Daredevil (Marvel Comics character)

For other uses, see Daredevil (comics).

Daredevil
Promotional art for Daredevil vol. 2, #100 (Oct. 2007) by Lee Bermejo
Publication information
Publisher	Marvel Comics
First appearance	Daredevil #1 (April 1964)
Created by	Stan Lee Bill Everett
In-story information
Alter ego	Matthew Michael "Matt" Murdock
Team affiliations	S.H.I.E.L.D. Defenders "Marvel Knights"
Notable aliases	Michael "Mike" Murdock
Abilities	Superhuman senses and echolocation Expert acrobat Skilled Martial artist

Daredevil is a fictional character, a comic book superhero in the

. 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).

Daredevil is notable as being among the few superheroes with a disability, being blinded as a youth in a radioactive accident that also drastically heightened his remaining senses and gave him a "radar-sense" allowing him to perceive his surroundings. His public identity is Matt Murdock, a successful attorney-at-law.

Although Daredevil had been home to the work of many legendary comic-book artists — Everett, Kirby, Wally Wood, John Romita, Sr., and Gene Colan, among others — it is Frank Miller's influential tenure on the title in the late 1970s and early 1980s that is best remembered, cementing the character as a popular and individual part of the Marvel Universe. Daredevil has also been adapted into various other media including a live-action film released in 2003.

Publication history

Volume 1: 1964 - 1998

Daredevil's original costume was a combination of black, yellow and red, reminiscent of acrobat tights, and went through minor revisions in issues #2 through #4 by EC Comics artist Joe Orlando. Fellow acclaimed EC veteran Wally Wood penciled #5-8, introducing the modern, completely red costume in issue #7. Golden Age great Bob Powell (Sheena, Queen of the Jungle) penciled two issues over Wood layouts, and they then swapped for #11, which Wood inked over Powell's pencils.

Daredevil's first costume, from Daredevil #1 (April 1964). Splash-page art by Jack Kirby (penciler) and Bill Everett (inker)..

Issue #12 began a brief run by Jack Kirby (layouts) and John Romita, Sr. It was Romita's return to superhero penciling after a decade of working exclusively as a romance-comic artist for DC. Romita had felt he no longer wanted to pencil, in favor of being solely an inker.

When Romita left to take over The Amazing Spider-Man, Lee gave Daredevil to the character's first signature artist, Gene Colan, who began with issue #20 (Sept. 1966). Colan pencilled all but three issues through #100 (June 1973), plus the 1967 annual, followed by ten issues sprinkled from 1974-79. (He would return again, an established legend, for an eight-issue run in 1997). Among the notable plot developments during this period were Matt Murdock's panicky creation of a "twin brother", the "sighted" and devil-may-care Mike Murdock, in #25 (Feb. 1967), whom Karen Page and Foggy Nelson are led to believe is Daredevil; "Mike's" death in #41 (June 1968); and Matt revealing his Daredevil identity to Karen Page in #57 (Oct. 1969).

Much like in The Amazing Spider-Man — and in what was already an established hallmark of Marvel Comics storytelling — interpersonal drama was as central to the series as action and adventure. A triangle of unrequited love develops between Foggy Nelson, Karen Page and Murdock, with Nelson unable to win over Page and Matt unable to admit that Page loves anyone other than Daredevil. When the revelation of Murdock's dual identity proves too much for Page, she leaves the firm and the comic.

In the 1970s the title featured a double billing, co-starring Daredevil's girlfriend, the Black Widow. During this time, the series' writers included Gerry Conway, Steve Gerber and Chris Claremont. Artists included Bob Brown and Don Heck.

File:Dd181.png

Daredevil #181 (April 1982). Cover art by Frank Miller and Klaus Janson.

The modern definition of Daredevil began in 1979 with Frank Miller's entrance on the title. Miller's first contributions were as an artist, where he imbued a new dynamism and a drastically different visual style. The series' tone became that of noir with Hell's Kitchen itself playing a more prominent role.

With issue #168, Miller additionally became the series' writer, and the comic underwent a drastic metamorphosis. The most significant change was the introduction of Spider-Man villain Kingpin as Daredevil's new arch-nemesis. Until that point, Daredevil's enemies were primarily, though not exclusively, costumed villains. The Kingpin was a departure in that although he possessed extraordinary size, strength and fighting ability, his villainy came from his ruthless brilliance in running a criminal empire, rather than superpowers. The title still retained costumed antagonists — notably Bullseye and Elektra — but found its central theme to be one more grounded in reality: organized crime.

Miller also introduced ninjas into the Daredevil canon, bringing a greater focus on the martial arts aspect of Daredevil's fighting skills, and introducing the characters Stick and the Hand. This was a drastic change to a character once considered a swashbuckler. The focus of a ninja's control of the inner self served as a counterbalance to the emerging themes of anger and torment.

