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Daredevil (Marvel Comics)
Encyclopedia
Daredevil is a fiction
al character
, a superhero
in comic books published by Marvel Comics
. The character was created by writer
-editor
Stan Lee
and artist
Bill Everett
, with an unspecified amount of input from Jack Kirby
, and first appeared in Daredevil #1 (April 1964).
Living in the Hell's Kitchen
neighborhood of New York City
, Matt Murdock is blinded by a radioactive substance that falls from an oncoming vehicle. While he no longer can see, the radioactive exposure heightens his remaining senses beyond normal human ability. His father, a boxer named Jack Murdock, supports him as he grows up, though Jack is later killed by gangsters after refusing to throw a fight
. After donning a yellow and black, and later a dark red, costume, Matt seeks out revenge against his father's killers as the superhero Daredevil, fighting against his many enemies including Bullseye
and the Kingpin
. Daredevil's nickname is "the Man Without Fear".
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 — Frank Miller
's influential tenure on the title in the late 1970s and early 1980s is particularly remembered, having cemented the character as a popular and influential part of the Marvel Universe
. Daredevil has since appeared in many various forms of media including several animated series, video games, merchandise, and a 2003 feature-length film
.
' Daredevil #1 (cover date April 1964), created by writer-editor Stan Lee
and artist Bill Everett
, with character design input from Jack Kirby
, who devised Daredevil's billy club. When Everett turned in his first-issue pencils extremely late, Marvel production manager Sol Brodsky
and Spider-Man
co-creator Steve Ditko
inked a large variety of different backgrounds, 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".
Writer and comics historian Mark Evanier
has concluded (but cannot confirm) that Kirby designed the basic image of Daredevil's costume, though Everett modified it. The character's original costume design was a combination of black, yellow, and red, reminiscent of acrobat tights. Wally Wood
, a highly regarded artist known for his 1950s EC Comics
stories, penciled issues #5-8, introducing Daredevil's modern red costume in issue #7.
Issue #12 began a brief run by Jack Kirby (layouts) and John Romita, Sr.
The issue marked 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. He recalled in 1999,
Romita later elaborated that "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".
When Romita left to take over The Amazing Spider-Man
, Lee gave Daredevil to what would be 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 1974–1979. (He would return again, an established legend, for an eight-issue run in 1997).
The first issue covered both the character's origins and his desire for revenge on the man who had killed his father, boxer "Battling Jack" Murdock, who raised young Matthew Murdock in the Hell's Kitchen
neighborhood of Manhattan
, New York City
. Jack instills in Matt the importance of education and nonviolence with the aim of seeing his son become a better man than himself. 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. The radioactive exposure heightens his remaining senses beyond normal human thresholds, enabling him to detect the shape and location of objects around him. In order to support his son, Jack Murdock returns to boxing and when he refuses to throw a fight, because his son is in the audience, is killed by gangsters. Adorned in a yellow and black costume made from his father's boxing robes and using his superhuman abilities, Matt confronts the killers as the superhero Daredevil, causing the Fixer to have a fatal heart attack. Daredevil would embark on a series of adventures involving such villains as the Owl, Stilt-Man
, Gladiator, and the Enforcers
. Several sub-plots involved romantic triangles and cases of mistaken identity
. Matt reveals his secret identity to his girlfriend Karen Page
in issue #57, although she leaves the series after the revelation proves too much for her. During this period, he meets Spider-Man
, a character who would later be one of his greatest hero friends.
" to Daredevil is sublimating her identity. Murdock returns to Hell's Kitchen. During this time, the series' writers included Gerry Conway
, Steve Gerber
, and Chris Claremont
. Artists included Bob Brown
and Don Heck
.
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.
's entrance on the title (he had previously drawn Daredevil in the February 1979 installment of Spectacular Spider-Man #27). Miller's first contributions were as an artist, where he imbued a new dynamism and a dramatically different visual style. The series' tone became that of noir
with Hell's Kitchen
itself playing a more prominent role. Miller first appeared as artist in Daredevil #158.
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 ninja
s into the Daredevil canon, bringing a greater focus on the martial arts
aspect of Daredevil's fighting skills, and introducing previously unseen characters who had played a major part in his youth: Stick
, leader of the ninja clan The Chaste
, who had been Murdock's sensei
after he was blinded; a rival clan called The Hand
; and Elektra
, a former girlfriend turned lethal ninja assassin. This was a drastic change for 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.
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 and they fight it out. 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, and then forms an alliance with the Punisher
against drug pushers. Daredevil even battles the Hand
, and Elektra is briefly resurrected.
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 Mazzucchelli
. 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 both Karen Page, as his sometime lover, and Maggie, the mother he thought dead, now a nun, and resuming a less complicated life in Hell's Kitchen.
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
. 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.
Frank Miller
returned to the character and his origins with the 1993 five issue Daredevil: The Man Without Fear miniseries. With artist John Romita Jr, Miller expanded upon the character's beginnings and provided additional detail about the life and death of "Battling Jack" Murdock and Matt's first encounters with the Kingpin and Foggy Nelson. The role of Stick
in the genesis of Daredevil was expanded, as was Murdock's doomed love affair with Elektra Natchios
, the daughter of a Greek
diplomat.
In 1998, Daredevils numbering was rebooted, with the title "canceled" with issue #380 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). The arc introduced Maya Lopez, also known as Echo, a deaf martial artist. Mack brought independent-comics
colleague Brian Michael Bendis
to Marvel to co-write 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 Leap-Frog
. 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.
are the antagonist
s. In this story, Daredevil credits Page with coining the phrase "The Man without Fear", and she also suggests to Daredevil he wear red instead of black and yellow.
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 contrasted to Quesada's more cartoony lines. Developments in this run included the introduction of romantic interest and future wife Milla Donovan
, the outing of Murdock's secret identity to the press, the reemergence of the Kingpin, and Daredevil's surrender to the FBI.
The impact of his exposure as Daredevil continued to be used as a plot point by both Bendis and writer Ed Brubaker
and artist Michael Lark
, who became the new creative team with Daredevil #82 (Feb. 2006), no longer under the "Marvel Knights
" imprint.
Ed Brubaker's first story arc had a new character masquerading as Daredevil in Hell's Kitchen. Murdock later discovered the ersatz Daredevil is his friend Danny Rand, the superhero Iron Fist. Brubaker said,
Over the next couple of story arcs, Brubaker would make use of older characters such as Mister Fear
and the Enforcers
and newer ones such as the Hood
and Lady Bullseye
. During the Secret Invasion
storyline, Daredevil takes part in the fight against the Skrull
s in New York, ultimately surviving it into the Dark Reign
event. The series returns to its original numbering in September with issue #500 after #119 in July 2009. #500 saw a major revision of the status quo under new writer Andy Diggle
, with Daredevil assuming leadership of the Hand
. Daredevil later appeared in Dark Reign
: The List - Daredevil.
, in which Daredevil was possessed by a demon. Murdock then left New York, leaving his territory in the hands of the Black Panther
. T'Challa, having recently abdicated his Wakandan throne, accepts the task of protecting Hell's Kitchen as a means to test himself without the aid of the technology, resources, or metahuman abilities that he has come to rely on. He successfully defeats Vlad Dinu, a super-powered Romanian crime boss looking to control the post-Daredevil Kitchen.
Meanwhile, Matt wanders the country to escape his costumed life in the miniseries Daredevil: Reborn
. However, despite his best effort to stay uninvolved, he ends up foiling a corrupt police force operating in a small New Mexico town that were involved in an illegal trade with a drug smuggler named Calavera. Despite Calavera's mysterious telepathic ability to draw out and exploit Murdock's sins, the ordeal leaves Matt reassured in himself and his responsibilities, and he returns to New York to rebuild both his legal and vigilante careers.
In July 2011, Daredevil relaunched at issue #1 with the creative team of Mark Waid
, Paolo Rivera
, and Marcos Martín
. Waid reported that in the new volume they were interested in "tweaking the adventure-to-depression ratio a bit and letting Matt win again," as well as emphasizing his powers and perception of the physical world. In his new status quo, Matt Murdock finds he can no longer serve as a trial lawyer due to the past allegations of him being Daredevil had caused the first case he represented in court to turn into a media circus, and instead Nelson and Murdock's new business strategy is to serve as consulting counselors by teaching their clients how to represent themselves in court. Daredevil also joined the New Avengers in issue #16 of the series, in a story that was notably written by former Daredevil series writer Brian Michael Bendis.
. According to Stan Lee, due to the fact that Murdock's sensory organs have a superhuman level of development, his inner ear, which controls the equilibrium and motions of the body, is also preternaturally developed, aiding him in acrobatic feats that surpass even Olympic
-level athletes.
When Frank Miller
expanded most of Daredevil's abilities, he attempted to make them "extraordinary enough to be exciting, but not on par with Superman
", noting Superman's distinctly unbelievable powers. When Miller joined the title in 1979, the first thing he did to the character was "revamp" his radar sense and made it less distinct and more believable; he wanted Daredevil to have the "proximity" sense that most martial artists claim to have. Because of this, he created an ability for Daredevil to hear the Hulk
's heartbeat four blocks away. Due to the character's sensitive sense of touch, Daredevil can read by passing his fingers over the letters on a page. (though laminated pages prevent him from reading the ink) Daredevil has also commonly used his superhuman hearing to serve as a lie detector for interrogation by listening for changes in a person's heartbeat. However, this ability can be fooled if the other person's heart is not beating at a natural rate, such as if they have a pacemaker
.
However, just as Daredevil's other senses are stronger, they are also sensitive; his main weakness is his vulnerability to powerful sounds or odors that can be used to temporarily weaken his radar sense. This weakness is often used to immobilize Daredevil if he were bombarded by too much sound, which will cause him great pain and disorient him. Additionally Daredevil needs to detect something with his radar to know it is there or it will remain invisible to him, which makes it possible to have something get past his radar if he is unable to detect it. In one instance the hallucinogenic drug that Mysterio
created was designed with no taste or smell so Daredevil could not tell he was drugged until he consulted Doctor Strange
who was able to discover it from the small cross that Mysterio gave to Daredevil in disguise which contained the drug and magically cured him.
Though he has no superhuman physical attributes beyond an enhanced sense of balance, Daredevil is a master of martial arts. Having been trained by Stick
, Daredevil is a master hand-to-hand combatant. His typical moves are unique blends of the martial arts of Ninjutsu
, Aikijujutsu, Jujutsu
, capoeira
, Judo
, Aikido
, wrestling
and stick fighting
combined with American-style boxing
while making full use of his gymnastics capabilities.
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 multi-purpose weapon and tool 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.
In his civilian identity, Murdock is a skilled and respected attorney with an encyclopedic knowledge of law, especially New York statutes and is also a skilled detective and tracker and is a interrogation expert and an expert marksman.
' s thirty-seventh greatest comic book character, citing him as "a compelling, layered and visually striking character". Empire praised Frank Miller's era, and also referenced Brian Michael Bendis, Jeph Loeb and Kevin Smith's tenures on the series. Also, Wizard Magazine ranked Daredevil twenty-first among their list of the 200 Greatest Comic Characters of All Time, and comic book readers polled through the website Comic Book Resources
voted the character the third best of the Marvel Comics stable. The Daredevil series has also received some acclaim over the years, including being ranked by IGN
as the third best series from Marvel Comics in 2006. In 2011, IGN
ranked Daredevil #10 on their list of IGN's Top 100 Comic Book Heroes.
, who has served as Murdock's mentor following Murdock's childhood accident.
