Daredevil (Marvel)

The Daredevil in Daredevil v6 #21.

Daredevil is a male comic superhero who features in Marvel Comics.

Biography

Origin

Matt Murdock in Daredevil v1 #1.

Matthew "Matt" Michael Murdock

Jack Murdock fell even deeper into his depression. Although he gave into his vices and began doing shady jobs for the Fixer, he still loved his son, even he though he lost his temper at times. (Daredevil: Battlin' Jack Murdock v1 #1) Maggie later wrote to Jack expressing her shame, and asked that Jack tell their son that she was dead. A lie that Jack kept until his dying day. (Daredevil: Battlin' Jack Murdock v1 #2)

As a youth, Matt became a prankster and trouble maker. One day he even stole a local police officers baton and hide it at Fogwell's Gym, where his father would go to fight. Matt also took care of his father, who was spiraling further and further into alcoholism. (Daredevil: The Man Without Fear v1 #1) Matt quickly became aware of his father's criminal activities when one of the local children beat him up over the fact that Jack had strong armed the boy's father for money owed to the Fixer. Jack tried to console his boy by telling him that he was going to raise him to be a better man than him. Still, Matt continued to idolize his father, helping him train when he started getting new fights and tried cleaning up his act. (Daredevil: Battlin' Jack Murdock v1 #2)

Whilst out, he saw a blind man crossing the road just as a van carrying radioactive material where he pushed the person out of danger. However, this caused the van to collide with him where Matt came to be exposed to the material inside the vehicle. Badly injured, he was taken to the hospital where he was blinded as a result of the incident. (Daredevil v1 #1)

When the increased sense began to be too much for young Matt, he was briefly visited by Master Izo of the Chaste, who was checking on his status and reported it back to Stick. (Daredevil v1 #500) Matt was also visited by Sister Maggie, a local nun, whom he confided his new abilities in. Matt was unaware that she was really his birth mother. She convinced Matt to keep his new abilities a secret to everyone, including his father, calling them a gift from God. (Daredevil: The Man Without Fear v1 #1)

A few months later, Matt received training from the ninja master Stick. From Stick, Matt learned how to control his new abilities and honed his skills in acrobatics and martial arts. (Daredevil: The Man Without Fear v1 #1)

Meanwhile, Jack Murdock was desperate to fight. He reluctantly joined with a crooked fight promoter known as the Fixer. The Fixer set up Jack to be a heavyweight contender, just to have him take a dive. Jack refused and won his fight. Later that night, Jack Murdock was shot dead by the Fixer and his men. The now orphaned Matt searched for his father's killers. He finally found the Fixer's gang and punished them severely. He chased down and confronted the Fixer, who pulled a gun on Matt. Before he could fire it, the Fixer suffered from a heart attack and died. (Daredevil v1 #1)

Matt eventually graduated from high school and managed to land a scholarship at State University. On his first day, both Matt and his father took a bus up to the area. Shortly after arriving, Jack became incredibly protective of his son, defending him when the Dean of the University suggested that Matt attend an inaugural speech for those with disabilities. Later they met Matt's dorm roommate, Franklin "Foggy" Nelson who was also studying law. Jack worried about his son being able to take care of himself, especially when he was harassed at a local diner by some locals. However, when Matt went back in the middle of the night and defended himself from the townies, Jack witnessed the fight and was convinced that his son was now a man who could look after himself. (Daredevil v1 #-1)

After graduating from high school, he came to be eagerly accepted by the director of admissions of state college. During this time, he came to share a dormitory room with Foggy Nelson. (Daredevil v1 #1)

A year later and at 19 years old, Matt and Foggy had advanced to learning pre-law at Columbia University. (Daredevil v1 #168) However, Matt had a secret dark side hitherto unknown to Foggy. When Nelson was being harassed by another student named Brad, Matt secretly jumped him in the middle of the night and left him tied up naked on the roof of the school, warning Brad that there would be swifter punishment if he should torment his friend any further. (Daredevil: The Man Without Fear v1 #2) Matt continued his studies and entered Columbia Law School. During this time, Matt also first met Elektra Natchios, the daughter of a Greek diplomat who was studying political science at Columbia. Matt was instantly smitten by her, but was unable to get close due to her bodyguard who was constantly at her side. One day he distracted the body guard long enough for Matt to ask her out on a date, confiding in her that he had enhanced senses. (Daredevil v1 #168)

Elektra proved to have a dark side to her as well, and she led him on a merry chase across the city. The date came to an abrupt end when she pretended to be a woman in distress, attracting the police. When they attempted to arrest Matt, Elektra quickly slipped away and the police released him when they discovered that he was blind and believed that he was no threat. The following day, after Foggy warned Matt to stay away from Elektra, she took him on a joy ride to a nearby cliff. (Daredevil: The Man Without Fear v1 #2)

Daredevil

As Daredevil, he broke up a gambling ring operated by the Fixer whose men were based in the basement beneath Fogwell's Gym. (Daredevil v1 #1)