Comics-artist legend Wally Wood, following kidney failure and the loss of vision in one eye, returned to the character he helped define, inking Miller's cover of Daredevil #164 (May 1980). It was one of Wood's final assignments before his death in 1981.

Miller's noir take on the character continued, even after he left (in 1983, after issue #191). However, successor Dennis O'Neil did not find the commercial success of his predecessor. In late 1985, Miller returned to the series, co-writing #226 with O'Neil, then writing the acclaimed "Daredevil: Born Again" storyline in #227-233 (Feb.-Aug. 1986), with artist David Mazzuchelli.

A round-robin of creators contributed in the year that followed Born Again: writers Mark Gruenwald, Danny Fingeroth, Steve Englehart (under the pseudonym "John Harkness") and Ann Nocenti, and pencilers Steve Ditko, Barry Windsor-Smith, Louis Williams, Sal Buscema, Todd McFarlane, Keith Pollard,and Chuck Patton. Longshot co-creator Nocenti, who'd written #236, became the regular writer for a four-and-a-quarter year run of all but two issues from #238-291 (Jan. 1987 - April 1991). John Romita, Jr. joined as penciller from #250-282 (Jan. 1988 - Jul. 1990), and was generally inked by Al Williamson. The team specifically addressed societal issues, with Murdock, now running a non-profit urban legal center, confronting sexism, racism, and nuclear proliferation while fighting supervillains. Nocenti introduced the popular antagonist Typhoid Mary in issue #254.

Under writers Karl Kesel and later Joe Kelly, the book gained a lighter tone, with Daredevil returning to the lighthearted, wisecracking hero depicted by earlier writers. Matt and Foggy (who now knows of Matt's dual identities) join a law firm run by Foggy's mother, Rosalind Sharpe.

Volume 2

The death of Karen Page. Promotional art for Daredevil Visionaries: Kevin Smith by Joe Quesada and Jimmy Palmiotti.

In 1998, Daredevil's numbering was rebooted, with the title "cancelled" and revived a month later as part of the Marvel Knights imprint. Joe Quesada drew the new series, written by filmmaker Kevin Smith. Its first eight-issue story arc, "Guardian Devil" depicts Daredevil struggling to protect a child whom he is told could either be the Messiah or the Anti-Christ. Murdock experiences a crisis of faith exacerbated by the discovery that Karen Page has AIDS (later revealed to be a hoax), and her subsequent death at Bullseye's hands.

After "Guardian Devil", Smith was succeeded by writer-artist David Mack, who contributed the seven-issue "Parts of a Hole" (#9-15). This arc introduces Maya Lopez, also known as Echo, a deaf martial artist. Mack brought indie-comic colleague Brian Michael Bendis to Marvel for the following arc, "Wake Up" (#16-19), which follows reporter Ben Urich as he investigates the aftereffects of a fight between Daredevil and an obscure old villain called Leapfrog. Following Mack and Bendis were Back to the Future screenwriter Bob Gale and artists Phil Winslade and David Ross for the story "Playing to the Camera". Mack continued to contribute covers.

Issue #26 (Dec. 2001) brought back Brian Michael Bendis, working this time with artist Alex Maleev, for a four-year-run that became one of the series' most acclaimed. Maleev's harsh and grainy look is in contrast to Quesada's more cartoony lines, and distinctively reads like a marriage of Frank Miller's film noir style and the pulp-magazine art of the 1920s and '30s. Developments in this run included the introduction of Milla Donovan, the outing of Murdock's secret identity to the press, the reemergence of the Kingpin, and Daredevil's surrender to the FBI. Writer Ed Brubaker and artist Michael Lark became the new creative team with Daredevil #82 (Feb. 2006), no longer under the Marvel Knights imprint.

Fictional character biography

Early life

Daredevil #47 (Dec. 1968). Cover art by Gene Colan (pencils) and George Klein (inks).

Irish-American Matthew Murdock is raised by single father and fading boxer "Battling Jack" Murdock after his mother, presumably a nun named Maggie, left both Jack and Matthew in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of New York City. Jack instills in Matt the importance of education and non-violence with the aim of seeing his son become a better man than himself. Though Jack's intentions are noble, Matt is left unprepared to handle the bullying he received at school, and is branded with the sarcastic nickname, "Daredevil". Matt vents his frustration and anger by training in secret.

In the course of saving a blind man from the path of an oncoming truck, Matt is blinded by a radioactive substance that falls from the vehicle. Though the act of heroism robs him of sight, the radioactive exposure heightens his remaining senses beyond normal human thresholds, enabling him to detect the shape and location of objects around him. A mysterious man, Stick, becomes his mentor, and teaches him to control his new abilities while honing his natural aptitude in acrobatics and martial arts. Stick, also blind, teaches Matt how to form a mental image of the objects around him, and Matt develops a "radar sense" to make up for his sight. Still in school, Matt continues to honor his father's wishes by excelling in his studies, and ultimately enrolls in the Columbia School of Law.

