The bewilderingly broad technical subject matter he confronted, from the mobility of worms to the nature of mold to the theories of geology, completely protected him from any charge of political sensationalism.
As Daredevil, he confronts baddies – from car thieves to bikers, from wife-beaters to gangs of Irish, Mexican and Russian psychopaths – in the rundown NY district of Hell's Kitchen, leaving them down but never dead, in the style of the original comics.
The guidelines envision that while some troops would leave the country when their current areas were secured, others could be reassigned new missions within Afghanistan, giving General Petraeus flexibility in troop deployments as he confronts pressure from some allies and some Democrats in Washington to begin winding down the war next year.
"He is not seeking revenge on those he confronts, rather an acknowledgment from them of the terrible cost of their crimes and how the fear they instilled still lingers.
Taken together, the documents suggested that Mr. Bernanke, who effectively has control over monetary policy, may be facing increased pressure from Fed officials concerned that the central bank has promised too much, even as he confronts mounting external criticism from those who say he is not doing enough.
There he confronts a neighbor who stole from his mother just before the family was driven out by Serb thugs: "As she approached our floor, her footsteps became halting, her breathing heavy.
Their experience will undoubtedly help the new president as he confronts the many dilemmas remaining from the Bush administration, such as whether or not to continue controversial new domestic intelligence programs such as the National Applications Office.
Since then, he has taken stances like these on major international crises he has confronted, from Ukraine to Libya, and Syria to Iran and Yemen.
He seems to have grasped that the issues that preoccupied his world came more clearly to him when he confronted them from an oblique angle.
He confronted issues from the Irish Troubles to both Iraq wars in works that dropped the cool mask for outright engagement, making him even more of a meaty and serious proposition.
