Lady Bullseye
| Lady Bullseye | |
|---|---|
 Cover to Daredevil #111. Art by Marko Djurdjevic. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | Daredevil Vol. 2 #111 (September, 2008) |
| Created by | Ed Brubaker Marko Djurdjevic Clay Mann |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Maki Matsumoto |
| Team affiliations | The Hand |
| Abilities | Master martial artist Proficient hand to hand combatant Skilled lawyer |
Lady Bullseye is a fictional character, a supervillainess in the
. A female counterpart of Bullseye, she was created by Ed Brubaker, Marko Djurdjevic, and Clay Mann, first appearing in Daredevil #111. She has primarily been an opponent of the superhero Daredevil.
Originally inspired to become a trained assassin when she witnessed Bullseye easily kill a number of people, she would later become a member of the Hand Ninja clan, although she did not hold their traditions in high esteem. Her alter ego is a lawyer, opposing Matt Murdock in the courtroom, thereby attacking Daredevil on two fronts. Lady Bullseye's true intentions were to take control of the Hand clan, but instead Daredevil becomes their leader.
Publication history
Lady Bullseye was inspired by Lady Snowblood, a Japanese femme fatale.[1]
Fictional character biography
Born in Japan, the young girl (it has not been revealed whether Maki Matsumoto is her birth name, or an assumed one) who would become Lady Bullseye was imprisoned by the Yakuza, who planned to sell her and many others into sexual slavery. However, Bullseye, on an unrelated errand, arrived to slaughter the mobsters. The sight of Bullseye effortlessly killing her captors inspired the girl to escape and become a killer.[2]
Years later, now in the employ of the Hand, the famous ninja order, she arrives in New York, to take the lead in Hand ninja-lord Hiroshi's plan. However, she has demonstrated little tolerance for the Hand's ritual, interrupting some (who are used to those traditions) off-guard in order to kill her enemies. She kills and resurrects both White Tiger and Black Tarantula to assist her.[3]
At the same time, it has been revealed that in her civilian guise she is a lawyer, targeting Daredevil by assisting the parents of Murdock's mentally-ill wife Milla Donovan in gaining custody of her. When one of her associates discovers this, she kills him to prevent the Hand from learning the truth. Hiroshi claims that all she has done has been according to his will. Lady Bullseye offers Daredevil the leadership of the Hand, which he refuses. The organization regroups to Spain, preparing to initiate "Plan B". There, she finds Kingpin, trying to live a normal civilian life, and killing his new girlfriend and her kids, and brutally stabbing Kingpin, telling him that this is a message for Matt Murdock.[4]
It turns out that Matsumoto's real goal was to take the leadership of the Hand herself, something she had been promised by Daredevil's ally Master Izo, who was revealed to have trained her. However, Izo was lying, and instead intended for Daredevil himself to take that post and reform the Hand. This occurring, Daredevil had Lady Bullseye cast out of the Hand for being untrustworthy. Angry, she vowed to kill Izo.[5]
Subsequently, she is shown to now be allied with the Kingpin against Daredevil, instigating a conflict between Daredevil and Norman Osborn, which ultimately leads to Daredevil declaring Hell's Kitchen the territory of the Hand.[6]
She was hired by an as yet unknown party to temporarily injure Pepper Potts with a compressed air rifle.[7]
Powers and abilities
Lady Bullseye has no apparent superhuman powers, but is a master of several martial arts and a proficient hand-to-hand combatant, and specializes in using both a katana and shuriken. It has been noted that she is faster than both Bullseye and the Kingpin. However, she is also less powerful. Daredevil has commented that in her costumed form she has little scent and a very level pulse, akin to one performing yoga. She is also skilled in legal matters, being a lawyer in her civilian guise.[8]
Other versions
Daredevil Noir
Lady Bullseye appears as a caucasian woman called Eliza. She is an operative of the Kingpin, and a lover of a rival crime lord called O'Halloran.[9]
Marvel Zombies
A zombiefied version of Lady Bullseye is part of an invasion team that heads into the 'Marvel Ape' universe, desperate for fresh meat. The simian Torch slays Bullseye with a blast of heat.[10]
In other media
Video games
- Lady Bullseye appears in Marvel: War of Heroes
References
- ^ Phegley, Kiel (2008-09-05). "Daredevil: Enter Lady Bullseye". Marvel.com. Retrieved 2009-05-02.
- ^ Daredevil #111
- ^ Daredevil #112-114
- ^ Daredevil #114-116
- ^ Daredevil #500
- ^ Dark Reign - The List: Daredevil #1, Daredevil #501-504
- ^ Black Widow #2
- ^ Daredevil #113
- ^ Daredevil Noir #1-4
- ^ "Marvel Zombies: Evil Evolution" #1 (2009)
