fiction Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying individuals, events, or places that are imaginary, or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent with history, fact, or plausibility. In a traditi ...

character Character or Characters may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''Character'' (novel), a 1936 Dutch novel by Ferdinand Bordewijk * ''Characters'' (Theophrastus), a classical Greek set of character sketches attributed to The ...

Charlie Cox Charlie Thomas Cox (born 15 December 1982) is an English actor. He is known for portraying Matt Murdock / Daredevil in several projects of the Marvel Cinematic Universe franchise, including lead roles in the television series ''Daredevil'' (201 ...

Marvel Cinematic Universe The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on a series of superhero films produced by Marvel Studios. The films are based on characters that appear in American comic books published by ...

media franchise A media franchise, also known as a multimedia franchise, is a collection of related media in which several derivative works have been produced from an original creative work of fiction, such as a film, a work of literature, a television program or ...

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...

alias Alias may refer to: * Pseudonym * Pen name * Nickname Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Alias'' (2013 film), a 2013 Canadian documentary film * ''Alias'' (TV series), an American action thriller series 2001–2006 * ''Alias the ...

Foggy Nelson Franklin Percy "Foggy" Nelson is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character has been depicted as part of the supporting cast of Daredevil (Matt Murdock); Foggy is Matt's best friend and, for m ...

Karen Page Karen Page is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. She serves as the original love interest for Daredevil, under Matt Murdock's employ as his legal secretary. In 1999, Page was killed by Bullseye, a ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

vigilante Vigilantism () is the act of preventing, investigating and punishing perceived offenses and crimes without Right, legal authority. A vigilante (from Spanish, Italian and Portuguese “vigilante”, which means "sentinel" or "watcher") is a pers ...

Hell's Kitchen Hell's Kitchen, also known as Clinton, is a neighborhood on the West Side of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is considered to be bordered by 34th Street (or 41st Street) to the south, 59th Street to the north, Eighth Avenue to the ea ...

Wilson Fisk The Kingpin (Wilson Grant Fisk) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by Stan Lee and John Romita Sr., and first appeared in ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' #50 (cover-dated July 19 ...

Defenders Defender(s) or The Defender(s) may refer to: *Defense (military) *Defense (sports) **Defender (association football) Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''The Defender'' (1989 film), a Canadian documentary * ''The Defender'' (1994 f ...

Peter Parker Spider-Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appearance, first appeared in the anthology comic book ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August ...

Leap-Frog Leapfrog is a children's game in which players vault over each other's stooped backs. History Games of this sort have been called by this name since at least the late sixteenth century.Jennifer Walters, who he subsequently enters a romantic relationship with. In addition to Parker and Walters, he would also come to the defense of and befriend other heroes, namely Jessica Jones,

Luke Cage Lucas "Luke" Cage, born Carl Lucas and also known as Power Man, is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He first appeared in ''Luke Cage, Hero for Hire'' #1 (June 1972) and was created by Archie Go ...

,

Danny Rand Iron Fist (Daniel Thomas "Danny" Rand) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Roy Thomas and Gil Kane, Iron Fist first appeared in ''Marvel Premiere'' #15 (May 1974). The character is ...

, and

Frank Castle The Punisher (Francis "Frank" Castle, born Castiglione) is an antihero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Gerry Conway and artists John Romita Sr. and Ross Andru. The Punisher ma ...

, among other acquaintances. , the character has appeared in the

Marvel Television Marvel Television was an American television production company responsible for live-action and animated (through Marvel Animation) television shows and direct-to-DVD series based on characters from Marvel Comics. The division was based at affi ...

series '' Daredevil'' (2015–2018), the miniseries '' The Defenders'' (2017), the

Marvel Studios Marvel Studios, LLC (originally known as Marvel Films from 1993 to 1996) is an American film and television production company that is a subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios, a division of the Walt Disney Company. Marvel Studios produces the Mar ...

film '' Spider-Man: No Way Home'' (2021) and the

Disney+ The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and interest of an audience or gives pleasure and deligh ...

television series '' She-Hulk: Attorney at Law'' (2022). Future appearances include ''

Echo In audio signal processing and acoustics, an echo is a reflection of sound that arrives at the listener with a delay after the direct sound. The delay is directly proportional to the distance of the reflecting surface from the source and the lis ...