Afterwards, Daredevil learnt that mobster Alexander Bont was the Fixer's employer. As Daredevil, he confronted Bont ad his nightclub, but the mobster refused to admit anything. Before Daredevil could beat the truth out of him, the FBI raided the building. While Daredevil fled the scene, the Feds arrested Bont on various criminal charges. (Daredevil v2 #66)

With his father's death avenged, Matt returned to Boston where he had secured a job working for the firm of Sussman and Castro where he was in line to become a junior partner of the firm. That all changed when they sent Matt on assignment to New York City. Matt took the time to visit his old neighborhood and saw how far it had fallen into lawlessness. Going to check the ruins of Fogwell's Gym, Matt met a young girl named Mickey and befriended her. The two would train together in the gym at night. Reconnecting with Foggy, Matt found the civil law cases that Nelson dealt with to be a refreshing change to his work in Boston and agreed to help Foggy out in his free time. By this time the Kingpin was secretly making his bid to take over New York's underworld. Getting into prostitution and drugs, the Kingpin ordered some of his child pornographers to procure a child. These men hired some drug addicts to do the job and they kidnapped Mickey. Finding her hat, Matt realized that she was abducted by someone. Luckily, one of the addicts had the idea to try to ransom off Mickey to her parents for drug money, allowing Matt a line to follow her captors. Unfortunately, word got back to the Kingpin who sent his assassin Larks to kill the addicts and take the girl to a warehouse. Matt put on a make-shift costume, and recovered the police billy club he stole years earlier as a child and then prepared to confront Mickey's captors. (Daredevil: The Man Without Fear v1 #4)

Murdock then went to go and represent the Owl in court only to learn that his client had skipped out on the court appearance. Trying to track the Owl down, Matt came up with the idea of making a zippered hood on the back of his costume to carry his street clothes in. It was also around this time that Karen mentioned a doctor she knew who could potentially cure Matt of his blindness. Matt deflected her suggestions secretly fearing that the restoration of his sight would strip him of his other enhanced senses. (Daredevil v1 #3)

Daredevil would begin to modify his original costume. Soon afterwards, a criminal known as the Matador began committing a series of brazen robberies across the city, prompting Matt to try and capture him as Daredevil. When Matt was sent to bring Karen to a costume party, he recognized the Matador's heartbeat in that location. Trying to stop the criminal bullfighter from robbing the party as Daredevil. However all the conflicting sounds interfered with Matt's radar sense and he was easily defeated by the Matador. Having lost face with the public, Matt then decided to lure the Matador out of hiding by announcing to the press that Daredevil and the Matador were the same man. Despite evidence of the contrary, the press published the story. Reading this the Matador went to confront Murdock at his office and found Daredevil waiting for him. This time Daredevil was able to trounce the Matador and turn him over to the authorities, restoring his public image. (Daredevil v1 #5)

Karen told Matt about Dr. Van Eyck, a doctor from Boston who might be able to restore Matt's lost eyesight. But Matt refused, which angered her, and she called him a coward. (Daredevil v1 #8) A client Klaus Kruger who is the Duke of Lichtenbad told them about Van Eych's treatment for the blind, Klaus verifies the claims, and Matt asks to go along because he senses that Klaus is lying about something. Back in New York City, Karen received a memo from Matt explaining that the surgery wasn't done, leaving Foggy to jealously assume that Matt chickened out at the last moment. (Daredevil v1 #9)

It was about this time that members of the Reform Party were seeking Foggy to run for District Attorney in the next election. The Reform Party's run for office also coincided with a criminal known as the Organizer and his minions, Cat-Man, Ape-Man, Bird-Man and Frog-Man, began committing a series of crimes and attacks against the Reform Party. Matt Murdock got involved as Daredevil when the four animal men attacked a Reform Party even aboard a yacht. Later, the Organizer's minions tricked Daredevil into assisting them in a bank robbery, so that he would be blamed for it. Daredevil then staked out another Reform Party gathering, and when it was attacked by the Organizer's minions again, he failed to stop them from kidnapping Debbie Harris, daughter of Reform candidate Bernard Harris and Foggy's old high-school sweetheart. It appeared as though Debbie and Foggy's old romance was rekindled, giving Matt the full attention of Karen for once. However, during the altercation, Daredevil knocked out the Cat-Man and he was apprehended. Cat-Man was then taken into police custody for questioning. When the Ape-Man later tried to eliminate his comrade to prevent him from talking, Daredevil attacked. Daredevil allowed the Ape-Man to think he was defeated and followed him back to his hideout. There he was shocked to learn that Debbie was in league with the Organizer. (Daredevil v1 #10)

