Welcome to the Bar with No Name, the Marvel Universe's Hangout for Villains
What is the Bar with No Name? Pay a visit to the Marvel Universe's hangout for villains, which has seen its fair share of battles despite its no-fighting policy.
Even super villains need a place to hang out. For many of Marvel's villains, that place is the Bar with No Name. Hidden by its secret and ever-changing location, the Bar with No Name is one of the few places where costumed villains can relax in between their various schemes.Â
Although the Bar has strict rules against violence, it has seen more than a few fights break out between feuding villains and their heroic rivals. Even when it has been destroyed and its patrons killed, the Bar with No Name keeps popping up in dimly lit rooms around the Marvel Universe. Â Â
Now, let's take a closer look at the Bar with No Name and the numerous heroes and villains who have walked through its dingy doors. We'll also break down why Daredevil is getting ready to fight Wolverine at the Bar With No Name in DAREDEVIL (2023) #7 by Saladin Ahmed, Aaron Kuder, Jesus Aburtov, and VC's Clayton Cowles.
WHAT IS THE BAR WITH NO NAME?
The Bar with No Name has given villains somewhere to hang out since it debuted in CAPTAIN AMERICA (1968) #318 by Mark Gruenwald and Paul Neary. Although there are rumored to be Bars With No Name around the United States, the most prominent incarnations of the bar have been in New York City.Â
To keep its clients safe and off the radar, the physical location of the bar changes regularly, and it is generally only spoken about in hushed tones and vague references. From heavy hitters like Bullseye, Doctor Octopus, and the Juggernaut to minor lawbreakers like the Unicorn and Turner D. Century, well over 100 costumed villains have been spotted at the Bar with No Name, with most of its clients being street-level villains.Â
Despite its association with New York, the Bar with No Name was first seen in Ohio. While the serial killer Scourge of the Underworld hunted down other villains, Firebrand gathered several villains to discuss the situation at the Ohio Bar with No Name in CAPTAIN AMERICA (1968) #319 by Gruenwald and Neary. Since none of the villains brought their weapons into the Bar, they were easy targets for Scourge, who—posing as the bartender—killed 18 criminals at the meeting.
SPIDER-MAN AND THE BAR WITH NO NAME
Since he frequently deals with the kind of street-level criminals that frequent the Bar with No Name, Spider-Man has spent more time at the Bar than most heroes. After the Bookie, John Ladue, started taking bets on the outcomes of Spider-Man's fights, he hired Screwball to impersonate Spider-Man in a battle to fix a bet in AMAZING SPIDER-MAN (1999) #562 by Bob Gale and Mike McKone.Â
Spider-Man took down Screwball and tracked the Bookie to the Bar with No Name. When he saw a dozen of his former villains at the Bar, Spider-Man defended himself against his old foes until the barkeeper, Deke, stopped the fight and reminded everyone about the Bar's rules. With Daredevil and Captain Yuri Watanabe, Spider-Man shut down the Bar with No Name for operating without a liquor license in AMAZING SPIDER-MAN (1999) #600 by Dan Slott and John Romita Jr. Â
Despite that, the Bar with No Name reopened, and Deke returned as the bartender and continued to break up arguments between feuding Spider-Man villains. When Peter Parker was living with Boomerang, the villain took Peter to a Spider-Man trivia night at the bar because of his history as Spider-Man's photographer. However, the Kingpin had a bounty out on Boomerang, and the bar's criminal patrons attacked him in AMAZING SPIDER-MAN (2018) #6 by Nick Spencer, Humberto Ramos, and Steve Lieber. Although the Bar was destroyed in the explosive ensuing fight, it was rebuilt and reopened again.
