Daredevil (Marvel Comics)

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Daredevil (alter ego Matthew Murdock) is a fictional superhero in the Marvel Comics Universe. He was created by writer Stan Lee and artist Bill EverettComics historian and former Jack Kirby assistant Mark Evanier, investigating claims of Kirby's involvement in the creation of both Iron Man and Daredevil, interviewed Kirby and Everett on the subject, years before their deaths, and concluded [link] that, "in both cases, Jack had already drawn the covers of those issues and done some amount of design work. He ... seems to have participated in the design of Daredevil's first costume. ... Everett did tell me that Jack had come up with the idea of Daredevil's billy club. ... Jack, in effect, drew the first page of that first Daredevil story. In the rush to get that seriously late book to press, there wasn't time to complete Page One, so Stan had [production manager] Sol Brodsky slap together a paste-up that employed Kirby's cover drawing. ... Everett volunteered to me that Jack had 'helped him' though he wouldn't — or more likely, couldn't — elaborate on that. He just plain didn't remember it well, and in later years apparently gave others who asked a wide range of answers". Mavel editor-in-chief Joe Quesada later noted that when Everett turned in his first-issue pencils extremely late, Brodsky and Spider-Man artist Steve Ditko inked "a lot of backgrounds and secondary figures on the fly [and] cobbled the cover and the splash page together from Kirby's original concept drawing" [link]. in Daredevil Vol. 1, #1 (April 1964) and is notable as being among the few disabled superheroes. Blinded during his youth, his other four senses developed to compensate, and he obtained a sonar-like ability to perceive objects.

Although Daredevil had been home to the work of many comic-book legends — Jack Kirby, Wally Wood, John Romita Sr., and Gene Colan, among others — it was not until Frank Miller's entrance on the title in the late 1970s that Daredevil was regarded as either popular or influential. The introduction of drastic change, following Miller's example, became the title's hallmark; as writer Brian Michael Bendis described, "This is the book where the audience is built into expecting something unique. Every run on Daredevil has been a unique statement from that person and a lot of chances were taken" Comic Book Resources: CBR News - The Comic Wire (Jan. 25, 2006): ["Truth or Daredevil: Bendis Talks the End of His Daredevil Run"], by Dave Richards

Contents

Publication history

Volume 1: 1964 - 1998

Early years

Daredevil Vol. 1, #7 (April 1964). Wally Wood introduces the modern red costume.

Stan Lee's vision for the character found inspiration in such larger-than-life heroes as those of Alexandre Dumas, as evidenced by one of Daredevil's earliest nicknames, the "Scarlet Swashbuckler". The characterization, however, over time lost its roots and Daredevil devolved into a second-rate Spider-Man given their shared proclivity for acrobatics and banter.

Everett, in an interview conducted by Marvel writer-editor and Everett's one-time roommate Roy Thomas, in what the latter recalled as either "late 1969 or in 1970", said of Daredevil's creation five years earlier:

Daredevil's original costume as created by Everett — with input from Jack Kirby — was a combination of black, yellow, and red, 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 red costume in issue #7. Golden Age great Bob Powell (Sheena, Queen of the Jungle) penciled two issues over Wood layouts, with the exception of #11, which Wood inked over Powell's pencils.

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 inkerRomita, from Comic Book Artist #6 (Fall 1999) [link]: "I had inked an Avengers job for Stan, and I told him I just wanted to ink. I felt like I was burned out as a penciler after eight years of romance work. I didn't want to pencil any more; in fact, I couldn't work at home any more — I couldn't discipline myself to do it. He said, 'Okay,' but the first chance he had he shows me this Daredevil story somebody had started and he didn't like it, and he wanted somebody else to do it." Elaborating in Alter Ego #9 (July 2001) [link], he added, "Stan showed me Dick Ayers' splash page for a Daredevil. He asked me, "What would you do with this page?" I showed him on a tracing paper what I would do, and then he asked me to do a drawing of Daredevil the way I would do it. I did a big drawing of Daredevil ... just a big, tracing-paper drawing of Daredevil swinging. And Stan loved it.", but his brief stint on Daredevil proved to be a stepping-stone for his famed, years-long pencilling run on The Amazing Spider-Man. As Romita recalled, "What Stan Lee wanted was for me to do a two-part Daredevil story [#16-17, May-June 1966] with Spider-Man as a guest star, to see how I handled the character".Keefe Studios: http://www.keefestudios.com/studio/romita/interview.htm Interview: John Romita]; conducted 1980s, date n.a.