'' (2023) and '' Daredevil: Born Again'' (2024), as well as the animated series '' Spider-Man: Freshman Year'' (2024). Cox's portrayal received significant praise critically and from fans, with the "#SaveDaredevil" campaign and petition being launched for his return after ''Daredevil'' cancellation in 2018, which Cox attributed in October 2022 as having been responsible for his return to the role.

Concept and creation

The character Daredevil made his first appearance in his own self-titled issue, '' Daredevil'' #1 (April 1964), written by

Stan Lee Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber ; December 28, 1922 – November 12, 2018) was an American comic book writer, editor, publisher, and producer. He rose through the ranks of a family-run business called Timely Publications which ...

and art by

Bill Everett William Blake Everett (; May 18, 1917 – February 27, 1973) was an American comic book writer-artist best known for creating Namor the Sub-Mariner as well as co-creating Zombie and Daredevil with writer Stan Lee for Marvel Comics. He was alle ...

with unspecified input provided by

Jack Kirby Jack Kirby (born Jacob Kurtzberg; August 28, 1917 – February 6, 1994) was an American comic book artist, writer and editor, widely regarded as one of the medium's major innovators and one of its most prolific and influential creators. He gr ...

, who devised Daredevil's billy club. In 2013,

Marvel Television Marvel Television was an American television production company responsible for live-action and animated (through Marvel Animation) television shows and direct-to-DVD series based on characters from Marvel Comics. The division was based at affi ...

and

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

announced that they would provide

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

with television series centered around Daredevil, Jessica Jones,

Luke Cage Lucas "Luke" Cage, born Carl Lucas and also known as Power Man, is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He first appeared in ''Luke Cage, Hero for Hire'' #1 (June 1972) and was created by Archie Go ...

, Iron Fist, leading to the ''

Defenders Defender(s) or The Defender(s) may refer to: *Defense (military) *Defense (sports) **Defender (association football) Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''The Defender'' (1989 film), a Canadian documentary * ''The Defender'' (1994 f ...

'' crossover miniseries. In May 2014,

Charlie Cox Charlie Thomas Cox (born 15 December 1982) is an English actor. He is known for portraying Matt Murdock / Daredevil in several projects of the Marvel Cinematic Universe franchise, including lead roles in the television series ''Daredevil'' (201 ...

was announced to portray Murdock, with Steven DeKnight being brought in to be the showrunner of the first season.

Casting

The idea of casting Cox as Daredevil came from Marvel's chief creative officer

Joe Quesada Joseph Quesada (; born January 12, 1962'' Comics Buyer's Guide'' #1650; February 2009; page 107) is an American comic book artist, writer, editor, and television producer. He became known in the 1990s for his work on various Valiant Comics books ...

in 2012, before

Marvel Studios Marvel Studios, LLC (originally known as Marvel Films from 1993 to 1996) is an American film and television production company that is a subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios, a division of the Walt Disney Company. Marvel Studios produces the Mar ...

gained the rights to the character from

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...

. Cox wanted to be involved with the series after reading the first two scripts for '' Daredevil'' (2015), telling his agent "These are two of the best TV scripts I've read". Skylar Gaertner portrays a young Murdock in ''Daredevil''. Cox later explained that, unlike the Marvel comic book character, his version of Daredevil would not be a "man without fear", saying "Someone who does not have fear – literally does not experience fear – is not that interesting. The way I like to think about it is that he is a man with fear, but he on a daily basis decides to confront that fear and to overcome it. So the title of 'the man without fear' is almost a title that the public in his world gives him just because of what he does. But inside himself, he's very afraid at times. And he finds a way to confront those fears and punch through it." Cox "had to do a lot of gym work" to change his physique to equal that of the more muscular character as drawn in the comics.