Matt Murdock's greatest friend is Franklin "Foggy" Nelson
, his college roommate, sidekick
, and law partner. As a superhero, one of his best friends is the hero Spider-Man
; with his ability to distinguish heartbeats, Murdock learned Spider-Man's identity and subsequently revealed his. However, due to the events of the One More Day
storyline, Murdock no longer knows Spider-Man's secret identity, and since then refused to relearn it due to the potential danger involved. Iron Fist would also later become one of his greatest friends, and at one point took on the role of Daredevil himself. Jessica Jones
, a former superhero turned private investigator acts as a bodyguard for Matt Murdock in his civilian life. Her husband, Luke Cage
, is also Daredevil's friend. Maya Lopez, a deaf woman and skilled martial artist, is also a friend of Daredevil after he fought her and convinced her that he did not murder her father, because she was being manipulated by the Kingpin, who was responsible. Ben Urich
, a reporter for the Daily Bugle
had later discovered Daredevil's identity and eventually becomes his friend as well, though during his identity dispute Daredevil decided to end his "secret professional relationship" with Urich to avoid getting Urich mixed up in his problems and being used against him.
Daredevil is known to have a convoluted and often tortured love life. Throughout the series, his girlfriends are often women who are traumatized, maimed, or killed, a narrative aspect some media critics refer to as "Women in Refrigerators
" syndrome. One of Daredevil's more notable love interests is Elektra
, an assassin who would later be killed. In the 2000s, Murdock marries a woman named Milla Donovan
, although one of Daredevil's enemies drives her to insanity.
, a prominent Spider-Man foe, in Daredevil #2. A number of recurring villains would be introduced over the years, such as the Owl, the Purple Man
, Mister Fear
, Stilt-Man
, Gladiator, The Jester, The Man-Bull
, Death-Stalker
, and various others. The supervillain duo of the Cobra
and Mr. Hyde
have also frequently clashed with Daredevil, although Hyde has fought Daredevil alone on several occasions. One of his deadliest enemies, a psychotic assassin known as Bullseye
, was introduced by Marv Wolfman
in issue #131, and the two have battled each other many times over the years.
Beginning with Frank Miller's run on Daredevil, his traditional rogues gallery was used less often, and The Kingpin became Daredevil's arch-enemy. The Kingpin has long known Daredevil's secret identity, and used this information to try to destroy Murdock's life. Elektra made her debut as a bounty hunter for hire, leading to several confrontations with Daredevil. In Daredevil #254, Ann Nocenti
introduced Typhoid Mary
, an assassin for the Kingpin with an identity disorder
, who also became a prominent Daredevil foe. The Punisher
, vigilante Frank Castle, is one of Daredevil's most prolific antagonists and at times a reluctant ally.
Daredevil was named one of Empire
' s "50 Greatest Comic Book Characters", as well as one of Wizard
' s "200 Greatest Comic Characters of All Time", and #10 on IGN.com's "Top 100 Comic Book Heroes".
Fiction
Fiction is the form of any narrative or informative work that deals, in part or in whole, with information or events that are not factual, but rather, imaginary—that is, invented by the author. Although fiction describes a major branch of literary work, it may also refer to theatrical,...
al character
Character (arts)
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
, a superhero
Superhero
A superhero is a type of stock character, possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers", dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas —...
in comic books published by Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
. The character was created by writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
-editor
Literary editor
A literary editor is an editor in a newspaper, magazine or similar publication who deals with aspects concerning literature and books, especially reviews. A literary editor may also help with editing books themselves, by providing services such as proof reading, copy-editing, and literary...
Stan Lee
Stan Lee
Stan Lee is an American comic book writer, editor, actor, producer, publisher, television personality, and the former president and chairman of Marvel Comics....
and artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
Bill Everett
Bill Everett
William Blake "Bill" Everett, also known as William Blake and Everett Blake was a comic book writer-artist best known for creating Namor the Sub-Mariner and co-creating Daredevil for Marvel Comics...
, with an unspecified amount of input from Jack Kirby
Jack Kirby
Jack Kirby , born Jacob Kurtzberg, was an American comic book artist, writer and editor regarded by historians and fans as one of the major innovators and most influential creators in the comic book medium....
, and first appeared in Daredevil #1 (April 1964).
Living in the Hell's Kitchen
Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan
Hell's Kitchen, also known as Clinton and Midtown West, is a neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City between 34th Street and 59th Street, from 8th Avenue to the Hudson River....
neighborhood of New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, Matt Murdock is blinded by a radioactive substance that falls from an oncoming vehicle. While he no longer can see, the radioactive exposure heightens his remaining senses beyond normal human ability. His father, a boxer named Jack Murdock, supports him as he grows up, though Jack is later killed by gangsters after refusing to throw a fight
Match fixing
In organised sports, match fixing, game fixing, race fixing, or sports fixing occurs as a match is played to a completely or partially pre-determined result, violating the rules of the game and often the law. Where the sporting competition in question is a race then the incident is referred to as...
. After donning a yellow and black, and later a dark red, costume, Matt seeks out revenge against his father's killers as the superhero Daredevil, fighting against his many enemies including Bullseye
Bullseye (comics)
Bullseye is a fictional character, a supervillain in the Marvel Comics universe.A psychopathic assassin, Bullseye uses the opportunities afforded by his line of work to exercise his homicidal tendencies and to work out his own personal vendetta against Daredevil.Although he possesses no...
and the Kingpin
Kingpin (comics)
The Kingpin is a fictional character, a supervillain in the . Kingpin is one of the most feared and powerful crime lords in the Marvel Universe. The character is a major adversary of Daredevil, the Punisher, and Spider-Man...
. Daredevil's nickname is "the Man Without Fear".
Although Daredevil had been home to the work of many legendary comic-book artists — Everett, Kirby, Wally Wood
Wally Wood
Wallace Allan Wood was an American comic book writer, artist and independent publisher, best known for his work in EC Comics and Mad. He was one of Mads founding cartoonists in 1952. Although much of his early professional artwork is signed Wallace Wood, he became known as Wally Wood, a name he...
, John Romita, Sr.
John Romita, Sr.
John V. Romita, Sr. is an Italian-American comic-book artist best known for his work on Marvel Comics' The Amazing Spider-Man...
, and Gene Colan
Gene Colan
Eugene Jules "Gene" Colan was an American comic book artist best known for his work for Marvel Comics, where his signature titles include the superhero series, Daredevil, the cult-hit satiric series Howard the Duck, and The Tomb of Dracula, considered one of comics' classic horror series...
, among others — Frank Miller
Frank Miller (comics)
Frank Miller is an American comic book artist, writer and film director best known for his dark, film noir-style comic book stories and graphic novels Ronin, Daredevil: Born Again, Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Sin City and 300...
's influential tenure on the title in the late 1970s and early 1980s is particularly remembered, having cemented the character as a popular and influential part of the Marvel Universe
Marvel Universe
The Marvel Universe is the shared fictional universe where most comic book titles and other media published by Marvel Entertainment take place, including those featuring Marvel's most familiar characters, such as Spider-Man, the Hulk, the X-Men, and the Avengers.The Marvel Universe is further...
. Daredevil has since appeared in many various forms of media including several animated series, video games, merchandise, and a 2003 feature-length film
Daredevil (film)
Daredevil is a 2003 American superhero film written and directed by Mark Steven Johnson. Based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name, the film stars Ben Affleck as Matt Murdock, a blind lawyer who fights for justice in the courtroom and out of the courtroom as the masked vigilante Daredevil...
.
1960s
The character debuted in Marvel ComicsMarvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
' Daredevil #1 (cover date April 1964), created by writer-editor Stan Lee
Stan Lee
Stan Lee is an American comic book writer, editor, actor, producer, publisher, television personality, and the former president and chairman of Marvel Comics....
and artist Bill Everett
Bill Everett
William Blake "Bill" Everett, also known as William Blake and Everett Blake was a comic book writer-artist best known for creating Namor the Sub-Mariner and co-creating Daredevil for Marvel Comics...
, with character design input from Jack Kirby
Jack Kirby
Jack Kirby , born Jacob Kurtzberg, was an American comic book artist, writer and editor regarded by historians and fans as one of the major innovators and most influential creators in the comic book medium....
, who devised Daredevil's billy club. When Everett turned in his first-issue pencils extremely late, Marvel production manager Sol Brodsky
Sol Brodsky
Sol Brodsky was an American comic book artist who, as Marvel Comics' Silver Age production manager, was one of the key architects of the small company's expansion to a major pop culture conglomerate. He later rose to vice president, operations and vice president, special projects...
and Spider-Man
Spider-Man
Spider-Man is a fictional Marvel Comics superhero. The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and writer-artist Steve Ditko. He first appeared in Amazing Fantasy #15...
co-creator Steve Ditko
Steve Ditko
Stephen J. "Steve" Ditko is an American comic book artist and writer best known as the artist co-creator, with Stan Lee, of the Marvel Comics heroes Spider-Man and Doctor Strange....
inked a large variety of different backgrounds, 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".
Writer and comics historian Mark Evanier
Mark Evanier
Mark Stephen Evanier is an American comic book and television writer, particularly known for his humor work. He is also known for his columns and blogs, and for his work as a historian and biographer of the comics industry, in particular his award-winning Jack Kirby biography, Kirby: King of...
has concluded (but cannot confirm) that Kirby designed the basic image of Daredevil's costume, though Everett modified it. The character's original costume design was a combination of black, yellow, and red, reminiscent of acrobat tights. Wally Wood
Wally Wood
Wallace Allan Wood was an American comic book writer, artist and independent publisher, best known for his work in EC Comics and Mad. He was one of Mads founding cartoonists in 1952. Although much of his early professional artwork is signed Wallace Wood, he became known as Wally Wood, a name he...
, a highly regarded artist known for his 1950s EC Comics
EC Comics
Entertaining Comics, more commonly known as EC Comics, was an American publisher of comic books specializing in horror fiction, crime fiction, satire, military fiction and science fiction from the 1940s through the mid-1950s, notably the Tales from the Crypt series...
stories, penciled issues #5-8, introducing Daredevil's modern red costume in issue #7.
Issue #12 began a brief run by Jack Kirby (layouts) and John Romita, Sr.
John Romita, Sr.
John V. Romita, Sr. is an Italian-American comic-book artist best known for his work on Marvel Comics' The Amazing Spider-Man...
The issue marked Romita's return to superhero penciling after a decade of working exclusively as a romance
Romance novel
The romance novel is a literary genre developed in Western culture, mainly in English-speaking countries. Novels in this genre place their primary focus on the relationship and romantic love between two people, and must have an "emotionally satisfying and optimistic ending." Through the late...
-comic artist for DC. Romita had felt he no longer wanted to pencil, in favor of being solely an inker. He recalled in 1999,
Romita later elaborated that "Stan showed me Dick Ayers
Dick Ayers
Richard "Dick" Ayers is an American comic book artist and cartoonist best known for his work as one of Jack Kirby's inkers during the late-1950s and 1960s period known as the Silver Age of Comics, including on some of the earliest issues of Marvel Comics' The Fantastic Four, and as the signature...
' 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".
When Romita left to take over The Amazing Spider-Man
The Amazing Spider-Man
The Amazing Spider-Man is an American comic book series published by Marvel Comics, featuring the adventures of the fictional superhero Spider-Man. Being the mainstream continuity of the franchise, it began publication in 1963 as a monthly periodical and was published continuously until it was...
, Lee gave Daredevil to what would be the character's first signature artist, Gene Colan
Gene Colan
Eugene Jules "Gene" Colan was an American comic book artist best known for his work for Marvel Comics, where his signature titles include the superhero series, Daredevil, the cult-hit satiric series Howard the Duck, and The Tomb of Dracula, considered one of comics' classic horror series...
, 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 1974–1979. (He would return again, an established legend, for an eight-issue run in 1997).
