BIOGRAPHY -- Page 12
With the coup averted, Black Widow prepared to return to California. Matt and Natasha parted on better terms this time compared to when they last saw each other in San Francisco. Still, Natasha was committed to being her own woman while Matt wanted to help Foggy recuperate and get the D.A.’s office back in order. Meanwhile, Foggy’s sister Candace also needed Matt’s help as an attorney. Studying as a grad student in journalism, Candace uncovered evidence of Operation: Sulfur, a military project to engineer soldiers immune to the effects of pollution. This was the first 
step in an escalation of germ warfare, with Sulfur’s success allowing the nation to develop bio-weapons without fear of their creations being turned against them. Sulfur had been shut down, but Candace intended to publish the story to hold the U.S. government accountable and ensure they never revisited the plan. Unfortunately, a spy organization led by the malevolent Death-Stalker wanted to acquire Operation: Sulfur’s research and sell it to the highest bidder. He hired Gladiator to kidnap Candace as she was taken into custody by the FBI for espionage.
Matt tracked them to the Florida Everglades, last known whereabouts of Dr. Ted Sallis, the mind 
behind Sulfur (who incidentally had fallen victim to his own experiments to become the Man-Thing). Daredevil and Man-Thing beat the Gladiator, but Death-Stalker returned to New York with Candace, eager to extract all she knew about the Sallis papers. Daredevil struggled to defeat Death-Stalker, a wraith-like opponent who couldn’t be touched except when he became solid long enough to use his death touch. Daredevil found Death-Stalker at a chemical plant, where he hoped to reconstruct the formulas from Sulfur. Both Death-Stalker and the Sallis papers ended up tumbling into the open vat of chemicals. Matt wrestled with his conscience after that, for he had deliberately destroyed government property and the evidence of Candace’s crimes, violating the law for the greater good of ensuring germ warfare was not pursued by his nation. He also noted that, while he heard a splash when the papers hit the chemicals, there was no splash when Death-Stalker fell. [Daredevil (1st series) #113-115]
Daredevil got involved when the Unholy Three conducted a series of high-profile kidnapping and ransom demands. Bird-Man kidnapped Gail Callan, daughter of a rich industrialist, and demanded the ransom money be delivered by the D.A.’s blind assistant to make pursuit harder. Matt Murdock made the drop-off to Cat-Man but started following the super-villain afterwards in the hopes of finding Gail. Coincidentally, Spider-Man spotted the cat burglar and started a fight, forcing Daredevil to pick a fight of his own with Spider-Man to let Cat-Man get away. Once he explained the situation to Spidey, Daredevil used his special senses to evaluate some dirt Cat-Man left behind, tracing it to a hideout in Steeplechase Park. Together, the two heroes beat the Unholy Three and rescued Gail. [Marvel Team-Up (1st series) #25]
Natasha called Matthew back out to California, and he learned she and Ivan became homeless after he left. Natasha was unable to find work in San Francisco and her inheritance dried up. With Matt no longer paying rent, she could not afford the lease on the North Shore mansion. Their reunion was interrupted by the Owl, who moved out west to set up his criminal enterprises when he heard Daredevil was back in New York. Daredevil, Black Widow and Shanna the She-Devil beat the Owl’s gang and turned him over to the police. Matt and Natasha reaffirmed their love for one another, but Tasha was a proud woman. She promised she would return to Matthew when she could stand next to him as an equal, and no sooner. [Daredevil (1st series) #116-117]
Foggy Nelson was finally back on his feet, and Matt stepped away from the D.A.’s office to let his friend re-establish his authority in the public eye. Candace Nelson left for Washington, acting as a star witness before Congress to investigate the Sallis papers and prevent that project from resurfacing. Matt also reconnected with Pop Fenton at Fogwell’s Gym and learned Kid Gawaine had retired from the ring to become Father Gawaine. Unfortunately, the gym still had trouble brewing, as a bantamweight named Juan Aponte tried an experimental process to increase his mass and became the rampaging Crusher. Daredevil fought the Crusher, but Juan’s real personality shone through and sacrificed himself saving the lives of Pop and Father Gawaine from falling debris. Daredevil also had a day out at Shea Stadium facing the Circus of Crime and their new act Blackwing, master of bats. Daredevil stopped the Circus from fleecing the crowds, but Blackwing escaped into the night. [Daredevil (1st series) #118-119]
On the rooftops of Manhattan, Daredevil was confronted by his old foe Nighthawk and recruited for the Game of the Galaxies. Nighthawk had reformed since they last met and joined a loose association of heroes known as the Defenders. The Grandmaster, an ancient alien gamesman who first empowered Nighthawk, wanted to use him and the Defenders as pawns in a conflict against the Prime-Mover, with control of the Earth on the line. Daredevil agreed to fight alongside 
the Defenders, as the Prime-Mover promised to enslave Earth if his side won, while the Grandmaster only valued the game itself, not the stakes. Unfortunately, Daredevil and the Sub-Mariner lost the game against their opponents. The duo was randomly assigned a battlefield filled with explosive volcanic geysers. Namor was quickly dehydrated while the environment played havoc with Daredevil’s radar sense. They were overcome and murdered by their opponents, Dumog and Teju.