Daredevil was spotted spying outside the animal men's hideout and was attacked. Daredevil fought them off, but unaware that the masked hero knew Debbie was on their side, left her tied up. Matt freed her in order to keep a better eye on her. In his civilian guise he and Foggy sat in on Cat-Man's confessional, learning that the Organizer wanted to ensure that Abner Jonas and his Reform Party won the election. Matt then tried to convince Foggy that there was something fishy about the entire thing. Although Foggy believed Matt was jealous of his party nomination, he agreed to test out his theory. The pair then paid a visit to the three heads of the Reform Party, Abner Jonas, Bernard Harris, and Milton Monroe. At the meeting, they both claimed to have evidence that proves the Organizers identity. When the Organizer's men later sacked the office of Nelson and Murdock to find this supposed evidence, it convinced Foggy that something was not on the up and up. Matt, Foggy, and Karen then spent their time trying to question the three heads of the Reform Party, with little to no success. Confronting Debbie as Daredevil, Matt learned how the Organizer had ordered the destruction of the mayor's residence. There he incapacitated the Frog-Man and stole his costume. Then tipping the police off on how to patch into the video cameras on the Frog-Man's costume that the Organizer used to witness their operations, he then exposed their plot, although the Organizer and his men fled. Convinced that the Organizer was one of the three men in charge of the Reform Party, Daredevil went to the campaign headquarters. There was a brief hostage situation with the animal men, before Abner Jonas was exposed as the Organizer. With his plot to have control of the Reform Party foiled, Abner and his minions were arrested, including Debbie. However after the fiasco was over and with Nelson and Murdock facing financial problems due to the fact they were focused on the Reform Party, Matt decided to leave the firm, thinking it was best for everyone, and said he was going on a vacation. (Daredevil v1 #11)

Deciding to tell Karen that he was really Daredevil, Matt's plans got thrown out of whack when the Nelson & Murdock law office was attacked by the Masked Marauder's gang who beat up Foggy and kidnapped Karen to draw out Daredevil who they suspected to be Matt Murdock. Learning of Karen's kidnapping, Matt went to the location where Karen was being held hostage and pretended to be a blind Matt pretending to be Daredevil coming to misguidedly save Karen. Getting captured as part of his plan, Daredevil freed himself when his captors were not looking and easily defeated them. After Karen was freed and Daredevil turned in the crooks, Matt decided not to tell Karen his true secret fearing the danger it may bring her someday. (Daredevil v1 #29)

Guardian Devil

Daredevil then set out to Europe to trace the figure who had had Foggy killed and employed a fake Daredevil. Much to his surprise, this was the Kingpin's wife Vanessa Fisk, who was dying after she killed her son and wanted revenge on Daredevil, who, along with Kingpin, she blamed for her situation. She offered to solve his secret identity problems once and for all if Matt would corrupt himself by fighting as a lawyer to free Kingpin from prison. Matt refused, but Vanessa had already set her plan in motion, having the FBI director who imprisoned Daredevil killed, leaving a suicide note saying he had framed Matt. Matt was able to return to his life in New York City, reunited with Foggy and Milla. Matt decided to honor Vanessa's last wish out of respect for the person she used to be before the Kingpin's influence corrupted her and had the charges against the Kingpin revoked, although he lost his U.S. citizenship and left the country. Vanessa died of her terminal illness, with Matt drawing out the trial so that Fisk couldn't attend the funeral as another act of revenge. (Daredevil v2 #93)

Shadowland

A drunken, blind and immortal sensei Master Izo targeted Murdock in his war against the Hand - and Murdock was forced to team up with his old enemy, the Kingpin, to take the Hand down. However, the price that was paid for this, is that this agreement combined with his ever-growing irrational behavior resulted in Foggy firing Matt from the firm when he found out about the arrangement. The Kingpin attempted to betray him, but Murdock beat him and his assassin, Lady Bullseye, and seized control of the Hand, with Izo's help on the condition that they are to never be involved with either Lady Bullseye or the Kingpin again. (Daredevil v1 #500)

Returning to New York, he proceeded with purchasing a new headquarters for himself to operate in the city. He then continued the trials of the Hand in order to determine his worthiness to be leader. This was interrupted by an attack from Bullseye who was assisted by Norman Osborn's H.A.M.M.E.R. forces. Daredevil came to pursue Bullseye who then revealed that he had planted explosives in a building block killing hundreds of people. The number of deaths along with the corruption headed by Director Osborn meant that there would be no justice. In response, Lord Daredevil decided to go out with the Hand to enforce his justice in Hell's Kitchen. (Dark Reign: The List - Daredevil v1 #1) This led to him deciding to embrace the role as Hand leader but for this the first trial was for him to sacrifice an innocent. Daredevil came to decide to sacrifice Master Izo who he led into a trap whereupon he seemingly killed the elderly ninja master. (Daredevil v1 #501)

Back to Hell's Kitchen

Master and apprentice in Daredevil v5 #1.

