ARCHIE MEYERS

Real Name: Archie Meyers

Identity/Class: Human

Occupation: Unrevealed

Group Membership: None

Affiliations: Bob Cumeo, Daredevil (Matt Murdock), Milla Donovan, Doris, Lynn, Jennifer Norton

Enemies: "Demon Baby", Gregor, Jester (Jonathan Powers), Lawrence

Known Relatives: Don "the Bomb" Meyers (father), wife, son (names unrevealed)

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: New York City, New York

First Appearance: Daredevil II#71 (May, 2005); (identified) Daredevil II#72 (June, 2005)

Powers/Abilities: None.

History:

(Daredevil II#72 (fb) - BTS) - The son of abusive criminal, Don "the Bomb" Meyers, Archie shrugged off his father's abuse for years, even when Don stabbed him with a fork at age 12. Though Archie never felt supported by his dad, he still got married and had a son.

(Daredevil II#72 (fb)) - Archie went to see Don in Ryker's Island Penitentiary, where Don had been placed by Daredevil. Don was furious that Archie's Uncle Ray wasn't there instead and verbally accosted his son, though he calmed down when Archie threatened to leave. Don calmed some and explained that Ray was supposed to do a job for him. Archie asked what the job was and said he'd do it, wanting to please his dad. Don, through reluctant and threatening, told Archie to contact his old ally Gregor at Josie's bar. At home that night, Archie's wife was unhappy with him for having seen Don. Then at Josie's, Gregor met him violently, holding a gun to his head and searching him for a wire. Gregor explained that they were planning on killing Foggy Nelson, an act that would give Don power in prison for the pain it would cause Daredevil, whose home Don had once blown up for the Kingpin. As Archie watched his son sleep later, he wondered how his father ever could have hit him. As he confided in his wife, he knew what he had to do. He planted the bomb at Josie's bar, killing Gregor and another man when they entered.

(Daredevil II#71 (fb) - BTS) - Reverend Bob Cumeo decided to hold a support group for residents of Hell's Kitchen at St. Mary's Church on Wednesday nights. He titled it the Devil Among Us, hoping to get people talking about the recent problems Daredevil had been causing in the city.

(Daredevil II#71) - At the first support group meeting, several attended, including Archie Meyers, Jennifer Norton, Doris, Lawrence, and Lynn. Bob opened the discussion as Lawrence commented on how crowded it was getting and Archie commented on Daredevil's arrogance. A blond woman recounted her story on how Daredevil had changed her life after she'd seen him declare a ban on all crime, calling himself the new kingpin. Doris asked if Daredevil really was Matt Murdock as the tabloids and the girl stated that she wasn't sure. After she told her story, two of the support group left as the others asked questions. Archie felt that the costume represented nothing while Doris struggled to understand why he'd dress as a devil. Lawrence shocked them all by claiming he knew Daredevil's secrets.

(Daredevil II#72) - Lawrence refused to share Murdock's secrets as he'd then expose his own, and he laughed madly as he taunted Archie into revealing his own secrets, but Archie remained quiet.

(Daredevil II#73) - Soon, Jennifer Norton, holding a cross, introduced herself and explained that her husband was in prison for the murder of several women. Bob asked her if she'd had any sign that her husband was a murderer and Doris demanded Jennifer answer, so she explained that she'd seen a demonic baby whisper in her husband's ear one night. Doris furiously attacked Jennifer, slapping her and explaining that Jennifer's husband had attacked Doris on the night he was beaten by Daredevil. Doris, horrified that Jennifer would claim a demon was responsible for her husband's actions, continued screaming, but Jennifer said it was true. They all started yelling as Lawrence smugly watched until Lynn pulled out a drawing of the baby from her purse.

(Daredevil II#74) - Lynn claimed she'd been at the wedding of Matt Murdock and Milla Donovan and shared more of her story, though Archie was truly freaked out by the demon baby and Lawrence only watched smugly. She explained that her daughter had been held hostage by the Jester (Jonathan Powers), who Lawrence identified easily, and that later her daughter had committed suicide after drawing this picture. Lynn helplessly asked Bob for help when Lawrence started laughing hysterically and told everyone that they should be afraid of Daredevil, who was sitting in the room as Matt Murdock.

(Daredevil II#75) - Murdock identified himself, shocking everyone, and he demanded that Lawrence stay in his seat or Murdock would hurt him. Murdock let anyone leave who wanted to, and one old man did, as Murdock explained that they all deserved the answers to their questions. He explained that Lawrence had been responsible for summoning the baby initially and had now been possessed by it. Lynn threatened to kill Lawrence, but Matt held her back while Lawrence ran from the room. Murdock pursued him, asking the others to wait, and they did so over the following 45 minutes. Bob denied the existence of demons, but Murdock returned, explaining that you have to believe in demons if you believe in angels. Murdock explained that they should all have closure now and Archie wanted to know why he'd shared his secrets. Murdock told them that they deserved to know answers and that they should be prepared to be questioned by the FBI. He explained that he was only trying to make the city a better place to live and then left.

Comments: Created by Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev.

Profile by Chadman.

CLARIFICATIONS:
Archie Meyers has no known connections to

• Ricky Meyers, Hulk ally @ Incredible Hulk III#34
• or any other "Archie" or "Meyers" characters

images: (without ads)
Daredevil II#72, p7, pan4