Series cancellation and revival

In November 2018,

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

cancelled the series after three seasons. Though the seasons would remain to stream on the service, the character would "live on in future projects for Marvel". Cox was saddened by the cancellation, since it "felt like we had a lot of stories to tell", especially since he had been excited by what had been discussed for a potential fourth season, adding that he was hopeful for an opportunity to portray the character again. Following the series' cancellation, fans launched a petition to revive the series with the "SaveDaredevil" hashtag. The petition amassed over 300,000 signatures. In June 2020, Cox was unexpectedly contacted by Marvel Studios president

Kevin Feige Kevin Feige ( ; born June 2, 1973) is an American film and television producer who has been the president of Marvel Studios and the primary producer of the Marvel Cinematic Universe franchise since 2007. The films he has produced have a combin ...

about reprising his role as Matt Murdock in the

Marvel Cinematic Universe The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on a series of superhero films produced by Marvel Studios. The films are based on characters that appear in American comic books published by ...

(MCU) projects '' Spider-Man: No Way Home'' and '' She-Hulk: Attorney at Law''. Cox's return to the role was confirmed by Feige in December 2021.

Jessica Henwick Jessica Yu-Li Henwick (born 30 August 1992) is a BAFTA nominated English actress, writer and director. She is known for her roles as Nymeria Sand in the HBO series ''Game of Thrones'' (2015–2017), X-wing pilot Jessika Pava in the film '' S ...

, who co-stars with Cox as

Colleen Wing Colleen Wing is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Descended from a family of samurai, Wing is a Japanese martial artist who avenged her grandfather's death with the help of the superhero Iron Fis ...

in ''The Defenders'', indicated that he had known about the opportunity to reprise the role in Marvel Studios production years prior. The writers of ''She-Hulk'' initially believed they would not have been able to feature the character in the series, and were eventually told by the studio that they were able to use the character. In October 2022, Cox explained that he approached Marvel Studios' Daredevil as the same character from the Netflix series, saying it "should be and is always", and Murdock changed to fit tonally, attributing his MCU return to the "#SaveDaredevil" campaign and petition later that month.

Design

Murdock's suits are differentiated more by texture than color, with a limited palette, "Because, obviously, he can't see his colors, but he has to know anything he chooses is going to coordinate with one another". Cox's size changed throughout the series as he continued to work out. Murdock begins the first season wearing a black costume (called the "vigilante outfit" by production), inspired by the one worn by the character in

Frank Miller Frank Miller (born January 27, 1957) is an American comic book writer, penciller and inker, novelist, screenwriter, film director, and producer known for his comic book stories and graphic novels such as his run on ''Daredevil'' and subsequen ...

's '' The Man Without Fear'', rather than the more traditional red, horned suit. This was done to highlight the formation of Matt Murdock as Daredevil, with the costume evolving over time as the character develops. Quesada conceptualized the look based on DeKnight's specifications. Maslansky noted that they wanted the outfit to "look like something that Matt Murdock could put together himself, that he could either order off the Internet or shop around town. ... I went to army/navy stores. I went online. I looked at athletic clothing, compression clothing, military stuff and construction stuff....we wound up with pretty practical choices for him. His shirts are compression shirts and his pants wound up being from an army/navy store". Concerning the black mask, Maslansky noted that a balance between aesthetic and safety was required, and that "It's made out of a cotton mesh. Layers and layers of it. It has to really conform to his head, but at the same time, he had to be able to see through it." On the red suit that Murdock gets at the end of the first season, Maslansky said, "We wanted something that looked militaristic and functional, but also dramatic and sexy" adding that it was "tricky" making it practical. To begin the process of creating the suit, Quesada contacted Ryan Meinerding and the costume artists and design team at Marvel Studios, who all contributed design ideas, with one of Meinerding's ultimately being picked. Quesada, who previously worked as an artist on ''Daredevil'' comics, gave several suggestions, including the use of rivets and "architectural" shapes as a reference to the creation of New York City. The suit is intended to look like a Kevlar vest, and the black sections are an homage to comic panels where the artists highlighted certain areas with red, with "deeper portions" in shadow. On the mask, Meinerding noted the difficulty in designing the entire top half of a face that is intended to match the bottom half of an actor's face, "because half of his face has to be covered and has its own expression and the actor's face is going to be doing something else".