Back in Hell's Kitchen, Jack struggles and becomes an enforcer for small-time crook and boxing manager, the Fixer. In exchange for his services, the Fixer rigs a series of matches and provides "Battling Jack" a late-life boxing renaissance, resulting in the once near-destitute fighter becoming a title contender. On the night of the title fight against "Crusher" Creel, the future Absorbing Man, with his son in the crowd, Jack ignores the Fixer's demands to take a dive and wins by knockout. For his disobedience, the Fixer has him murdered.

In college, Matt meets and falls in love with Elektra Natchios, the daughter of a Greek diplomat. When Elektra and her father are kidnapped by terrorists, Matt dons a mask for the first time and fights to save the two. In the mayhem that follows, Elektra's father is accidentally shot and killed by a SWAT team member. Overcome with grief, Elektra breaks Murdock's heart by leaving America behind and returning to the study of martial arts.

Matt is devastated by the loss of his father and the judicial system's failure to convict the men responsible. Mindful of the childhood promise he made to his father not to lead a violent life, Matt dons a new identity for providing justice. Adorned in a yellow and black costume made from his father's boxing robes, renamed with the moniker of his childhood derision, and using his superhuman abilities, Matt confronts the killers and avenges his father as the superhero Daredevil.

Daredevil: Yellow is an epistolary take on the origin story, using letters written to Karen Page after her death. Here Page believes she is in love with both Daredevil and Murdock, and Nelson with Karen Page, resulting in a silent rivalry between the two men. The supervillains the Owl and the Purple Man are the antagonists. In this story, Daredevil credits Page with coining the phrase "The Man without Fear", and she also suggest to Daredevil he wear red instead of black and yellow.

Superhero

File:DDY3cover lg.jpg

Promotional art for Daredevil: Yellow, by Tim Sale: Murdock and Nelson founding their firm.

After establishing his law firm with his best friend and college roommate Franklin "Foggy" Nelson and secretary Karen Page, Daredevil embarks on a series of colorful adventures involving such villains as the Owl, Stilt-Man, the Gladiator, and the Enforcers. Daredevil's early exploits were often large, swashbuckling adventures, and sub-plots involved romantic triangles between Matt, Karen and Foggy and cases of mistaken identity. He also meets Spider-Man during this time.

Daredevil moves to San Francisco for a time to live with the spy and super-heroine the Black Widow, and enters into a romantic relationship with her but she soon ends the relationship, fearing that playing "sidekick" to Daredevil is sublimating her identity. Murdock returns to Hell's Kitchen. The two remain intimate friends and occasional lovers.

Daredevil encounters the assassin Bullseye for the first time, and the two battle each other. Eventually, Daredevil's secret identity is deduced by the reporter Ben Urich. Daredevil encounters the Kingpin, who has hired his old flame Elektra (now returned to New York as a ninja mercenary) as an assassin, and Daredevil battles her. He returns to his former mentor Stick for aid. Bullseye then murders Elektra in a fight to determine the better killer. Taking revenge, Daredevil drops Bullseye from a clothesline high above a street, but Bullseye is later given an adamantium spine by Japanese villain Lord Darkwind. Daredevil allies with the Punisher against drug pushers. Daredevil battles the Hand, and Elektra is briefly resurrected. He encounters Wolverine, shortly before the suicide of Matt's girlfriend, Heather Glenn. During Secret Wars II, Daredevil's sight is temporarily restored by the Beyonder.

Karen Page eventually returns as a heroin-addicted star of adult films, who sells Daredevil's secret identity for drug money. The Kingpin uses this information to destroy Murdock piece by piece: blowing up his house, ruining his reputation as a lawyer, getting him disbarred, menacing his personal life and nearly driving him insane. Matt suffers a nervous breakdown. Miller ends the story on a positive note, with Murdock reuniting with Karen Page as his sometime lover, and the mother he thought dead, now a nun, and resuming a less complicated life in Hell's Kitchen. Daredevil then allies with Captain America against the deluded government super-soldier, Nuke. Daredevil is also attacked by Ultron, who was acting on Dr. Doom's orders. He is almost beaten, but Ultron eventually destroys itself as a result of having all of it's previous forms running at once.

After a while, Daredevil meets Typhoid. He battles her, and at the same time romances her as Matt Murdock. He is transported to Hell by Mephisto, and is forced to endure physical and psychological torture, however he manages to resist Mephisto's attempts at corruption.

