DANNY FRENCHDANNY FRENCH
Real Name: Daniel "Danny" French
Identity/Class: Human
Occupation: Private detective; former espionage agent
Group Membership: None
Affiliations: Black Widow (Natasha Romanova), Daredevil (Matt Murdock), Mr. Fredricks, Ivan Petrovich
Enemies: Bertram, Blue Talon (Yamura), Charles, Damon Dran, Jack, Johnson, Jonah, MacElroy, Pauls
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: None
Base of Operations: San Francisco, California,
USA
First Appearance: Daredevil I#87 (April, 1972)
Powers/Abilities: Danny French was a trained espionage agent and private detective in good physical shape.
Height: 5'10" (by approximation)
Weight: 165 lbs. (by approximation)
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Blonde
History: (Daredevil I#90 (fb)) – Years ago, American espionage agent Danny French
met Soviet spy Black Widow at the Los Angeles airport, and immediately
flirted with her, making her uncomfortable. The two of them had been
assigned to work together to steal the contents of Project Four. On
their drive from the airport, they were pursued by Chinese agents in a
high-speed chase, but Natasha fired on the men, and their car crashed,
killing them. French drove her into the desert, where they changed into
commando clothes, then he tried to kiss Natasha, who was furious. As
they approached the base to break in, French was shocked when Natasha
over-powered a muscular guard. After they bypassed a security fence,
French and Natasha broke into a facility and overpowered more guards.
Ignoring the warning of scientists, they seized an energy sphere called
Project Four, a mysterious and powerful weapon. French tossed a gas
grenade back into the building, thinking it was knockout gas, but all
the men inside were killed.
(Daredevil I#94 (fb) – BTS) – French struggled
with the
guilt over the senseless murder.
(Daredevil I#90 (fb) – BTS) – French gave up
freelance work
and parted ways with Natasha, though he kept the Project Four sphere
for
himself.
(Daredevil I#92 (fb) – BTS) – French became a
private
detective in San Francisco.
(Daredevil I#94 (fb) – BTS) – To make extra money,
French
sometimes blackmailed targets.
(Daredevil I#90 (fb) – BTS) – During California
earthquakes, French used Project Four to blackmail unidentified
parties.
(Daredevil I#87) – Hearing Natasha was in town,
French
stopped by her new address in San Francisco. He saw Ivan Petrovich
there and left
a message for Natasha.
(Daredevil I#88) – Convinced she was being
blackmailed by
French, Natasha chased French through the streets of San Francisco in a
high-speed
chase but he soon lost her, not realizing who was after him. Later, she
followed leads and found him in a dingy nightclub, where he had just
made a
deal with Mr. Fredricks. French reminded Natasha of Project Four and
they went
off together.
(Daredevil I#89) – Danny drove Natasha up to an
overlook
above San Francisco and tried kissing her, causing her to leave him in
frustration.
(Daredevil I#90 – BTS) – Natasha told Daredevil
the truth
about Project Four and began thinking that French was behind their
recent
struggles with overwhelming fear.
(Daredevil I#91) – Black Widow followed French and
Mr.
Fredricks, the man he'd met at the Two Horses nightclub, to a
sub-basement, where French
was giving Fredricks a box in exchange for money. Black Widow
confronted Phil, thinking
he was selling Fredricks the Project Four globe. Furious, French
attacked
Widow but she soon realized the box was full of papers that would clear
up a
blackmail scheme in Fredricks' favor. After Fredricks left, Widow
realized
French had also been the one to blackmail Fredricks. Natasha questioned
French
about Project Four but he stated he never learned how to access the
power
source.
(Daredevil I#92 (fb)) – Black Widow found French
and accused
him of being behind recent attacks on her but he denied it completely.
As she
realized someone else was behind it all, their tire was shot out and
the car
crashed. Natasha and French were attacked by Charles, an employee of
Damon Dran.
As Charles fought Natasha, French leaned in to help, distracting her,
and they
both wound up defeated. They were taken back to Dran's home and
restrained.
(Daredevil I#92) – Charles and Dran used a
Mind-Probe device
on French to see his memories but he refused to tell them about Project
Four.
Dran ordered Jonah to administer electric shock. Dran brought in his
associate
Yamura, the Blue Talon, to find Daredevil but French still refused to
talk.
When Blue Talon was seemingly killed in battle, Dran was more
determined than
ever to get the truth.
(Daredevil I#93 (fb) – BTS) – Dran's machines
finally broke
through and he got the location of Project Four, where French had
buried it in
the desert. Dran also brainwashed Natasha and sent her to battle
Daredevil.
(Daredevil I#93) – Daredevil defeated Natasha as
civilians
like Frankie watched. Dran hired Bertram and
Jack to
retrieve Project Four from French's hiding place and they brought the
device
back to him. With French still bound, Dran had employees Johnson,
MacElroy and
Pauls use the sphere to power up his battle armor and he killed Pauls
to
demonstrate his power. Daredevil attacked, revealing that Dran had been
behind
Project Four all along as its benefactor. He freed French and the two
fled as
the house exploded, leaving them to assume Dran was dead.
