First Appearance: Mick, Sheldon

Villain: Kingpin, Cherryh

Guest Appearance: Elektra, Jeryn Hogarth, Sheldon, J. Jonah Jameson, Foggy Nelson, Power Man, Iron Fist

Featured Thugs: Turk, Grotto, Mick

Death: Mick

Cameo: Kermit the Frog, Smokey the Bear (giant balloons on parade)

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Sheldon meets with Nelson and Murdock, offering them the evidence that will help defend J. Jonah Jameson in Cherryh's libel suit. As Sheldon negotiates for some kind of large cash payment, a group of thugs enters the room to grab Sheldon. Matt trips them up with his walking cane and then escapes so he can change into Daredevil. Sheldon runs away down the stairs. Daredevil meets up with him on the street and grabs him, scaring the Kingpin's thugs away. When they're gone, Sheldon bites DD on the hand and escapes, too.

Foggy goes to visit Power Man and Iron Fist, who have just gotten an earful from their boss Jeryn Hogarth, about not getting any lucrative work. He enlists their help in being bodyguards for his friend Matt, who he fears is going to need it while defending against the Kingpin.

The three thugs who earlier tried to kidnap Sheldon revisit Matt later that night to find out where he is. Foggy enters with Power Man and Iron Fist, and they quickly take care of the thugs, much to the chagrin of Matt Murdock, who tells them their interference aborted his plan to tape them admitting their crimes in the Kingpin's employ. Adding further insult to their employment, Luke and Danny find out that Murdock's opposing counsel is their boss, Jeryn Hogarth. Matt can't bear their protective presence, as he desperately wants to change into Daredevil to hunt down Sheldon, so he jumps down an elevator shaft when they're not looking. His bodyguards figure that Murdock has been kidnaped right out from under them, and they go straight to Cherryh and try to threaten the information out of him, but Cherryh doesn't budge. He knows nothing of Murdock's kidnaping. Of course, Murdock hasn't been kidnaped, and after Power Man and Iron Fist leave the office of Cherryh, he overhears the councilman setting up a meeting with Sheldon to trade diamonds for the checks at the Macy's Day Parade.

The next day at the parade, as the Kermit float goes by, all the principles in this play gather. Murdock is there to shadow Sheldon, Power Man and Iron Fist are keeping guard on Murdock, and Turk and Grotto follow behind dressed as clowns so they can take out Sheldon when they spot him to get back into the good graces of the Kingpin. From his parade car, Cherryh makes the connection with Sheldon, handing him the jewels while Sheldon hands him an envelope with the checks enclosed inside. But a little kid grabs the bag of diamonds, thinking it's a bag of candy the politician has been handing out. Sheldon chases after the kid, and Murdock heads to an alley to change into Daredevil. He comes leaping out of the darkness of the alley, and Iron Fist assumes DD is part of something "fishy" going on. The two parry each other's blows, both trying to get the other to back down so they can attend to their true priorities.

Sheldon has caught up with the kid, who's busted a tooth trying to eat the diamond he thought was candy. But Turk and Grotto scare Sheldon into trying to escape, and the only place he can get away is to climb up Kermit's back. Turk and Grotto follow him up the giant balloon float. Daredevil jumps up to the ledge of a building where he can hear Sheldon on the back of Kermit. He jumps down to the balloon, causing Sheldon to bounce up and off the giant green frog and into the arms of Power Man.

Daredevil and the two Heroes for Hire manage to corner the young boy, who insists he was only trying to raise money to help his girlfriend Tammi Lu afford an operation to allow her to dance again. He agrees to turn over the checks so this whole ordeal is over, but the envelope is open and the checks have disappeared into the thicket of the ticker-tape parade. They incriminating evidence is lost.

At the Kingpin's HQ, Elektra fights her way through a security detail to arrive inside Wilson Fisk's private office, where he enjoins her in a discussion of their mutual future together.

--synopsis by Gormuu

--panel images provided by Avengers Assemble

--letter pages provided by Aussie Stu

Issues Reprinted
Daredevil #168-182

Click on cover image to learn more about each issue.