However, Daredevil's secret identity becomes public knowledge. Forced to fake his own death and change his uniform to an armored "razor costume", Murdock undergoes one of his numerous breakdowns. The change does not last, and Daredevil soon returns to his traditional red costume, while Murdock finds a way to convince the world that he is not, in fact, secretly Daredevil (courtesy of a deus ex machina doppelgänger). Daredevil is a pussy.

Daredevil encounters the supervillain Mysterio, who is dying of cancer from overexposure to his primary weapon, a mist. Mysterio orchestrates events so that Daredevil is convinced he is involved in the saving of a reborn baby Jesus, leading to a battle between Daredevil and Bullseye that ends with the death of Karen Page.

Identity revealed and eventual Breakdown

Ambitious mobster Sammy Silke orchestrates a coup against the Kingpin, leading to violent revenge by Vanessa Fisk, the Kingpin’s wife. Silke, in exchange for protection, gives Daredevil's identity to the FBI, which makes it public in the Daily Globe. Murdock responds by vigorous denials and a libel lawsuit against the newspaper. While the world ponders whether the respected attorney has made a mockery of the justice system with many past trials involving Daredevil he hires Luke Cage and Jessica Jones as bodyguards. In other developments, client Hector Ayala, the superhero White Tiger, is shot and killed by police after Murdock loses a manslaughter case in which Ayala was innocent. During this period, Daredevil was invited to join the New Avengers after aiding the team in stopping a riot at a supervillain prison, but refused the offer because he didn't want to affect their reputations in the public eye, although he did suggest his ex-girlfriend Echo as an alternative member when they required someone with in-depth knowledge on the Hand and Wolverine was otherwise occupied.

Murdock meets and romances the blind Milla Donovan, and battles efforts by the Owl to take Fisk's place as Kingpin by marketing the drug MGH (Mutant Growth Hormone). Daredevil discovers that the Kingpin, thought dead, has recovered from the coup's attempt on his life and after a violent confrontation that sends his nemesis to the hospital, Daredevil declares himself the kingpin of Hell's Kitchen.

A year later, the increasingly violent and antisocial Daredevil has married Donovan and also won his case against the Daily Globe, resulting in a multimillion dollar settlement he reinvests into the community. His reporter friend Ben Urich suggests he's suffered a nervous breakdown brought on by unresolved feelings over the death of Karen Page. Donovan, in response, annuls the marriage.

Iron Fist as Daredevil

File:Ddif.jpg

frame

Imprisoned by the FBI through the machinations of the Kingpin, Murdock cannot stop the apparent murder of Foggy Nelson at Ryker's, while a mysterious new Daredevil appears in Hell's Kitchen. Murdock escapes with the Punisher during a prison riot and discovers the ersatz Daredevil to be his friend, Hero for Hire Danny Rand, the superhero Iron Fist. Rand is unwittingly employed by a mysterious figure who has been manipulating Daredevil. Unbeknownst to Murdock, Nelson is in the Witness Protection Program.

Traveling to Europe, Murdock learns the Kingpin's wife, Vanessa Fisk, is behind both Nelson's attack and the substitute Daredevil. Ill and dying, she has the FBI agent in charge of the Murdock case killed, planting a fake suicide note saying he had framed Murdock. Matt reunites with Foggy and Milla in New York, and feels obliged to have the Kingpin's charges dropped. The Kingpin, U.S. citizenship revoked, is forced to leave the country. While Murdock is away, Rand, filling-in as Daredevil during the events of the Superhero Registration "Civil War", is captured and imprisoned for not registering.. Rand would later escape and join The Secret Avengers in the final battle..

Murdock back in Hell's Kitchen

Once again, supervillains intend to fill the void in the criminal empire left by the Kingpin. Firstly, Larry Cranston resurfaces as Mister Fear, with the Enforcers at his side, providing the criminals of Hell's Kitchen a drug that causes the user to become psychotic and completely unafraid of death. In an attempt to make Daredevil's life miserable, Cranston also gives the drug to Milla Donovan, Murdock's ex-wife with whom he has reconciled. Daredevil has also come into conflict with the crime empire of The Hood.

Powers, abilities, and equipment

Daredevil's four remaining senses are heightened far beyond human levels, due to exposure to radiation. Although Murdock is blind, he can "see" by means of his "radar sense". This radar sense allows him sense the proximity of objects and persons around him, which allows him to react to attacks and launch his own attacks much faster than normal humans. This also enables him to dodge most ranged and close combat attacks with reliability. Daredevil's radar sense, combined with his super hearing enable him to instantly map the trajectory of a projectile (i.e., bullet or arrow) enabling him to dodge attacks with relative ease. He can also detect pulse fluctuations which serve as early warnings to physical attacks.