The first issue covered both the character's origins and his desire for revenge on the man who had killed his father, boxer "Battling Jack" Murdock, who raised young Matthew Murdock in the Hell's Kitchen
Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan
Hell's Kitchen, also known as Clinton and Midtown West, is a neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City between 34th Street and 59th Street, from 8th Avenue to the Hudson River....
neighborhood of Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
, New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. Jack instills in Matt the importance of education and nonviolence with the aim of seeing his son become a better man than himself. 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. The radioactive exposure heightens his remaining senses beyond normal human thresholds, enabling him to detect the shape and location of objects around him. In order to support his son, Jack Murdock returns to boxing and when he refuses to throw a fight, because his son is in the audience, is killed by gangsters. Adorned in a yellow and black costume made from his father's boxing robes and using his superhuman abilities, Matt confronts the killers as the superhero Daredevil, causing the Fixer to have a fatal heart attack. Daredevil would embark on a series of adventures involving such villains as the Owl, Stilt-Man
Stilt-Man
Stilt-Man is the name of two supervillains in Marvel Comics.-Publication history:Stilt-Man first appeared in Daredevil vol. 1 #8 and was one of his earliest enemies. He is a criminal wearing a suit of armor with powerful telescopic legs .The character did not age well, as his powers were more a...
, Gladiator, and the Enforcers
Enforcers (comics)
The Enforcers are a fictional team of villains in the Marvel Comics universe. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist and co-plotter Steve Ditko, the team's first appearance was in The Amazing Spider-Man #10 .-Publication history:...
. Several sub-plots involved romantic triangles and cases of mistaken identity
Mistaken identity
Mistaken identity is a defense in criminal law which claims the actual innocence of the criminal defendant, and attempts to undermine evidence of guilt by asserting that any eyewitness to the crime incorrectly thought that they saw the defendant, when in fact the person seen by the witness was...
. Matt reveals his secret identity to his girlfriend Karen Page
Karen Page
Karen Page is a fictional character in Marvel Comics' Daredevil series created by writer Stan Lee and artist Bill Everett. She first appeared in Daredevil #1 .-Character overview:...
in issue #57, although she leaves the series after the revelation proves too much for her. During this period, he meets Spider-Man
Spider-Man
Spider-Man is a fictional Marvel Comics superhero. The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and writer-artist Steve Ditko. He first appeared in Amazing Fantasy #15...
, a character who would later be one of his greatest hero friends.
1970s
In 1970s comics, Daredevil moves to San Francisco for a time to live with the spy and superheroine the Black Widow and enters into a romantic relationship with her. The front cover of the comic is even retitled to Daredevil and the Black Widow, but she soon ends the relationship, fearing that playing "sidekickSidekick
A sidekick is a close companion who is generally regarded as subordinate to the one he accompanies. Some well-known fictional sidekicks are Don Quixote's Sancho Panza, Sherlock Holmes' Doctor Watson, The Lone Ranger's Tonto, The Green Hornet's Kato and Batman's Robin.-Origins:The origin of the...
" to Daredevil is sublimating her identity. Murdock returns to Hell's Kitchen. During this time, the series' writers included Gerry Conway
Gerry Conway
Gerard F. "Gerry" Conway is an American writer of comic books and television shows. He is known for co-creating the Marvel Comics vigilante The Punisher and scripting the death of the character Gwen Stacy during his long run on The Amazing Spider-Man...
, Steve Gerber
Steve Gerber
Stephen Ross "Steve" Gerber was an American comic book writer best known as co-creator of the satiric Marvel Comics character Howard the Duck....
, and Chris Claremont
Chris Claremont
Chris Claremont is an award-winning American comic book writer and novelist, known for his 17-year stint on Uncanny X-Men, far longer than any other writer, during which he is credited with developing strong female characters, and with introducing complex literary themes into superhero...
. Artists included Bob Brown
Bob Brown (comics)
William Robert "Bob" Brown was an American comic book artist with an extensive career from the early 1940s through the 1970s. With writers Edmond Hamilton and Gardner Fox, Brown created the DC Comics hero Space Ranger, drawing the character's complete run from his debut in the try-out comic...
and Don Heck
Don Heck
Don Heck was an American comic book artist best known for co-creating the Marvel Comics character Iron Man, and for his long run penciling the Marvel superhero-team series The Avengers during the 1960s Silver Age of comic books.-Early life and career:Born in the Jamaica neighborhood of Queens, New...
.
Comics artist legend Wally Wood
Wally Wood
Wallace Allan Wood was an American comic book writer, artist and independent publisher, best known for his work in EC Comics and Mad. He was one of Mads founding cartoonists in 1952. Although much of his early professional artwork is signed Wallace Wood, he became known as Wally Wood, a name he...
, 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.
1980s
The modern definition of Daredevil began in May 1979 with Frank MillerFrank Miller (comics)
Frank Miller is an American comic book artist, writer and film director best known for his dark, film noir-style comic book stories and graphic novels Ronin, Daredevil: Born Again, Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Sin City and 300...
's entrance on the title (he had previously drawn Daredevil in the February 1979 installment of Spectacular Spider-Man #27). Miller's first contributions were as an artist, where he imbued a new dynamism and a dramatically different visual style. The series' tone became that of noir
Hardboiled
Hardboiled crime fiction is a literary style, most commonly associated with detective stories, distinguished by the unsentimental portrayal of violence and sex. The style was pioneered by Carroll John Daly in the mid-1920s, popularized by Dashiell Hammett over the course of the decade, and refined...
with Hell's Kitchen
Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan
Hell's Kitchen, also known as Clinton and Midtown West, is a neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City between 34th Street and 59th Street, from 8th Avenue to the Hudson River....
itself playing a more prominent role. Miller first appeared as artist in Daredevil #158.
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
Spider-Man
Spider-Man is a fictional Marvel Comics superhero. The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and writer-artist Steve Ditko. He first appeared in Amazing Fantasy #15...
villain Kingpin
Kingpin (comics)
The Kingpin is a fictional character, a supervillain in the . Kingpin is one of the most feared and powerful crime lords in the Marvel Universe. The character is a major adversary of Daredevil, the Punisher, and Spider-Man...
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
Bullseye (comics)
Bullseye is a fictional character, a supervillain in the Marvel Comics universe.A psychopathic assassin, Bullseye uses the opportunities afforded by his line of work to exercise his homicidal tendencies and to work out his own personal vendetta against Daredevil.Although he possesses no...
and Elektra
Elektra (comics)
Elektra Natchios, usually referred to only by her first name Elektra, is a fictional character in publications from Marvel Comics.Elektra is a kunoichi – female ninja assassin – of Greek descent. She wields a pair of bladed sai as her trademark weapon. She is a love interest of the superhero...
— but found its central theme to be one more grounded in reality: organized crime
Organized crime
Organized crime or criminal organizations are transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals for the purpose of engaging in illegal activity, most commonly for monetary profit. Some criminal organizations, such as terrorist organizations, are...
.
Miller also introduced ninja
Ninja
A or was a covert agent or mercenary of feudal Japan specializing in unorthodox arts of war. The functions of the ninja included espionage, sabotage, infiltration, and assassination, as well as open combat in certain situations...
s into the Daredevil canon, bringing a greater focus on the martial arts
Martial arts
Martial arts are extensive systems of codified practices and traditions of combat, practiced for a variety of reasons, including self-defense, competition, physical health and fitness, as well as mental and spiritual development....
aspect of Daredevil's fighting skills, and introducing previously unseen characters who had played a major part in his youth: Stick
Stick (comics)
Stick is a fictional American comic book character owned by Marvel Comics who appears in that company's Marvel Universe.-Fictional character biography:The mysterious Stick is a sensei who trained the young but inexperienced Matt Murdock Marvel...
, leader of the ninja clan The Chaste
The Chaste
The Chaste is a fictional mystical martial arts enclave led by Stick, that was created by Frank Miller in the pages of Daredevil for Marvel Comics.-History:...
, who had been Murdock's sensei
Sensei
' is a Japanese word that basically means "person born before another." In general usage, it means "master" or "teacher," and the word is used as a title to refer to or address teachers, professors, professionals such as lawyers, CPA and doctors, politicians, clergymen, and other figures of authority...
after he was blinded; a rival clan called The Hand
Hand (comics)
The Hand is a fictional supervillainous organization in the Marvel Comics universe.The Hand is an order of evil mystical ninja who are heavily involved in organized crime and mercenary activities such as assassination plots. The Hand covets power above all other objectives. They are primarily based...
; and Elektra
Elektra (comics)
Elektra Natchios, usually referred to only by her first name Elektra, is a fictional character in publications from Marvel Comics.Elektra is a kunoichi – female ninja assassin – of Greek descent. She wields a pair of bladed sai as her trademark weapon. She is a love interest of the superhero...
, a former girlfriend turned lethal ninja assassin. This was a drastic change for a character once considered a swashbuckler
Swashbuckler
Swashbuckler or swasher is a term that emerged in the 16th century and has been used for rough, noisy and boastful swordsmen ever since. A possible explanation for this term is that it derives from a fighting style using a side-sword with a buckler in the off-hand, which was applied with much...
. The focus of a ninja's control of the inner self served as a counterbalance to the emerging themes of anger and torment.
Daredevil encounters the assassin Bullseye
Bullseye (comics)
Bullseye is a fictional character, a supervillain in the Marvel Comics universe.A psychopathic assassin, Bullseye uses the opportunities afforded by his line of work to exercise his homicidal tendencies and to work out his own personal vendetta against Daredevil.Although he possesses no...
for the first time, and the two battle each other. Eventually, Daredevil's secret identity is deduced by the reporter Ben Urich
Ben Urich
Ben Urich is a Marvel Comics character, usually appearing in comic books featuring Daredevil and Spider-Man. Created by Roger McKenzie and Gene Colan, he first appeared in Daredevil #153 ....
.
Daredevil encounters the Kingpin
Kingpin (comics)
The Kingpin is a fictional character, a supervillain in the . Kingpin is one of the most feared and powerful crime lords in the Marvel Universe. The character is a major adversary of Daredevil, the Punisher, and Spider-Man...
, who has hired his old flame Elektra and they fight it out. He returns to his former mentor Stick
Stick (comics)
Stick is a fictional American comic book character owned by Marvel Comics who appears in that company's Marvel Universe.-Fictional character biography:The mysterious Stick is a sensei who trained the young but inexperienced Matt Murdock Marvel...
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, and then forms an alliance with the Punisher
Punisher
The Punisher is a fictional character, an anti-hero appearing in comic books based in the . Created by writer Gerry Conway and artists John Romita, Sr., and Ross Andru, the character made its first appearance in The Amazing Spider-Man #129 .The Punisher is a vigilante who employs murder,...
against drug pushers. Daredevil even battles the Hand
Hand (comics)
The Hand is a fictional supervillainous organization in the Marvel Comics universe.The Hand is an order of evil mystical ninja who are heavily involved in organized crime and mercenary activities such as assassination plots. The Hand covets power above all other objectives. They are primarily based...
, and Elektra is briefly resurrected.
Miller's noir take on the character continued, even after he left (in 1983, after issue #191). However, successor Dennis O'Neil
Dennis O'Neil
Dennis J. "Denny" O'Neil is an American comic book writer and editor, principally for Marvel Comics and DC Comics in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, and Group Editor for the Batman family of books until his retirement....
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
Daredevil: Born Again
"Born Again" is a Daredevil story arc written by Frank Miller, drawn by David Mazzucchelli and published by Marvel Comics. The story arc originally appears in Daredevil #227-#233....
" storyline in #227-233 (Feb.-Aug. 1986), with artist David Mazzucchelli
David Mazzucchelli
David Mazzucchelli is an American comic book artist and writer. His latest work is the award-winning graphic novel, Asterios Polyp.-Career:...
. 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 both Karen Page, as his sometime lover, and Maggie, the mother he thought dead, now a nun, and resuming a less complicated life in Hell's Kitchen.