Daredevil Vol. 1, #47 (Dec. 1968). Cover art by Gene Colan (pencils) and George Klein (inks).

When Romita left to take over Amazing Spider-Man, Lee gave Daredevil to the character's first signature artist, Gene Colan, who, with issue #20 (Sept. 1966), began the pencilling stint for which he is best known. 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 Karen loves anyone other than Daredevil. When eventually Karen learns of Murdock's dual identity, the revelation proves too much for her and she leaves the firm and the comic, not to be seen again until the 1980s when she reappears as a woman struggling through a heroin addiction. Page throughout the 1960s Silver Age of comic books was an underwritten character little defined beyond her love for Murdock.

Black Widow and the Bay Area

Though it is hard to imagine a character who has become so tied to a particular geographical location moving anywhere else, Daredevil moves to San Francisco in the early 1970s. The series now features a double billing with Daredevil's girlfriend, the Black Widow, co-starring. The move does not last long: the Widow ends their relationship fearing that playing sidekick to Daredevil is causing her to lose her identity as a superheroine, and Murdock returns to Hell's Kitchen. The two remain intimate friends and occasional lovers.

During this time, the series was written by such writers as Gerry Conway, Steve Gerber, and Chris Claremont. Artists included Bob Brown and Don Heck. Among the highlights are the origins of Moondragon, Mandrill, and Nekra, as the wrap-up of the first Shanna the She-Devil storyline. Readers are also introduced to the Dark Messiah, Candace Nelson, the Sallis Papers and Death-Stalker, and Matt and Natasha grow apart; Natasha leaving San Francisco.

Frank Miller, the Kingpin and ninjas

Elektra dies — temporarily — in Daredevil Vol. 1, #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 archnemesis. 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 and not super-powers. The title still retained costumed antagonists — namely 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 Vol. 1, #164 (May 1980). It was one of Wood's final assignments before his death in 1981.

\"Born Again\"

Miller's noir take on the character continued after he left. However, successor Denny O'Neil, who had made similar changes to Batman in the 1970s, did not find the commercial success of his predecessor. In 1986 Miller returned to write the classic "" storyline (#227-233, Feb.-Aug. 1986), with artist David Mazzuchelli.

In Born Again, Karen Page returns as a heroin-addicted star of adult films. Desperate for a fix, she sells Daredevil's secret identity for a hit. The information makes it to the Kingpin, who uses it to try to destroy Murdock piece by piece: blowing up his house, ruining his reputation as a lawyer, and menacing his personal life. With his life in shambles, Murdock nearly goes insane. However, Miller ends the story on a positive note, with Murdock reuniting with the mother he thought dead and picking up the pieces of a damaged but not unsalvageable life.

Nocenti and Romita Jr.

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 penciler 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's run is also of note for introducing the popular antagonist Typhoid Mary, in issue #254.

The Man Without Fear

Miller returned once more to the title with a retelling of Daredevil's origin in the five-issue limited series (Oct. 1993 - Feb. 1994), titled after the Silver Age tagline of the series. Originally written as a screenplay for an optioned but unproduced Daredevil movie,#redirect , The Man without Fear focused on Murdock's relationship with his father Jack, his mentor Stick, and his collegiate love Elektra. The art was provided by penciller Romita Jr. and inker Williamson.

1990s

Daredevil left the spotlight in the mid-1990s, and the writing-art team of Dan Chichester (also known as D.G. Chichester) and Scott McDaniel was instructed to revamp the hero for the "grim and gritty" era. In the story arc "Fall from Grace", 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 take, 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 doppelganger).

Under writers Karl Kesel and then later Joe Kelly the book gained a lighter tone, with Daredevil returning to the wisecracking, more lighthearted hero depicted by earlier writers. Matt and Foggy (who now knows of Matt's identity as Daredevil) join a law firm run by Rosalind Sharpe (who is revealed to be Foggy's biological mother). Additionally, Karen Page returns to the title as a late-night talk radio host.

