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Overview[]
Background[]
Daredevil Vol.1 #1 (April, 1964)
Daredevil is a Marvel Comics superhero who debuted in Daredevil #1 in April of 1964. He was created by Stan Lee, Bill Everett, and Jack Kirby. However artist Wally Wood is credited with being a major influence on the character as he soon revamped Daredevil with a major costume alteration. Wood gave Daredevil's signature pure red costume that has been the hallmark of his appearances for decades ever since.
Originally Daredevil was a blind lawyer known as Matt Murdock who was exposed to a radioactive chemical as a child that robbed him of his sight and left him with enhanced sensory capabilities. He was originally portrayed as a lighthearted playful trickster and a swashbuckler without much combat skill who instead relied on his uncanny acrobatics thanks to his every-helpful "radar sense" along with his trademark billy club with its built-in grappling hook/line that he disguised as his folding cane as Matt Murdock.
Although not as popular as his other Marvel Comics contemporaries such as Spider-Man; Daredevil has remained a steady fixture in the Marvel-verse for decades. His background and origin also underwent a retcon with the seminal work of artist/writer Frank Miller in the 1980s which catapulted DD to untold heights of popularity. It also cemented his presence as a major figure in the New York underworld as "The Man Without Fear" and redefined his past continuity, transforming him into a much more moodier and edgier hard hitting vigilante.
As told by Miller, Matt Murdock was born in Hell's Kitchen as the son of Battlin' Jack Murdock, a second-rate boxer whose wife left them to join a convent. Jack Murdock was forced to supplemented his meager income by becoming a petty enforcer for Roscoe "Fixer" Sweeney, a local mobster. Jack begged Matt to not become like him and to study and make something of himself. His studious habits made him the target of neighborhood bullies who taunted him as a coward and nicknamed as "Daredevil" by his refusal to fight back.
The Devil in Red
One day, a freight truck filled with radioactive chemicals was passing through Hell's Kitchen and was about to hit a blind pedestrian when Matt spotted it and pushed the old man out of the way. There was a spill and the radioactive material was splashed into his face. Although he recovered, Matt was left permanently blinded yet his remaining senses were elevated to superhuman levels. Shortly afterwards, he encountered Stick; a strange eccentric who was blind himself who taught Matt how to employ his remaining senses and allowed Matt to develop his "radar sense" and training him in advanced martial arts.
Stick had hopes of inducting Matt into an elite secret order of martial artists known as "The Chaste" who are legendary warriors for good and order. However Matt proved far too temperamental and emotional. His father Jack Murdock was then ordered to take a dive during a rigged boxing match by Sweeney and refused, costing Sweeney a fortune. In retaliation, Sweeney had Jack murdered and Matt flew into a murderous rampage and killed Sweeney and his mob; causing Stick to dismiss him as a failure.
Murdock would go to law school and become a talented lawyer, befriending Foggy Nelson and would ultimately be driven into adopting a costumed identity as a vigilante and took up the moniker of "Daredevil" as a reminder of the taunts that his childhood bullies had given him as the Guardian Devil of Hell's Kitchen.
Over the years, he has become the arch nemesis of the Kingpin, the assassin Bullseye, the mad Typhoid Mary, Mister Fear, and the ninja criminal organization known as the Hand which has been long time adversaries to the Chaste. He has also had a long-time affair with Elektra who has been both ally and enemy to Murdock and has been an assassin and operative in employ of the Hand. Although often independent and preferring to operate as a solo urban vigilante, DD has been known to partner with Spider-Man and as wary allies with the Punisher.
Over the decades since his comic book debut, Daredevil has also appeared in numerous other media including animated cartoons featuring Marvel characters; usually as a guest star but he has also starred in his own feature film, Daredevil (2003) and a live action TV series.
Major Plots[]
Personality and Traits[]
Appearances[]
Films[]
TV Series[]
Trivia[]
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Other Versions[]
- Daredevil (Spider-Man & His Amazing Friends)
- Daredevil (Spider-Man 1994)
- Daredevil (Fantastic Four 1994)