A round-robin
Round-robin
The term round-robin was originally used to describe a document signed by multiple parties in a circle to make it more difficult to determine the order in which it was signed, thus preventing a ringleader from being identified...
of creators contributed in the year that followed Born Again: writers Mark Gruenwald
Mark Gruenwald
Mark E. Gruenwald was an American comic book writer, editor, and occasional penciler. Gruenwald got his start in comics fandom, publishing his own fanzine, Omniverse, which explored the concept of continuity...
, Danny Fingeroth
Danny Fingeroth
Daniel "Danny" Fingeroth is an American comic book writer and editor, better known for a long stint as group editor of the Spider-Man books at Marvel Comics.-Career:...
, Steve Englehart
Steve Englehart
Steve Englehart is an American novelist. In his earlier career he was a comic book writer best known for his work at Marvel Comics and DC Comics, particularly in the 1970s...
(under the pseudonym
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
"John Harkness"), and Ann Nocenti
Ann Nocenti
Ann "Annie" Nocenti is an American journalist, writer, editor, and filmmaker best known for her work on comic books and magazines. As an editor for Marvel Comics, she edited New Mutants and The Uncanny X-Men...
, and pencilers Steve Ditko
Steve Ditko
Stephen J. "Steve" Ditko is an American comic book artist and writer best known as the artist co-creator, with Stan Lee, of the Marvel Comics heroes Spider-Man and Doctor Strange....
, Barry Windsor-Smith
Barry Windsor-Smith
Barry Windsor-Smith, born Barry Smith is a British comic book illustrator and painter whose best known work has been produced in the United States....
, Louis Williams, Sal Buscema
Sal Buscema
Silvio "Sal" Buscema is an American comic book artist, primarily for Marvel Comics, where he enjoyed a ten-year run as artist of The Incredible Hulk...
, Todd McFarlane
Todd McFarlane
Todd McFarlane is a Canadian cartoonist, writer, toy designer and entrepreneur, best known for his work in comic books, such as the fantasy series Spawn....
, Keith Pollard
Keith Pollard
Keith Pollard is an American comic book artist. Originally from the Detroit area, Pollard is best known for his simultaneous work on the Marvel Comics titles Fantastic Four, Thor, and The Amazing Spider-Man in the late 1970s-early 1980s.Pollard made his professional comics debut in 1974 with...
, and Chuck Patton
Chuck Patton
Francis Chuck Patton is an African American comic book artist and animator. He is best known in comics circles for his work on DC Comics' Justice League of America in the 1980s, specifically for the period in which the team relocated to Detroit, Michigan, and was staffed with new, multicultural...
. 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.
John Romita, Jr.
John Salvatore Romita, Jr. is an American comic book artist best known for his extensive work for Marvel Comics from the 1970s to the 2000s...
joined as penciller from #250-282 (Jan. 1988 - Jul. 1990), and was generally inked by Al Williamson
Al Williamson
Alfonso "Al" Williamson was an American cartoonist, comic book artist and illustrator specializing in adventure, Western and science-fiction/fantasy...
. The team specifically addressed societal issues, with Murdock, now running a non-profit urban legal center, confronting sexism
Sexism
Sexism, also known as gender discrimination or sex discrimination, is the application of the belief or attitude that there are characteristics implicit to one's gender that indirectly affect one's abilities in unrelated areas...
, racism
Racism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
, and nuclear proliferation
Nuclear proliferation
Nuclear proliferation is a term now used to describe the spread of nuclear weapons, fissile material, and weapons-applicable nuclear technology and information, to nations which are not recognized as "Nuclear Weapon States" by the Treaty on the Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons, also known as the...
while fighting supervillains. Nocenti introduced the popular antagonist Typhoid Mary
Typhoid Mary (comics)
Typhoid Mary , also known as Typhoid, Walker, Bloody Mary and Mutant Zero, is a fictional character, a supervillain and enemy of Daredevil and Deadpool in the Marvel Comics Universe. She first appeared in Daredevil #254, and was created by Ann Nocenti and John Romita, Jr....
in issue #254.
1990s
To celebrate the character's 30th Anniversary, the creative team of DG Chichester, Scott McDaniel, and Hector Collazo changed the book's status quo with the "Fall From Grace" storyline, which ran from issue #319-325 (Aug. 1993 - Feb. 1994). Daredevil is beaten up once again and decides to create a more protective costume from biometric materials. It is red and grey with white armor on the shoulders and knee pads. His billy clubs can be attached together to form nunchucks or a bo staff. His secret identity becomes public knowledge, leading to him faking his own death and assuming the new identity of "Jack". This new identity and costume lasts for several story arcs ("Tree of Knowledge", "Humanity's Fathom", and "Wages of Sin") before Daredevil returned 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 double).Under writers Karl Kesel
Karl Kesel
Karl Kesel is an American comics writer and inker whose works have primarily been under contract for DC Comics...
and later Joe Kelly
Joe Kelly (comics)
Joseph "Joe" Kelly is an American comic book writer, penciler and editor who has written such titles as Deadpool, Uncanny X-Men, Action Comics, and JLA...
, the book gained a lighter tone, with Daredevil returning to the lighthearted, wisecracking hero depicted by earlier writers. Matt and Foggy
Foggy Nelson
Franklin P. "Foggy" Nelson is a fictional character in the Marvel Comics universe, part of the supporting cast of Daredevil ; Foggy is Matt's best friend. The character was created by Stan Lee and Bill Everett....
(who now knows of Matt's dual identities) join a law firm run by Foggy's mother, Rosalind Sharpe.
Frank Miller
Frank Miller (comics)
Frank Miller is an American comic book artist, writer and film director best known for his dark, film noir-style comic book stories and graphic novels Ronin, Daredevil: Born Again, Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Sin City and 300...
returned to the character and his origins with the 1993 five issue Daredevil: The Man Without Fear miniseries. With artist John Romita Jr, Miller expanded upon the character's beginnings and provided additional detail about the life and death of "Battling Jack" Murdock and Matt's first encounters with the Kingpin and Foggy Nelson. The role of Stick
Stick (comics)
Stick is a fictional American comic book character owned by Marvel Comics who appears in that company's Marvel Universe.-Fictional character biography:The mysterious Stick is a sensei who trained the young but inexperienced Matt Murdock Marvel...
in the genesis of Daredevil was expanded, as was Murdock's doomed love affair with Elektra Natchios
Elektra (comics)
Elektra Natchios, usually referred to only by her first name Elektra, is a fictional character in publications from Marvel Comics.Elektra is a kunoichi – female ninja assassin – of Greek descent. She wields a pair of bladed sai as her trademark weapon. She is a love interest of the superhero...
, the daughter of a Greek
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
diplomat.
In 1998, Daredevils numbering was rebooted, with the title "canceled" with issue #380 and revived a month later as part of the "Marvel Knights
Marvel Knights
Marvel Knights is an imprint of Marvel Worldwide, Inc. that contains material taking place within the mainstream Marvel Universe .-Production:...
" imprint. Joe Quesada
Joe Quesada
Joseph "Joe" Quesada is an American comic book editor, writer and artist. He became known in the 1990s for his work on various Valiant Comics books, such as Ninjak and Solar, Man of the Atom...
drew the new series, written by filmmaker Kevin Smith
Kevin Smith
Kevin Patrick Smith is an American screenwriter, actor, film producer, and director, as well as a popular comic book writer, author, comedian/raconteur, and internet radio personality best recognized by viewers as Silent Bob...
. Its first eight-issue story arc, "Guardian Devil", depicts Daredevil struggling to protect a child whom he is told could either be the Messiah
Messiah
A messiah is a redeemer figure expected or foretold in one form or another by a religion. Slightly more widely, a messiah is any redeemer figure. Messianic beliefs or theories generally relate to eschatological improvement of the state of humanity or the world, in other words the World to...
or the Anti-Christ. Murdock experiences a crisis of faith exacerbated by the discovery that Karen Page has AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
(later revealed to be a hoax), and her subsequent death at Bullseye
Bullseye (comics)
Bullseye is a fictional character, a supervillain in the Marvel Comics universe.A psychopathic assassin, Bullseye uses the opportunities afforded by his line of work to exercise his homicidal tendencies and to work out his own personal vendetta against Daredevil.Although he possesses no...
's hands.
After "Guardian Devil", Smith was succeeded by writer-artist David Mack
David W. Mack
David W. Mack is an American comic book artist and writer, best known for his creator-owned series Kabuki. Mack is known for his unique painted and collage-like work...
, who contributed the seven-issue "Parts of a Hole" (#9-15). The arc introduced Maya Lopez, also known as Echo, a deaf martial artist. Mack brought independent-comics
Alternative comics
Alternative comics defines a range of American comics that have appeared since the 1980s, following the underground comix movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s. Alternative comics present an alternative to "mainstream" superhero comics which in the past have dominated the US comic book industry...
colleague Brian Michael Bendis
Brian Michael Bendis
Brian Michael Bendis is an American comic book writer and erstwhile artist. He has won critical acclaim for his self-published, Image Comics and Marvel Comics work, and is one of the most successful writers working in mainstream comics, with his books selling consistently highly for over a...
to Marvel to co-write the following arc, "Wake Up" (#16-19), which follows reporter Ben Urich
Ben Urich
Ben Urich is a Marvel Comics character, usually appearing in comic books featuring Daredevil and Spider-Man. Created by Roger McKenzie and Gene Colan, he first appeared in Daredevil #153 ....
as he investigates the aftereffects of a fight between Daredevil and an obscure old villain called Leap-Frog
Leap-Frog (comics)
Leap-Frog is the name of two Marvel Comics supervillains who use a Frog suit costume containing electrical coils on the soles of each of the two flippers which allow the wearer to leap great distances up to high or long. The boots' power source is worn on his back like a back pack, and triggered...
. Following Mack and Bendis were Back to the Future
Back to the Future
Back to the Future is a 1985 American science-fiction adventure film. It was directed by Robert Zemeckis, written by Zemeckis and Bob Gale, produced by Steven Spielberg, and starred Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Crispin Glover and Thomas F. Wilson. The film tells the story of...
screenwriter Bob Gale
Bob Gale
Michael Robert "Bob" Gale is an American screenwriter who co-wrote the science fiction film Back to the Future with writing partner Robert Zemeckis, and the screenplays for the film's two sequels. Gale also co-produced all three films....
and artists Phil Winslade
Phil Winslade
-Biography:Winslade was born in Surrey in 1965 and spent a lot of time indoors as a child because of a heart murmur. His main source of entertainment were Marvel like Howard the Duck and Deathlok. However, it wasn't until he attended Birmingham Polytechnic, to study art, that the idea of working in...
and David Ross for the story "Playing to the Camera". Mack continued to contribute covers.
2000s
The 2001 Daredevil: Yellow miniseries presented another take on Daredevil's origins using letters written to Karen Page after her death as a narrative device. 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 ManPurple Man
The Purple Man is a Marvel Comics supervillain. Originally a foe of Daredevil, he was introduced in Daredevil vol. 1 #4...
are the antagonist
Antagonist
An antagonist is a character, group of characters, or institution, that represents the opposition against which the protagonist must contend...
s. In this story, Daredevil credits Page with coining the phrase "The Man without Fear", and she also suggests to Daredevil he wear red instead of black and yellow.
Issue #26 (Dec. 2001) brought back Brian Michael Bendis
Brian Michael Bendis
Brian Michael Bendis is an American comic book writer and erstwhile artist. He has won critical acclaim for his self-published, Image Comics and Marvel Comics work, and is one of the most successful writers working in mainstream comics, with his books selling consistently highly for over a...
, working this time with artist Alex Maleev
Alex Maleev
Alex Maleev is a Bulgarian-born comic book illustrator, best known for the Marvel Comics' series Daredevil , collaborating with writer Brian Michael Bendis.-Career:...