Volume 2: 1998 - Present

Marvel Knights and a \"Guardian Devil\"

Cover art for Daredevil Vol. 2, #1 (Nov. 1998). Art 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. Editors Joe Quesada and Jimmy Palmiotti were tapped to run the imprint, for which they considered Daredevil the flagship title. 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. "Guardian Devil" reintroduces religion as a driving force behind Murdock, an option instituted by Miller but rarely used thereafter. It also killed a supporting character extant since the title's 1964 premiere, sparking debate in the fan press about the effectiveness of killing a title's mainstay as a means of achieving literary gravitas.#redirect Finally, Smith's example paved the way for other screenwriters and novelists, including J. Michael Straczynski, Joss Whedon, Reginald Hudlin and Orson Scott Card to write comic books.

Interregnum

After "," Smith was succeeded by cult-favorite writer-artist David Mack, who contributed the seven-issue "Parts of a Hole". This arc introduces Maya Lopez, also known as Echo, a deaf martial artist who encounters Daredevil in a manner reminiscent of Frank Miller's original Elektra storyline in that Echo mistakenly believes Daredevil killed her father.

For the next arc, "Wake Up" (2001), Mack did the art while Brian Michael Bendis wrote the story, which follows reporter Ben Urich as he investigates the after-effects of a fight between Daredevil and a minor villain.

Mack continued to illustrate the covers for the following storyline, "Playing to the Camera" (2001) by Back to the Future screenwriter Bob Gale and artists Phil Winslade, and David Ross. For unknown reasons, the numbering of the Daredevil trade-paperback reprints ignores this arc.

Bendis and Maleev

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 noir style and that of pulp-magazine art of the 1920s and '30s.

In their first arc, "Underboss" (2001-2002), ambitious mobster Sammy Silke discovers that the Kingpin knows Daredevil is Matt Murdock yet has kept this secret. This anomaly enables Silke to enlist the Kingpin's captains and disgruntled son to stage a coup reminiscent of Julius Caesar. With the Kingpin thought dead, the group lays claim to the criminal empire of New York City. But then one by one, the co-conspirators are murdered on orders of Vanessa Fisk, the Kingpin’s wife. A terrified Silke strikes a plea with the FBI: His safety in exchange for Daredevil's identity. Within hours, Murdock's name is leaked to the press.

"Out" (2003) has Murdock dealing with his identity of Daredevil becoming public knowledge. He fights the newspaper who printed the Daredevil/Murdock story with a lawsuit and eventually wins. Because he is a lawyer in civilian life, and due to some of his actions in that role in relation to his life as Daredevil, Murdock has to combat the public notion of his double identity or risk disbarment and imprisonment. The stigma of a costumed hero still lingers over the blind lawyer, and he gives up crimefighting for a time.

"Lowlife" (2003) introduces the blind Milla Donovan, with whom Murdock has a relationship and eventually marries. Murdock, in quick succession, is taken into custody as a murder suspect, subjected to a new investigation by the FBI, and compelled to contend with a new street drug created by the Owl.

In "Hardcore" (2003), Murdock has to deal with a mostly healed and still Machiavellian Kingpin returning to New York. The Kingpin sends both Typhoid Mary and Bullseye after Matt to delay him. Typhoid Mary lights Matt on fire but is taken down by Luke Cage and Jessica Jones. Bullseye nearly kills Milla Donovan, but Daredevil stops him. Furious, Daredevil hunts the Kingpin down and beats him into submission. Standing over the Kingpin's prostrate form in a bar full of witnesses and with his mask off, Daredevil declares himself the new Kingpin.

Following this arc's climax with issue #50, writer-artist David Mack took over Daredevil for five issues, bringing back his character Maya Lopez, who struggles to come to terms with her post-Murdock life in the arc "Echo: Vision Quest" (2003-2004).

The next arc, "The King of Hell's Kitchen" (2004), explores the aftermath of Daredevil's assumption of the role of Kingpin. Daredevil becomes increasingly violent in his crime-fighting, prompting Peter Parker (Spider-Man) and other superhero friends to attempt an intervention. It is not until Murdock is nearly killed by the Yakuza that Ben Urich can confront him to explain that Daredevil's new taste for violence, his shunning of friends, and his sudden marriage are the product of a nervous breakdown brought on by unresolved feelings over the death of Karen Page. Donovan, in response, annulls the marriage.

