When it comes to Mark Waid's DAREDEVIL ongoing at Marvel, the consensus seems to be "how will Waid top the last issue?" The fact is, Waid has been constructing an interesting and exciting story that has absolutely delighted DD fans. Few superhero books out right now are as eloquent, interesting and as exciting as Daredevil has been. Pair Waid's superb grasp of the superhero genre with the breathtaking art Paolo Rivera, Joe Rivera and Javier Rodriguez and it's hard not to love this ongoing series.
Yet, aside from the fact that the book is really beautiful; one reason this story has been so good is because it has kept readers guessing -- particularly with the reveal of the most recent issue of DAREDEVIL. Warning: if you have not yet read the book, you may want to hold off on reading today's article. If you don't mind the spoilers, though, proceed!
In the ninth issue of Daredevil's ongoing series Matt gets a late night call from Foggy who reveals to our hero that his father's remains have gone missing. Talk about creepy. Who would go grave robbing, and for what reason? Resolving to uncover the who and why, Matt takes the case underground and goes spelunking. Whilst trekking the underground caves of New York City, Daredevil comes face to face with an army Moloids, "soldiers" who answer to no one but Mole Man. Matt quickly realizes that the creatures have been stealing the graves and caskets of the dead and taking them to their master. Now, I don't want to completely give the story away if you haven't read the issue (which I felt was one of Waid's best thus far), but I did want to address the question of why? What the heck does Mole Man need with the graves of so many of New York's dead? What (or who) is he looking for?
== TEASER ==
The answer to this seemingly ominous question might be more innocent than you think. We all know the story of Nora and Mr. Freeze, and how his passion for his wife is all that has motivated him over the years. What if Mole Man had similar affections for a woman and what he is searching for is her corpse? Yeah, pretty gross, we know, but it actually makes a whole lot of sense. There have not been many women that have left their mark on Mole Mans heart, save for one: Queen Kala of Netherworld.
Kala first appeared in an issue of Fantastic Four #127 where she first met Thing, who "saved" her from a creature called the Kraawl -- or at least he thought he did. In this scene, Thing beat up a giant worm he thought had been attacking Kala when really, the Kraawl was Kala's pet which she was using to travel to Subterranea. The thing is, the only one who can control the Kraawls is Kala, and in order to do so she must sing to them. Weird, right?
In issue #127 Kala explains to Ben Grim that she is journeying to meet Mole Man and that she must marry him in order to preserve Netherworld, descendants of the "once mighty Atlantis" (not Namor's Atlantis, by the way). Thing agrees to journey to Subterranea to escort Kala to Mole Man, but quickly discovers that the two had been plotting to destroy the world above. Eventually, Kala betrays Mole Man but she is still evil and Mole Man is still in love with her. The Fantastic Four show up in Fantastic Four #128 and (naturally) save the day.
This is not the last time we see Kala. The Queen of Netherworld makes several other appearances, and in one of her last she sacrifices herself, her youth and beauty to save Mole Man in an issue of WEST COAST AVENGERS ANNUAL #6. By the end of the issue, though, Kala seems to be half dead and it is unclear whether or not she survives.
So why do we think that Mole Man is searching for Kala? By the end of WEST COAST AVENGERS ANNUAL #6 it is clear that although Kala was responsible for breaking Mole Man's heart, he still harbors some feelings for him (and she for him). Looking at issue #9 DAREDEVIL though we see that once he opens one of the caskets he starts to sing. Remember when we mentioned that Kala has this weird singing thing she does which she explained in her first appearance? Could it be that the woman in this panel is Kala and that Mole Man wants to bring her back from the dead? After all, she only ages when she is above ground; perhaps being underground she can be revived.
Either way, dancing with a corpse is pretty creepy. What do you think Mole Man's motives are? Are we completely off base, or could it bee that Mole Man wants to be reunited with Kala? Let's not forget the last time these two were together, they wanted to rid the surface world of billions of people. Maybe Matt has a bigger problem on his hands than he originally thought!
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