Still, the majority of the Defenders succeeded in their bouts, and the Prime-Mover was defeated. The Grandmaster used his power over life and death to resurrect his fallen gladiators. However, the Grandmaster had come to see the value of Earth’s champions, and chose to invoke his rule over the planet, using it as a stable to breed new champions for future games. The other five Defenders attacked Grandmaster physically, but he struck them down immediately. Instead of joining in, Daredevil took advantage of Grandmaster’s monomania and challenged him to another game, double or nothing. If Daredevil won, Earth goes free; if the Grandmaster won, he got Earth’s moon too. Using a marked disc, Daredevil simulated a coin flip, claiming he and 
Grandmaster had a 50 – 50 chance at victory. The simplicity of the game appealed to the Grandmaster, and he chose “tails.” As Daredevil flipped the coin in the air, his superhuman sense of touch allowed him to detect the balance of the coin perfectly, controlling the outcome. Earth was saved, the Defenders sent home, and Daredevil disappeared into the night, leaving the Defenders to question why the Man Without Fear would risk all of Earth on a coin toss. [Giant-Size Defenders #3]
Natasha straightened out her debts and was ready to reunite with Matthew in New York. Matt brought her to his new brownstone as they tried to discuss their relationship and how to make things work out. Foolishly, he brought Natasha to a New Year’s Eve party being hosted by Foggy and Debbie, without telling her it was a party for Foggy Nelson. Natasha’s grudge against Foggy was still very real, and she didn’t appreciate being ambushed. The festivities were interrupted by agents of Hydra attacking the party in an effort to capture Foggy Nelson. Daredevil and Black Widow drove off El Jaguar and his commandos, and Nick Fury soon arrived with his agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. He explained Congress had ordered that S.H.I.E.L.D. would answer to a board of directors instead of the President from now on, and D.A. Foggy Nelson was on the short list of potential directors.
Matt was worried about the terrorists’ interest in Foggy, and Black Widow and Ivan agreed to help keep watch on the D.A. until Hydra was stopped. The robotic Dreadnought and a cadre of Hydra-pillers attacked the District Attorney’s Office, and Foggy turned himself over to the Dreadnought to save Natasha’s life at the hands of the murder-machine. Daredevil and Black Widow joined 
S.H.I.E.L.D. in a series of raids and battles against Hydra forces around the city, searching for clues of Foggy’s whereabouts. Black Widow was all-in on saving Nelson after he sacrificed himself to save her, but her temper was worrying Daredevil again. When she uncovered a lead pointing to Blackwing working for Hydra at a nearby warehouse, Daredevil tried to stop her from pursuing it, believing Blackwing was too dangerous for her. The sheer fury in Natasha Romanoff’s eyes when he grabbed her was enough to bring Nick Fury in between the two of them.
Daredevil and Black Widow caught up with each other after the meeting with S.H.I.E.L.D. and made peace. Matt and Natasha openly acknowledged that, despite their love for each other, they simply did not seem to be working as partners, personally or professionally. Still, Matt came forward with his concerns about Blackwing, and they agreed it was probably a trap, though they still intended to beat S.H.I.E.L.D. to it. Despite being forewarned, DD and the Widow were beaten by the Hydra section chiefs Blackwing and Man-Killer at the warehouse, and taken prisoner 
underneath Shea Stadium. It turned out Blackwing joined the Circus of Crime under the direction of his father, Silvermane the Supreme Hydra, in order to prevent their caper at Shea from drawing undue attention to Hydra’s hidden activities there. Daredevil and Black Widow were chained up and held along with Foggy as Silvermane prepared to blow Blackwing’s warehouse and kill all the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents responding to the initial lead.
Hydra was fully assembled under Shea Stadium with El Jaguar, Mentallo, Jackhammer and the other section chiefs as Nick Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D. staged a surprise attack on the stadium. Fury was following a wireless signal from Daredevil’s horns which they had rigged up in advance, a plan they had made without Natasha and which Matt had neglected to share with her. Hydra was beaten and Foggy was saved, deciding that S.H.I.E.L.D.’s directorial council was too hectic a job for him. Still, the business with the wireless signal was the final nail in the coffin between Daredevil and the Black Widow. Despite all his second chances, Matthew couldn’t help but treat Natasha as a junior partner in their relationship instead of as an equal. She stepped out of his life again, and this time it was clear she wouldn’t be coming back. [Daredevil (1st series) #120-124]
One evening, while the Sons of the Serpent were instigating a race war in Manhattan, Daredevil was summoned to Doctor Strange’s Sanctum Sanctorum by his disciple, Clea. The Defenders had been captured by the Serpents, and Clea assembled a team of former Defender allies and 
associates to locate her missing friends. Daredevil met Luke Cage, the Hero for Hire, for the first time, and joined forces with him, Hulk and the Son of Satan as a new Defenders roster. Daredevil and the Hulk stopped the Serpents from burning Valkyrie on a cross in the streets, while Cage and Hellstrom located the captive Defenders. Together, these heroes made a united force against the Sons of the Serpent, disabling them before their racist propaganda could take hold on the people of New York. [Defenders (1st series) #24-25]