The next arc, "The Widow", deals with Murdock's relationship with the Black Widow. The next, "Golden Age, encompasses several time periods to relate the story of one Alexander Bont, the Kingpin before Wilson Fisk. "Decalogue" is a semi-anthological arc built around a church group that shares stories ultimately overlapping about Daredevil and an apparent demon.

Bendis and Maleev's final story arc, "The Murdock Papers", depict the Kingpin manipulating the FBI, Daredevil, the Black Widow, and Elektra over nonexistent documents proving that Murdock is Daredevil. Despite help and entreaties by Luke Cage and Iron Fist, an unmasked Daredevil surrenders himself to the FBI. The arc ends with Murdock and Fisk in jail, and the FBI hoping the two will kill each other.

Brubaker and Lark

Writer Ed Brubaker and artist Michael Lark became the new creative team with Daredevil #82 (Feb. 2006), no longer under the Marvel Knights imprint. In their first arc, "The Devil in Cell-Block D", Murdock is helpless to stop the murder of Foggy Nelson in the prison's outer halls, and is eventually forced to team with killers Wilson Fisk and Bullseye in an effort to survive a riot. Meanwhile a mysterious new Daredevil appears in Murdock's stead and fights crime in Hell's Kitchen.

Fictional character biography

Origin

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

Irish-American Matthew Murdock was raised by single father and fading boxer "Battling Jack" Murdock in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of New York City. In the hopes of giving his son a better life than the one he led, the elder Murdock instilled in Matt the importance of education and non-violence. Matt, taunted by bullies who called the bookish youth "Daredevil" but unable to respond for fear of disappointing his father, vented his frustration and anger by working out in secret.

While saving a blind man from an oncoming truck, Matt was blinded by radioactive material. Though the act of heroism had robbed him of his sight, Murdock found the radioactive exposure had heightened his remaining senses beyond normal human thresholds, and had additionally given him a sixth "radar sense", as he termed it, that enabled him to detect the shape and location of objects around him. A mysterious man named Stick became the young Murdock's mentor, teaching him how to control his new abilities while honing the youth's natural aptitude in acrobatics and martial arts. Throughout his accident and recovery, Matt honored his father's wishes by excelling in his studies, ultimately enrolling in the Columbia University School of Law.There have been no fewer than three different accounts of Daredevil's origin. The first comes from Daredevil #1, in which Murdock attends the fictitious "State College" for, presumably, both his undergrad and law degrees. Frank Miller's Man Without Fear shows Murdock at Columbia University as an undergrad, followed by Harvard Law. Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale's Daredevil: Yellow tells yet another story, with Murdock attending Columbia Law School. An attempt to reconcile these inconsistencies was made in the Daredevil entry to the Marvel Handbook, with the idea put forth that Murdock had transferred twice, once as an undergrad and once as a law student. Other points in the origin of the character -- such as Murdock's age at the time of his accident, or his age at the time of his father's murder -- have also seen variability.

At university he roomed with Franklin "Foggy" Nelson, and the two developed into close friends. Murdock also met Elektra Natchios, the daughter of Greek diplomat Hugo Natchios. Matt found in her both an equal in martial arts and a kindred spirit, and quickly they fell in love.

At the age of 20, Elektra and her father were kidnapped by terrorists. Matt wore a mask for the first time as both he and Elektra fought her captors. In the mayhem that followed, a terrorist fell out of a window and the police, assuming the terrorists were defenestrating their hostages, opened fire. Hugo was shot and died in front of his daughter's eyes. An already troubled soul, Elektra broke Murdock's heart and left her life at Columbia behind, returning to the study of martial arts.

Back at home, Jack struggled and became an enforcer for the small-time crook and boxing manager, the Fixer. In exchange for Jack's services, the Fixer rigged a series of matches and provided 'Battling Jack' a late-life boxing renaissance, resulting in the once near-destitute fighter becoming a title contender. His beloved son in the crowd of the title fight, Jack ignored the Fixer's demands to take a dive and won by knockout. Doing his son proud proved costly; for his disobedience, the Fixer had him murdered.

