2012 was a year when the big news in comics all happened outside of shops, with movie theaters and social media dominating the industry.

This is part 2 of the podcast. that will feature the year in Daredevil, the Spotlight story and the Takeaway for 2012.

The Year in Daredevil

Appearances: Daredevil v3 #6-19, Daredevil: End of Days #1 Fantastic Four #600, New Avengers #19-24 and #30-31, Amazing Spider-Man #677, Punisher #7 and 10, Avengers #24, Avengers vs X-Men #1-4 and #7-9, Avenging Spider-Man #6, Hulk #50, AVX Vs #2, Daredevil Annual #1, Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe #4, Secret Avengers #33

Writer: Mark Waid (#6-19)

Pencils: Marcos Martin (#6), Paolo Rivera (#7 and #9-10), Kano (#8), Khoi Pham (#10.1 and 13), Marco Checchetto (#11), Chris Samnee (#12, #14-16, and #18-19), Mike Allred (#17)

Inks: Marcos Martin (#6), Joe Rivera (#7 and #9-10), Kano (#8), Khoi Pham (#10.1), Marco Checchetto (#11), Chris Smanee (#12, #14-16 and #18-19), Tom Palmer (#13), Mike Allred (#17)

• 2012 Begins with the last couple books of the Omege Drive, MegaCrime Organizations and the Mutually Assured Destruction that allowed Daredevil and friends to get out of a sticky situation but also left a target on Daredevil’s back.
• In February, we get an award winning 1-shot where after Matt Murdock attends a holiday party, he volunteers to take some blind kids on a ski trip. The bus ends up getting into a crash and Daredevil tries to lead the kids out of the cold – but it ends up being the kids that save Murdock and themselves.
• In March, we get a two-part story that starts in Amazing Spider-Man #677 called “The Devil and the Details”. In it, we see Peter Parker lamenting his recent breakup with Carlie Cooper, trying to be cool with Black Cat (which goes horrible) and then seeking out Matt Murdock & Daredevil when Black Cat is arrested. She says she’s been frames for a break-in at Horizon Labs.
• After Black Cat breaks out of police custody, the three locate the inventor of stolen Holographic projector. He’s been poisoned and has little time to live. Spider-Man rushes him to a hospital while Black Cat and Daredevil secure the projector from members of Black Spectre and basically removing them as a threat. As a “reward” for helping, Black Cat and Daredevil passionately kiss with Spider-Man looking on and saying one of the best lines ever “I think this is my super villain origin.” They go back to Matt’s place but before anything happens – he’s called away to the graveyard of his father where some weird things are going on. Specifically, that his and other graves have been emptied.
• This leads us into the next story that involves heading underground and a confrontation with Mole Man. Mole Man is stealing coffins to try to find the love of his life Lorna whom he loved as Dr Harvey Elder and wants to be with. Daredevil ultimately “saves” the body of Lorna (and some diamonds) and returns to the surface. Upon going home, he reads a note from Black Cat admitting she was hired to steal the Omega Drive from him – but doesn’t and warns him to watch his back
• After a 10.1 book that acts as a lead-up, we get a 3-part crossover where Spider-Man, Daredevil, and the Punisher team up in order to protect the Omega Drive from the Megacrime organizations with each book getting part of the story titled “The Omega Effect.” This will be our spotlight story this week.
• Next, we get a 1-shot story showing Matt Murdock and Kirsten McDuffie on a date – which goes well until a Black Spectre agent threatens the pair about the Omega Dive.
• That leads to a giant battle in the middle of Time Square between himself (with the Omega Drive) and the 4 megacrime organizations while the events are broadcast throughout the city. The fight ends with a Black Spectre Agent securing the drive and leaving. Later, Daredevil kicks down the door of Avengers Mansion, where members of the New Avengers - Wolverine, Mockingbird, Spider-Man, Iron Fist, and Luke Cage - are changing out of Black Spectre uniforms and we learn the fight in Time Square was staged and the drive is destroyed.
• Turns out there are repercussions for losing Latveria a lot of laundered money and Daredevil is next abducted and being held at Castle Doom in Latveria by the Minister of Bank Chancellor Exchequer Beltran. After a failed escape attempt, Daredevil is eventually rescued by the Avengers but not before some nanobots are injected into Daredevil causing his senses to all but disappear.
• Back in America, Hank Pym shrinks to micro size and enters Murdock’s brain to fight the nanobots with the guidance of Dr Strange. Despite some weird readings, Pym successfully destroy all the nanobots and Murdock’s senses start to return. Later, Murdock returns to Nelson & Murdock law offices where he’s confronted by Foggy Nelson saying he’s found Matt’s secret – showing him Jack Murdock’s remains and boxing gloves in Matt’s desk. A stunned Matt tries to tell Foggy he didn’t rob his own father’s grave, that he’s been set up, but Foggy will hear none of it. Foggy tells Matt that they’re through until Matt gets the help he needs.
• After a flashback story involving Stilt-man, we see Nelson and Murdock still at odds over the remains. Foggy’s worries about Matt’s mental state are increased because Matt calls him and says Milla Donovan is in apartment unaware of anything bad ever happening to her. Nelson agrees to go to the hospital where Milla was committed if Daredevil will look into a case involving a drug lord Hierra dying and an innocent nurse accused of murder.
• The year ends with Foggy telling Matt that he must have hallucinated Milla because he can see her inside her room at the hospital. Daredevil going after one of the drug lords bosses only to suspect Jardeim Salazar himself seemly falls down an elevator shaft trying to escape him. That leads to Daredevil dropping in on the only other Hierra’s bosses as he tries to consolidate power – Anthony Tortino. Daredevil tries to warn the men about their common enemy, but things quickly turn south. Daredevil believes it’s The Spot who’s doing all this and jumps into a circular black portal after Tortino but is knocked out. He awakens to his hands being cuffed behind a post. Daredevil shouts in rage that Spot is a dead man, but the black hands that abducted him pick his detached head and the tormentor introduces himself as Coyote.

This Week's Spotlight: Avenging Spider-Man #6 June 2012 “The Omega Effect Part 1”, Punisher vol 9 #10 June 2012 “The Omega Effect Part 2” and Daredevil vol 3 #11 June 2012 “The Omega Effect Part 3”

Recap

Why We Picked This Story

Daredevil Rapid Fire Questions

The Takeaway

It is getting harder to separate comics from culture, to the detriment of the industry and its readers.

Questions or comments

We'd love to hear from you! Email us at [email protected] or find us on Twitter @comicsoftime.

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THANKS TO THE FOLLOWING CREATORS AND RESOURCES

Music: Our theme music is by the very talented Lesfm. You can find more about them and their music at https://pixabay.com/users/lesfm-22579021/.

The Grand Comics Database: Dan uses custom queries against a downloadable copy of the GCD to construct his publisher, title and creator charts.

Comichron: Our source for comic book sales data.

Marvel Year By Year: A Visual History

DC Comics Year By Year: A Visual Chronicle

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_films_based_on_English-language_comics

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Marvel_Comics_superhero_debuts

https://comicbookreadingorders.com/marvel/event-timeline/

https://www.comic-con.org/awards/eisner-awards/past-recipients/past-recipients-1990s/