, for a four-year-run that became one of the series' most acclaimed. Maleev's harsh and grainy look contrasted to Quesada's more cartoony lines. Developments in this run included the introduction of romantic interest and future wife Milla Donovan
Milla Donovan
Milla Donovan is a supporting character in the Marvel Comics comic-book series Daredevil. She was created by Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev and first appeared in Daredevil vol. 2 #41...
, the outing of Murdock's secret identity to the press, the reemergence of the Kingpin, and Daredevil's surrender to the FBI.
The impact of his exposure as Daredevil continued to be used as a plot point by both Bendis and writer Ed Brubaker
Ed Brubaker
Ed Brubaker is an Eisner Award-winning comic book writer and cartoonist. Brubaker first early comics work was primarily in the crime fiction genre with works such as Lowlife, The Fall, Sandman Presents: Dead Boy Detectives and Scene of the Crime...
and artist Michael Lark
Michael Lark
Michael Lark is an American comics artist.Lark has provided pencils for DC Comics' Batman, Terminal City, Gotham Central and Legend of the Hawkman. His work for Marvel Comics includes The Pulse and Captain America...
, who became the new creative team with Daredevil #82 (Feb. 2006), no longer under the "Marvel Knights
Marvel Knights
Marvel Knights is an imprint of Marvel Worldwide, Inc. that contains material taking place within the mainstream Marvel Universe .-Production:...
" imprint.
Over the next couple of story arcs, Brubaker would make use of older characters such as Mister Fear
Mister Fear
Mister Fear is the name of several fictional characters, all supervillains in the Marvel Comics Universe. Mister Fear first appears in Daredevil Mister Fear is the name of several fictional characters, all supervillains in the Marvel Comics Universe. Mister Fear first appears in Daredevil Mister...
and the Enforcers
Enforcers (comics)
The Enforcers are a fictional team of villains in the Marvel Comics universe. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist and co-plotter Steve Ditko, the team's first appearance was in The Amazing Spider-Man #10 .-Publication history:...
and newer ones such as the Hood
Hood (comics)
The Hood is a fictional character, a supervillain, and a crime boss in the . Created by writer Brian K. Vaughan and artists Kyle Hotz and Eric Powell, the character first appeared in The Hood #1 .-Publication history:...
and Lady Bullseye
Lady Bullseye
Lady Bullseye is a fictional character, a supervillain in the . A female counterpart of Bullseye, she was created by Ed Brubaker, Marko Djurdjevic, and Clay Mann, first appearing in Daredevil #111.-Fictional character biography:...
. During the Secret Invasion
Secret Invasion
"Secret Invasion" is a comic book crossover storyline that ran through a self-titled eight issue limited series and several tie-in books published by Marvel Comics from April through December 2008....
storyline, Daredevil takes part in the fight against the Skrull
Skrull
The Skrulls are a fictional race of extraterrestrial shapeshifters that appear in publications by Marvel Comics.-Publication history:The Skrulls first appeared in Fantastic Four #2 and were created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby....
s in New York, ultimately surviving it into the Dark Reign
Dark Reign (comics)
"Dark Reign" is a 2008–2009 crossover comic book storyline published by Marvel Comics. It deals with the aftermath of the "Secret Invasion" storyline, which led to a shift of power in the Marvel Universe toward Norman Osborn. The title "Dark Reign" refers to Osborn's rise to national power and the...
event. The series returns to its original numbering in September with issue #500 after #119 in July 2009. #500 saw a major revision of the status quo under new writer Andy Diggle
Andy Diggle
Andy Diggle is a British comic book writer and former editor of 2000 AD. He is best known for his work on The Losers, Swamp Thing, Hellblazer, Adam Strange and Silent Dragon at DC Comics and for his run on Thunderbolts and Daredevil after his move to Marvel.-Career:Diggle took over editing 2000 AD...
, with Daredevil assuming leadership of the Hand
Hand (comics)
The Hand is a fictional supervillainous organization in the Marvel Comics universe.The Hand is an order of evil mystical ninja who are heavily involved in organized crime and mercenary activities such as assassination plots. The Hand covets power above all other objectives. They are primarily based...
. Daredevil later appeared in Dark Reign
Dark Reign (comics)
"Dark Reign" is a 2008–2009 crossover comic book storyline published by Marvel Comics. It deals with the aftermath of the "Secret Invasion" storyline, which led to a shift of power in the Marvel Universe toward Norman Osborn. The title "Dark Reign" refers to Osborn's rise to national power and the...
: The List - Daredevil.
2010s
Following this came the crossover story arc ShadowlandShadowland (comics)
"Shadowland" is a 2010 Marvel Comics storyline centering around Daredevil and other "street level" superheroes in the Marvel Universe.-Publication history:The storyline included a number of tie-in limited series and one shots...
, in which Daredevil was possessed by a demon. Murdock then left New York, leaving his territory in the hands of the Black Panther
Black Panther (comics)
The Black Panther is a fictional character in the Marvel Comics universe. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and penciller-co-plotter Jack Kirby, he first appeared in Fantastic Four #52...
. T'Challa, having recently abdicated his Wakandan throne, accepts the task of protecting Hell's Kitchen as a means to test himself without the aid of the technology, resources, or metahuman abilities that he has come to rely on. He successfully defeats Vlad Dinu, a super-powered Romanian crime boss looking to control the post-Daredevil Kitchen.
Meanwhile, Matt wanders the country to escape his costumed life in the miniseries Daredevil: Reborn
Daredevil: Reborn
Daredevil: Reborn is a four-issue comic book limited series published by Marvel Comics. Following the events of Shadowland, Matt Murdock has leave Hell’s Kitchen behind. The story details about Matt entering Mexico town's incident...
. However, despite his best effort to stay uninvolved, he ends up foiling a corrupt police force operating in a small New Mexico town that were involved in an illegal trade with a drug smuggler named Calavera. Despite Calavera's mysterious telepathic ability to draw out and exploit Murdock's sins, the ordeal leaves Matt reassured in himself and his responsibilities, and he returns to New York to rebuild both his legal and vigilante careers.
In July 2011, Daredevil relaunched at issue #1 with the creative team of Mark Waid
Mark Waid
Mark Waid is an American comic book writer. He is well known for his eight-year run as writer of the DC Comics' title The Flash, as well as his scripting of the limited series Kingdom Come and Superman: Birthright, and his work on Marvel Comics' Captain America...
, Paolo Rivera
Paolo Rivera
Paolo Rivera is a comic book painter best known for illustrating the Mythos series of one-shots and several issues of Spider-Man. He was valedictorian of his class in 1999 from Mainland High School in Daytona Beach, Florida....
, and Marcos Martín
Marcos Martin
Marcos Martín is a Spanish comic book artist who worked for American comics, illustrating Batgirl: Year One, Doctor Strange: The Oath, Breach. He is the current artist of The Amazing Spider-Man...
. Waid reported that in the new volume they were interested in "tweaking the adventure-to-depression ratio a bit and letting Matt win again," as well as emphasizing his powers and perception of the physical world. In his new status quo, Matt Murdock finds he can no longer serve as a trial lawyer due to the past allegations of him being Daredevil had caused the first case he represented in court to turn into a media circus, and instead Nelson and Murdock's new business strategy is to serve as consulting counselors by teaching their clients how to represent themselves in court. Daredevil also joined the New Avengers in issue #16 of the series, in a story that was notably written by former Daredevil series writer Brian Michael Bendis.
Powers and abilities
Although blind, the character's remaining four senses function with high levels of superhuman accuracy and sensitivity, giving him abilities far beyond the limits of a sighted person. Daredevil developed a radar sense. This radar sense has a function similar to echolocationHuman echolocation
Human echolocation is the ability of humans to detect objects in their environment by sensing echoes from those objects. By actively creating sounds – for example, by tapping their canes, lightly stomping their foot or making clicking noises with their mouths – people trained to orientate with...
. According to Stan Lee, due to the fact that Murdock's sensory organs have a superhuman level of development, his inner ear, which controls the equilibrium and motions of the body, is also preternaturally developed, aiding him in acrobatic feats that surpass even Olympic
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
-level athletes.
When Frank Miller
Frank Miller (comics)
Frank Miller is an American comic book artist, writer and film director best known for his dark, film noir-style comic book stories and graphic novels Ronin, Daredevil: Born Again, Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Sin City and 300...
expanded most of Daredevil's abilities, he attempted to make them "extraordinary enough to be exciting, but not on par with Superman
Superman
Superman is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in publications by DC Comics, widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born American artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective...
", noting Superman's distinctly unbelievable powers. When Miller joined the title in 1979, the first thing he did to the character was "revamp" his radar sense and made it less distinct and more believable; he wanted Daredevil to have the "proximity" sense that most martial artists claim to have. Because of this, he created an ability for Daredevil to hear the Hulk
Hulk (comics)
The Hulk is a fictional character, a superhero in the . Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in The Incredible Hulk #1 ....
's heartbeat four blocks away. Due to the character's sensitive sense of touch, Daredevil can read by passing his fingers over the letters on a page. (though laminated pages prevent him from reading the ink) Daredevil has also commonly used his superhuman hearing to serve as a lie detector for interrogation by listening for changes in a person's heartbeat. However, this ability can be fooled if the other person's heart is not beating at a natural rate, such as if they have a pacemaker
Pacemaker
An artificial pacemaker is a medical device that uses electrical impulses to regulate the beating of the heart.Pacemaker may also refer to:-Medicine:...
.
However, just as Daredevil's other senses are stronger, they are also sensitive; his main weakness is his vulnerability to powerful sounds or odors that can be used to temporarily weaken his radar sense. This weakness is often used to immobilize Daredevil if he were bombarded by too much sound, which will cause him great pain and disorient him. Additionally Daredevil needs to detect something with his radar to know it is there or it will remain invisible to him, which makes it possible to have something get past his radar if he is unable to detect it. In one instance the hallucinogenic drug that Mysterio
Mysterio
Mysterio is the name of three fictional characters, all of which are supervillains and enemies of Spider-Man in the . The original Mysterio was created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko and first appears in Amazing Spider-Man #13, although it was later retconned that the aliens seen in Amazing...
created was designed with no taste or smell so Daredevil could not tell he was drugged until he consulted Doctor Strange
Doctor Strange
Doctor Stephen Strange is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was co-created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, and first appeared in Strange Tales #110 ....
who was able to discover it from the small cross that Mysterio gave to Daredevil in disguise which contained the drug and magically cured him.
Though he has no superhuman physical attributes beyond an enhanced sense of balance, Daredevil is a master of martial arts. Having been trained by Stick
Stick (comics)
Stick is a fictional American comic book character owned by Marvel Comics who appears in that company's Marvel Universe.-Fictional character biography:The mysterious Stick is a sensei who trained the young but inexperienced Matt Murdock Marvel...
, Daredevil is a master hand-to-hand combatant. His typical moves are unique blends of the martial arts of Ninjutsu
Ninjutsu
or may be:*the arts associated with espionage and assassination in feudal Japan, see Ninja*modern schools of martial arts claiming to be based in these traditions, see Modern Schools of Ninjutsu*fictional depictions, see Ninja in popular culture...
, Aikijujutsu, Jujutsu
Jujutsu
Jujutsu , also known as jujitsu, ju-jitsu, or Japanese jiu-jitsu, is a Japanese martial art and a method of close combat for defeating an armed and armored opponent in which one uses no weapon, or only a short weapon....
, capoeira
Capoeira
Capoeira is a Brazilian art form that combines elements of martial arts, sports, and music. It was created in Brazil mainly by descendants of African slaves with Brazilian native influences, probably beginning in the 16th century...
, Judo
Judo
is a modern martial art and combat sport created in Japan in 1882 by Jigoro Kano. Its most prominent feature is its competitive element, where the object is to either throw or takedown one's opponent to the ground, immobilize or otherwise subdue one's opponent with a grappling maneuver, or force an...