Matt was devastated both by the loss of his father and the judicial system's failure to convict the men responsible. Mindful of the childhood promise Matt made to his father not to lead a violent life, he created a new identity to provide justice himself. Adorned in a yellow and black costume made from his father's boxing robes, renamed with the catch-phrase of his childhood derision, and using his superhuman abilities, Matt confronted the killers and avenged his father.

Nelson & Murdock

In spite of his grief, Matt continued with his studies and graduated at the top of his class. With financial help from Foggy's parents, Matt and Foggy opened their own law practice, Nelson & Murdock, and hired secretary-receptionist Karen Page. An unusual procession of clients then followed, with the Fantastic Four and the Sub-Mariner being among the first.

Before long, a triangle of unrequited love developed between Nelson, Page and Murdock, with Foggy unable to win Karen over and Matt unable to admit that Karen loved anyone other than Daredevil. Foggy's love and desperation were such that to impress Page he devised a plan to dress as Daredevil and pay costume-maker Melvin Potter to lose a mock fight. Things fell apart when Potter revealed himself to be the villain Gladiator, requiring the real Daredevil to save the day.

The issue of Matt's dual identity soon became a stumbling block. Karen and Foggy discover a letter from Spider-Man addressed to Murdock in which the former reveals his knowledge that Murdock is Daredevil. In order to divert this crisis, as well as the increasing speculation of why Matt and Daredevil were never in the same place at the same time, Matt created a third identity, that of "Mike Murdock", his fictitous (and poorly dressed) twin brother. Though Foggy would remain in the dark, Karen eventually unmasked Daredevil. The revelation proved too much for her, and she left the firm to pursue a career as an actress in Los Angeles.

Foggy later discovers that Matt is Daredevil, and after the initial shock and disbelief wear off, remains a true friend to Matt. When the tabloids expose Matt as Daredevil, Foggy fights the legal fight to save Matt. Foggy's close association and friendship (with Matt) makes him an ideal assassination target to get to Matt. The first time this happened was when the Kingpin hired Elektra to kill Foggy for revenge, but when Foggy recognized Elektra from college, he got a reprieve from death. The second time proves to be fatal, as a corrupt prison guard leads Foggy and Dakota North to a trap (after their visit with Matt) where inmates surround and stab Foggy to death.

Powers and abilities

While Daredevil is blind, his remaining senses are superhumanly acute. In lieu of his loss of sight, the combination of his senses leaves him with the ability to sense the outside world oft-times with razor sharpness and clarity. Working in synergy, they provide far more data than eyesight and hearing does in normal humans.

Beyond his four remaining senses, he has developed a sort of "radar-sense" that allows him to perceive the electromagnetic spectrum. His mind translates these waves into a 360° grid, providing him with three-dimensional impressions of the shapes of persons and objects within range.

Daredevil also possesses great agility, dexterity and reflexes, allowing for acrobatic and gymnastic feats comparable to those of Olympic athletes. He fights using a hybridized martial art form that combines American boxing with the Japanese arts of ninjutsu, judo and aikijujutsu.

Billy Club

Daredevil carries a billy club of his own design, disguised as a cane in civilian garb. Although it usually resembles a blind man’s cane, it is actually a two-part weapon. One part is a straightforward fighting baton, while the other contains a spring-loaded grappling hook. The weapon itself is constructed out of lightweight high-strength aircraft aluminum, while the grappling hook’s internal mechanism is hand-turned from high-carbon tool steel. The hook is attached to a tension-ratcheted inertial spool by thirty feet of aircraft control cable. This spool uses the force of unreeling to tension a spring so that it can rewind. The cable is neatly wound and unwound by a self-contained shuttle. The grappling hook is propelled by a compressed-spring action, which is mechanically released. The hook itself can be straightened to form a second fighting baton by a tensioned-spring action, which is mechanically released. Weighted with steel, Daredevil’s billy club is a devastating weapon. One strike can shatter bone, and the club itself can be thrown with great accuracy and force, rebounding off of multiple targets and striking opponents. It is Daredevil’s primary weapon, and far more effective than a fist in a fight.

Characters

Love interests

Detail from the cover to the Daredevil Visionaries: Frank Miller Vol. 2 TPB. Art by Miller.