PUNISHER AND THE BAR WITH NO NAME
As a gathering place for criminals, the Bar with No Name has also fallen into the sights of the Punisher on more than one occasion. During CIVIL WAR (2007), Stilt-Man began operating as a government-sanctioned vigilante, but the Punisher killed him for his past crimes.Â
To mourn their fallen friend, several villains got together at the Bar with No Name in THE PUNISHER: WAR JOURNAL (2006) #4 by Matt Fraction and Mike Deodato Jr.. While heroes like Spider-Man and the Prowler also showed up to pay their respects, the Punisher snuck into the wake by posing as the bartender and soaked the Bar in gasoline. Throughout the night, the Punisher also slowly poisoned the villains' drinks.Â
Just as the patrons realized what had happened, the Punisher blew up the Bar in an unsuccessful attempt to kill the villains. At the wreckage of that Bar location, Basilisk held the kidnapped G.W. Bridge, a former S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, and tried to coerce him into helping take down the Punisher.Â
The Punisher visited another Bar with No Name in the last moments of the Marvel Universe in SECRET WARS (2015) #1 by Jonathan Hickman and Esad Ribić. As reality began collapsing, the Kingpin invited several villains to a bar where they could watch their heroic enemies' final battles. However, the Punisher walked into the Bar and gunned them all down. After the Multiverse and the Bar with No Name were restored, the Punisher used the War Machine armor to attack the Bar again, killing Steel-Jaw and a new Scourge in THE PUNISHER (2016) #224 by Matthew Rosenberg and Stefano Landini.
OTHER HEROES AND THE BAR WITH NO NAME
The Bar with No Name has also provided an unlikely base for a few nominally heroic characters. While drinking with the goddess Venus at the Bar, Deadpool put on the Golden Girdle to temporarily become the love god Lovepool in LOVE UNLIMITED INFINITY COMIC (2022) #38 by Fabian Nicieza and Salva Espin. While he was the mayor of New York City, the former Kingpin Wilson Fisk visited the Bar to recruit villains for the fight against Knull's symbiote invasion in KING IN BLACK (2020).Â
When building a criminal empire, Black Cat bought the Bar with No Name and used it to learn about valuable targets and new criminal schemes as they were being hatched. Around that time, Star-Lord, Peter Quill, also began working there in STAR-LORD (2016) #2 by Chip Zdarsky and Kris Anka.Â
While stranded on Earth, Star-Lord got into legal trouble and was sentenced to care for the elderly Edmund Allen, a former villain known as the Silver Bandit. After Peter and Edmund helped Ms. Marvel (Kamala Khan) stop a robbery, Allen got Star-Lord a job at the Bar with No Name through his son, Greg, who also worked there.Â
When Black Cat tried to coerce Edmund back into action to steal from the retired thief Javelynn, Star-Lord teamed up with Daredevil and Old Man Logan to stop her. Although that plan ultimately left Edmund dead and the bar closed, Javelynn used her considerable resources to open a new Bar with No Name.
DAREDEVIL AND THE BAR WITH NO NAME
Even after he helped Spider-Man shut down the Bar with No Name, Daredevil has also operated there on several notable occasions. While trying to lure Bullseye out of hiding, Matt Murdock put a hit out on his costumed alter ego in DAREDEVIL (2015) #15 by Charles Soule and Goran Sudzuka. When Mike Murdock—a fictional persona Daredevil once used—was turned into a tangible being through the Inhuman Reader's powers, Daredevil came face-to-face with his artificially created brother at the Bar with No Name in DAREDEVIL (2015) #606 by Soule and Phil Noto. Â
Now, Daredevil is getting ready for another battle at the Bar with a possessed Wolverine in DAREDEVIL (2023) #6 by Saladin Ahmed and Aaron Kuder. After several of his friends were sent to Hell, Daredevil sacrificed his life to save them. Although the Man Without Fear returned to life as a priest, several demonic entities representing the Seven Deadly Sins seemingly followed him out of Hell. While his old ally, Ben Urich, was possessed by Envy, Elektra became possessed by Sloth and She-Hulk was possessed by Gluttony.Â
Donning a new all-white costume, Daredevil decided to track down the demons based on the remaining Deadly Sins. After patrolling Hell's Kitchen, Daredevil traveled to the Bar with No Name. As he recalled his violent history there, Daredevil found most of the Bar's patrons unconscious at the hands of Wolverine, possessed by the spirit of Wrath. Now, Daredevil must face Logan and free him from the violent rage that's consumed so much of their lives at the Bar with No Name.
Pull up a seat at the Bar with No Name in DAREDEVIL #7, now on sale!
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