Evolution into Daredevil

Talking about why the traditional "DD" does not appear on Murdock's red suit, and other difficulties with adapting the suit to live action, DeKnight explained that "he got the suit before he got the name. We talked a lot about DD on the suit, which is one of the more problematic emblems in superhero-dom. It's a little wonky. His suit in the comics is very difficult to translate to screen, especially in this world that is grounded and gritty. There are some practical difficulties. The Daredevil outfit in the comics, his mask only covers half his nose. It doesn't come all the way down to the tip. We discovered when we were trying to design it that if you didn't bring it all the way down, you could clearly tell it was Charlie. Not only did we have the suspension of belief that nobody would know "hey, that's Matt Murdock" we also had the practical problem of it becoming almost impossible when it came to switching in and out our stunt double. So we had to make that adjustment". In ''She-Hulk: Attorney at Law'', Daredevil's costume is similar to the red one he wore in the Netflix series, but with an updated color scheme to include the yellow helmet and accents from the character's debut comics design in ''Daredevil'' #1. Marvel Studios had clear intentions as to what his costume would look like for the series.

Characterization

DeKnight has explained that Murdock is "not super strong. He's not invulnerable... he just has senses that are better than a normal human's". On the character's "grey" morals, he noted, "He's a lawyer by day, and he's taken this oath. But every night he breaks that oath, and goes out and does very violent things". The character's

Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

plays a large role in the series, with DeKnight calling him "one of the most, if not the most, religious characters in the Marvel Universe". Cox, who was raised Catholic, found that helpful, saying, "You grow up steeped in that. If you're in church, standing in front of the altar, you sort of automatically know how to respond. It all kicks in – you genuflect, you sit in the pew. I didn't have to pretend any of that". On how the name Daredevil is revealed in the series, DeKnight explained that "We talked about, do we do one of the versions in the comics where when he was a kid people used to taunt him with the name Daredevil, but that didn't quite feel like our world. At one point we were going to have

Ben Urich Benjamin "Ben" Urich is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character usually appears in comic books featuring Daredevil and Spider-Man. Urich is a chain-smoking, tough-as-nails investigative jo ...

(

Vondie Curtis-Hall Vondie Curtis-Hall is an American actor, screenwriter, film director, and television director. As an actor, he is known for his role as Dr. Dennis Hancock on the CBS medical drama ''Chicago Hope'' created by David E. Kelley and as Ben Urich in the ...

) give him the name, but the timing wasn't right from where he's in his black outfit and then gets his suit, which is after Ben's untimely demise. The solution was to play that off-screen and then hit it in the paper that he's been given this name Daredevil". On portraying the character, Cox said, "There are so many aspects. There's the blindness and physicality. Making a show is about human emotion, conflict and turmoil. When meeting a man who's a lawyer by day and believes in law and justice and then a man by night is someone who takes the law into his own hands. He deals with battles dealing with that concept". Elaborating on the difficulties of playing the character, Cox said, "I put on a shirt but I can't look where the buttons are, because Daredevil wouldn't know where the buttons are, but I also can't fumble". Cox worked with blind consultant Joe Strechay, and was conscious of what his eyes were doing at all times, to ensure they would not look at or react to something unlike a blind person. For '' The Defenders'', Cox felt the second season—in which Murdock fought alongside Elektra Natchios and the

Punisher The Punisher (Francis "Frank" Castle, born Castiglione) is an antihero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Gerry Conway and artists John Romita Sr. and Ross Andru. The Punisher made ...

– prepared the character to accept help in the series, and that moving into the miniseries the death of Natchios would be weighing heavily on Murdock. Ramirez likened Murdock and Natchios' relationship to a more overtly sexual version of

Edward Norton Edward Harrison Norton (born August 18, 1969) is an American actor and filmmaker. He has received numerous awards and nominations, including a Golden Globe Award and three Academy Award nominations. Born in Boston, Massachusetts and raised ...

and

Brad Pitt William Bradley Pitt (born December 18, 1963) is an American actor and film producer. He is the recipient of various accolades, including two Academy Awards, a British Academy Film Award, two Golden Globe Awards, and a Primetime Emmy Award. ...

