BIOGRAPHY -- Page 21
With his broken arm and now a concussion after fighting Bullseye, Matt struggled to act effectively as Daredevil for a time. When a couple of ex-Green Berets known as the Binion Brothers targeted Foggy Nelson for assassination, Matt couldn’t protect him alone. He reached out to Black Widow and got Natasha’s help doing the legwork to track down the Binions. The Widow neatly wrapped up the Binions and their associate for Daredevil to determine who was responsible for the shot on Nelson and the murder of Foggy’s client. A hereditary heart condition made the Binion Brothers’ heartbeats impossible to read for lies using his hearing. However, Matt also knew the shooter ran through wet cement, and the smell of newly cleaned boots helped him and Natasha identify Lou Binion as the culprit. [Daredevil (1st series) #201]
Debbie Harris Nelson began pressuring Foggy to make a bigger name for himself in the partnership and the legal profession. Partly through her influence, Nelson & Murdock became acquainted with Professor Horatio Piper and the Kingorge tribe. An anthropologist, Piper discovered a lost tribe of Englishmen, living somewhere in Africa ever since their ancestors were shipwrecked in the 18th century. The Kingorge and their clan chieftain Micah Synn were media darlings at the moment, and Professor Piper wanted Nelson & Murdock to provide legal counsel in establishing their visas and other issues. Foggy readily agreed to the representation, but Matt and Becky had their doubts. The Kingorge were ruthless and uncivilized, and Becky noticed they were particularly mocking towards Matt and Becky for their perceived handicaps. As Daredevil, Matt intervened when Micah tried to kill a police officer as a show of power and earned Synn’s hatred in the process. [Daredevil (1st series) #202]
During a fight with the Southwestern costumed criminal called the Trump, Daredevil captured one of his gang who turned out to be Stymie Schmidt, one of Matt’s childhood bullies. Matt was called up as an attorney when Stymie was brought in, and he immediately recognized ol’ “Daredevil” Murdock. To Foggy’s surprise, Matt insisted on taking Stymie’s case, despite his potentially compromised feelings on the subject. Worse, Matt insisted on his client’s innocence, rejected plea offers from the State, and pressed for a speedy trial. These maneuvers were all legal and technically done in service to his client, but to Foggy’s expert eyes it looked like Matt was setting up Stymie to receive the worst sentence possible once convicted. After going down to Hell’s Kitchen and Max’s soda shop, Foggy heard firsthand about Matt’s childhood with Stymie, and became convinced his partner could not be objective in this case. Foggy got Matt to meet him 
and, once Matt realized he was back at Max’s, he had a panic attack as his memories of being tormented as a child came back to him. Realizing just how badly he had subconsciously been sabotaging Stymie’s case, Matt resigned from the case and left it to a more objective pair of hands. [Daredevil (1st series) #203]
Micah Synn continued to be trouble for Nelson & Murdock. At a press event, an assassin named Crossbow tried to kill Micah on behalf of the hereditary Synn family back in England, who wanted to avoid any rival heirs to the family name. Daredevil later caught Crossbow at a party thrown by Foggy and Debbie, but Micah still hated Daredevil and tried to murder him as well. Micah also began making advances on Debbie Harris-Nelson. When Debbie’s adult niece Glorianna O’Breen 
arrived in the States, Debbie presumptively gave Glori the keys to Matt’s apartment and told her to stay with him. Without asking. Fortunately, Glori was a charming sort, and Matt helped save her from an IRA hitman known as the Gael, who feared her late father had revealed his identity to the young woman. [Daredevil (1st series) #204-205]
