LADYKILLER

Real Name: Michael "Mikey" Reese

Identity/Class: Human

Occupation: Unrevealed

Group Membership: None

Affiliations: Sly

Enemies: Betsy Beatty, Becky Blake, Daredevil, Melvin Potter (Gladiator)

Known Relatives: none

Aliases: "Gladiator lookalike," "Melvin Potter lookalike"

Base of Operations: New York City, New York

First Appearance: Daredevil I#173 (August, 1981)

Powers/Abilities: Reese was large and strong, though not superhumanly so. While a savage fighter, he is quite misogynistic and preferred to assault women who could not fight back against him. He saw women as bad and in need of punishment.
    He wears a leather mask and glove, with sharp metal studs on his arm and chest bands.

History:
(Daredevil I#173 (fb)) - While a student at Harvard, working on a law degree, Becky Blake was assaulted by Reese while walking home from a dormitory. Reese knocked Blake down and taunted her. When she fought back, pulling off his mask, he beat her savagely. She woke up in a hospital, paralyzed in both legs, a condition which was permanent. Humiliated and wishing to put the events behind her, Blake told the police she did not remember who had assaulted her. Blake became a paralegal, rather than a lawyer.

(Daredevil I#173) - Three years later, now in the streets of New York, Reese continued to assault women. He strangled a man (Jeff) unconscious and then attacked his co-worker, a woman. Daredevil heard the assault and arrived in time to drive off Reese before he could kill the woman. Police searching for the attacker instead arrested Melvin Potter, the former Gladiator, who happened to be in the neighborhood and was a dead ringer for Reese. Matt Murdock visited Potter in prison, where his legal assistant, Becky Blake, passed out upon seeing Potter, whom she also mistook for Reese.

    Murdock was able to postpone Potter's trial for his crimes as the Gladiator until the current accusations could be resolved. Though cautioned to let the authorities handle things, Potter broke out of prison and attempted to steal his old Gladiator costume to go after Reese, but Murdock convinced him to turn himself back in to the police. Hoping to further frame Potter (whilst he was still free), Reese broke into the apartment of Betsy Beatty (Potter's parole officer and confidante). Beatty fought back with a fire extinguisher and a kitchen fire, holding Reese off until the commotion drew the neighbors, at which point he fled. Daredevil tracked Reese back to a bar, but several of his allies grabbed Daredevil and held him down while Reese savagely beat him. Eventually Daredevil managed to get free, after which he knocked out and unmasked Reese.

    Reese was arrested, but as there was not enough evidence to convict him (due to his always wearing a mask), it appeared that he might go free. Murdock convinced Becky to testify against him.

Comments: Created by Frank Miller and Klaus Janson.

The name Ladykiller was only used in the title of the story, but I'm running with it.

Profile by Snood.

CLARIFICATIONS:
Reese was mistaken for:

• Gladiator: Melvin Potter, whom the wannabe idolized--Daredevil I#18

However, he has no known connection to:

• Gladiator: wore revamped version of Potter's costume--Daredevil I#366
      who is presumably the same as the version in the Gang of Four, @ Daredevil/Spider-Man #1

• Gladiator wannabee - who sought to emulate Potter--Marvel Comics Presents#98

• Gladiator: Hugo Danner, Man-God--Gladiator(1929); Marvel Preview #9
• Gladiator (Kallark) leader of the Imperial Guard Royal Elite--X-Men #107
• Gladiator: of the New Universe--Starbrand #10
• Gladiatrix: former pro-wrestler, former member of Superia's Femizons--Thing I#33

images:
Daredevil I#173, p15, panel 7
    p22, panel 1
    cover