's characters in ''

Fight Club ''Fight Club'' is a 1999 American film directed by David Fincher and starring Brad Pitt, Edward Norton, and Helena Bonham Carter. It is based on the 1996 novel of the same name by Chuck Palahniuk. Norton plays the unnamed narrator, who is d ...

'' (1999), with Natchios being Murdock's "burden to deal with" after she is resurrected. The ending of ''The Defenders'' implied elements of the third season would be inspired by the " Born Again" story arc, with Cox being excited to adapt "Born Again", calling it an "amazing story" and that the implications of the story on the season would be " exciting". Season three showrunner

Erik Oleson Erik Oleson is an American television writer and producer. He is best known for being the Showrunner and Executive Producer of the second season of Amazon Prime Video's '' Carnival Row'', and the critically acclaimed third and final season of ...

drew inspiration from both "Born Again" and "

Guardian Devil "Guardian Devil" is an eight-issue Daredevil story arc originally published by Marvel Comics in ''Daredevil'' (vol. 2) #1-8. It features the hero suddenly caring for an infant that may be either the Messiah or the Antichrist. The issues were writt ...

" for the tone of the season, structurally building the season if any viewer was a "devout Catholic... you could read into the events of the early episodes as a message from God to Matt" and noting that Murdock would "broken physically, broken emotionally, and broken spiritually" with his heightened senses failing him, adding that Murdock is "angry at God, angry at the fact he had risked his life to do God's work, and he's questioning whether or not he was a fool." This results in Murdock donning the black suit from season one, since he goes to "pretty much the darkest place you can" and is at a point where he's "incapable of being Daredevil, ndhe would rather just end it than go forward in his life without abilities." For the character's appearance in ''She-Hulk: Attorney at Law'', star

Tatiana Maslany Tatiana Gabriele Maslany ( ; born September 22, 1985) is a Canadian actress. She rose to prominence for playing multiple characters in the science fiction thriller television series ''Orphan Black'' (2013–2017), which won her a Primetime Emmy ...

called Murdock and her character Jennifer Walters best friends, while lead director

Kat Coiro Kat Coiro is an American filmmaker known for directing Marry Me (2022 film), ''Marry Me'', a romantic comedy starring Jennifer Lopez, Owen Wilson, and Malumaa box-office success for Universal Pictures in 2022. She directed and executive produced ...

said the two "match each other's wits". Head writer

Jessica Gao Jessica Gao (born January 2, 1984) is an American television writer and producer, who was creator and head writer of the TV series '' She-Hulk: Attorney at Law''. She also worked on the third season of ''Rick and Morty'', writing the episode " P ...

stated that they have a commonality in both being lawyers who are also superheroes. By featuring Murdock in the series, the writers were allowed to have the character "play in the tone" of the series, which is a half-hour legal comedy, and explore a "lighter side" to him from his previous darker portrayals, such as in the Netflix series. On Murdock's appearances in ''Spider-Man: No Way Home'' and ''She-Hulk'', Cox explained: "It should be and it is always the same character. The difference is just like with people, we morph and change and are very different based on what's going on in our lives. The Matt Murdock from the Netflix show, that world and what was going on for Matt meant that most of the time we were living with a man who had a huge amount of pressure and strain and tonally the show was very dark and gritty and heavy. I don't know what Daredevil:_Born_Again''.html" ;"title="' Daredevil: Born Again''">' Daredevil: Born Again''will be like, but when I came over to do ''Spider-Man'' and ''She-Hulk'', the tone is much more lighthearted and tongue in cheek and fun and witty and full of levity, so the hope was that Matt is able to fit into that world and participate in it without it being a different character, a different person."

