First Appearance: The Mauler/Aaron Soames, Edwin Cord, Lt. Nick Manolis, Sammy, Arlo, Delany, Garfield

Villain: The Mauler, Edwin Cord

Guest Appearance: Heather Glenn, Lt. Nick Manolis, Becky Blake

Cameo: Sammy, Arlo, Delany, Garfield

Gadgets & Technology: Vibra-Mace

Letters Page: Page One

As Cord's bodyguards spring to action, Matt rushes off to a cabana and changes into Daredevil. The Mauler makes easy work of Cord's toughs, but he now has an opponent he couldn't possibly have prepared for! Daredevil knocks him in the back of his helmet with his billy club, then launches a physical attack with a kick to the head. The Mauler tells DD to back off- that this isn't his fight- but DD insists his fight is wherever innocent people could get hurt. The Mauler grabs DD by the wrist and sends an electric shock through his body, stunning him. When the police show up, the armored man flies away.

Daredevil changes back into civilian garb, and goes to suggest that Cord tell the cops everything he knows. But Cord has security clearance from the government that means he doesn't have to speak to police officials about anything. Murdock walks away, telling Cord he smells something very fishy. Later that evening, Cord has augmented his personal security force tenfold, with armed guards surrounding his estate so no person can get at him inside. He opens up his office door to find Daredevil sitting in his desk chair. Astonished that DD has made it past all this guards undetected, he tries to suck up to the masked man, but DD isn't buying. He demands to know why he was attacked by the Mauler. Cord tells him the Mauler is Aaron Soames, merely a disgruntled ex-employee who stole the MAULER body armor: Mobile Armored Utility Emitter, Revised.

Suspicious that he hasn't been told everything, DD acts on the information. He camps out at Cord's facility, knowing that the Mauler is likely to strike against Cord to finish the job. Sure enough, he hears battle sounds from inside the complex. Racing in, he finds the Mauler holding Cord up and about to strike him. DD chases the Mauler away from Cord, all the while hearing the menace tell DD that Cord is the one who should be punished, not him. The Mauler opens up his face plate and shows that he's really an old man. He explains to Daredevil that he was a loyal employee to Cord, but was laid off after a computer replaced his job. Then, due to a technical error, he was erased from the company's employment records. Cord refused to give him his due pension, claiming he wasn't in the employee records, so he didn't exist as far as he was concerned.

This enraged Soames so much that he stole the MAULER armor and decided to use it for revenge. Just then, Cord's armed guards arrive with guns raised. Soames uses his laser gun to shoot out the lights. In darkness, Daredevil mops the floor of the armed men, and Soames goes back to terrorizing Cord. He catches up to him and pulls his wallet out, destroying all methods of identification found inside. He then tells Cord "you don't exist, either." Cord's armed guards pull out a Vibra-Mace gun and shoot Soames with it, killing him. Cord tells DD that he's done nothing illegal and that he can't be touched by the law. DD gives him a good punch to the jaw to remind him he's not entirely innocent.

Later that week, Matt visits the grave of Aaron Soames as he is laid to rest.

DARK SECRETS: A walk through the daily life of Matt Murdock, aka Daredevil. Showcases the layout of his apartment, how his billy club works, and how he uses his enhanced senses to fight crime.

--synopsis by Gormuu

--panel images provided by Avengers Assemble

--letter pages provided by Aussie Stu

Issues Reprinted
Daredevil #158-161, 163-167

Click on cover image to learn more about each issue.