The drawbacks of Matt intertwining his personal life with his vigilante career became apparent soon afterwards. Matt had to stop practicing law due to Daredevil casting a shadow on his every action. After fending off an attack from Typhoid Mary in the privacy of their home, Matt and Kirsten moved back to New York City for a while. Unfortunately, Matt's deal for an autobiography jeopardized his reputation as a vigilante, with people believing he tracked down criminals to pad his book. (Daredevil v5 #17) When Matt and Kirsten returned to San Francisco, they came across two of the Purple Children fleeing from a mob controlled by their father, the Purple Man. Daredevil saved them and tracked down their father, who had created a device to enhance his powers to a global scale, using his children as batteries. (Daredevil v5 #18) Once Daredevil stopped Killgrave and freed the Purple Children, they decided to return the favor by employing their father's machine to hypnotically alter the memories of everyone in the world, erasing the knowledge that Daredevil and Matt Murdock were the same person. Foggy Nelson became Matt's only confidant after re-learning his secret identity shortly afterwards. For Kirsten's own safety, Matt broke up with her without telling her the truth, and he returned to Hell's Kitchen. (Daredevil v5 #20) The removal of the knowledge of his secret identity allowed Matt to be reinstated as a New York attorney. (Daredevil v5 #2) Living there again, Matt worked as an assistant district attorney, serving as a prosecuting attorney instead of a defense attorney. Around this time, he came to be approached by a young street level vigilante named Sam Chung who had taken on the name Blindspot. Murdock decided to take the young man on and became his mentor as they both worked together to keep the streets safe. (Daredevil v5 #1)

Matt decided to take advantage of his identity's secrecy having returned and set out to use his abilities and powers to find a way to integrate vigilantes and superheroes into the legal system. To this end, Matt first helped foil a plan of a group of terrorists named the Munition Militia, and then managed to testify in court as Daredevil without revealing his identity. (Daredevil v5 #21) This victory set a precedent to pave the way for legitimizing superheroes' involvement in the legal process. (Daredevil v5 #22) Wilson Fisk attempted to stop Murdock, pulling the strings behind expert lawyer Legal to issue an appeal. (Daredevil v5 #23) The legal battle took Matt to the Supreme Court of the United States, where he won the case, which effectively made legal the participation of superheroes with secret identities in the courtroom. (Daredevil v5 #25) In a turn of events, Wilson Fisk was elected mayor of New York not long afterwards, and began to work on reverting Murdock's progress in legitimizing superheroes. (Daredevil v1 #595) Fisk additionally offered Matt to be his deputy mayor in an effort to subvert him. (Daredevil v1 #596) Matt accepted in hopes of using Fisk's play to his own advantage. (Daredevil v1 #597)

Shortly afterwards, the city fell victim to an assault from The Hand in revenge for Blindspot having rejected the Beast. In the first minutes of the siege, Fisk was injured by ninja and fell into a critical condition, leading to Matt's appointment as mayor. (Daredevil v1 #601)

Matt's life was shaken up following a near-death experience after being hit by a truck while saving an unsuspecting pedestrian. (Daredevil v1 #609)

Devil's Reign

Daredevil in prison in Daredevil v6 #25.

In the aftermath, Matt continued his work as Daredevil but his weakened state caused him to overcompensate. This ultimately resulted in him accidentally killing a minor street thug named Leo when he unintentionally caused the man serious brain damage. (Daredevil v6 #1) Convinced that he was set up, Matt interrogated the doctor who had treated the thug and listened in secretly on Fisk, learning that both thought that he had killed the man. When returning to the crime scene to see if he had missed anything, Matt was confronted and shot by the newly transferred Detective Cole North. (Daredevil v6 #2) Matt managed to escape but was quickly surrounded due to his weakened state. After a fistfight, resulting in him getting beat up by North, he was saved by the Punisher. (Daredevil v6 #3) After learning from Castle about the Owl's operations, Matt tried to confront the enhanced henchman on his own. He was beaten up to unconsciousness due to his previous injuries but was saved by the Defenders. (Daredevil v6 #5) Confronted by Spider-Man about his recent failures, Matt decided to hang up his costume, starting to work as a parole officer. (Daredevil v6 #6) During this time, he met Mindy, a local bookstore owner Matt became infatuated with. During his work, Matt accepted a client without noticing he was Joe Carraro, the brother of Leo. When he did notice, he suffered a panic attack and went to church, trying to find an answer in God, by speaking with Sister Elizabeth about his recent troubles. (Daredevil v6 #7) Matt later accepted an invitation from Mindy to have dinner at her house, with her family and he soon discovered the woman was married to Tom Libris, son of Hell's Kitchen's mob boss Izzy Libris, who was also sitting at the table. Matt understood Mindy invited him to poke her husband and Izzy. He was then involved in a shooting inside Mindy and Tom's house, later finding out that a man dressed in a Daredevil mask was trying to assassinate the head of the Libris family. (Daredevil v6 #8) Matt's identity crisis kept on making his life difficult. After discussing the idea of God with Reed Richards, Matt found himself beating up a gang of criminals to save a young boy from their bad influence. Once again facing the possibility of becoming Daredevil, Matt reached out to Mindy, and the two shared an intimate moment inside the bookstore. (Daredevil v6 #9) Later, Matt went to the police precinct to see why his client, Joe, was in jail. At the same time, some agents tried to kill detective Cole North right there in the precinct, and Matt acted to stop everything, also having a brief confrontation with North. Getting out of the place, Matt was approached by Elektra, who offered him her help by training him. (Daredevil v6 #10)