Appearances

The character first appears in the Marvel Television series ''Daredevil'' and later ''The Defenders'' as a founding member of the eponymous team. The character's first appearance in a Marvel Studios project is in ''Spider-Man: No Way Home''. He later guest stars in the ''She-Hulk: Attorney at Law'' episodes "

Ribbit and Rip It "Ribbit and Rip It" is the eighth episode of the American television series '' She-Hulk: Attorney at Law'', based on Marvel Comics featuring the character She-Hulk. It follows Jennifer Walters / She-Hulk joining Matt Murdock / Daredevil in loo ...

" and " Whose Show Is This?". Cox will reprise his role in the television series ''

Echo In audio signal processing and acoustics, an echo is a reflection of sound that arrives at the listener with a delay after the direct sound. The delay is directly proportional to the distance of the reflecting surface from the source and the lis ...

'' (2023) and ''Daredevil: Born Again''. Additionally, Cox will voice an alternate version of Daredevil in the animated series '' Spider-Man: Freshman Year'' (2024).

Fictional character biography

Early life

Matt Murdock was born to boxer Jack Murdock and nun

Maggie Grace Margaret Grace Denig (born ) is an American actress and model. She is known for playing Shannon Rutherford on the ABC television series ''Lost'' (2004–2006; 2010), Kim Mills in the '' Taken'' trilogy (2008–2014), Irina in ''The Twilight Sa ...

. As a child, Murdock was blinded in a car accident, heightening his other senses, training to "see" using his senses by an elderly and blind ninja, Stick. Murdock eventually attends

Columbia Law School Columbia Law School (Columbia Law or CLS) is the law school of Columbia University, a private Ivy League university in New York City. Columbia Law is widely regarded as one of the most prestigious law schools in the world and has always ranked i ...

, meeting and befriending

Foggy Nelson Franklin Percy "Foggy" Nelson is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character has been depicted as part of the supporting cast of Daredevil (Matt Murdock); Foggy is Matt's best friend and, for m ...

while subsequently dating Elektra Natchios before breaking up. By 2015, Murdock and Nelson decide to open up their own law firm, Nelson and Murdock.

Becoming a vigilante

Shortly after opening the firm, Murdock and Nelson are appointed with Union Allied employee

Karen Page Karen Page is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. She serves as the original love interest for Daredevil, under Matt Murdock's employ as his legal secretary. In 1999, Page was killed by Bullseye, a ...

being framed for murder. After clearing Page, Murdock begins fighting crime to protect

Hell's Kitchen Hell's Kitchen, also known as Clinton, is a neighborhood on the West Side of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is considered to be bordered by 34th Street (or 41st Street) to the south, 59th Street to the north, Eighth Avenue to the ea ...

from corruption facing it following the Battle of New York, donning a costume consisting of a black mask and black suit and dubbed the "Masked Man" by the media. His vigilantism brings him face-to-face with crime lord

Wilson Fisk The Kingpin (Wilson Grant Fisk) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by Stan Lee and John Romita Sr., and first appeared in ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' #50 (cover-dated July 19 ...

, a businessman who has interests in the city as the Kingpin. Page and ''New York Bulletin'' reporter

Ben Urich Benjamin "Ben" Urich is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character usually appears in comic books featuring Daredevil and Spider-Man. Urich is a chain-smoking, tough-as-nails investigative jo ...

work to expose Fisk, while Murdock takes him down. During their final confrontation, Murdock wears a new red, horned, and armoured suit built by Melvin Potter and modelled after the devil before fighting Fisk, defeating him and sending him to prison. Following the arrest, news media begins naming the vigilante Daredevil, which Murdock later adopts.

Clashing with the Punisher

About six months later, Murdock, as Daredevil, investigates the

cartels A cartel is a group of independent market participants who collude with each other in order to improve their profits and dominate the market. Cartels are usually associations in the same sphere of business, and thus an alliance of rivals. Mos ...

, learning that all their high-power weapons have been stolen by one man. Daredevil confronts the man in a rooftop but is shot in the head, though he survives due to his body armor, Nelson insisting he rests and recover. The man is nicknamed "the

Punisher The Punisher (Francis "Frank" Castle, born Castiglione) is an antihero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Gerry Conway and artists John Romita Sr. and Ross Andru. The Punisher made ...