Micah Synn’s ruthlessness and cunning brought him to the attention of organized crime and a 
meeting with the Kingpin. However, even Wilson Fisk balked at Micah’s manhandling of another man’s wife, and Debbie Harris couldn’t keep away from the chieftain. Matt and Glori grew closer as she helped him throw a Christmas party for the office and their friends. Micah Synn and the Kingorge forced their way into Matt’s brownstone so that Micah could claim Debbie as his property. As Daredevil, Matt forced Micah out into the streets, but was nearly overcome by the brutal jungle fighter. Wilson Fisk stepped in to strike a blow against Micah, dissolving any chance at a partnership and giving Daredevil the chance he needed to finish the fight. Foggy had been insensate for most of the fighting, leaving him confused and insecure as Debbie fawned over the beaten Micah. [Daredevil (1st series) #206]
Micah was more cunning than he seemed and he learned the ways of civilization quickly. He played to the sympathies of the public, claiming Daredevil attacked him for no reason. Debbie also pressed Foggy into not correcting his client’s version of events. Matt and Glori were spending more and more time together, even after she moved out for her own place, but he was also distracted by a call for help from the Black Widow. Hydra had captured Natasha and pressed her into guiding Daredevil to recover an important microchip. Hydra left her dangling upside down 
over a pressure-sensitive floor plate attached to a bomb, her throat paralyzed with a drug to prevent her from calling out. Fortunately, Daredevil’s hearing was sensitive enough to realize Natasha’s heartbeat was jumping severely every time he took a step closer to her, and he worked out the rest. [Daredevil (1st series) #207]
Matt and Natasha were set to have lunch when a blackout led to numerous arrests for fighting, looting and rioting over the night. Murdock stepped up to help the public defender and legal aid offices with the influx of cases. A young man named Juan Santiago was accused of murdering a pawnbroker, but Matt’s senses told him his client was innocent of the crime. He managed to get both Black Widow and Spider-Man to hunt down leads while Matt Murdock was stuck in court rather than being Daredevil. They found the gang who looted the pawnshop, and even captured a member wielding a similar gun. However, the gun failed a forensics test for the pawnbroker’s murder and Matt’s senses told him this man, too, was innocent. It turned out Juan was part of the same gang and the pawnbroker had been Kingpin’s fence in the neighborhood. Another pawnbroker killed the first one during the blackout to take over his business. Daredevil reluctantly accepted aid from Kingpin’s men to intimidate a confession out of the killer. In the end, justice was served, but no one was innocent… not even Daredevil. [Marvel Team-Up (1st series) #140-141]
One evening, Daredevil was lured into a trap by what appeared to be a young girl asking for help 
for her mother. The “child” turned out to be an exploding android, the first of an entire night full of threats. Elizabeth Sterling, mother of Philip Wallace Sterling aka Death-Stalker, wanted revenge on Daredevil for her son’s death before she passed away. She had rigged up her entire mansion into a death trap and nearly succeeded before Matt got free. Unfortunately, multiple “girl bombs” had been sent out into the city to find him, and they hadn’t deactivated just because Sterling died and the mansion exploded. They had also been programmed with Matt’s secret identity, shared between son and mother, and would approach him as Matt or Daredevil.
