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| Daredevil | |
| Aliases: | Daredevil; Matthew Murdock |
| Continuity: | Marvel Universe |
| Notability: | Main character |
| Type: | Superhero |
| Gender: | Male |
| Race: | Altered human |
| Location: | Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan, New York City, New York |
| Associations: | Nelson & Murdock Broderick, Sloan & Murdock |
| Relatives: | Jack Murdock (father); Maggie Murdock (mother); Milla Donovan (ex-wife) |
| Status: | Alive |
| First: | Daredevil, Vol. 1 #1 |
Daredevil is a fictional comic book superhero featured in titles published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Stan Lee and artists Bill Everett and Steve Ditko and debuted in the first issue of his own ongoing series, Daredevil. The series began publication in April, 1964 with the introduction of the character and continued for 380 issues before being discontinued in 1998. The series was then relaunched as Daredevil, Volume 2, which ran for 119 issues before the title reverted back to the original number sequence beginning with issue #500.
Overview[]
Matt during his early adventures.
Daredevil is really Matt Murdock, a blind lawyer and partner in the firm of Nelson & Murdock. As a child, Murdock was permanently blinded when he was doused with chemicals from a cannister falling from the back of a truck while trying to save an elderly man's life. Though he lost his ability to see, he gained much more in return. His remaining senses increased 100-fold and he developed a radar sense that substitutes for his lost vision. Trained by a blind fighter known as Stick, Murdock has since become an urban crime fighter known as Daredevil.
In film & television[]
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"Hey, I'm animated!"
Daredevil made his first television appearance in October, 1983 when he appeared on the "Attack of the Arachnoid" episode of the Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends cartoon series. He was voiced by actor Frank Welker, who also provided the voices of Bobby Drake and Flash Thompson on the series.
The first live-action television appearance of the character was in 1989 when he appeared in the TV movie The Trial of the Incredible Hulk, where he was played by actor Rex Smith. Although he wore a different costume than that which most fans are familiar with, his background in the film was in-keeping with his origin from the comics.
In 1995, Daredevil made his first appearance as an animated character. He appeared in the season two premiere episode of the Fantastic Four cartoon titled, "And a Blind Man Shall Lead Them". He was voiced by actor Bill Smitrovich in this episode.
Daredevil appeared again in the Spider-Man animated series in 1996. This time voiced by Edward Albert, he appeared in chapters six and seven of the "Sins of the Fathers" serial. In this storyline, Matt Murdock must prove Peter Parker's innocence after Parker is framed for treason. These episodes were also included on the Spider-Man: Sins of the Fathers home video collection.
Charlie Cox in Daredevil.
Not to take away from the Man Without Fear's efforts on the small screen, but it should likewise be noted that Daredevil also received his own full-length feature film in 2003, aptly titled Daredevil. Played by actor Ben Affleck, this version of Daredevil was inspired by the works of Frank Miller, who drafted many issues of Daredevil, Volume 1 during the 1980s. Although Miller's work on the title is critically acclaimed and cited by many as being the definitive Daredevil, the feature film failed to impress and performed poorly at the box office.
It took more than a decade for some fans to forgive the 2003 treatment, but salvation for many came in the form the Daredevil live-action television series, which was produced as a streaming video series on Netflix in 2015. In the series, Charlie Cox picked up the mask and billy club to fight injustice as Daredevil. The costume worn by Cox in season one of the series is reminiscent of the one worn by Rex Smith in The Trial of the Incredible Hulk.
Powers[]
Equipment[]
- Billy club: Daredevil's billy club is a multi-functional tool and weapon. It has an overall length of 34 inches and weighs 5.7 lbs. The shaft is composed of aircraft-grade aluminum. [1] It is mainly used as a truncheon, not disimilar from the night sticks employed by security guards, prison guards, orderlies and even some law-enforcement personnel. The truncheon separates into two several components and contains a filament line housed within the interior, which is connected to a case-hardened steel grapnel. The handgrip is made out of vinyl butyrate and can also be extended to create a solid straight instrument.
Allies[]
- Franklin "Foggy" Nelson: Franklin "Foggy" Nelson is a New York City lawyer. He is Matt Murdock's partner and best friend. A competent attorney in his own right, Foggy's good-hearted nature often comes across as bufoonery, especially when in the presence of his mother. For many years, Foggy was unaware that Murdock and Daredevil were the same person, but has since become of Matt's most trusted confidantes.