Within Marvel Comics, few characters feature 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 superpowered, highly-dangerous love interests. Either way, most end up killed, maimed, or traumatized. Arguably, Daredevil is a character plagued with Girlfriend-In-Refrigerator syndrome.

Karen Page — prodigal love of Murdock's life. Overwhelmed by the discovery of Daredevil's secret identity, she quit her job as his law firm's secretary-receptionist and devolved into a strung-out adult film actress. When her drug habit nearly destroyed Murdock's life in "Born Again", she cleaned up and started their relationship anew. Shortly thereafter, she was killed by Bullseye when she jumped in front of an attack meant for Daredevil and died in his arms.

Elektra — daughter of a Greek diplomat and college love of Murdock who became an assassin for the Kingpin. She was impaled on her own sais by Bullseye when conflicting emotions prevented her from carrying out the hit of Foggy Nelson, and bled to death in Murdock's arms on the steps of his brownstone. She was later brought back from death supernaturally by the Hand.

Heather Glenn — became an alcoholic and committed suicide.

Glorianna O'Breen — killed by Victor Krueller, a henchman of the Kingpin.

Milla Donovan — Murdock's on-again / off-again 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.

Typhoid Mary — Kingpin assassin with a dissociative identity disorder, who Daredevil inadvertently created in one of his first adventures, before he was even in costume. Was traumatized when Daredevil had sex with her and then, while she was sleeping, forged insane asylum entrance papers and notified the authorities of where she lived. Therapy having subdued her murderous personality, she was working as an actress on a daytime soap opera until the Kingpin violently reminded her of who she was.

Echo — daughter of a trusted associate of the Kingpin. She was tricked into trying to kill Daredevil when told he had murdered her father. Though she later learned she was betrayed by the Kingpin, the ordeal kept her from maintaining a relationship with Daredevil. The character, created by David Mack is now a member of the Avengers under the alias of Ronin.

Black Widow — non-superpowered, costumed agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. Daredevil and the Black Widow had a relatively normal relationship, one that saw Murdock briefly relocate from Hell's Kitchen to move in with her in San Francisco. Though no longer a couple, they have remained friends and occasional lovers.

Recurring characters

For a more complete list, see .

Foggy Nelson — best friend, college roommate, sidekick, and law partner.

Ben Urich — a reporter for the Daily Bugle who had independently discovered Murdock's identity as Daredevil. Becoming a close friend of Murdock's, Urich voluntarily quashed this information. In mid-2000s comics, their friendship became estranged.

Spider-Man — Daredevil's closest professional friend and confidante.

Jessica Jones — former superhero turned private investigator and significant other of Luke Cage. Has acted as bodyguard for Matt Murdock in his civilian life.

Luke Cage — hero for hire with unbreakable skin, has become one of Daredevil's closest friends in recent years. Matt's public denial of his life as Daredevil has strained their relationship.

Gladiator — former villain turned close friend and bodyguard. In mid-2000s comics, he was coerced into betraying Daredevil.

Stick — an old and blind martial arts master who served as Murdock's mentor following his childhood accident.

Turk - an egotistical and well-informed street level flunky for the Kingpin who frequently acts as Daredevil's unwilling informant for many criminal activities. Semi-skilled fighter with more nerve and ambition than brains.

Enemies

For a more complete list, see .

Cover for Daredevil Vol. 1 #170 (May 1981). Art by Frank Miller and Klaus Janson.

Bullseye — Daredevil's deadliest nemesis, a frequent assassin for the Kingpin. He killed the first two loves of Murdock's life: Elektra and Karen Page.

Kingpin— criminal mastermind and Daredevil's archnemesis. He has long known Daredevil's secret identity, and used this information to try to destroy Murdock's life.

Electro — rarely a Daredevil foe. He was the first supervillain Daredevil faced (Daredevil Vol. 1, #2)

Mysterio — primarily a Spider-Man foe. He orchestrated the events behind Guardian Devil, and committed suicide before Daredevil could exact revenge.

The Owl — the first supervillain created in Daredevil, introduced in Vol. 1, #3. In mid-2000s issues, he made a play for the Kingpin's territory by manufacturing the drug Mutant Growth Hormone.

