The Web Haunt of Ryan K Lindsay

That’s my pitch, in a very nerdy kind of way, and a twinkle in my eye. It’s not actually Murdock meeting Ray Liotta, but the introduced character owes a lot to the titular Wiseguy. Here’s my idea:

Matt Murdock is called into a high school in Hell’s Kitchen by the Principal, William Everett. Murdock is asked to speak to the graduating class about persistence under disability and that sort of thing. It doesn’t really matter what Murdock says because the entire auditorium ignores him mostly anyway. A few balls sail his way, Murdock lets some hit him on the suit, but classically blocks one about to hit his face with his glasses as he takes them off to emphasise what he is saying.

Afterwards, Murdock walks with Everett through the halls and they observe the students in their natural habitat. Everett explains to Murdock that this high school is for the students in the system who find it hard to integrate, behaviorally and socially, mostly. Academically they are serviceable, when they try. Murdock sees that the students are a very rough lot indeed. Swearing and drugs are relatively open, as also is the sexual side of adolescence. No one is doing anything illegal in the hallways, they’re not that stupid, but there is the set up for them all to go away and not be model citizens. Everett explains most of what is going on around him as they walk; pot deals, sexual domination for favours, plans for minor criminal scores, mostly just raiding bags and lockers, not quite bank vaults yet.

Everett gets Murdock to his office and explains that this school has the highest rate of ‘graduates’ going on to become henchmen, with even a few villains in their midst. Some notable alumni being; Max Dillon, who always hung around the shop class, Larry Cranston, who was quite popular and surprisingly studious, Melvin Potter, who was a great linebacker and good in home economics, Jonathan Powers, who was the thorn in the drama teacher’s paw, William Taurens, who was also quite the linebacker and bully, Sammy Silke, who was a ladies man and even had a pregnancy scare with one girl, and Turk, who was the same then as he is now.

Murdock can see the connection but has to play dumb. Everett tells Murdock that he can read minds and that he knows Murdock is Daredevil. Everett explains that he has always been able to read minds and proves this by mentioning a personal memory Murdock has about Dakota North, how she tastes in his mind (it’s like wildberries, for those wondering). Everett explains that he was not born athletic and thinks it is silly to assume that every person who has some ability would want to go out there and put their life on the line to use it when there are other, possibly smarter, ways to go about it. He says that helping students with his power has been an exceptional process, and that was also why he chose to be placed into this school at the relatively young principal age of forty. He thought he could make a difference, but now he sees that one student needs more than an intellectual guide, he’ll need a physical one as well. Murdock explains that he is curious, but not sure what he can do.

Everett explains a few situations where he has helped students with his powers; figuring out where one kept his gun and then stealing it while he was in class, hearing a girl’s worries about sleeping with multiple criminal partners and so getting her counseling for her problem. All of his problems are intellectually resolved because Everett is not a man of action, he is just a guy.

Everett leads Murdock down the hall and out into the school’s quad to show Murdock where he will need the help. There is a young man sitting at a table with a pack of minions doing his bidding. He is an imposing figure and Everett quickly rattles off the few problems he has had with him; excessive bullying of others, assaulting other female students, distribution of drugs. But it is getting worse, Everett explains, beyond the point where he can effectively intervene. The boy is being coached in his ways outside of school and is finding much leadership and encouragement there. The young man’s name is William Conway, and he is the illegitimate son of the Man-Bull.

This would roughly be the first issue.

The second issue would focus more heavily on William Conway and his up-bringing. He is the Henry Hill of the story, you could even start the issue with his caption, “All my life I’ve wanted to be a super-villain.”

It would be a pastiche of scenes from his childhood where William hangs around Josie’s Bar, he helps different villains with certain preparation of jobs, he remembers seeing Karen Page in the bar once and she was not acting so nice, he gets the Purple Man to help him with a girl he wants to bed (he wants a girl to want it for a change, even if a fake want), he has an audience with Kingpin to entertain him. William has always been a large boy, and he has always known that his mother slept with Man-Bull and produced him. He uses this as his ticket point into most unsavory situations and social settings, but it’s also the root cause of most of his problems, because who doesn’t need a good absent/deformed father issue to sort through.

For the rest of the arc it would show exactly what William is working on doing, and how Murdock and Everett would ‘team up’. There is even a funny back and forth between Murdock and Everett:

Everett: I’ll need Daredevil’s help with this one.
Murdock: You want Daredevil to be your sidekick?
Everett: Not sidekick, no. More like when Daredevil and Spider-Man get together to stop someone. A team-up, you know, like equals, if you will.
Murdock: Trust me, when Daredevil has to get together with Spider-Man, Spider-man is the sidekick. Not even a funny one.
Everett: Well, what about Punisher, he had Microchip didn’t he? That could be like me.
Murdock: Last I heard he got a shotgun blast in the face. From the Punisher.
Everett: Well, we’ll work on the particulars of my relationship to Daredevil.

The arc will feature Dakota North as she comes to help Murdock in his work against William, and Carlos LaMuerta will also step in as William’s plans will personally affect him greatly.

The arc could be in the series’ itself, or it’s own mini. Clay Mann would be the dream artist!

Posted on July 15th, 2009 by ryan
Filed under: comics