Real
Name: Unknown
DOURDEVIL
Real
Name: Unknown
Identity/Class: Extradimensional (Earth-83088) human mutate
Occupation: Unknown - perhaps professional autograph hunter
Group Membership: None
Affiliations: Erektra
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: The Man Without a Sense of Humour
Base of Operations: Noo Yawk
First Appearance: The Daredevils#8 (August 1983)
Powers/Abilities: Dourdevil is blind, but his other senses are completely normal. Years of relying on these other senses has given him no ability whatsoever to interpret those senses properly. He claims he also is a great singer, but that's unconfirmed. His costume changes slightly every few seconds - specifically the horns move and sometimes change shape (becoming, for example, Mickey Mouse ears) and the lettering on his chest modifies constantly. Dourdevil is also strong enough to slam an autograph pen straight through someone's abdomen, so that the back of their clothing bows out dramatically.
History:
(Daredevils#8 (fb) - BTS) - When he was young, Dourdevil was hit on the head by
a radioactive Ray Charles record. He became blind as a bat, but gained a
great singing voice.
(Daredevils#8) - Noo Yawk City. A realistic, grim and gritty city. A city full of big black buildings with little white squares on, water towers, manhole covers, rising steam and other realistic, grim and gritty stuff like that. It might have been a death trap, although that could be New Jersey. Noo Yawk was populated by giant black men. Hundreds of giant black men in vests and woolen hats carrying large radios. It was also populated by bag ladies. It might have been full of hookers and winos, although that could be Detroit. But it was definitely the home of Dourdevil, the Man Without a Sense of Humour.
Dourdevil
was standing by the roadside on top of a dead dog, next to some hookers and
a giant black man wearing a vest and woolen hat carrying a large radio. Smelling
perfume, hearing music and feeling a "fur rug" under his feet, Dourdevil
swiftly deduced he was in the Playboy Mansion, and went looking for Hugh
Hefner. Walking into a water-logged roadworks hole, Dourdevil bumped into
the gigantic form of the Tiepin of Crime, who was standing next to the hole.
Groping the Tiepin while nibbling on his vest, Dourdevil deduced that a fully
dressed man wearing silk and smelling of cologne in a jacuzzi in the Playboy
Mansion could only be Dean Martin. While the unamused Tiepin watched, Dourdevil
searched his pockets to find his autograph pen; locating it, he spun around
and unwittingly impaled the fat crimelord through the gut, causing the back
of his jacket to push out dramatically. As the Tiepin collapsed, blood pouring
from his abdomen, Dourdevil remained oblivious of the havoc he had wrought
and asked for an autograph.
Four giant black men wearing vests and woolen hats while carrying large radios walked by, and saw that Dourdevil had slain the Tiepin. Simultaneously Dourdevil concluded they must be Frank Sinatra, and asked them if they had seen where Dean went. Dourdevil impaled one of them with the autograph pen ("Sweet Sister!"), causing the back of his victim's vest to push out dramatically, and leaving the others with a terrible quandary - there was no way they could handle Dourdevil without using both hands, which would mean putting down their radios! "Christmas!" However, before Dourdevil could kill any more of them, the assassin Pigseye arrived on the scene (though Dourdevil decided he must be Sammy Davis Junior). Pigseye explained that he was mentally disturbed, and that in his hands anything was a deadly weapon...then to prove his point he used a cotton bud to impale one of the giant black men in vests and woolen hats carrying a large radio, causing his vest to push out dramatically at the back, then decapitated the remaining two with the same weapon ("Shoot!", "Sweet Sister!", "Christmas!"). For a finale he rammed the cotton bud into his own eye, causing the back of his mask to push out dramatically, killing himself but proving that he was certainly mentally disturbed.
Dourdevil was unaware of all this, and merely concluded that the celebrities had all snuck off without giving him their autographs. As he began to walk away in a mood, his name was called out by Erektra. She gave him an enigmatic look, which meant that though she could never get over her love for him, she was about to kick all his ribs in for no particular reason...none of which he saw. So she accused him of being blind while she kicked his ribs in with her foot, which caused the back of his costume to push out dramatically. Dourdevil was enraged at the suggestion he might be blind, and as his chest gushed blood he said as much to the lamppost on Erektra's left. While Erektra walked off in disgust, Dourdevil demanded that the lamppost explain how he could know they were in the Playboy mansion if he was blind.
Comments: Created by Alan Moore, Mike Collins and Mark Farmer, parodying Frank Miller's interpretation of a character created by Stan Lee and Bill Everett.
In case anyone has failed to realise it, "Grit", the story starring Dourdevil, was a pastiche of Frank Miller's run on Daredevil, taking an affectionate swipe at all the trademarks Miller established during his run on that series. If you know Miller's Daredevil, you can't help but see how close to the mark most of Moore's observations are - in particular the parodying of Elektra's death every time a character is killed (since Miller wasn't allowed to show the sai sticking out Elektra's back when she was stabbed to death by Bullseye in Daredevil I#181, he instead showed it push out the back of her costume in a dramatic fashion). In the context of this site, to quote the Appendix founder, Snood, "Many characters in comics who are fictional in one reality actually do have real counterparts in other realities." - so we can presume that somewhere out in the multiverse, Dourdevil is real, and still accidentally slaughtering innocent bystanders with his autograph pen.
Clarifications:
None of these characters has any known connections to
Mistaken by Dourdevil for Dean Martin, based on the deduction that he was a pizza-eating, silk-wearing, cologne-using far guy in a jacuzzi in the Playboy mansion (or, more accurately, a fat guy standing at the roadside in Noo Yawk). Dourdevil rammed an autograph pen through him, killing him.
His Earth-616 counterpart would be the Kingpin.
- Daredevils#8
Mentally disturbed killer in whose hands anything is a deadly weapon. He proved his point by slaying three giant black men wearing vests and woolen hats while carrying large radios, using only a cotton bud. Then for a finale, he stabbed same through his own eye, because he really was mentally disturbed.
Seen in close up, the bullseye on his forehead had points marked on it as you moved towards the centre ring, as well as several small holes, presumably where people had scored points. His Earth-616 counterpart would be Bullseye.
- Daredevils#8
Sai-carrying woman who loved Dourdevil, gave him an emotionally charged look, then slammed her foot through his chest because he failed to respond to said look.
Her Earth-616 counterpart would be Elektra.
- Daredevils#8
Giant black men wearing vests and woolen hats while carrying
large radios.
One of the largest demographic groups in Noo Yawk. Four of them stumbled across Dourdevil just after he had killed the Tiepin. Dourdevil slew one of them, mistaking them for Frank Sinatra, then Pigseye killed the other three.
Their Earth-616 counterparts would be the giant black men wearing vests and woolen hats while carrying large radios who infested Frank Miller's run of Daredevil.
- Daredevils#8
images:
Main image: The Daredevils#8, p14, pan4
Headshot: The Daredevils#8, p.15, pan3
Stabbing the Tiepin: The Daredevils#8, p.15, pan5
Tiepin: The Daredevils#8, p.15, pan2
Pigseye: The Daredevils#8, p.16, pan6
Erektra: The Daredevils#8, p.17, pan6
Giant black men wearing vests and woolen hats while carrying large radios: The Daredevils#8, p.15, pan 7
Appearances:
Daredevils#8 (August, 1983) - Alan Moore (writer), Mike Collins (pencils), Mark Farmer (inks), Bernie Jaye (editor)
First Posted: 06/27/2004
Last updated: 06/28/2004
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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