His sense of touch is sensitive enough to detect the faint impressions of ink on paper, allowing him to read by touch. He is able to feel minute changes in temperature and pressure due to body heat and air disturbance. His sensitivity to heat allows him to sense the temperature of people and objects in order to determine whether a person is living or dead and, if dead, for how long.

Daredevil's sense of smell is enhanced enough to distinguish individuals by their natural odors, and remember and identify them no matter how they attempt to mask their scent, as well as track that individual scent through a crowd of people. He can also determine the ingredients of food and drink down to concentrations of 20 milligrams by their scent. His sense of taste is sharp enough to enable him to detect the number of grains of salt on a pretzel.

Daredevil's enhanced sense of hearing enables him to detect acoustic pressure changes that ordinary humans cannot. Daredevil can often hear gunshots in time to avoid them, if the shooter is far enough away. He can hear human voices through soundproofed walls and the steady rhythm of a heartbeat from several feet away. Daredevil's sense of hearing makes him constantly aware of his own heartbeat, blood circulation, breathing, physical movements, etc. This skill is often employed by Murdock to serve as a lie-detector for his career as an attorney and as Daredevil. Other superheroes have sought Daredevil's aid at times for the expressed purpose of using him as a lie-detector. Extremely loud noises (or other extreme forms of sensory input, including visual) cause Daredevil considerably more distress than the average person; beyond a certain size, crowds of people cause too many sensory impressions for him to sort through without great difficulty.

Daredevil possesses superhumanly acute powers of concentration, allowing him to sift through his sensory input and concentrate on any one specific stimulus to the extent of the exclusion of all others.

Daredevil's senses grant him a superhuman level of kinesthetic awareness, which greatly enhances his fighting skills. Daredevil has extensive knowledge of pressure points, due to his training and radar sense. Due to his training by Stick he uses ninja stealth/vanishing and has control of his chi, to his own self training. Daredevil is a master of a unique martial art from a blend of ninjutsu, aiki-jujutsu, judo, gymnastics, and American-style boxing. Although Wolverine and Captain America are considered the top fighters in the Marvel Comics Universe, Daredevil could easily be considered the third best, rivaling even Iron Fist and Shang-Chi, and indeed he has fought Wolverine, Black Panther, Task Master, and Sabretooth to a standstill in single combat, even impaling Wolverine with a sword when the mutant had been brainwashed by HYDRA. He has even defeated Spider-Man when they disagreed over the fate of the Sin-Eater, although Daredevil felt dirty for doing it. Daredevil is also a very intelligent fighter, in the sense that he often uses his wits to overcome opponents with superior power, such as Electro, Klaw, and the Absorbing Man, who he tricked into absorbing a diamond and subsequently using his heightened senses to pick out the 'weak point' in the diamond.

Daredevil is a superb athlete and gymnast, noted by his creators as being the best in the Marvel Universe, possessing extraordinary agility, endurance, skill and balance. Because a person's sense of balance is linked with their sense of hearing (similar to the way that taste is linked with the sense of smell), Daredevil's superhuman hearing also grants him superhuman balance. He has been known to run across and even jump up and down on hydro wires. This 'super balance' enhances Daredevil's acrobatic skills beyond even what a highly skilled but sighted athlete would possess.

Daredevil's signature weapon is his specially designed billy club, which he created. Disguised as a blind man's cane in civilian garb, it is a versatile, multi-purpose weapon that contains thirty feet of aircraft control cable connected to a case-hardened steel grapnel. Internal mechanisms allow the cable to be neatly wound and unwound, while a powerful spring launches the grapnel. The handle can be straightened for use when throwing. The club can also be split into two parts, one of which is a fighting baton, the other of which ends in a curved hook. Daredevil has extreme accuracy when throwing his club, and can hit multiple enemies with ricochets.

As Matt Murdock, Daredevil is also a highly skilled criminal defense attorney with an extensive knowledge of the American legal system, even going so far as to defend some of his former adversaries in court. As he believes very strongly in the justice system, he has gone so far as to defend criminal murderers against other superheroes who would kill them for their crimes, battling Wolverine and the Punisher and winning on both occasions.

Characters

Love interests

File:Ddelektra.png

Daredevil and Elektra. Detail from of Daredevil Visionaries: Frank Miller Vol. 2. Cover art by Miller.

Within Marvel Comics, few characters endure a love life as convoluted and tortured as Daredevil's. His girlfriends fall roughly into two groups: ordinary women who suffer great pain at his side; and super-powered, highly dangerous love interests. Either way, most end up killed, maimed or traumatized, a narrative aspect some media critics refer to as "Women in Refrigerators" syndrome.

