We haven’t paid much attention to Marvel’s Annihilation sequel, mostly due to tight finances and a complete lack of interest in the Phalanx.
(Although, anything that features Rocket Raccoon in a prominent role has to be pretty good. Are there any killer clowns?)
Still, it seems to us that Mr.Q missed a golden opportunity by not including this guy in the company’s latest and greatest space epic …
No, we don’t mean Daredevil. Neither Marvel nor rabid mobs of Frank Miller fans would ever allow ol’ Horn-Head to break out of the boundaries set by Born Again. Just ask Karl Kesel …
We’re also not referring to Death-Stalker, even though he was one of the greatest second-string villains ever created.
No, we’re talking about the nattily dressed individual the cover of Daredevil #128 modestly introduces as “the most startling character in the annals of Marveldom!”
Namely …. um, you know the Keeper doesn’t think the guy has a name. He’s just that awesome. For the sake of reference, however, we’ll refer to the astonishing character find of 1975 as “Stairmaster” for reasons that will soon become apparent.
(We’ll just hope the fine people at Nautilus won’t sue the cash-strapped Keeper. ‘K?)
Written by Marv (I Killed Supergirl) Wolfman and drawn - quite skillfully - by Bob Brown and Klaus Janson, the story opens with Matt Murdock vowing to discard the Daredevil identity forever … or for at least five pages until he learns that Death-Stalker is knocking over museums.
‘Cuz when you have the ability to turn intangible and kill anyone with a single touch, there really aren’t any better ways to occupy your time.
Such developments are paltry, however, compared to the introduction of our mystery sensation.
Watch in astonishment as he … scales a fence!
Before readers have a chance to ponder the question, “is he a hero or is he a villain,” the scene shifts to several more unnecessary pages starring the book’s putative star.
Finally, however, we see the Stairmaster has climbed up the space needle and … um, what is he doing exactly?
Oh yeah. It’s time for an inner monologue recounting one’s origin. The Keeper almost forgot this was a Bronze Age comic.
At any rate, the battle between DD and DS reaches the very spot where our mystery guest is creating engergy steps to span the light years back to his interstellar home!
(That’s a long walk!)
While the battle between arch-foes rages, the Stairmaster makes his presence known by … well, he really doesn’t make his presence known. The guy just stands there!
Heyyyy, what kind of “startling character” is this?
Uh, oh. Looks like the fight is getting a bit out of hand. Look out Death-Stalker, you’re going to bump into …
Ouch.
After dispatching the villain … ummmm … purely by accident, the Stairmaster disappears. However, he leaves an ominous warning behind.
Unfortunately, as far as we know Daredevil never did see this guy again. The Man-Bull did indeed smash through the next issue and subsequent adventures didn’t exactly explore outer space themes.
So, did the Stairmaster make it back to his love? Or did he walk straight into Galactus’ gullet??
The world may never know, although given Marvel’s tendencies these days to revive ’70s characters our space-suited friend may yet stage a comeback.
No clowns. Has had Xemnu the Titan, Groot, The Super-Adaptoid, Ultron, Blastaar, Mantis the Cosmic Madonna, Bug the Ex-Micronaut, the High Evolutionary and Adam Warlock…
Stairmaster? Seriously? I’m still just flummoxed by the idea of Daredevil fighting in Space. Seems it would be a bit like a fish out of water, but what the hey.
Lurker - I do love me some Xemnu … or as he was originally called The Hulk. Still, there’s the little matter of the primary villain and the fact that I’m flat broke.
Sounds like a fun series though. My loss.
Sally - Well, Stairmaster was the best name I could come up with since Mr. Wolfman apparently couldn’t be bothered to think up one himself.
Who the hell’s Phalanx? That seems like a really dumb name…
The Phalanx are some sort of alien techno-organic virus that popped up in X-Men around the 90s. I think Douglock (a merger of the New Mutants Warlock and Doug Ramsey) was one of them thar creatures.
And yeah, it’s a dumb name.
I’m not sure, but I think Stairmaster had the even more litigious name of Sky-Walker. I got that from the Marvel Legacy Handbook thing for the 70’s…
Hey, you’re right! And he even appeared once or twice in Quasar before fading back into obscurity!
Googum, you get a No-Prize!