Purple Man — has the ability to make people do what he wants due to his radiated skin. Daredevil's willpower and blindness have always kept him outside of the Purple Man's influence.

Stilt-Man — Armored villain who towers on gigantic, hydraulically operated "stilts" (actually telescoping leg armor). The original Stilt Man retired, with his successor having debuted in Marvel Team-Up #TK.

The Punisher — Murderous vigilante whose methods often bring him at odds with Daredevil, especially in regards to their views towards the justice system.

Other Daredevils

The Golden Age Daredevil, a character published by Lev Gleason Publications, who wore a red-and-blue costume and fought crime with boomerangs. The alternate universe version of Matt Murdock in the Mutant X series wore a similar costume as an homage.

The Marvel 2099 version of Daredevil made an appearance in 2099 Apocalypse.

Matthew Murdoch, a blind balladeer, was a character in writer Neil Gaiman's series 1602.

Marvel Knights Daredevil 2099 is a descendant of Wilson Fisk.

The Marvel Mangaverse features a version of Daredevil called the Devil Hunter. His costume is patterned after an oni, or Japanese demon.

Keeper Murdock is Daredevil's counterpart in The Age of Apocalypse. He serves Mikhail Rasputin, one of the Horsemen of Apocalypse, out of gratitude for granting him his powers, ignoring that his powers actually came from exposure to a toxic substance.

In the "House of M" crossover, Matt Murdock / Daredevil is romantically involved with She-Hulk

In the Earth X series, a completely invulnerable stuntman goes by the name of Daredevil as well as donning a costume that looks somewhere between that of Daredevil and Evel Knievel. After having been rumored to be Deadpool, Mr. Immortal, Night Raven, Yi Yang, Madcap, and the resurrected Foggy Nelson, he was ultimately revealed to be Mephisto. Matt Murdock and Elektra arranged to disappear from the superheroic life; Elektra apparently slew Daredevil, but Murdock had swapped souls with Bullseye, who was there to witness the fight. The two lover then retired to the Mediterranean. Daredevil, Elektra, Bullseye, Kingpin, and most of his enemies and allies all died at some point; Murdock became the judge of the Avenging Host, possessing omniscience and passing out shards of the Cosmic Cube to allow others to live out their heavens. Later, Murdock sensed that the Kingpin has returned to the Land of the Dead to manipulate those remaining, and followed, staying behind to guide others to Paradise, starting with Vanessa Fisk. Foggy Nelson, after Matt's disapperance, studied over Murdock's notes and was able to put the Kingpin in prison. He dressed as Daredevil in order to deliver his evidence, fueling speculation that he was actually Daredevil. At some point after delivering his evidence, he died.

In the Ultimate Marvel universe, two limited edition comic book series have been released. The first Ultimate Daredevil and Elektra is written by Greg Rucka and the second is Ultimate Elektra by Mike Carey. In the Ultimate books, which look at the beginnings of Daredevil, Murdock is a law student at Columbia University. While little of his past has been revealed, he resembles the Marvel 616 Daredevil in both powers and looks. An older Daredevil, meanwhile, has appeared in the Ultimate Marvel Team-up book and the Blockbuster storyline in Ultimate X-Men where he appears to assist Wolverine and Spider-Man.

In the alernate timeline pusblished under the MC2 imprint, Daredevil was murdered by the Kingpin while saving the life of Kaine. Kaine takes his body and attempts to revive it. Kaine summons the demon Zarathos in attempt to aid Reilly Tyne, the son of Ben Reilly, with disastrous results. The powers of the demon, combined with the spirit of the hero, are infused into Tyne, who becomes the hero Darkdevil. Darkdevil apparently has access to all of Daredevil's knowledge, including the secret identity of Spider-Man. At one point, when Darkdevil is injured, it is revealed that Murdock's consciousness is still around.

In the Elseworlds Daredevil/Batman crossover books, Matt Murdock is shown to have once been friends with Harvey Dent in law school. Dent would, of course, become the criminal Two-Face, a fact Daredevil would use to his advange in talking Two-Face out of his criminal plans in that issue. In the second book of the series, Daredevil would prove to have an immunity to the Scarecrow's fear toxin.