• Karen Page — Once his law firm's secretary-receptionist, she devolved into a heroin-addicted pornographic actress. She later turns her life around and gets a respectable job but not long after she is killed by Bullseye.
• Black Widow — Soviet defector, costumed agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.
• Heather Glenn — Became an alcoholic and committed suicide.
• Elektra Natchios — Daughter of a Greek diplomat and college love of Murdock who became an assassin for the Kingpin. Murdered by Bullseye, she was later supernaturally resurrected by the Hand.
• Glorianna O'Breen — Irish Photographer. Niece of Debbie Harris, Foggy Nelson's ex-wife. Her father was killed by the Gael, and Daredevil rescues her from being his new victim. After breaking her relationship with Matt due to his lack of commitment, she will eventually bond with Foggy, who offers her a shoulder to cry on. She later works as a photographer for the Daily Bugle, accompanying Ben Urich on diverse assignments. She was killed by Victor Krueller, a henchman of the Kingpin, while investigating the circumstances around Matt Murdock's "death" (he had faked his demise and was actually living under a new identity)
• Typhoid Mary — Kingpin assassin with a dissociative identity disorder and the power of pyrokinesis and telekinesis.
• Echo — Daughter of a trusted associate of the Kingpin, later a member of the Avengers under the alias of Ronin.
• Milla Donovan — Murdock's wife in mid-2000s issues. She left him when she discovered their marriage might be a symptom of his nervous breakdown, and in late 2005 attempted to reconcile.

Recurring characters

• Luke Cage — A hero for hire with unbreakable skin who has been an occasional bodyguard for Matt Murdock.
• Iron Fist - A master martial artist, once a Hero for Hire alongside with Luke Cage. He has occasionally helped Daredevil and at one point took on the role of Daredevil.
• Jessica Jones — Former superhero turned private investigator, wife of Luke Cage. Acts at times as bodyguard for Matt Murdock in his civilian life.
• Sister Maggie — His long-estranged mother who is a nun. She has rarely appeared in the comics.
• Spider-Man — Daredevil's closest friend in the superhero community.
• Franklin "Foggy" Nelson — Matt Murdock's best friend, college roommate, sidekick and law partner.
• Karen Page - Receptionist in for Matt Murdock in Silver Age stories and would later become one of his notable romances.
• Stick — An old and blind ninja master who served as Murdock's mentor following Murdock's childhood accident.
• Turk — A street-level Kingpin flunky who frequently acts as Daredevil's unwilling informant and comic relief.
• Ben Urich — A reporter for the Daily Bugle who discovered Daredevil's identity and eventually became his friend.
• Dakota North — A private investigator that works for Nelson & Murdock law firm.

Enemies

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Daredevil #170 (May 1981), with the Kingpin. Cover art by Frank Miller & Klaus Janson.

• Blackheart - Primarily a rival of Ghost Rider. Nevertheless the son of Mephisto first appeared in Daredevil #270 (Sept. 1989)
• Bullseye — Daredevil's deadliest enemy, a frequent assassin for the Kingpin. He killed the first two loves of Murdock's life: Elektra and Karen Page.
• Bushwacker - An assassin whose right arm can be turned into a machine gun. Also an enemy of the Punisher.
• Crusher II - A bantamweight boxer who was made into a heavyweight by a coroner named Dr. Jakkelburr who recreated the Crusher Formula after studying/treating the corpse of the original Crusher.
• Death-Stalker - Formerly the Exterminator, Philip Wallace Sterling was exiled to a shadowy dimension after Daredevil destroyed his signature weapon, the "T-Ray". He has since returned.
• Electro — Primarily a Spider-Man foe, he was nevertheless the first supervillain Daredevil faced (Daredevil #2, June 1964).
• Gladiator — Former costume designer Melvin Potter. Has super strength, armor, and deadly wrist blades. Villain of Daredevil who later become Matt's friend and bodyguard.
• Jester - A former actor who uses adapted toys, such as bludgeoning yo-yos.
• Kingpin— Criminal mastermind and Daredevil's arch-nemesis. He has long known Daredevil's secret identity, and used this information to try to destroy Murdock's life.
• Kirigi - A ninja assassin, resurrected by The Hand. Opponent of both the Chaste and two of Stick's former pupils, Daredevil and Elektra Natchios.
• Leap-Frog - A frog-themed supervillain
• Mephisto - Daredevil fought this demon on different occasions
• Mister Fear - Villain of Daredevil who uses "fear gas" to instill fear to his victims. Somewhat similar to Scarecrow of the Batman comics.
• Mr. Hyde - Mad scientist who developed a serum that would turn him into a rampaging monster.
• The Owl — The first supervillain created in Daredevil, introduced in #3 (Aug. 1964).
• The Punisher — Vigilante Frank Castle, one of Daredevil's most prolific antagonists and at times reluctant ally.
• Purple Man — Has the ability to make people do what he wants due to his radiated skin. Daredevil's willpower and blindness have kept him outside of Purple Man's influence.
• Stilt-Man — Armored villain who towers on gigantic, hydraulically operated "stilts" (actually telescoping leg armor).

