Daredevil is a

fictional character In fiction, a character (or speaker, in poetry) is a person or other being in a narrative (such as a novel, play, radio or television series, music, film, or video game). The character may be entirely fictional or based on a real-life perso ...

appearing in American comic books published by

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 ...

. Daredevil was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist

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 alleg ...

, with an unspecified amount of input from

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 gre ...

. The character first appeared in '' Daredevil'' #1 (April 1964). Writer/artist

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 influential tenure on the title in the early 1980s cemented the character as a popular and influential part of the Marvel Universe. Daredevil is commonly known by such

epithets An epithet (, ), also byname, is a descriptive term (word or phrase) known for accompanying or occurring in place of a name and having entered common usage. It has various shades of meaning when applied to seemingly real or fictitious people, di ...

as "Hornhead", "The Man Without Fear" and "The Devil of Hell's Kitchen". Daredevil is the alias of Matthew Michael "Matt" Murdock, a blind lawyer. His

origins Origin(s) or The Origin may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Comics and manga * ''Origin'' (comics), a Wolverine comic book mini-series published by Marvel Comics in 2002 * ''The Origin'' (Buffy comic), a 1999 ''Buffy the Vampire Sl ...

stem from a childhood chemical accident that gave him special abilities. While growing up in the historically gritty or crime-ridden

working class The working class (or labouring class) comprises those engaged in manual-labour occupations or industrial work, who are remunerated via waged or salaried contracts. Working-class occupations (see also " Designation of workers by collar colo ...

Irish-American , image = Irish ancestry in the USA 2018; Where Irish eyes are Smiling.png , image_caption = Irish Americans, % of population by state , caption = Notable Irish Americans , population = 36,115,472 (10.9%) alone ...

neighborhood of

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 ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

, Matt Murdock is blinded by a

radioactive Radioactive decay (also known as nuclear decay, radioactivity, radioactive disintegration, or nuclear disintegration) is the process by which an unstable atomic nucleus loses energy by radiation. A material containing unstable nuclei is consi ...

substance that falls from an out-of-control truck after he pushes a man out of the path of the oncoming vehicle. While he can no longer see, his exposure to the radioactive material heightens his remaining senses beyond normal human ability, and gives him a "radar sense." His father, a boxer named Jack Murdock, is a single man raising his now blind son, who despite his rough upbringing, unconditionally loves his son and tries to teach him to form a better life for himself. Jack is later killed by gangsters after refusing to throw a fight, leaving Matt an orphan. In order to protect himself, Matt began training to hone his physical abilities and superhuman senses under the tutelage of a mysterious blind stranger named Stick, eventually becoming a highly skilled and expert martial artist. Some years later, after graduating from law school with high grades, Matt seeks out the criminal element in Hell's Kitchen and starts his crime-fighting activities. Matt targets the local gangsters who murdered his father and succeeds in bringing them to justice. Eventually, donning a costumed attire modeled after a devil, Matt took up a dual life of fighting against the criminal underworld in New York City as the masked vigilante Daredevil, which put him in conflict with many super-villains, including his arch-enemies

Bullseye Bullseye or Bull's Eye may refer to: Symbols * ◎ (Unicode U+25CE BULLSEYE), in the Geometric Shapes Unicode block * (Unicode U+0298 LATIN LETTER BILABIAL CLICK), the phonetic symbol for bilabial click Animals and plants * Bull's Eye, '' Eury ...

and the Kingpin. He also becomes a skilled and respected lawyer after graduating from

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 ...

with his best friend and roommate, Franklin "Foggy" Nelson, with whom he becomes law partners, forming the law firm Nelson & Murdock. After pretending to have a sighted

identical twin Twins are two offspring produced by the same pregnancy.MedicineNet > Definition of TwinLast Editorial Review: 19 June 2000 Twins can be either ''monozygotic'' ('identical'), meaning that they develop from one zygote, which splits and forms two ...

brother named Mike Murdock, who Matt would claim was Daredevil whenever his identity was made public knowledge, and occasionally impersonate, Mike is brought into existence following an encounter with a reality-warping

mutant In biology, and especially in genetics, a mutant is an organism or a new genetic character arising or resulting from an instance of mutation, which is generally an alteration of the DNA sequence of the genome or chromosome of an organism. It ...

, before cementing his existence alongside Matt in

history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

with a magic spell. Daredevil has since appeared in various forms of media, including several

animated series An animated series is a set of animated works with a common series title, usually related to one another. These episodes should typically share the same main characters, some different secondary characters and a basic theme. Series can have eith ...

video games Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This feedbac ...

and merchandise. The character was first portrayed in live action by Rex Smith in the 1989

television film A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

'' The Trial of the Incredible Hulk'', and then by

Ben Affleck Benjamin Géza Affleck (born August 15, 1972) is an American actor and filmmaker. His accolades include two Academy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards and a Volpi Cup. Affleck began his career as a child when he starred in the PBS education ...

in the 2003 film '' Daredevil''.