First mentioned in Exiles #12, an alternate version of Daredevil had been forced to join Weapon X, a group of alternate reality hopping people forced to repair broken realities, but in order to do so had to kill a lot of people. Ending up badly injured off-panel, Daredevil was replaced by the Spider, an alternate version of Spider-Man. However, it was later revealed that Daredevil showed some life signs. When the Exiles returned the both surviving and fallen recruits back to their home realities, Daredevil from Earth-181 was revealed to be an assassin working for his reality's Kingpin.

Costumes

Image:Dd_32.jpg|Daredevil's alter ego, Matthew Murdock. Cover to Daredevil vol. 2 #32.
Art by Alex Maleev. Image:Dd_yellow.jpg|Daredevil's first costume, designed by Bill Everett with input from Jack Kirby.
Art by Tim Sale. Image:Dd_hc.jpg|Daredevil's red costume, designed by Wally Wood.
Art by Alex Maleev. Image:Daredevilfallfromgrace.gif|Daredevil's darker redesign from the Fall From Grace arc.
Design and art by Scott McDaniel.

Other media adaptations

Film

Daredevil movie poster.

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 negative reviews curtailed its momentum. A director's cut DVD was released in November 2004 with nearly 30 minutes of additional footage, including an entire subplot involving a murder trial led to the capture of Wilson Fisk as The Kingpin. Although it was much better received than the theatrical film and sold well, it still wasn't enough to warrant a sequel with 20th Century Fox, although Marvel Studios head Avi Arad has said that he'd make another Daredevil film should the movie rights revert back to Marvel Studios.

Garner reprised her Daredevil movie role in the solo sequel Elektra (2005), co-starring Goran Visnjic and directed by Rob Bowman. The $43 million film bombed at the box-office, barely making over $24 million dollars domestically.

Television

Daredevil first appeared on television in his civilian identity on Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends episode Attack Of The Arachnoid. Matt Murdock is Spider-Man's lawyer, due to Zoltan committing crimes as Spidey. Daredevil makes a brief appearance in a flashback cameo narrated by Stan Lee. Matt Murdock is voiced by Frank Welker in the episode. Daredevil made his first live action appearance in the Trial of the Incredible Hulk (1989), a TV movie that was essentially a pilot for Daredevil, played by Rex Smith. The Kingpin was played by John Rhys Davies. The character would also appear as a guest in the various Marvel superhero animated series from that time, as well as on the Spider-Man and Fantastic Four series of the mid-1990s. Bill Smitrovich provided Daredevil's voice on the Fantastic Four animated series while Edward Albert provided Daredevil's voice on the Spider-Man animated series.

Video games

Daredevil had a small appearance in the Spider-Man video game (where Dee Bradley Baker provided his voice) released for Sony PlayStation, N64, Sega Dreamcast and PC. He has a title role in a game for the GameBoy Advance. His Matt Murdock alias also makes a cameo as the lawyer of Frank Castle in the 2005 Punisher video game. He also stars as a character in the 2005 video game . An official game tie-in with the movie was originally planned, but got scrapped during the development stage.

Bibliography

Main

Daredevil Vol. 1: #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)
Daredevil # ½ (17-page comic published within Wizard #96, Aug. 1999)
Daredevil: Ninja #1-3 (Dec. 2000 - May 2001)
Daredevil: Yellow #1-6 (Aug. 2001 - Jan. 2002)
Daredevil: The Target (per indicia), also known as (per cover) #1 (Jan. 2003)
Daredevil: Father #1-5 (June 2004, Oct. 2005 - Jan. 2006)
Daredevil: 2099 #1 (Nov. 2004)
Daredevil: Redemption #1-6 (April-Aug. 2005; no cover dates; #1-2 both indicia-dated April 2005)
Captain Universe / Daredevil #1 (Jan. 2006)

Marvel teamups

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)

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 limited series have received the following 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

Footnotes

References

[Official webpage at Marvel.com]
[Daredevil bio at MarvelDirectory]
[Man Without Fear fan site]
[The religion of Matt Murdock, Daredevil]
["Secrets, lies — and lawyers!"], Douglas Wolk, Salon.com, January 5, 2006. Retrospective of the Bendis/Maleev run.

External links

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