Other versions

Main article: Alternate versions of Daredevil

Parodies

• Personality Comics' Spoof Comics Presents #5 (Oct. 1992) parodied Daredevil, the Man Without Fear, as Daredame, Woman Without a Brassiere. In the 16-page "The Origin of Daredame", a radioactive isotope hits Pat Paddock, daughter of mud wrestler Joltin' Jackie Paddock, in the chest while she saves a man crossing the street. Her bust enlarges hugely and develops a radar sense.
• Alan Moore, Mike Collins and Mark Farmer parodied Frank Miller's Daredevil stories in "Grit!", a short story in The Daredevils #8.
• Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird parodied various aspects of Daredevil in their Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic series.
• The Toyfare magazine comic strip "Twisted Toyfare Theater", which uses photos of posed action figures portrays Daredevil as completely blind and seemingly lacking his radar sense as he bumbles his way into comical situations, such as mistakenly going to a supervillains', rather than a superheroes', poker game.
• The film 'Jay and Silent Bob Strikes Back' includes a clip of the shooting of an outdoor set where Daredevil is knocked down by the security guards. Kevin Smith, writer for DD in 1999, plays the part of Silent Bob.
• Matt Murdock also makes a brief cameo appearance in the Top Cow/Marvel crossover "Unholy Alliance".

In other media

Television

• Daredevil first appeared on television in his civilian identity as Spider-Man's lawyer, Matt Murdock (voiced by Frank Welker), in the "Attack of the Arachnoid" episode of the 1981-83 Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends animated TV series. Daredevil appears in a flashback cameo narrated by Stan Lee.

• Daredevil's first live-action appearance was in the 1989 TV movie The Trial of the Incredible Hulk, in which he was played by Rex Smith. The Kingpin was played by John Rhys Davies. This film also marks Stan Lee's first cameo in a Marvel Comic's adaptation, where he plays a juror during a dream sequence.

• The character appeared as a guest in the various Marvel superhero animated series. Bill Smitrovich provided Daredevil's voice in the 1990s Fantastic Four animated series, while Edward Albert voiced Daredevil on the Spider-Man animated series.

• A child is dressed as Daredevil in the X-Men Animated Series episode "Bloodlines".

Film

Daredevil movie poster.

Daredevil's earliest appearance in a theatrical movie was a cameo in Kevin Smith's Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001), in which the starring characters run through a movie lot where an actor in a Daredevil costume has an action scene in the background. The DVD includes a longer Daredevil scene. Kevin Smith had previously written for Daredevil.

In February 2003, 20th Century Fox released Daredevil, a feature film starring Ben Affleck, Jennifer Garner, Colin Farrell and Michael Clarke Duncan, and directed by Mark Steven Johnson. While opening strongly and eventually surpassing $100 million in ticket sales, poor word-of-mouth and mixed reviews curtailed its momentum.

A director's cut DVD was released November 2004 with nearly 30 minutes of additional footage, including a subplot involving a murder trial that led to the capture of Kingpin Wilson Fisk. Several appearing scenes in the theatrical release were missing from or altered in the director's cut. Missing scenes include Murdock and Elektra's love scene, and scenes set inside a church confessional. A scene featuring Bullseye that was placed after the credits in the theatrical version was integrated into the movie in the director's cut.

Matt Murdock also appeared on a deleted dream sequence of the movie's spin-off Elektra, featured on the DVD release.

Video games

File:MUADD.JPG

Daredevil as he appears in Marvel: Ultimate Alliance.

• Daredevil had a cameo appearance in Spider-Man: Web of Fire for the Sega 32X and the 2000 Spider-Man video game (voiced by Dee Bradley Baker) released for PlayStation, N64, Dreamcast and PC.
• He has the title role in a game for the Game Boy Advance based on the 2003 movie.
• Daredevil: The Man Without Fear was a 3D title in development for the Xbox and PlayStation2, canceled in 2004.
• His Matt Murdock alias has a cameo as the lawyer of Frank Castle in the 2005 Punisher video game. References to Daredevil are also made throughout the game, such as Kingpin's sercurity guards stating that Daredevil had never killed any of them before.
• He also stars as a character in the 2005 video game Marvel Nemesis: Rise of the Imperfects alongside other Marvel characters. He was voiced by David Kayne (who also voiced Iron Man for the game).
• Daredevil appears as an unlockable character (also by collecting five action figures of this hero through the game) in Marvel: Ultimate Alliance voiced by Cam Clarke. A simulation disk has Daredevil protecting Elektra from Bullseye on the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier. His classic, original, armored, and Marvel Knight costumes are available. Daredevil has special dialogue with Black Widow, Blade and Bullseye.