, Aikido
Aikido
is a Japanese martial art developed by Morihei Ueshiba as a synthesis of his martial studies, philosophy, and religious beliefs. Aikido is often translated as "the Way of unifying life energy" or as "the Way of harmonious spirit." Ueshiba's goal was to create an art that practitioners could use to...
, wrestling
Wrestling
Wrestling is a form of grappling type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. A wrestling bout is a physical competition, between two competitors or sparring partners, who attempt to gain and maintain a superior position...
and stick fighting
Stick fighting
Stick fighting is a generic term for martial arts which use simple long slender, blunt, hand-held, generally wooden 'sticks' for fighting such as a staff, cane, walking stick, baton or similar....
combined with American-style boxing
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
while making full use of his gymnastics capabilities.
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 multi-purpose weapon and tool 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.
In his civilian identity, Murdock is a skilled and respected attorney with an encyclopedic knowledge of law, especially New York statutes and is also a skilled detective and tracker and is a interrogation expert and an expert marksman.
Other versions
In addition to his mainstream incarnation, Daredevil has had been depicted in other fictional universes, including Marvel 2099, the Marvel Mangaverse, Marvel Noir and the Ulimate Marvel Universe.Reception
Daredevil was named EmpireEmpire (magazine)
Empire is a British film magazine published monthly by Bauer Consumer Media. From the first issue in July 1989, the magazine was edited by Barry McIlheney and published by Emap. Bauer purchased Emap Consumer Media in early 2008...
Comic Book Resources
Comic Book Resources, also known as CBR is a website dedicated to the coverage of comic book-related news and discussion.-History:Comic Book Resources was founded by Jonah Weiland in 1996 as a development of the Kingdom Come Message Board, a message forum that Weiland had created to discuss DC...
voted the character the third best of the Marvel Comics stable. The Daredevil series has also received some acclaim over the years, including being ranked by IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
as the third best series from Marvel Comics in 2006. In 2011, IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
ranked Daredevil #10 on their list of IGN's Top 100 Comic Book Heroes.
Supporting characters
Throughout the core Daredevil series, many characters have had an influence in Matt Murdock's life. His father, "Battlin' Jack" Murdock instills in Matt the importance of education and nonviolence with the aim of seeing his son become a better man than himself. He always encouraged Matt to study, rather than fight like him. Jack also forbade his son from undertaking any kind of physical training. It is his father's murder that prompts the super-powered character to become a superhero, fighting gangsters. He is trained by an old blind ninja master named StickStick (comics)
Stick is a fictional American comic book character owned by Marvel Comics who appears in that company's Marvel Universe.-Fictional character biography:The mysterious Stick is a sensei who trained the young but inexperienced Matt Murdock Marvel...
, who has served as Murdock's mentor following Murdock's childhood accident.
Matt Murdock's greatest friend is Franklin "Foggy" Nelson
Foggy Nelson
Franklin P. "Foggy" Nelson is a fictional character in the Marvel Comics universe, part of the supporting cast of Daredevil ; Foggy is Matt's best friend. The character was created by Stan Lee and Bill Everett....
, his college roommate, sidekick
Sidekick
A sidekick is a close companion who is generally regarded as subordinate to the one he accompanies. Some well-known fictional sidekicks are Don Quixote's Sancho Panza, Sherlock Holmes' Doctor Watson, The Lone Ranger's Tonto, The Green Hornet's Kato and Batman's Robin.-Origins:The origin of the...
, and law partner. As a superhero, one of his best friends is the hero Spider-Man
Spider-Man
Spider-Man is a fictional Marvel Comics superhero. The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and writer-artist Steve Ditko. He first appeared in Amazing Fantasy #15...
; with his ability to distinguish heartbeats, Murdock learned Spider-Man's identity and subsequently revealed his. However, due to the events of the One More Day
Spider-Man: One More Day
"One More Day" is a four-part, 2007 comic book crossover storyline, connecting the six main Spider-Man series concurrently published by Marvel Comics at the time. Written by J. Michael Straczynski and Joe Quesada, with art by Quesada, this story arc concludes the fallout of Spider-Man's actions...
storyline, Murdock no longer knows Spider-Man's secret identity, and since then refused to relearn it due to the potential danger involved. Iron Fist would also later become one of his greatest friends, and at one point took on the role of Daredevil himself. Jessica Jones
Jessica Jones
Jessica Campbell Jones Cage is a fictional character in the Marvel Comics universe, created by writer Brian Michael Bendis and artist Michael Gaydos. Jones debuted in the series Alias as an embittered former superheroine who had used the aliases Jewel, Knightress, and currently Power Woman...
, a former superhero turned private investigator acts as a bodyguard for Matt Murdock in his civilian life. Her husband, Luke Cage
Luke Cage
Luke Cage is a fictional character, a superhero appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Archie Goodwin and artist John Romita, Sr., he first appeared in Luke Cage, Hero for Hire #1...
, is also Daredevil's friend. Maya Lopez, a deaf woman and skilled martial artist, is also a friend of Daredevil after he fought her and convinced her that he did not murder her father, because she was being manipulated by the Kingpin, who was responsible. Ben Urich
Ben Urich
Ben Urich is a Marvel Comics character, usually appearing in comic books featuring Daredevil and Spider-Man. Created by Roger McKenzie and Gene Colan, he first appeared in Daredevil #153 ....
, a reporter for the Daily Bugle
Daily Bugle
The Daily Bugle is a fictional New York City newspaper that is a regular fixture in the Marvel Universe, most prominently in Spider-Man comic titles and their derivative media...
had later discovered Daredevil's identity and eventually becomes his friend as well, though during his identity dispute Daredevil decided to end his "secret professional relationship" with Urich to avoid getting Urich mixed up in his problems and being used against him.
Daredevil is known to have a convoluted and often tortured love life. Throughout the series, his girlfriends are often women who are traumatized, maimed, or killed, a narrative aspect some media critics refer to as "Women in Refrigerators
Women in Refrigerators
Women in Refrigerators is a website that was created in 1999 by a group of comic book fans. The website features a list of female comic book characters that had been injured, killed, or depowered as a plot device within various superhero comic books...
" syndrome. One of Daredevil's more notable love interests is Elektra
Elektra (comics)
Elektra Natchios, usually referred to only by her first name Elektra, is a fictional character in publications from Marvel Comics.Elektra is a kunoichi – female ninja assassin – of Greek descent. She wields a pair of bladed sai as her trademark weapon. She is a love interest of the superhero...
, an assassin who would later be killed. In the 2000s, Murdock marries a woman named Milla Donovan
Milla Donovan
Milla Donovan is a supporting character in the Marvel Comics comic-book series Daredevil. She was created by Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev and first appeared in Daredevil vol. 2 #41...
, although one of Daredevil's enemies drives her to insanity.
Daredevil enemies
In his early years, Daredevil fought a number of costumed supervillains, the first of these being ElectroElectro (comics)
Electro is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is a supervillain and an enemy of Spider-Man who gained the ability to control electricity after being struck by lightning while working on a power line. Created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, he first...
, a prominent Spider-Man foe, in Daredevil #2. A number of recurring villains would be introduced over the years, such as the Owl, the Purple Man
Purple Man
The Purple Man is a Marvel Comics supervillain. Originally a foe of Daredevil, he was introduced in Daredevil vol. 1 #4...
, Mister Fear
Mister Fear
Mister Fear is the name of several fictional characters, all supervillains in the Marvel Comics Universe. Mister Fear first appears in Daredevil Mister Fear is the name of several fictional characters, all supervillains in the Marvel Comics Universe. Mister Fear first appears in Daredevil Mister...
, Stilt-Man
Stilt-Man
Stilt-Man is the name of two supervillains in Marvel Comics.-Publication history:Stilt-Man first appeared in Daredevil vol. 1 #8 and was one of his earliest enemies. He is a criminal wearing a suit of armor with powerful telescopic legs .The character did not age well, as his powers were more a...
, Gladiator, The Jester, The Man-Bull
Man-Bull
Man-Bull is a fictional character, a supervillain from Marvel Comics.-Publication history:Man-Bull first appeared in Daredevil #78-79 , and was created by Gerry Conway and Gary Friedrich....
, Death-Stalker
Death-Stalker
The Death-Stalker is a fictional character, a super-villain of the professional-criminal type, in the Marvel Comics universe. His real name was Philip Wallace Sterling. An enemy of Daredevil, he first appeared as the Exterminator in Daredevil Vol. 1, #39 .-Fictional character biography:Philip...
, and various others. The supervillain duo of the Cobra
Cobra (comics)
The Cobra is the alias of two fictional comic-book supervillains that appear in the Marvel Comics universe.-Klaus Voorhees:Klaus Voorhees, the original Cobra, was also known as The Human Cobra and is currently known as the original King Cobra...
and Mr. Hyde
Mister Hyde (comics)
Mister Hyde is a fictional character, a Marvel Comics supervillain. His first appearance was in Journey into Mystery #99, 1963.-Publication history:...
have also frequently clashed with Daredevil, although Hyde has fought Daredevil alone on several occasions. One of his deadliest enemies, a psychotic assassin known as Bullseye
Bullseye (comics)
Bullseye is a fictional character, a supervillain in the Marvel Comics universe.A psychopathic assassin, Bullseye uses the opportunities afforded by his line of work to exercise his homicidal tendencies and to work out his own personal vendetta against Daredevil.Although he possesses no...
, was introduced by Marv Wolfman
Marv Wolfman
Marvin A. "Marv" Wolfman is an award-winning American comic book writer. He is best known for lengthy runs on The Tomb of Dracula, creating Blade for Marvel Comics, and The New Teen Titans for DC Comics.-1960s:...
in issue #131, and the two have battled each other many times over the years.
Beginning with Frank Miller's run on Daredevil, his traditional rogues gallery was used less often, and The Kingpin became Daredevil's arch-enemy. The Kingpin has long known Daredevil's secret identity, and used this information to try to destroy Murdock's life. Elektra made her debut as a bounty hunter for hire, leading to several confrontations with Daredevil. In Daredevil #254, Ann Nocenti
Ann Nocenti
Ann "Annie" Nocenti is an American journalist, writer, editor, and filmmaker best known for her work on comic books and magazines. As an editor for Marvel Comics, she edited New Mutants and The Uncanny X-Men...
introduced Typhoid Mary
Typhoid Mary (comics)
Typhoid Mary , also known as Typhoid, Walker, Bloody Mary and Mutant Zero, is a fictional character, a supervillain and enemy of Daredevil and Deadpool in the Marvel Comics Universe. She first appeared in Daredevil #254, and was created by Ann Nocenti and John Romita, Jr....
, an assassin for the Kingpin with an identity disorder
Dissociative identity disorder
Dissociative identity disorder is a psychiatric diagnosis and describes a condition in which a person displays multiple distinct identities , each with its own pattern of perceiving and interacting with the environment....
, who also became a prominent Daredevil foe. The Punisher
Punisher
The Punisher is a fictional character, an anti-hero appearing in comic books based in the . Created by writer Gerry Conway and artists John Romita, Sr., and Ross Andru, the character made its first appearance in The Amazing Spider-Man #129 .The Punisher is a vigilante who employs murder,...
, vigilante Frank Castle, is one of Daredevil's most prolific antagonists and at times a reluctant ally.