After completing his training with Elektra, Matt was once again his former self. Now aiming at unraveling a deeper kind of criminal activity, Matt set his sights on discovering why the Hell's Kitchen's police precinct was corrupt and not acting to aid the citizens. (Daredevil v6 #13) He started out by contacting detective North, who confessed to Daredevil he was changing his thoughts about law and order. Then, with Elektra, Matt eavesdropped on some conversation inside the precinct, discovering that the order to stop any police activity in the Kitchen came from the state's governor. He also broke up from his relationship with Mindy, feeling the guilt of an affair with a married woman. (Daredevil v6 #14) Matt informed Foggy Nelson about his new operations against crime, and also told him that Joe Carraro had discovered he was Daredevil after his fight inside the police precinct. Later, partnering with Elektra, Matt uncovered the connection between governor Kettle and the Stromwyn family, as they were the ones responsible for the order to keep Hell's Kitchen's policemen inactive. (Daredevil v6 #15) Elektra, knowing that Wilson Fisk had recently had contacts with the Stromwyns, suggested to Devil to meet his former enemy, who was in the hospital but had nothing to say. Still, the Greek assassin had a way to strike at the richest family in the country: with the help of Devil and his powers, they were able to infiltrate the Stromwyn's server factory, stealing from them three billion dollars. Matthew, suspicious about Elektra, questioned her about the operation, finding out she'd kept one third of the sum for a 'personal project'. This prompted Matt to leave Elektra for good. (Daredevil v6 #16)

He then made his way to the church to find that Rhino was targeting the site and that Sister Elisabeth was actually Typhoid Mary. Regaining her persona, she attacked the Rhino to protect the church with Daredevil helping protect her where he convinced her to lure the supervillain from the scene. He then went to deal with Stilt-Man to save Detective North before dealing with Bullet along with Crossbones. It was then that Rhino was brought back where Daredevil helped knock out the villain as he deflected Bullseye's shots. In this time, Daredevil worked alongside Wilson Fisk as they helped defeat the Owl who came to arrested by the authorities. With the police at the scene, Mayor Fisk ordered for Daredevil to be arrested with the vigilante deciding to willingly surrender himself to the authorities. (Daredevil v6 #20)

Afraid that the people of Hell's Kitchen would not be safe with him gone, he was planning to go against the deal. However, Elektra showed up at court and whispered to him that she was the one that won the auction and that he could trust her to keep everyone safe. Hearing her words, and to the surprise of everyone present, Daredevil then pled guilty to the charge of second-degree manslaughter. (Daredevil v6 #24) Whilst in prison, he had an unauthorised visit from Elektra who was attempting to convince him to escape. She would ask him to join her as she planned to revive the Fist that was a ancient group that opposed the Hand but had been forgotten for millennia. However, Matthew refused at least until Elektra had proven her herself to be on the sight of the light. (Daredevil v6 #25) During his time in prison, Daredevil became acquainted with a man named Marcus, who believed that Daredevil's right to keep his mask on was unfair and that this privilege was also indicative that he would find freedom sooner than his full two-year sentence. His life in incarceration was not an easy one though, as the warden of the prison was the father of Mason Hollis who was a criminal he had stopped years before. (Daredevil v6 #26)

After serving his sentence, Daredevil came to confront Mayor Wilson Fisk where he wished the man a happy marriage. During another meeting, Fisk revealed that he had file containing Daredevil's secret identity but was unable to read it leading to the vigilante taunting the mayor. In anger, Fisk decided to push towards a ban on all superheroes operating in the city. (Devil's Reign v1 #1)

Red Fist Saga

Leader of the Fist in Daredevil v7 #9.

In the aftermath, he came to masquerade as his 'brother' Mike in order to meet with Butch Pharris. Butch had decided to take over his fathers criminal empire after Wilson Fisk had disappeared. Daredevil ultimately decided to threaten Butch alongside Spider-Man to warn him from following his fathers footsteps. Afterwards, he revealed his identity to Spider-Man thus restoring the Wall-Crawlers memory of their friendship. After renewing their old ties, the two decided to fight crime on the street for old times sake. Later, Matt decided to see Kirsty off as she was heading back home only to be confronted by his old school mate Robert 'Goldy' Goldman. He revealed that he knew Matt's secret identity and that he had always known with him being a 'guardian angel' for Murdock. In fact, he had powers and claimed that he had helped guide every tragedy in Daredevil's life in order for him to be a better hero with this being accordance to God's will. It was then that an explosion occurred on the train carrying Kirsty back home where it seemed that she was killed in the blast. (Daredevil v7 #1)