" by the DA's office, who is a deadly vigilante who lost his family. Murdock, as Daredevil, captures him, whose real name is Frank Castle, but as a lawyer, represents him during ''The People vs. Frank Castle'' trial. His old girlfriend Elektra Natchios returns, having become involved against the supervillain organization The Hand, fighting alongside her and Stick. Murdock's covert operations disrupts his ability to work on the trial and Castle is subsequently sent to

Ryker's Island The comic book stories published by Marvel Comics since the 1940s have featured several noteworthy concepts besides its fictional characters, such as unique places and artifacts. There follows a list of those features. Places Certain places fe ...

. Elektra, the escaped Castle, and Murdock work together to defeat the Hand, but Elektra dies in the process. On Christmas, Murdock reveals his vigilante identity to Page, and his legal partnership with Nelson dissolves due to Murdock's poor performance at the trial.

Forming the Defenders

Months after Elektra's death, Murdock practices as a ''

pro bono ( en, 'for the public good'), usually shortened to , is a Latin phrase for professional work undertaken voluntarily and without payment. In the United States, the term typically refers to provision of legal services by legal professionals for pe ...

'' lawyer and is dispatched at Jeri Hogarth's behest to represent Jessica Jones after a man kills himself in her office. Jones continues her investigation into Midland Circle against Murdock's recommendation, and both end up reinforcing an escape attempt by

Luke Cage Lucas "Luke" Cage, born Carl Lucas and also known as Power Man, is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He first appeared in ''Luke Cage, Hero for Hire'' #1 (June 1972) and was created by Archie Go ...

and

Danny Rand Iron Fist (Daniel Thomas "Danny" Rand) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Roy Thomas and Gil Kane, Iron Fist first appeared in ''Marvel Premiere'' #15 (May 1974). The character is ...

from the Hand. During the melee, Murdock fights the Black Sky, a powerful foe that he eventually recognizes as a ressurected Elektra. Taking shelter at a restaurant, the four are joined by Stick, who explains the Hand's conflict with the Chaste and K'un L'un, and in repelling the next attack Cage also captures Hand leader Sowande, who reveals the other part of their plan; use Rand's Iron Fist to access the dragon bones at the bottom of Midland Circle. The Black Sky finds their hideout, kills Stick and captures Rand, setting up their final conflict at Midland Circle, where the Defenders choose to demolish the building on top of the Hand, whose leadership the Black Sky has adopted upon recalling her past as Natchios. Murdock stays behind in an attempt to reconnect with Elektra as the building drops on them.

Kingpin's return

Murdock washes into the New York sewer system, being found by a taxi driver and delivered to Father Paul Lantom, who entrusts Murdock with the care of Grace. As he slowly recovers, Murdock has a crisis of faith and decides to continue as Daredevil. After Fisk manipulates the

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and its principal Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement age ...

to release him from prison, Murdock investigates the Presidential Hotel, but begins to hallucinate him as a "devil on his shoulder". Murdock interrogates Fisk's lawyer Benjamin Donovan and learns of the situation with Vanessa Marianna. However, Fisk has already deduced that Murdock is Daredevil and sets an ambush at the jail Murdock visits for information, setting the FBI on his civilian identity, and using an unhinged Benjamin Poindexter as a fake Daredevil to discredit his vigilante identity. Murdock resolves to kill Fisk to relieve New York and the FBI from his grasp, but hearing that Page is to be assassinated diverts him to save her, with Lantom dying in the crossfire. His last-ditch legal effort with lead Agent Ray Nadeem testifying fails when the jury is found compromised and Nadeem is executed by Poindexter. With few leads remaining, he discovers Fisk's fixer Felix Manning, who gives him enough information to turn Poindexter against Fisk and implicate Mariana's involvement in Nadeem's death. Murdock sets a rabid Poindexter to crash Fisk's wedding with Fisk paralyzing Poindexter and Murdock nearly killing him. Fisk agrees to return to prison and leave Page and Nelson alone if Murdock does not expose Marianna. With Fisk arrested using Nadeem's

dying declaration In the law of evidence, a dying declaration is testimony that would normally be barred as hearsay but may in common law nonetheless be admitted as evidence in criminal law trials because it constituted the last words of a dying person. The ratio ...

