check for a bag of diamonds; a child mistakes the bag for candy and snatches it, and chaos erupts. Daredevil and Iron Fist first fight by accident, then join forces in pursuit. In the confusion, the check scatters among the parade confetti, and the story continues in Power Man and Iron Fist No. 77. This is the issue in which Daredevil, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist first appear together in canon, and the key turning point at which Elektra formally aligns with the Kingpin's camp.