Overview

Personality and attributes

Operating as a vigilante, he came to take the name Daredevil which stemmed from a childhood name that the neighbourhood kids would give him as they bullied him for always reading books and not participating in physical activities. In that role, he came to be known as the Man Without Fear. (Daredevil v1 #1) After falling into darkness, he came to become the leader of the Hand where they called him Lord Daredevil. (Daredevil v1 #501)

As a young boy, Matthew was instilled with high morals by his father, Jack, who encouraged the boy to focus on his studies and not to play or fight with other kids. Matt took his father's lessons to heart and was thought to be an exemplary of good nature by figures of authority. Despite all this, Matt did have a mischievous side and on one occasion stole the baton of a police officer. Matt was incredibly selfless which led to him performing many heroic deeds in his life, such as saving a blind man from an oncoming truck, which lead to Matt's blindness. In the early stages of his disability Matt suffered increased frustration, feelings of helplessness, and self-loathing; however, due to training under Stick, Matt managed to conquer the struggles which boosted his confidence, and he eventually developed a fearless attitude. (Daredevil: The Man Without Fear v1 #1)

From a young age, his father had wanted him to study with this stemming from a promise he made to Matt's mother which was that their son did not grow up to be uneducated like Jack Murdock. His father had wanted Matt to become a lawyer or a doctor where he did his best to fulfil his father's dreams. (Daredevil v1 #1)

As a vigilante, he initially set about trying to get justice for his father after his death and hoped that he could rest in peace. As Daredevil, he has displayed a heavy sense of humor and snarky remarks in various life-threatening situations, especially early in his career. (Daredevil v1 #1) Daredevil was said to be unlike heroes such as Spider-Man but was an entirely different type of vigilante. It was said that criminals on the streets tended to fear him. (Daredevil v2 #57) Throughout his long tenure, however, his various trials have made Daredevil a grimmer and less light-hearted vigilante. (Daredevil v1 #350)

He looked up to his father and was proud of him with Matt seeing him as the greatest and wanting to be like him. (Daredevil v1 #1)

Murdock was later noted to had married Milla Donovan. (Daredevil v2 #57)

Powers and abilities

Radar sense in Daredevil v4 #1.

Wearing his armor in Daredevil: Black Armor v1 #1.

To fulfil his father's dream, he worked hard to become the top student in his class and forsook all sports and athletic activities. However, bullying from the neighbourhood children led to him secretly undergoing vigorous training at home. This only intensified following his accident where he underwent physical exercises to improve himself. (Daredevil v1 #1)

In law school, Murdock also had a very particular focus in U.S. Constitutional Law. (Daredevil v1 #2)

The files of Nick Fury would classify Daredevil as a power level 7. (Secret War: From the Files of Nick Fury v1 #1)

Originally, he was born an ordinary human being until he suffered an incident where he was hit by a van carrying radioactive material that blinded him. He came to wonder if the radioactive elements had resulted in all his senses becoming far more powerful to compensate for his blindness. (Daredevil v1 #1) Initially, he operated completely blind until he was taken under the tutelage of Stick who taught him to use his senses. (Daredevil: The Man Without Fear v1 #1)

His senses were said to operate at peak capacity allowing him to 'see' better than those with working eyes. His razor sharp senses meant that his hearing was so acute that he could tell someone was in a room just by hearing their heartbeat. From a person's footsteps he could determine their weight and identity of the person in question. (Daredevil v1 #1)

Murdock came to learn of another power he had which was the ability to hear a person's pulse rate. This allowing him to determine if a person was lying making him a living lie detector. (Daredevil v1 #1)

In addition, he never forgot an odor once he smelt it. In fact, he said that he could recognise any girl from their perfume or any guy through their hair tonic. (Daredevil v1 #1)

Furthermore, his fingers had become incredibly sensitive whereby he could 'read' the impressions left by ink on a page. He was able to 'see' colors on a fabric as each color had a different feel to them. Murdock was said to be capable of telling the number of bullets in a gun just by the weight of the barrel. (Daredevil v1 #1)

Finally, his sense of taste had become highly developed that he could tell exactly how many grains of salt were on a pretzel. (Daredevil v1 #1)

The most notable trait that Murdock had developed as a result of the accident was a form of built-in radar. It enabled him to walk anywhere safely without hitting any obstacle even though he was blind. (Daredevil v1 #1)

From a young age, Matt came to train under Stick who taught him to enhance and focus his senses to superhuman levels. (Daredevil: The Man Without Fear v1 #1)

He had a remarkable level of acrobatic skill which he used to help him in hand-to-hand fighting. (Daredevil v1 #1) His reflexes allowed him to catch a sai thrown by Bullseye. (Daredevil v1 #181) Daredevil was shown to had evaded the shots from multiple gunmen firing at point-blank range. (Daredevil v1 #233)

According to Nick Fury's intel files, Daredevil was classified as power level 7. (Secret War: From the Files of Nick Fury v1 #1)