, Murdock begins redeveloping his relationship with Nelson and Page, and begin a new law firm together.

Helping Peter Parker

In 2024, after Quentin Beck frames

Peter Parker Spider-Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appearance, first appeared in the anthology comic book ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August ...

for his murder and reveals his identity to the world, Parker and his aunt

May May is the fifth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars and is the third of seven months to have a length of 31 days. May is a month of spring in the Northern Hemisphere, and autumn in the Southern Hemisphere. Therefore, May ...

hire Murdock as a personal attorney. Murdock succeeds in getting all charges against Parker dropped, but warns him that it would not cause a shift in public opinion on Spider-Man. He also advises Parker's associate Happy Hogan to secure legal protection due to an ongoing federal investigation into the Stark Industries technology involved during the battle in London between Beck and Parker. Months later, Murdock represents Hogan in court.

Teaming up with She-Hulk

In 2025, Murdock receives a recolored Daredevil suit by tailor Luke Jacobson from Los Angeles, and defends him weeks later against Jennifer Walters in a product liability suit brought about by her client, Eugene Patilio. After court, Murdock meets with Walters at a bar. He advises her that she is in a special position to help others; as an attorney, she can offer legal recourse for those in need, and she can take action as She-Hulk when the law fails, the two mutually expressing attraction for one another. He later pursues Patillo as Daredevil, Patillo having kidnapped Jacobson. Walters arrives as She-Hulk and the pair fight until Daredevil explains the situation. They then join forces and defeat Patillo and his goons and free Jacobson. That night, they sleep together, and Murdock returns to Hell's Kitchen the next morning. He later returns to Los Angeles for a weeklong stay and begins dating Walters, meeting her family, including

Bruce Banner The Hulk is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in the debut issue of '' The Incredible Hulk'' (May 1962). In his comic book a ...

and his son

Skaar Skaar may refer to: *Skaar (comics), a fictional character from Marvel Comics *Skaar Ridge, a ridge on the southeast side of Mount Augusta in Queen Alexandra Range *Bryn Christopher or Skaar, British singer People with the surname *Andrew O. Skaar ...

, at a barbecue.

Reception

Critical response

Brian Lowry of ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' praised Cox's portrayal of the character, while Mike Hale, writing for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', called Cox's performance as "divided", praising him as Murdock but criticizing him as Daredevil. ''

IndieWire IndieWire (sometimes stylized as indieWIRE or Indiewire) is a film industry and review website that was established in 1996. The site's focus was predominantly independent film, although its coverage has grown to "to include all aspects of Hollyw ...

'' Liz Shannon Miller, reviewing season one, praised the performances of the cast, especially D'Onofrio, Curtis-Hall, and Cox.

Accolades

Notes

References

External links

Matt Murdock
on

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Matt Murdock
on the Marvel Cinematic Universe Wiki * {{DEFAULTSORT:Murdock, Matt, Marvel Cinematic Universe American male characters in television Daredevil (Marvel Comics) characters Daredevil (TV series) Fictional American lawyers Fictional blind characters Fictional boxers Fictional characters from Manhattan Fictional characters with superhuman senses Fictional Christians Fictional defense attorneys Fictional judoka Fictional jujutsuka Fictional karateka Fictional lawyers Fictional ninja Fictional stick-fighters Fictional torturers and interrogators Fictional vigilantes Male characters in film Male characters in television Martial artist characters in television Marvel Cinematic Universe characters Marvel Comics American superheroes Marvel Comics martial artists Superhero film characters Superhero television characters Superheroes with alter egos Television characters introduced in 2015

Concept and creation

Casting

Series cancellation and revival

Design

Evolution into Daredevil

Characterization

Appearances

Fictional character biography

Early life

Becoming a vigilante

Clashing with the Punisher

Forming the Defenders

Kingpin's return

Helping Peter Parker

Teaming up with She-Hulk

Reception

Critical response

Accolades

See also

Notes

References

External links