Who was Daredevil’s archenemy before Kingpin?

[Riv86672]

Did he have one?

Was it different bad guys vying for the top spot?

While I’m asking, did DD have any standout female enemies before the Miller era?

[The Overlord]

Did he have one?

Was it different bad guys vying for the top spot?

While I’m asking, did DD have any standout female enemies before the Miller era?

It was probably the Owl, he was Daredevil's first original villain and made a lot of appearances in pre Miller Daredevil.

He is still around, he is usually the more low rent, more psycho crime boss trying to unseat Kingpin, but he is not even close to being Daredevil's arch enemy anymore.

Daredevil didn't have standout female villains in the Silver Age, heck, only about half of Daredevil's Silver Age rogues gallery made out of the Silver Age as serious villains.

[Phoenixx9]

Did he have one?

Was it different bad guys vying for the top spot?

While I’m asking, did DD have any standout female enemies before the Miller era?

Not for sure, but maybe: Owl, Stilt-Man, Gladiator (Melvin Potts)

[Alan2099]

Not for sure, but maybe: Owl, Stilt-Man, Gladiator (Melvin Potts)

Owl and Gladiator are two good choices, but I don't think Stilt-man was arch-enemy potential even back.

Mr. Hyde and Beetle were also two foes he frequently seemed to fight. I'm not sure if Beetle was really considered a "Daredevil enemy" back then or if he was just a guest villian, but Hyde is a fairly good contender for top spot.

[Phoenixx9]

Owl and Gladiator are two good choices, but I don't think Stilt-man was arch-enemy potential even back.

Mr. Hyde and Beetle were also two foes he frequently seemed to fight. I'm not sure if Beetle was really considered a "Daredevil enemy" back then or if he was just a guest villian, but Hyde is a fairly good contender for top spot.

Oh yeah, Mr Hyde and Cobra too!

[namor]

Bullseye and the Jester were pre-Miller.

[gurkle]

If Miller hadn't come back to the book after his original run, I think we would remember Bullseye as Daredevil's arch-enemy, given what happened in that first run and that it even ended with a Bullseye issue.

"Born Again" I think really cemented Kingpin as the ultimate Daredevil villain.

[Riv86672]

Lots of Owl shout outs, which is who I was thinking, too.

If Miller hadn't come back to the book after his original run, I think we would remember Bullseye as Daredevil's arch-enemy, given what happened in that first run and that it even ended with a Bullseye issue.

"Born Again" I think really cemented Kingpin as the ultimate Daredevil villain.

^^^Thats a real interesting observation, Ty.

[the illustrious mr. kenway]

It was probably the Owl, he was Daredevil's first original villain and made a lot of appearances in pre Miller Daredevil.

He is still around, he is usually the more low rent, more psycho crime boss trying to unseat Kingpin, but he is not even close to being Daredevil's arch enemy anymore.

Daredevil didn't have standout female villains in the Silver Age, heck, only about half of Daredevil's Silver Age rogues gallery made out of the Silver Age as serious villains.

I'm hoping the MCU could take the Owl and the other Silver age villians and make them interesting.

[phonogram12]

I'm hoping the MCU could take the Owl and the other Silver age villians and make them interesting.

I don't thin it would be that difficult to make a character like The Owl interesting. The Netflix show already gave us a perfect setup when that show's Leland Owlsley already mentioned that he had a sun. From there all you would have to do is introduce Leland Owlsley, Jr. as a new and formidable crime figure who wants Fisk's territory, not only for revenge, but also general criminal greed. It practically writes itself.

[Iron Maiden]

Going back to the beginning in issues Daredevil faced a lot of gangster types the Fixer, or the Organizer and his gang (Frogman, Ape Man, etc) who later became just the Unholy Three. Then he faced Electro, the Owl, the Purple Man, the Matador, the Fellowship of Fear lead by Mr Fear. Stiltman, Cobra and Mr Hyde. They did have a villian the Jester that looked like he was going to be his Joker but he faded away like many of the early foes. I would guess the villian that stood out was Bullseye

[Nomads1]

Did he have one?

Was it different bad guys vying for the top spot?

While I’m asking, did DD have any standout female enemies before the Miller era?

The Owl is the first to come to mind.

Peace

[K7P5V]

Just before the Miller takeover, there was The Death-Stalker!

[Ultimate Captain America]

Cobra and Mr. Hyde are borrowed villains, like Kingpin. They started as Thor villains. Yes, someone in Marvel must have also realized that they were too weak to have any business fighting the freakin' god of thunder, so they were transferred to Daredevil instead.

[williamtheday]

The Masked Marauder Comes to mind, but he was better off as a one shot villain.