In public, he carried with him a walking stick even though he did not need it but used it to maintain the illusion that he was completely blind. As Daredevil though, he decided to adapt the cane allowing him to unhinge it to hold a billy club that was the perfect all-purpose weapon. He was highly skilled in wielding the billy club that he could throw with a remarkable level of accuracy. Murdock was capable of using the stick in a hundred different ways such as a weapon to knock a person or throwing them to trip a fleeing foe. (Daredevil v1 #1)

During the War of the Realms, Murdock took the sword of the Asgardian Heimdall and thus was given godly attributes including his all-sight and the power to summon the Rainbow Bridge. (War of the Realms: War Scrolls v1 #1)

Out of respect to the man of Hell's Kitchen for holding the torch when an almighty could not, the Keeper of the Bifrost fashioned dense wooden eskrima out of the World Tree itself as a token of respect and thanks to the hero of Earth and for showing he was more worthy of divinity than most any supreme being had ever been before him. (War of the Realms Omega v1 #1)

Murdock can also make use of contacts in the form of the Catholic clergy giving him vital information regarding the movements of street gangs, the various mafia of the NYC area, pimps, and other elements of the criminal underworld in order to allow Matt to be more successful in battling the criminals of Hell's Kitchen. (Daredevil v1 #229)

Notes

• Daredevil was created by Stan Lee and Bill Everett where he made his first appearance in Daredevil v1 #1 (April, 1964).
• It was noted in an F.A.Q. that Jack Kirby had come up with the idea of Daredevil's billy club.

Alternate Versions

• In X-Universe v1 #1 (1995), Keeper Murdock appeared in the alternate reality of the Age of Apocalypse designated as Earth-295 in the Multiverse. He was a young boy when Apocalypse took over the world and was 8 years old when he was put to work on Apocalypse Island which was formerly Manhattan. Murdock came to be blinded in an accident involving saving a person from toxic chemicals which was responsible for giving him his enhanced senses. He would willingly take part in Mikhail Rasputin's Upstart Program where he became the first human to receive cybernetic enhancements to his body. Part of this involved a special visor allowing him to see in the infrared where he became a loyal servant of Rasputin.
• In Ultimate Marvel Team Up v1 #7 (2001), an alternate version of Daredevil appeared in the Ultimate Marvel reality designated as Earth-1610 in the Multiverse. His father was a boxer killed by the Kingpin Wilson Fisk when Jack would not throw a match. Later, after the Kingpin burns down Murdock's law offices, a crazed Daredevil breaks into Fisk's apartments and threatens to murder the comatose Vanessa Fisk, but was convinced not to by Spider-Man.
• In Marvel 1602 v1 #1 (2003), an alternate version of Daredevil appeared in the Marvel 1602 reality designated as Earth-311 in the Multiverse. Matthew Murdoch was a blind balladeer who was secretly an adventurer for hire called the Bard who charged reasonable excessive prices to anyone who had the money, for any job.
• In House of M v1 #5 (2005), an alternate version of Daredevil appeared in the House of M reality designated as Earth-58163 in the Multiverse. It was shown that he was romantically involved with his world's She-Hulk.
• In Edge of Spider-Verse v1 #2 (2014), Matthew Murdock appeared in the Spider-Gwen reality that was designated as Earth-65 in the Multiverse. Similar to the mainstream version, he was blinded in an accident and his father was killed when he won a match that cost the crime lord Silvermane a small fortune. By this point, Matt Murdock was trained by Stick who himself died fighting against Silvermane's allies in the Hand. This led to Murdock seeking out the Hand who took him in and trained him leading to him being a feared assassin and criminal who publicly operated as a lawyer that began to work for the Kingpin.
• In Old Man Hawkeye v1 #12 (2018), it was shown that Matt Murdock existed in the alternate reality of the Wastelands that was set on Earth-807128. He was shown to had survived the supervillain takeover of the world that killed most of the planet’s superheroes. In the 40 years since that time, he took the name of Stick and served as a Sensei to a group of disciples. Old Man Hawkeye after he became blind sought out the mysterious Sensei Stick to teach him to see now that he lost his eyesight with Matt agreeing to help him.