Collected editions
| Title | Material collected | Publication date | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|
| Essential Daredevil, Vol. 1 | Daredevil #1-25 (b&w) | October 2002 | |
| Essential Daredevil, Vol. 2 | Daredevil #26-48; Daredevil Special #1 (b&w) | June 2004 | |
| Essential Daredevil, Vol. 3 | Daredevil #49-74; Iron Man #35-36 (b&w) | 2005 | |
| Essential Daredevil, Vol. 4 | Daredevil #75-101; Avengers #111 (b&w) | August 2007 | |
| Essential Daredevil, Vol. 5 | Daredevil #102-125; Marvel Two-in-One #3 (b&w) | February 2010 | |
| Marvel Masterworks: Daredevil | Daredevil #1-11 | July 2010 | |
| Daredevil Visionaries: Frank Miller, Vol. 1 | Daredevil #158-161, 163-167 | October 2000 | |
| Daredevil Visionaries: Frank Miller, Vol. 2 | Daredevil #168-182 | March 2001 | |
| Daredevil Visionaries: Frank Miller, Vol. 3 | Daredevil #183-191; What If? #28, 35; Bizarre Adventures #28 | November 2001 | |
| Daredevil: Love's Labor Lost | Daredevil #215-217, 219-222, 225-226 | September 2002 | |
| Daredevil: Born Again | Daredevil #227-233 | 1987 | |
| Daredevil Legends, Vol. 4: Typhoid Mary | Daredevil #254-257, 259-263 | June 2003 | (Out of print) |
| Daredevil: Lone Stranger | Daredevil #265-273 | February 2010 | |
| Daredevil: Fall of the Kingpin | Daredevil #297-300 | March 1993 | (Out of print) |
| Daredevil: Fall From Grace | Daredevil #319-325 | October 1994 | (Out of print) |
| Daredevil: Guardian Devil | Daredevil vol. 2, #1-8 (vol. 1, #381-388) | September 1999 | |
| Daredevil: Parts of a Hole | Daredevil vol. 2, #9-15 (vol. 1, #389-395) | March 2003 | |
| Daredevil: Wake Up | Daredevil vol. 2, #16-19 (vol. 1, #396-399) | July 2002 | |
| Daredevil: Underboss | Daredevil vol. 2, #26-31 (vol. 1, #406-411) | October 2004 | |
| Daredevil: Out | Daredevil vol. 2, #32-40 (vol. 1, #412-420) | February 2003 | |
| Daredevil: Lowlife | Daredevil vol. 2, #41-45 (vol. 1, #421-425) | July 2003 | |
| Daredevil: Hardcore | Daredevil vol. 2, #46-50 (vol. 1, #426-430) | December 2003 | |
| Daredevil: Echo - Vision Quest | Daredevil vol. 2, #51-55 (vol. 1, #431-435) | March 2004 | |
| Daredevil: King of Hell's Kitchen | Daredevil vol. 2, #56-60 (vol. 1, #436-440) | August 2004 | |
| Daredevil: The Widow | Daredevil vol. 2, #61-65 (vol. 1, #441-445); Daredevil #81 | December 2004 | |
| Daredevil: The Golden Age | Daredevil vol. 2, #66-70 (vol. 1, #446-450) | May 2005 | |
| Daredevil: Decalogue | Daredevil vol. 2, #71-75 (vol. 1, #451-455) | November 2005 | |
| Daredevil: The Murdock Papers | Daredevil vol. 2, #76-81 (vol. 1, #456-461) | April 2006 | |
| Daredevil: The Devil, Inside and Out, Vol. 1 | Daredevil vol. 2, #82-87 (vol. 1, #462-467) | November 2006 | |
| Daredevil: The Devil, Inside and Out, Vol. 2 | Daredevil vol. 2, #88-93 (vol. 1, #468-473) | May 2007 | |
| Daredevil: Hell to Pay, Vol. 1 | Daredevil vol. 2, #94-99 (vol. 1, #474-479) | September 2007 | |
| Daredevil: Hell to Pay, Vol. 2 | Daredevil vol. 2, #100-105 (vol. 1, #480-485), Annual #1 | April 2008 | |
| Daredevil: Cruel and Unusual | Daredevil vol. 2, #106-110 (vol. 1, #486-490) | October 2008 | |
| Daredevil: Lady Bullseye | Daredevil vol. 2, #111-115 (vol. 1, #491-495) | March 2009 | |
| Daredevil: Return of the King | Daredevil vol. 2, #116-119 (vol. 1, #496-499); Daredevil #500 | October 2009 | |
| Daredevil: The Devil's Hand | Daredevil #501-507; Dark Days | August 2010 | |
| Daredevil: Shadowland | Daredevil #508-512; Shadowland: After the Fall | March 2011 | |
| Daredevil: The Man Without Fear | Daredevil: The Man Without Fear #1-5 | 2003 | |
| Daredevil: Yellow | Daredevil: Yellow #1-6 | May 2002 | |
| Daredevil by Frank Miller and Klaus Janson Omnibus | Daredevil #158-161, 163-191; What If? #28 | March 2007 | |
| Daredevil by Frank Miller Companion Omnibus | Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #27-28; Daredevil #219, 226-233; Daredevil: The Man Without Fear #1-5; Daredevil: Love and War | December 2007 | |
| Daredevil by Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev, Vol. 1 Omnibus | Daredevil vol. 2, #16-19, 26-50, 56-60 | August 2008 | |
| Daredevil by Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev, Vol. 2 Omnibus | Daredevil vol. 2, #61-81; What If...Karen Page Had Lived; Ultimate Marvel Team-Up #6-8 | December 2009 | |
| Daredevil by Ed Brubaker and Michael Lark, Vol. 1 Omnibus | Daredevil vol. 2, #82-105 | June 2009 | |
| Daredevil by Ed Brubaker and Michael Lark, Vol. 2 Omnibus | Daredevil vol. 2, #106-119, Annual #1; Daredevil #500; Blood of the Tarantula | May 2010 |
Television
- Daredevil makes his first animated television appearance as Matt Murdock only in the Spider-Man and His Amazing FriendsSpider-Man and His Amazing FriendsSpider-Man and His Amazing Friends is an animated series produced by Marvel Productions starring established Marvel Comics characters Spider-Man and Iceman and an original character, Firestar...
episode, "Attack of the Arachnoid" voiced by Frank WelkerFrank WelkerFranklin Wendell "Frank" Welker is an American actor who specializes in voice acting and has contributed character voices and other vocal effects to American television and motion pictures.-Acting career:...
. - In the 1980s, ABCAmerican Broadcasting CompanyThe American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
had planned a Daredevil animated television series that would have featured a guide dogGuide dogGuide dogs are assistance dogs trained to lead blind and visually impaired people around obstacles.Although the dogs can be trained to navigate various obstacles, they are partially color blind and are not capable of interpreting street signs...
named "Lightning the Super-Dog". Television writer Mark EvanierMark EvanierMark Stephen Evanier is an American comic book and television writer, particularly known for his humor work. He is also known for his columns and blogs, and for his work as a historian and biographer of the comics industry, in particular his award-winning Jack Kirby biography, Kirby: King of...
said in 2008 that he was the last in a line of writers to have written a pilot and series bible, with his including Lightning as a guide dog without superpowers. - Daredevil appears in the 1990s Fantastic FourFantastic Four (1994 TV series)Fantastic Four is the third animated television series based on Marvel's comic book series of the same name. Airing began on September 24, 1994, until ending on February 24, 1996...
episode "And a Blind Man Shall Lead Them" voiced by Bill SmitrovichBill Smitrovich-Personal life:Bill Smitrovich was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut, the son of Anna and Stanley William Zmitrowicz, a tool and die maker. Bill is a graduate of the University of Bridgeport and holds an MFA from Smith College . He is married to Shaw Purnell from Pittsburgh, PA...
. He helps the powerless Fantastic Four get into the Baxter Building when Doctor Doom takes it over. - Daredevil appears in the Spider-Man: The Animated SeriesSpider-Man (1994 TV series)Spider-Man, also known as Spider-Man: The Animated Series, is an American animated series starring the Marvel Comics superhero, Spider-Man. The show ran on Fox Kids from November 19, 1994, to January 31, 1998. The producer/story editor was John Semper, Jr. and production company was Marvel Films...
double episode "Framed"/"The Man Without Fear", voiced by Edward AlbertEdward AlbertEdward Albert was an American film and television actor. He was also known as Edward Laurence Albert, Laurence Edward Albert and occasionally Eddie Albert, Jr.-Early life:Albert was born Edward Laurence Heimberger in Los Angeles, California, to actor Eddie...
. J. Jonah Jameson hires Matt Murdock to defend Peter Parker when he is framed for industrial espionage by Richard Fisk. These episodes were later incorporated into the direct-to-DVD animated film Daredevil vs Spider-Man.
Film
- Daredevil, portrayed by Rex SmithRex SmithRex Smith is an American actor and singer. Smith debuted in the Broadway play Grease in 1978. He is noted for his role as Jesse Mach in the 1985 television series Street Hawk, as well as being a singer and stage actor. During the late 1970s, Smith was popular as a teen idol...
, appears in the 1989 television movie, The Trial of the Incredible HulkThe Trial of the Incredible HulkThe Trial of the Incredible Hulk is a 1989 TV movie sequel to the 1970s Incredible Hulk television series, featuring both the Hulk and fellow Marvel Comics character Daredevil, who team up to defeat Wilson Fisk, the Kingpin...
. When David Banner (Bill BixbyBill BixbyWilfred Bailey Everett “Bill” Bixby III was an American film and television actor, director, and frequent game show panelist.His career spanned over three decades; he appeared on stage, in motion pictures and TV series...
) gets arrested, Matt Murdock helps to prove Banner's innocence. Daredevil tells his origins to Banner, which in this version involves Murdock being inspired by a police officer to become a hero. Later, with the help of HulkHulk (comics)The Hulk is a fictional character, a superhero in the . Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in The Incredible Hulk #1 ....
, he battles the Kingpin (John Rhys-DaviesJohn Rhys-DaviesJohn Rhys-Davies is a Welsh actor and voice actor. He is perhaps best known for playing the charismatic Arab excavator Sallah in the Indiana Jones films and the dwarf Gimli in The Lord of the Rings trilogy...
), called only Wilson Fisk here. While remaining fairly true to the source material of the Daredevil comic books, the largest change was that Daredevil's traditional costume, including his horns, was replaced with a black ninja-like outfit.
- In Jay and Silent Bob Strike BackJay and Silent Bob Strike BackJay and Silent Bob Strike Back is a 2001 American action adventure comedy film written, directed by, and starring Kevin Smith as Silent Bob, the fifth to be set in his View Askewniverse, a growing collection of characters and settings that developed out of his cult favorite Clerks...
, the title characters are being chased through a movie studioMovie studioA movie studio is a term used to describe a major entertainment company or production company that has its own privately owned studio facility or facilities that are used to film movies...
backlotBacklotA backlot is an area behind or adjoining a movie studio, containing permanent exterior buildings for outdoor scenes in filmmaking or television productions, or space for temporary set construction....
and interrupt the shooting of a fight scene for a Daredevil film, which includes the title character himself.
- In 2003, 20th Century Fox20th Century FoxTwentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...
released the film DaredevilDaredevil (film)Daredevil is a 2003 American superhero film written and directed by Mark Steven Johnson. Based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name, the film stars Ben Affleck as Matt Murdock, a blind lawyer who fights for justice in the courtroom and out of the courtroom as the masked vigilante Daredevil...
, written and directed by Mark Steven JohnsonMark Steven JohnsonMark Steven Johnson is an American film director and writer.Johnson was born in Hastings, Minnesota and attended California State University, Long Beach. He has directed and co-written the two comic book based films Daredevil and Ghost Rider. His early writing credits are for the film Grumpy Old...
. Actor Ben AffleckBen AffleckBenjamin Géza Affleck-Boldt , better known as Ben Affleck, is an American actor, film director, writer, and producer. He became known with his performances in Kevin Smith's films such as Mallrats and Chasing Amy...
starred as the titular character. A deleted scene in the 2005 ElektraElektra (2005 film)Elektra is a 2005 superhero film directed by Rob Bowman. It is a spin-off from the 2003 film Daredevil, starring the Marvel comics character Elektra Natchios . The story follows Elektra, an international assassin whose weapon of choice is a pair of sai.For the screenplay, Zak Penn, Stuart Zicherman...
movie, later included in the Director's Cut, has Affleck briefly reprising the role in a dream sequence.
