Daredevil (Marvel Comics character)

Daredevil
Promotional art for Daredevil vol. 2, #65
(September 2004).
Art by Greg Land.
Publication information
PublisherMarvel Comics
First appearanceDaredevil #1
(April 1964)
Created byStan Lee (writer)
Bill Everett (artist)
In-story information
Alter egoMatthew Michael Murdock
SpeciesHuman mutate
Place of originHell's Kitchen, New York City
Team affiliationsAvengers
New Avengers
Defenders
Marvel Knights
The Chaste
The Hand
PartnershipsElektra
Black Widow
Notable aliasesMan Without Fear[1]
Jack Batlin[2]
Mike Murdock[3]
Scarlet Swashbuckler[4]
God Without Fear[5]
Abilities
  • Superhuman agility, reflexes, stamina, senses, coordination, and balance
  • Echolocative radar sense
  • Master martial artist, hand-to-hand combatant, and stick fighter
  • Expertise in criminology, criminal law, and police procedures
  • Utilizes billy club with multi-purpose functions
  • Expert acrobat and gymnast

Daredevil is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Bill Everett, with an unspecified amount of input from Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in Daredevil #1 (April 1964).[6] Writer/artist Frank Miller's influential tenure on the title in the early 1980s cemented the character as a popular and influential part of the Marvel Universe. Daredevil is commonly known by such epithets as "Hornhead",[7] "The Man Without Fear",[8] and "The Devil of Hell's Kitchen".[9]

Daredevil is the alias of Matthew Michael "Matt" Murdock, a blind lawyer. His origins stem from a childhood chemical accident that gave him special abilities. While growing up in the historically gritty or crime-ridden working class Irish-American neighborhood of Hell's Kitchen in New York City, Matt Murdock is blinded by a radioactive substance that falls from an out-of-control truck after he pushes a man out of the path of the oncoming vehicle. While he can no longer see, his exposure to the radioactive material heightens his remaining senses beyond normal human ability, and gives him a "radar sense." His father, a boxer named Jack Murdock, is a single man raising his now blind son, who despite his rough upbringing, unconditionally loves his son and tries to teach him to form a better life for himself. Jack is later killed by gangsters after refusing to throw a fight, leaving Matt an orphan. To protect himself, Matt began training to hone his physical abilities and superhuman senses under the tutelage of a mysterious blind stranger named Stick, eventually becoming a highly skilled and expert martial artist.

Some years later, after graduating from law school with high grades, Matt seeks out the criminal element in Hell's Kitchen and starts his crime-fighting activities. Matt targets the local gangsters who murdered his father and succeeds in bringing them to justice. Eventually, donning a costumed attire modeled after a devil, Matt took up a dual life of fighting against the criminal underworld in New York City as the masked vigilante Daredevil, which put him in conflict with many super-villains, including his arch-enemies Bullseye and the Kingpin.[10] He also becomes a skilled and respected lawyer after graduating from Columbia Law School with his best friend and roommate, Franklin "Foggy" Nelson, with whom he becomes law partners, forming the law firm Nelson & Murdock.

Daredevil has since appeared in various forms of media, including several animated series, video games and merchandise. The character was first portrayed in live action by Rex Smith in the 1989 television film The Trial of the Incredible Hulk, and then by Ben Affleck in the 2003 film Daredevil. Charlie Cox portrays the character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) media franchise, appearing thus far in the Marvel Television series Daredevil (2015–2018), the miniseries The Defenders (2017), the Marvel Studios film Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) and the Disney+ television series She-Hulk: Attorney at Law (2022),[11] and Echo (2024), and will return in Daredevil: Born Again (2025).[12]

  1. ^ Daredevil #1 (April, 1964)
  2. ^ Daredevil #327 (April, 1984)
  3. ^ Daredevil #25 (February, 1967)
  4. ^ Daredevil #69 (October, 1970)
  5. ^ War of the Realms #3. Marvel Comics.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference thejackfaq4 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ "'Man Without Fear': Daredevil in Transition". Marvel Entertainment. Retrieved December 9, 2021.
  8. ^ Rezvan-Mojarrad, Sohrab (2002). "Daredevil". The Superhero Dictionary. Archived from the original on November 13, 2013. Retrieved May 3, 2009.
  9. ^ Cavanaugh, Patrick (January 8, 2016). "Return to Hell's Kitchen in Exclusive Marvel's Daredevil Poster & Photos". Marvel Comics. Archived from the original on January 13, 2016. Retrieved June 28, 2016.
  10. ^ Lee, Stan (w), Everett, Bill (p), Ditko, Steve (i). "The Origin of Daredevil" Daredevil, no. 1 (April 1964). Marvel Comics.
  11. ^ Lacson, Therese (July 26, 2022). "'She-Hulk': Charlie Cox's Daredevil Confirmed for Series By Filmmakers". Collider. Retrieved August 1, 2022.
  12. ^ Paige, Rachel (May 17, 2022). "'Echo': Alaqua Cox Returns to the MCU as Maya Lopez in First-Look Image". Marvel.com. Archived from the original on May 17, 2022. Retrieved May 17, 2022.