In the meantime, Matt Murdock ran into another childhood acquaintance in court, Johnny Squarejohn, brought in by Daredevil on arson charges. Matt couldn’t defend Johnny after the ordeal with Stymie, but his senses detected Squarejohn was telling the truth when he said he was trying to turn his life around. Matt instead suggested to the A.D.A. that a small-time crook like Johnny could point upstream at bigger fish, with the right offer. Matt forgot about Johnny, and started patrolling the city to round up the girl bombs and lead them back to the Sterling Mansion, where they could detonate without hurting anyone else. Johnny happened to spot Daredevil and one of the girl bomb exploding. At first, he hoped DD would die and leave his arson case without witnesses. After seeing Daredevil in action, though, Johnny remembered the one time he saw 
blind Matt Murdock fight on the streets and made the connection. He followed Daredevil and the girls out to the mansion to talk to Matt, just as Daredevil got the bombs to explode. One girl didn’t detonate, however, and was approaching the dazed Daredevil when Johnny Squarejohn jumped in the way. Johnny took the blast to protect Matt and make up for leaving him behind for the Barons as a kid. He died peacefully, believing things had finally been set right between the two childhood friends. [Daredevil (1st series) #208-209]
Micah Synn continued his efforts to build a position of power in the criminal underworld. His Kingorge made attacks against the Kingpin’s network and also freed Crossbow from prison, impressing the assassin into working for him. Through the influence of Debbie Harris and Professor Piper, he also convinced Nelson & Murdock to draft up a restraining order to keep Daredevil away from him. When Micah “paused” the restraining order temporarily, he knew it 
would draw Daredevil to his penthouse. Micah and Crossbow failed to kill Daredevil in their trap, but Synn now knew how to manipulate the law, as the police even arrived to escort Daredevil from the building after the restraining order was reactivated. Micah Synn also retrieved a piece of cloth from Daredevil’s costume which – combined with the scarf Glorianna gave Matt Murdock as a present – confirmed for his senses that Daredevil and Murdock were the same man. [Daredevil (1st series) #210]
After the fight, Matt avoided questions from a hospital and went to Glori to patch him up. He claimed he was mugged but ran out on her quickly after she did her work. Back at Nelson & Murdock, he found Kingorge kidnapping Becky Blake. In his weakened state, Matt beat a few of the men but failed to save Becky. Daredevil found more Kingorge staked out at his apartment and Foggy’s, and soon reasoned out that Micah Synn knew his secret identity. The Kingorge also kidnapped Vanessa Fisk, but Matt was unable to even follow them to Micah’s penthouse with the police surrounding the building to enforce the restraining order. After pausing to meditate and 
heal, Matt made a plan and approached the building as Matt Murdock instead of Daredevil, receiving entrance as Micah’s attorney. Inside, he found the Kingorge prepared to sacrifice Becky and Vanessa to their god, Mow. Vanessa Fisk was seemingly killed helping Becky escape. Daredevil visited Fisk Tower and learned the Kingpin had used an actress as a body double when word reached him Vanessa was in danger. Seeing a common threat, Daredevil and the Kingpin officially joined forces to oppose Micah Synn and the Kingorge. [Daredevil (1st series) #211]
When Becky crawled to an elevator to leave the penthouse, she reached out to the police downstairs. She and Matt called a press conference to detail the attack on her and denounce any further involvement between Nelson & Murdock and the Kingorge. By this point, Debbie Harris was completely entranced by Micah, and she threatened to leave Foggy if he supported Becky’s story. Franklin openly accused Matt and Becky of lying at the press conference, warping the case against the Kingorge into one of rumor and gossip. Days later, Matt was confiding in Glori at home 
when a distraught and ruined Foggy shuffled up to his door. Foggy confessed all his insecurities to Matt over losing Debbie to Micah, and now Debbie had run off anyway. He apologized for being so weak and, after a long moment of consideration, Matt decided he was willing to forgive his friend and partner. [Daredevil (1st series) #212]
Daredevil and Kingpin made some headway capturing Kingorge involved in their mini-crime wave, but pinning any blame on Micah Synn himself proved elusive. Privately, Daredevil overheard Kingpin detail his plan to run Daredevil ragged harassing the Kingorge before having him eliminated. Professor Horatio Piper finally lifted the veil from his eyes and saw how ruthless the Kingorge were, though. Micah kept Debbie Harris as a slave girl in his penthouse ever since she left Foggy, so Piper released her at the cost of his own life. Debbie was willing to give testimony against Micah now, and so the restraining order against Daredevil was also lifted, freeing Matt to act. Without Debbie holding him back, Foggy also went public and announced how he lied by 
undermining Becky’s story, and the Kingorge were a true threat. Micah Synn was driven from his penthouse and fled into the streets of New York. For months, Micah had over-indulged himself on the excesses of modern society, from food to cigarettes and more. His once toned physique had bloated under his gluttony and, deprived of his support network, he proved to be no further threat to Daredevil. Micah Synn was taken into custody and the Kingorge were no more. [Daredevil (1st series) #213-214]