Daredevil #131

History

Marv Wolfman was serving as both writer and editor on Daredevil — a run covering roughly issues #124–143 — when he conceived Bullseye as a direct answer to the hero's radar sense, reasoning that a villain who attacks from a distance with improvised projectiles would bypass Daredevil's greatest advantage. Wolfman developed the character's concept and a rough costume sketch, then collaborated with Marvel art director John Romita Sr. to finalize the design; Wolfman has been explicit in interviews that Bob Brown, who penciled the issue (with Klaus Janson finishing the art), was not a co-creator of the character. Brown was already battling a serious illness during this period — Wolfman addressed the declining art quality publicly in the letters page of issue #136 — and he passed away shortly after completing his first post-Daredevil issue at DC, making this era a bittersweet chapter in Brown's career. Rich Buckler supplied the cover, with Frank Giacoia inking it.

Trivia · 8 facts

• First appearance and full origin of Bullseye (real first name Lester; alias Benjamin Poindexter), who would become one of Daredevil's two principal arch-enemies alongside the Kingpin.
• Bullseye was conceived by writer-editor Marv Wolfman and designed by Marvel art director John Romita Sr.; interior pencils were by Bob Brown (breakdowns) with Klaus Janson on finished art and inks.
• The cover is by Rich Buckler (pencils) and Frank Giacoia (inks); the cover date is March 1976, with an on-sale date of December 2, 1975.
• The story, titled 'Watch Out for Bullseye — He Never Misses!', also marks the first appearance of Daily Bugle reporter Jake Conover and the first named appearance of Lieutenant Bert Rose, who had appeared without identification since Daredevil #1.
• The issue also reveals Heather Glenn's surname for the first time and features the first appearance of the Rocketeers as supporting antagonists.
• Bullseye's origin is tied to a Vietnam War backstory, establishing him as a natural-born killer whose lethal precision was honed in combat before becoming a criminal-for-hire.
• The issue was reprinted internationally (Italian, French, Scandinavian editions) and was collected in the Marvel Epic Collection Vol. 6: Watch Out for Bullseye (2023).
• Bullseye has been adapted in live-action twice: portrayed by Colin Farrell in the 2003 Daredevil film, and by Wilson Bethel — using the alias Benjamin 'Dex' Poindexter — in the Netflix Daredevil Season 3 and the ongoing Disney+ series Daredevil: Born Again.

Cast · 9 characters

Full credits

Full plot ⚠ may contain spoilers