- Karen Page: Karen Page was hired to work as a secretary for Matt Murdock and Foggy Nelson when they opened their law firm together. Falling love with Murdock, she became Daredevil/Murdock's long time love interest. Even though she kept her love for Murdock a secret, she would often look for ways to cure his blindness. Karen left the firm for some time to pursue a career in acting, but the Hollywood lifestyle steered her into a life of drug addiction. With Murdock's help, she eventually cleaned herself up and became his partner at a small free legal clinic they set up in Hell's Kitchen. Karen Page was tragically killed at the hands of one of Daredevil's most notorious foes - Bullseye.
- Black Widow: The Black Widow is a former Russian spy named Natasha Romanov. For a brief period of time, Daredevil and she were partners in crime-fighting while they were based out of San Francisco, California. The two also shared a momentary romantic relationship with one another, but drifted apart after Matt returned to New York. Still, the Black Widow is always ready to lend a hand should Daredevil ever need assistance.
- Elektra: Elektra Nachios is a deadly assassin of Greek descent. Trained by Stick - the same individual who mentored Daredevil - she came to New York where she reunited with her college sweetheart, Matt Murdock. Daredevil's sworn enemy, the Kingpin hired Bullseye to kill Elektra and succeeded in impaling her with one of her own sais. Thanks to the mysticism of Stick's order, the Chaste, Elektra was resurrected and continues to use her talents to wage war against the criminal underworld.
- Spider-Man: Daredevil does not often mingle with the other members of the superhero community, but when it comes to rooftopping, there is nobody better to have in your corner than the Amazing Spider-Man. Spidey and DD have teamed up on several occasions to fight up against foes such as the Kingpin, the Unholy Trio, Electro and the Owl.
Enemies[]
- The Kingpin: Whereas Superman has his Lex Luthor, so too does Daredevil have his own bald-headed criminal mastermind - Wilson Fisk - the Kingpin of Crime. No other adversary has proven to be more of a thorn in Daredevil's side than the Kingpin. Daredevil's entire career has been governed towards toppling the criminal underworld and the Kingpin lords over all of it. The Kingpin struck a decisive blow against Daredevil's crusade however when he discovered his secret identity and used this information to turn Matt Murdock's life upside down.
- Bullseye: If the Kingpin is the man pulling the strings, than Bullseye is the string himself. A vicious and sadistic mercenary and assassin, Bullseye will take any job - so long as the price is right. Bullseye has only one talent - killing, and he excels at it more than other. In his hands, even a paper clip can be a deadly weapon. As if this weren't enough, Bullseye got promoted to the big leagues of super-villainy when he had his spine laced with unbreakable Adamantium. Bullseye is responsible for murdering two of Matt Murdock's longtime love interests, Karen Page and Elektra.
- The Owl: The Owl is the code name of Leland Owlsley, a mutant whose Avian physiology enables him to harness enhanced strength, preternatural senses and talon-like claws.
- Stilt-Man: Stilt-Man is actually a scientist named Wilbur Day, one of Daredevil's more colorful villains. He stole designs for a mechanical ramming device and used them to create a suit of armor with telescoping legs.
Alternate versions[]
- Daredevil - 2003 Daredevil feature film.
- Daredevil - Ultimate Marvel Universe.
- Daredevil - Marvel 2099 timeline.
- Daredevil - MC2 reality.
- Daredevil - Mutant X reality.
- Daredevil - Marvel Zombies reality
- Daredevil - House of M reality.
- Daredevil - From Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends.
- Daredevil - From the 1994 Spider-Man animated series.
- Daredevil - Incredible Hulk TV-series reality.
- Daredevil - Earth-65, "Spider-Gwen" reality.
Notes & Trivia[]
- The character of Matt Murdock was created by writer Stan Lee, artist Bill Everett and inker Steve Ditko.
- A Daredevil dart board is hung up at the Bar With No Name II in Hell's Kitchen. [2]
Recommended Reading[]
See also[]
External Links[]
References[]
- ↑ Make Mine Marvel: Marvel Universe Trading Card Series 2, Card #129; "Daredevil's Billy Club"; 1991
- ↑ Amazing Spider-Man Vol 5 6
Appearances[]