September 1967: A Plague of Frogs

Daredevil has had a surprising amount of trouble with frog people.

Equipped by the Organizer (a/k/a New York mayoral candidate Abner Jonas) for the role of Frog Man, Francois Le Blanc teamed up with Jonas’ other Ani-Men (Bird Man, Cat Man and Ape Man) to battle Daredevil in Daredevil 10-11 (Oct.-Dec. 1965).

Then, in Daredevil 25 (Feb. 1967), Vincent Patilio adopted the springy identity of the Leap Frog even as Matt Murdock invented a twin brother, Mike, in a desperate ploy to protect his secret identity.

In Daredevil Annual 1 (Sept. 1967), the Leap Frog returned with the “Emissaries of Evil” (which included Electro, the Matador, the Gladiator and the Stilt-Man), but DD’s old foes didn’t fare any better as a team than they had individually.

Now styling themselves as “the Unholy Three,” Ape Man, Cat Man and Bird Man returned without Frog Man in Daredevil 39-40 (April-May 1968). And the Man Without Fear didn’t miss the green gangster.

“Only the Frog Man is left — but he hasn’t the brains to lead these other three,” Daredevil observed. “And since he wasn’t with them, he … must still be in the pokey!”

Unlike Frog Man, however, the Leap Frog was smart enough to invent the battery-powered high-tech spring boots that propelled his criminal career. 

Those boots were inherited by his son Eugene in Marvel Team-Up 121 (June 1982), and he used them to try to clear the family name as the Fabulous Frog-Man. 

Surviving largely by luck, Eugene is sometimes referred to as “Kermit.”

“Must be sad needing to follow in your daddy’s flippers in an ugly Frog Man costume,” Joseph Lenius said.