In other media

Television

• In Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends, Daredevil appeared in the setting of the animated television series in the episode "Attack of the Arachnoid" where he was voiced by actor Frank Welker.
• In Spider-Man, Daredevil appeared in the 1990s animated television series two part-episode "Framed" and "The Man Without Fear" where he was voiced by actor Edward Albert
• In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Daredevil made a number of appearances in the shared continuity setting:
  • In Daredevil, Matt Murdock made his first appearance in the live-action television series where he was portrayed by actor Charlie Cox. Matt Murdock was born in the mid-1980s to Maggie Grace, a nun, and Jack Murdock, a washed-up boxer. Shortly after Matt's birth, Maggie returned to the church after being unable to properly care for Matt with her Postpartum Depression and as a result, Matt was raised solely by his father. Jack consistently urged his young son to study hard and make something of himself, so Matt would not end up like him. When Jack returned from boxing matches, Matt would stitch his injuries. During one of these sessions, Jack allowed Matt to have a drink of scotch, to keep a steady hand. Matt stayed awake at night listening to sirens, trying to know what they were, creating stories for them. When he was nine years old, Murdock saved an elderly man from being hit by a RAND Oil & Chemicals truck, causing an accident. Hazardous chemicals from the flipped truck splashed on his face and came in contact with his eyes, and Murdock was blinded. The last sight he had was of his father trying to comfort him. He screamed in pain and fear when he realized he would never see again. He woke up in the hospital where he found he could hear every sound in the nearby area, which caused him pain. His father tried desperately to comfort him. He let his son touch his face so he could recognize that it was him, which seemed to calm him down.
  • In The Defenders, Matt Murdock appeared in the setting of the live-action television crossover series where he was once again portrayed by actor Charlie Cox.
• In She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, Daredevil appeared in the setting of the live-action television series set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe where he was once again portrayed by actor Charlie Cox.

Films

• In The Trial of the Incredible Hulk, Daredevil appeared in the setting of the 1989 NBC made-for-television live-action film where he was portrayed by actor Rex Smith.
• In Daredevil, Matt Murdock appeared in the live-action film where he was portrayed by actor Ben Affleck. As a child, young Matt Murdock was accidentally blinded by radioactive waste shortly after witnessing his father, washed-up boxer Jack "The Devil" Murdock, extorting money for local mob boss Eddie Fallon. Despite this, Matt's remaining senses were dramatically enhanced, giving him superhuman agility and sonar-like hearing. Feeling responsible for his son's accident, Jack is inspired to abandon his life of crime and recommit to his boxing career, leading to a dramatic comeback. Later, after Fallon reveals that he enabled Jack's comeback by bribing his previous opponents to let him win, he attempts to bribe Jack to throw his next match and has him murdered once he refused. Years later, an adult Matt works as an attorney in Hell's Kitchen with his friend Franklin "Foggy" Nelson, providing legal representation pro bono to clients whom he believes are actually innocent. By night, he fights crime as the costumed vigilante Daredevil. Matt falls in love with Elektra Natchios, a Greek-American woman skilled in martial arts, unaware that she is the daughter of Fisk's lieutenant Nikolas Natchios. Later, when Natchios attempts to end his relationship with Fisk, Fisk hires Bullseye, a hitman with preternatural aim, to kill him. Bullseye steals Daredevil's weaponized baton and impales Natchios with it, killing him and framing Daredevil. Afterward, Urich deduces that Matt is Daredevil after realizing that he disguises his baton as a white cane. Believing Daredevil to be responsible for her father's murder, Elektra attempts to take revenge by killing him. Meanwhile, Bullseye is assigned by Fisk to kill Elektra, who tracks Daredevil down and challenges him to a fight before incapacitating him by stabbing him through the shoulder. Daredevil protests that he did not kill her father, but Elektra doesn't listen until she forcibly unmasks him and realizes that he is Matt. Moments later, when Bullseye tracks Elektra down, Matt is forced to watch helplessly as Bullseye kills her. Wounded, Matt takes refuge in a church, but Bullseye ambushes him by exploiting his weakness to loud sound. When the police swarm the church, Bullseye reveals that Kingpin killed Matt's father, leaving behind a rose on his body as a calling card. Soon, Matt gains the upper hand and throws Bullseye from the bell tower after an NYPD ESU sniper shoots him through both hands, depriving him of his powerful aim.
• In Spider-Man: No Way Home, Matt Murdock appeared in the setting of the live-action film set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe where he was portrayed by actor Charlie Cox.

Video games

• In Marvel: Ultimate Alliance, Daredevil appeared as an unlockable playable character who was voiced by actor Cam Clarke.
• In Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2, Daredevil appeared as a playable character in the setting of the video game where he was voiced by actor Brian Bloom.
• In Marvel Heroes, Daredevil appeared as a playable character in the setting of the MMORPG video game where he was voiced by actor Brian Bloom
• In Marvel Contest of Champions, Daredevil appeared as a playable character in the setting of the mobile video game
• In Marvel: Future Fight, Daredevil appeared as a playable character in the setting of the mobile video game
• In Marvel Strike Force, Daredevil appeared as a playable character in the setting of the mobile video game.
• In Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order, Daredevil appeared as a playable character in the setting of the video game where he was voiced again by actor Brian Bloom.

Appearances

• Daredevil v1: (1964)
• Daredevil: The Man Without Fear v1:
• Daredevil v2:
• New Avengers v1:
• Daredevil v1:
• Dark Reign: The List - Daredevil v1:
• Defenders:
• Daredevil v6:
• Devil's Reign v1:

External Links

• Marvel Database Entry
• Comicvine Entry
• Wikipedia Entry

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