Video games
- Daredevil made his first video game appearance in a cameo in Venom/Spider-Man: Separation Anxiety released in 1995. The character had a more expansive role as an alternate playable character in Spider-Man: Web of FireSpider-Man: Web of FireSpider-Man: Web of Fire is a video game released for the Sega 32X and based on the popular Marvel Comics character Spider-Man. The game was one of the last games released for the 32X system and thus is hard to find, commonly selling on eBay for well over 100 US dollars.In the game, the player...
, released in 1996, voiced by Dee Bradley BakerDee Bradley BakerDee Bradley Baker is an American voice actor. He is noted as his long-running-role as Klaus Heissler in American Dad! and other various characters including Squilliam Fancyson in the hit TV series SpongeBob SquarePants, Nightcrawler in X-Men: Legends and Marvel: Ultimate Alliance...
. - Daredevil appears in the 2000 Spider-ManSpider-Man (2000 video game)Spider-Man is an action video game based upon the Marvel Comics character of the same name. It is loosely based on the 1990s Spider-Man: The Animated Series. The game was developed by Neversoft and published by Activision. Released originally for the PlayStation and Nintendo 64 in 2000, the game...
video game voiced by Dee Bradley BakerDee Bradley BakerDee Bradley Baker is an American voice actor. He is noted as his long-running-role as Klaus Heissler in American Dad! and other various characters including Squilliam Fancyson in the hit TV series SpongeBob SquarePants, Nightcrawler in X-Men: Legends and Marvel: Ultimate Alliance...
. - Daredevil's largest role was as the title character in the Game Boy AdvanceGame Boy AdvanceThe is a 32-bit handheld video game console developed, manufactured, and marketed by Nintendo. It is the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001; in North America on June 11, 2001; in Australia and Europe on June 22, 2001; and in the People's Republic of China...
game based on the 2003 filmDaredevil (film)Daredevil is a 2003 American superhero film written and directed by Mark Steven Johnson. Based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name, the film stars Ben Affleck as Matt Murdock, a blind lawyer who fights for justice in the courtroom and out of the courtroom as the masked vigilante Daredevil...
. - Daredevil later starred as a playable character in the 2005 Marvel Nemesis: Rise of the ImperfectsMarvel Nemesis: Rise of the ImperfectsMarvel Nemesis: Rise of the Imperfects is a fighting game for the PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube, DS, and PSP, which ties into the "Marvel Nemesis" comic book series.-Gameplay:...
video game, voiced by David KayeDavid KayeDavid V. Hope , known professionally as David Kaye, is a Canadian American actor who is better recognized for his work as a voice actor...
. - Matt Murdock made a cameo in The PunisherThe Punisher (2005 video game)The Punisher is a 2005 action game which stars the Marvel Comics antihero, The Punisher. After his family was murdered by the mafia, Frank Castle devoted his life to the punishment of criminals. Players take control of the vigilante hero to track down criminals and kill them...
voiced by Steven BlumSteven BlumSteven Jay Blum is an American voice actor known primarily for his work in anime dubs and video games, using his distinctive deep voice. Among his credits include the voice of Spike Spiegel of the anime series Cowboy Bebop and Mugen of the anime series Samurai Champloo...
. He appeared as the Punisher's lawyer. - Daredevil appeared as an unlockable character in Marvel: Ultimate AllianceMarvel: Ultimate AllianceMarvel: Ultimate Alliance is an action role-playing game developed for PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Xbox and Xbox 360 by Raven Software and published by Activision. The game was simultaneously ported to the PlayStation Portable and Wii by Vicarious Visions, and to Microsoft Windows by Beenox...
voiced by Cam ClarkeCam ClarkeCameron Arthur "Cam" Clarke is a prolific American voice actor and singer, well known for his work in animation and video games. Clarke is well known for providing the voices of Leonardo in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Shotaro Kaneda in the 1989 original English-dub of Akira. He often voices...
. - Daredevil is a playable character in Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2 voiced by Brian BloomBrian BloomBrian Keith Bloom is an American actor, voice actor, and screenwriter.Bloom was born in Merrick, New York, the brother of producer/actor Scott Bloom and musician Mike Bloom....
- Matt Murdock makes a cameo appearance in Chris RedfieldChris Redfieldis a fictional character from Capcom's Resident Evil series.Chris is one of the two main protagonists in the first Resident Evil game, the other being Jill Valentine. Redfield returned as a playable character in Resident Evil Code: Veronica, where he must search for, and ultimately rescue, his...
's ending for Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two WorldsMarvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worldsis a crossover fighting game developed by Capcom. It features Capcom's own characters and characters from American comic book company Marvel Comics. It is the fifth installment of the Marvel vs...
, where he is shown acting as the prosecutor at the trial of Albert WeskerAlbert Weskeris a character in the Resident Evil franchise. Although portrayed as a supporting character in the first game, he was later established as the primary antagonist of the series; he usually manipulated story events behind-the-scenes and had a role in more games than the other main characters...
. In addition, on the Daily Bugle stage, there is an advertisement billboard for "Nelson & Murdock - Attorneys at Law." Daredevil appears in the ShadowlandShadowland (comics)"Shadowland" is a 2010 Marvel Comics storyline centering around Daredevil and other "street level" superheroes in the Marvel Universe.-Publication history:The storyline included a number of tie-in limited series and one shots...
stage in Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 in his black outfit. - Daredevil is a playable character in Marvel Super Hero Squad OnlineMarvel Super Hero Squad OnlineMarvel Super Hero Squad Online is a MMOG for younger audiences based on the Marvel Super Hero Squad franchise.The MMOG officially was released as a open beta on April 29, 2011 and a closed beta was released in early 2011. The first debut trailer for Marvel Super Hero Squad Online was released on...
, in his standard red outfit and his alternate classic yellow outfit. Brian BloomBrian BloomBrian Keith Bloom is an American actor, voice actor, and screenwriter.Bloom was born in Merrick, New York, the brother of producer/actor Scott Bloom and musician Mike Bloom....
reprises his role from Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2.
Toys
- Daredevil is featured in the Marvel LegendsMarvel LegendsMarvel Legends is an action figure line based on the characters of Marvel Comics, initially produced by Toy Biz, then by Hasbro. This line is in the scale, with spin-off lines in the , , and scale.-History:...
(third series) toy line. The action figure was based on the film version Ben AffleckBen AffleckBenjamin Géza Affleck-Boldt , better known as Ben Affleck, is an American actor, film director, writer, and producer. He became known with his performances in Kevin Smith's films such as Mallrats and Chasing Amy...
starred in. 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. - The "Spider-Man Classics" toy line (which was a precursor to Marvel Legends) also included a Daredevil figure, clad in his traditional red costume. The action figure resembles MarvelMarvel ComicsMarvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
Editor-in-Chief Joe QuesadaJoe QuesadaJoseph "Joe" Quesada is an American comic book editor, writer and artist. He became known in the 1990s for his work on various Valiant Comics books, such as Ninjak and Solar, Man of the Atom...
's representation of Daredevil; it is derived from Quesada's stint as an artist on Daredevil. Accessories to the figure include the two billy clubs that the character uses. Unlike the mainstream comics, the clubs are white (rather than red). An expensive variant of the character also included him in his original yellow and black garb, released in the same series. - Daredevil is the 13th figurine in the Classic Marvel Figurine Collection.
- Daredevil was featured in wave one of the first series in the 3 3/4" Marvel UniverseMarvel Universe (toyline)Marvel Universe is a 3 3/4" action figure line manufactured by Hasbro, featuring characters from the Marvel Comics universe. It first hit stores in early 2009 and features detailed sculpting, multiple points of articulation, and accessories...
line.
Awards and accolades
- Daredevil #227: "Apocalypse", Best Single Issue - 1986 Kirby AwardKirby AwardThe Jack Kirby Award for achievement in comic books was presented from 1985-1987 by Amazing Heroes magazine, and managed by Fantagraphics employee Dave Olbrich...
s - Daredevil: Born Again, Best Writer/Artist (single or team), Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli - 1987 Kirby Awards
- Daredevil: The Man Without Fear, Favorite Limited Comic-Book Series - 1992 Comics Buyer's GuideComics Buyer's GuideComics Buyer's Guide , established in 1971, is the longest-running English-language periodical reporting on the American comic book industry...
Fan Award - Daredevil: Yellow, Favorite Limited Comic-Book Series - 2001 Comics Buyer's Guide Fan Award
- Daredevil (by writer Brian Michael BendisBrian Michael BendisBrian Michael Bendis is an American comic book writer and erstwhile artist. He has won critical acclaim for his self-published, Image Comics and Marvel Comics work, and is one of the most successful writers working in mainstream comics, with his books selling consistently highly for over a...
and artist Alex MaleevAlex MaleevAlex Maleev is a Bulgarian-born comic book illustrator, best known for the Marvel Comics' series Daredevil , collaborating with writer Brian Michael Bendis.-Career:...
), Best Continuing Series - 2003 Eisner AwardEisner AwardThe Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, commonly shortened to the Eisner Awards, and sometimes referred to as the Oscar Awards of the Comics Industry, are prizes given for creative achievement in American comic books. The Eisner Awards were first conferred in 1988, created in response to the...
s - Daredevil, Best Writer, Ed Brubaker - 2007 Harvey AwardHarvey AwardThe Harvey Awards, named for writer-artist Harvey Kurtzman and founded by Gary Groth, President of the publisher Fantagraphics, are given for achievement in comic books. The Harveys were created as part of a successor to the Kirby Awards which were discontinued after 1987.The Harvey Awards are...
Daredevil was named one of Empire
Empire (magazine)
Empire is a British film magazine published monthly by Bauer Consumer Media. From the first issue in July 1989, the magazine was edited by Barry McIlheney and published by Emap. Bauer purchased Emap Consumer Media in early 2008...
Wizard (magazine)
Wizard or Wizard: The Magazine of Comics, Entertainment and Pop Culture was a magazine about comic books, published monthly in the United States by Wizard Entertainment from July 1991 to January 2011...
See also
- Bibliography of Daredevil titlesBibliography of Daredevil titlesThis is a list of titles featuring the popular Marvel Comics character Daredevil.-Main series:* Daredevil #1–380 * Daredevil vol. 2, #1–119/"381–499" Note: With issue #22, began official dual-numbering with original series, as #22 / 402, etc.* Daredevil #500–512 This is a list of titles featuring...
- Animal echolocationAnimal echolocationEcholocation, also called biosonar, is the biological sonar used by several kinds of animals.Echolocating animals emit calls out to the environment and listen to the echoes of those calls that return from various objects near them. They use these echoes to locate and identify the objects...
- Ben Underwood
External links
- Daredevil at ManWithoutFear, a fan site
- Daredevil at The Other Murdock Papers, a fan site
- Interview at Abnormal Use with writer Mark WaidMark WaidMark Waid is an American comic book writer. He is well known for his eight-year run as writer of the DC Comics' title The Flash, as well as his scripting of the limited series Kingdom Come and Superman: Birthright, and his work on Marvel Comics' Captain America...
regarding Matt Murdock's legal career - Wolk, Douglas. "Secrets, lies — and lawyers!". Salon.comSalon.comSalon.com, part of Salon Media Group , often just called Salon, is an online liberal magazine, with content updated each weekday. Salon was founded by David Talbot and launched on November 20, 1995. It was the internet's first online-only commercial publication. The magazine focuses on U.S...
. January 5, 2006. - Marvel Toonzone: Daredevil
- Daredevil cover gallery
- The Man Without Fear at FactBehindFiction.com