Toys

• Daredevil has appeared in the Marvel Legends toy line. In series 3, he was a chase figure and was based on the movie Ben Affleck version. He is one of the figures in the Urban Legends box set along with Spider-Man, Elektra and the Punisher. He appeared in the spin off series Face-Off (with an unmasked variant) along with the Kingpin.
• The "Spider-Man Classics" toy line, which was a precursor to Marvel Legends, also included a Daredevil figure, clad in his traditional red costume. A very hard to find (and sometimes quite expensive) variant of DD in his original yellow and black garb was also released in the same series.
• The Marvel Legends Showdown 1/18th scale line also featured Daredevil figures in both his red uniform and a chase version in his yellow-and-black uniform.

Bibliography

File:Daredevil hc 10.jpg

Promotional art for Daredevil vol. 2, #62 (Sept. 2004), by Alex Maleev.

Main

• Daredevil #1-380 (April 1964 - Oct. 1998)
• Daredevil Vol. 2: #1- (Nov. 1998- ) Note: With #22, began official dual-numbering with original series, as #22 / 402, etc.
• Daredevil Special #1 (Sept. 1967)
• Daredevil Special #2 (Feb. 1971; reprints)
• Daredevil Special #3 (Jan. 1972; reprints)
• Daredevil Annual #4 (1976)
• Daredevil Annual #4 (1989) Note: mislabeled #4, rather than #5, both on cover and in indicia
• Daredevil Annual #6-10 (1990-1994)
• Daredevil / Deadpool '97 Annual (1997)

One-shots and limited series

• Giant-Size Daredevil #1 (1975)
• Daredevil / Black Widow: Abattoir (July 1993 graphic novel)
• Daredevil: The Man Without Fear #1-5 (Oct. 1993 - Feb. 1994) by Frank Miller and John Romita, Jr.
• Daredevil #1/2 (17-page comic published within Wizard #96, Aug. 1999)
• Daredevil: Ninja #1-3 (Dec. 2000 - May 2001) by Brian Michael Bendis
• Daredevil: Yellow #1-6 (Aug. 2001 - Jan. 2002) by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale
• Daredevil: The Target (per indicia), also known as Daredevil/Bullseye: The Target (per cover) #1 (Jan. 2003) by Kevin Smith and Glenn Fabry
• Daredevil: Father #1-6 (June 2004, Oct. 2005 - Jan. 2006) by Joe Quesada
• Daredevil: 2099 #1 (Nov. 2004) by Robert Kirkman
• Daredevil: Redemption #1-6 (April-Aug. 2005; no cover dates; #1-2 both indicia-dated April 2005) by David Hine and Michael Gaydos
• Captain Universe / Daredevil #1 (Jan. 2006)

Team-ups

• Spider-Man and Daredevil Special Edition #1 (March 1984; reprints)
• Daredevil and the Punisher: Child's Play #1 (1988; reprints)
• Daredevil and the Punisher (1994)
• Spider-Man / Daredevil #1 (Oct. 2002)
• Daredevil / Spider-Man #1-4 (Jan.-April 2001)
• Daredevil vs. Punisher: Means and Ends #1-6 (Sept. 2005 - Jan. 2006; no cover dates; #1-2 both indicia-dated Sept. 2005) by David Lapham

Company crossovers

• Daredevil / Batman (per indicia), also known as Daredevil and Batman (per cover) #1 (Jan. 1997)
• Shi / Daredevil #1 (Jan. 1997)
• Daredevil / Shi #1 (Feb. 1997)

Other

• The Daredevils #1-11 (month n.a., 1982 - Nov. 1983) Marvel UK series, mostly reprint)
• Daredevil vs. Vapora #1 (1993)

Free health-and-safety comic sponsored by Gas Appliance Manufacturers Association & Consumer Product Safety Commission

• Marvels Comics: Daredevil #1 (July 2000)

Awards

• Daredevil: The Man Without Fear: 1992 Comics Buyer's Guide Fan Award — Favorite Limited Comic-Book Series
• Daredevil: Yellow: 2001 Comics Buyer's Guide Fan Award — Favorite Limited Comic-Book Series

References

• Grand Comics Database
• Official webpage at Marvel.com
• Man Without Fear fan site

External links

• Newsarama 05-24-2007: "Team Talk: Daredevil: Ed Brubaker (interview)]
• "Secrets, lies — and lawyers!", Douglas Wolk, Salon.com, January 5, 2006. Retrospective of the Bendis/Maleev run.
• Marvel Toonzone: Daredevil
• Daredevil cover gallery
• http://marvel.com/universe/Daredevil_%28Matthew_Murdock%29