(Daredevil I#94) – Daredevil and French saw Damon
Dran, the
Indestructible Man, achieve full power, developing super strength and
vast size
under the power of Project Four. Daredevil took French back to his
home, where
Ivan Petrovich and Black Widow waited. They received reports that Dran
was
attacking the Golden Gate Bridge. French confessed his feelings for
Natasha to
her as she and Daredevil rushed off to fight Dran, then he followed
with a
frustrated Ivan. Danny, wanting to make amends for his past, grabbed a
stick
and pierced the Project Four sphere, which exploded. Dran was defeated
but the
explosion cost Danny his life and he soon died at Natasha's feet.
(Daredevil I#95 – BTS) – Natasha had a headstone
for French
placed in San Francisco and she grieved for him.
Comments: Created by Gerry Conway, Gene Colan and Tom Palmer.
Dude, the Black Widow doesn't want to kiss you.
Get a hint.
Profile by Chadman.
CLARIFICATIONS:
Danny French has no known connections to:
Frenchman, Dracula foe @ Giant-Size Dracula I#5
Napper French, Punisher villain @ Punisher VII#7
Vernon French, the Crimson Daffodil @ Cloak and Dagger III#6
(Daredevil I#93) – Bertram (blonde hair) and Jack (brown hair) were hired by Damon Dran to set off an explosive device in the desert and then retrieve the exposed case containing Project Four, which Danny French had hid. They returned it to Dran, expecting payment, but Dran sent his man Charles to kill the two men instead.
--Daredevil I#93
(Daredevil I#92 (fb) – BTS) – Charles aided his
employer,
Damon Dran, in the apprehension of the Black Widow and Danny French,
Charles
knocking both out himself. Back at Dran's home, Charles questioned both
of them
about Project Four.
(Daredevil I#92) – Charles greeted Dran when he
returned
home. After hearing Dran's concerns over Daredevil, Charles showed Dran
in to
the captives and he interrogated them with Jonah's help. In time, Blue
Talon
was sent to find Daredevil but Blue Talon was seemingly killed in
battle.
(Daredevil I#93) – After Dran successfully
retrieved Project
Four, he ordered Charles to kill his hirelings Bertram and Jack,
wanting to
clean up all loose ends. Charles stood guard as Damon Dran powered up
his
armor but when Daredevil arrived, he fought Charles, leaving him
unconscious.
Before he woke, the house exploded and Daredevil had escaped with
French.
--Daredevil I#92 (92 (fb), 92, 93,
(Daredevil I#93) – Frankie and his girl were shocked to see Daredevil battling Black Widow, who seemed to be brainwashed.
--Daredevil I#93
(Daredevil I#90 (fb) – BTS) – Mr. Fredricks was
being
blackmailed by a mysterious source. Danny French agreed to help him
clear his
name for money.
(Daredevil I#88) – Mr. Fredricks met with Danny
French in a
seedy nightclub to make a deal.
(Daredevil I#90) – Fredricks followed French into a sub-basement, where he was given a box full of papers. Black Widow attacked, thinking the box contained a dangerous device, but she soon realized Fredricks was paying to have his name cleared from blackmail, though Fredricks never realized French had been the one to blackmail him in the first place.
--Daredevil I#88 (90 (fb) – BTS, 88, 90,
(Daredevil I#93) – Damon Dran's employee Johnson helped power up his battle armor with the Project Four sphere. Johnson was worried about power going out on the entire coast but Dran silenced his concerns.
--Daredevil I#93
(Daredevil I#92) – Damon Dran's employee Jonah
administered electric shock to captives Danny French and Black Widow at
Dran's
orders, as they were being interrogated. In time, Jonah was asked to
back off.
--Daredevil I#92
(Daredevil I#93) – Damon Dran's employee MacElroy helped power up his battle armor with the Project four sphere. MacElroy wondered at the powers of the sphere but Dran silenced him.
--Daredevil I#93
(Daredevil I#93) – Damon Dran's employee Pauls helped power up his battle armor with the Project Four sphere, tapping into the reactors to increase the suit's capacities. Just as Pauls was worried about the suit's limits, Dran used its power to disintegrate Pauls.
--Daredevil I#93
images: (without ads)
Daredevil I#94, p16, pan4 (Danny French, main image)
Daredevil I#84, p20, pan2 (with Black Widow)
Daredevil I#93, p6, pan1 (Bertram and Jack)
Daredevil I#92, p11, pan3 (Charles)
Daredevil I#93, p2, pan5 (Frankie)
Daredevil I#88, p17, pan1 (Mr. Fredricks)
Daredevil I#93, p11, pan1 (Johnson)
Daredevil I#92, p12, pan4 (Jonah)
Daredevil I#93, p11, pan1 (MacElroy)
Daredevil I#93, p12, pan1 (Pauls)
Appearances:
Daredevil I#87-95 (April-December, 1972) – Gerry
Conway
(writer), Gene Colan (penciler), Tom Palmer (inker), Stan Lee (editor)
First Posted: 06/08/2018
Last updated: 06/08/2018
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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