Villain: The Ox, Dr. Karl Skragg

First Appearance/Death: Dr. Karl Skragg

Guest Appearance: Karen Page, Foggy Nelson

Innovations: Skragg and the Ox switch bodies

Letters Page: Page One • Page Two

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After a doctor visits Foggy at the office and determines that he's never fully healed from his altercation with the Ox, Karen helps him home while Matt stays behind to work on some legal matters. But as she leaves, he can't stop thinking about her, and wondering if all her attention she gives him is solely because of pity.

At State Prison, the Ox finally busts through the jail cell, and both he and Skragg take off for the hideout. While Matt works out in his home gymnasium, he hears a radio news bulletin about the breakout, and swings into action as Daredevil. The Ox leads Skragg to the old hideout of Mr. Fear, and there Skragg has all the high-tech equipment he needs to start the operation he's been planning all this time. Skragg tells the Ox that he is going to "share" some of his brainpower with him by transferring it through subatronic waves. They lie under the machine and Skragg applies the power, but the Ox complains that he doesn't feel any smarter. In fact, Skragg has double-crossed the Ox- instead of transferring brain power to the Ox, he has switched bodies with him! Now, the mind of the puny Dr. Karl Skragg is in the behemoth body of the Ox, and the slothful brain of the Ox is in the useless musculature of Skragg. Finally having physical brute strength that matches his immense intellect, he sets out to take over the city!

The new Ox realizes that even though he has this amazing power combined with his super-smarts, he is having trouble maintaining focus on his goals. Too, a new problem tracks him down to the city streets, and that is Daredevil! Just as DD spots the Ox, to his horror he also notes Karen Page walking right by. She turns to the Ox and shrieks in fear. DD jumps in-between them to defend her. He upends the Ox which only makes him madder. He picks up a piece of a downed lamppost and swings it into Daredevil's waist, knocking the wind out of him. Karen hovers over DD's body, telling the Ox to stay away, but the new, clever Ox decides to do something really bizarre to throw the police off...he takes a spare set of Ox clothes and puts it on Daredevil! Then he grabs Karen and makes away with her.

The police arrive on the scene and see all the wreckage in the city streets from the altercation. When they see Daredevil in the Ox clothing, they assume he's been impersonating the Ox to engage in a life of crime. They cart him off to jail. When DD wakes up from his daze, he's behind bars.

Karen is dragged by the new Ox back to Mr. Fear's old hideout, where he is enraged to see the old Ox- inhabiting the body of his former persona Dr. Karl Skragg. When the Ox turns his back, Skragg knocks him out with a heavy object. He grabs Karen and they race away. Once the new Ox rouses himself, he chases after them, but comes across a police car rolling down the highway. He upends the car and continues his chase. Once the cops find out the real Ox is still on the loose, they let Daredevil go from his jail cell. They tell him the Ox was last seen heading towards the city heliport, and DD is off!

He finds the Ox approaching a helicopter on the tarmac, and once he realizes DD is on his tail, he rips off a rotor blade and swings it at him. DD gabs hold of the rotor blade on the copter, grapples it, and swings around to land a solid kick on the Ox. It disorients him, and simultaneously, the genius of Skragg starts to slip away from him. He leaps towards Daredevil, but misses and hurtles down to the street many floors below. The old Ox, now stuck in the body of Dr. Karl Skragg, witnesses the death of his old body, and figures it's just as well. Further, he senses that he is indeed getting smarter, and walks away, hopeful that he can take advantage of this miracle in a good way.

--synopsis by Gormuu

--panel images provided by Avengers Assemble

--letter pages and house ads provided by Aussie Stu

Issues Reprinted
Daredevil #12-21

Click on cover image to learn more about each issue.