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 ...

portrays the character 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) media franchise, appearing thus far 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 film '' Spider-Man: No Way Home'' (2021) and the

Disney+ Disney+ is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned and operated by the Media and Entertainment Distribution division of The Walt Disney Company. The service primarily distributes films and television se ...

television series '' She-Hulk: Attorney at Law'' (2022), while being set to appear in the upcoming 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'' (2024).

Publication history

1960s

The character debuted in

' '' Daredevil'' #1 ( cover date April 1964), created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist

, with character design input from

, who devised Daredevil's billy club. Writer and

comics historian Comics studies (also comic art studies, sequential art studies or graphic narrative studies) is an academic field that focuses on comics and sequential art. Although comics and graphic novels have been generally dismissed as less relevant pop cul ...

Mark Evanier Mark Stephen Evanier (; born March 2, 1952) is an American comic book and television writer, known for his work on the animated TV series ''Garfield and Friends'' and on the comic book ''Groo the Wanderer''. He is also known for his columns and b ...

has suggested without confirmation that Kirby also designed the basic image of Daredevil's initial costume, though Everett modified it. That original costume design was a combination of black, yellow, and red, reminiscent of acrobat tights. The first issue covered both the character's origins and his desire for justice on the man who had killed his father, boxer "Battling Jack" Murdock, who raised young Matthew Murdock in the

neighborhood of

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

, 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 limits, and giving him a kind of "radar" sense, enabling him to detect the shape and location of objects around him. In order to support his son, Jack Murdock returns to boxing under the Fixer, a known gangster, and the only man willing to contract the aging boxer. When he refuses to throw a fight because his son is in the audience, he is killed by one of the Fixer's men. Having promised his father not to use violence to deal with his problems, Matt gets around that promise by adopting a new identity who can use physical force. 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, unintentionally causing the Fixer to have a fatal heart attack.

Wally Wood Wallace Allan Wood (June 17, 1927 – November 2, 1981) was an American comic book writer, artist and independent publisher, widely known for his work on EC Comics's titles such as '' Weird Science'', '' Weird Fantasy'', and ''MAD Magazine'' fr ...

introduced Daredevil's modern red costume in issue #7, which depicts Daredevil's battle against the far more powerful Sub-Mariner, and has become one of the most iconic stories of the series. Daredevil would embark on a series of adventures involving such villains as the

Owl Owls are birds from the order Strigiformes (), which includes over 200 species of mostly solitary and nocturnal birds of prey typified by an upright stance, a large, broad head, binocular vision, binaural hearing, sharp talons, and feathers a ...

Stilt-Man Stilt-Man is the name of multiple different supervillains in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Publication history Stilt-Man first appeared in ''Daredevil'' #8 (June 1965). He is a criminal wearing an impenetrable suit of armor wi ...

, the Gladiator, and the Enforcers. In issue #16 (May 1966), he meets Spider-Man, a character who would grow to become one of Daredevil's closest friends. A letter from Spider-Man unintentionally exposed Daredevil's secret identity, compelling him to adopt a third identity as his twin brother Mike Murdock, whose carefree, wisecracking personality much more closely resembled that of the Daredevil guise than the stern, studious, and emotionally-withdrawn Matt Murdock did. The "Mike Murdock" plotline was used to highlight the character's quasi-

multiple personality disorder Dissociative identity disorder (DID), better known as multiple personality disorder or multiple personality syndrome, is a mental disorder characterized by the presence of at least two distinct and relatively enduring personality states. The di ...

(he at one point wonders whether Matt or Mike/Daredevil "is the real me"), but it proved confusing to readers and was dropped in issues #41–42, with Daredevil faking Mike Murdock's death and claiming he had trained a replacement Daredevil. The series' 31-issue run by writer-editor Stan Lee and penciler

Gene Colan Eugene Jules Colan (; September 1, 1926 – June 23, 2011)Eugene Colan
at the

(beginning with issue #20) includes ''Daredevil'' #47, in which Murdock defends a blind

Vietnam veteran A Vietnam veteran is a person who served in the armed forces of participating countries during the Vietnam War. The term has been used to describe veterans who served in the armed forces of South Vietnam, the United States Armed Forces, and ot ...

against a

frameup __NOTOC__ In the United States criminal law, a frame-up (frameup) or setup is the act of framing someone, that is, providing false evidence or false testimony in order to falsely prove someone guilty of a crime. While incriminating those who ...

; Lee has cited it as one of the favorite stories of his career. Matt discloses his secret identity to his girlfriend

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 ...

in issue #57. However, the revelation proves too much for her, and she is depicted as breaking off the relationship. This was the first of several long-term breakups between Matt and Karen, who would nevertheless prove the most enduring of his love interests.

1970s

Gerry Conway Gerard Francis Conway Thomas, Roy. "Roy's Rostrum" ("Bullpen Bulletins") in '' Marvel Super-Heroes'' #43 and other Marvel Comics cover-dated May 1974. (born September 10, 1952) is an American comic book writer, comic book editor, screenwriter, t ...

took over as writer with issue #72, and turned the series in a pulp science fiction direction: a lengthy story arc centered on a robot from thousands of years in the future trying to change history. Even long-standing arch-villain the Owl was outfitted with futuristic weaponry and vehicles. Conway also moved Daredevil to

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

beginning with ''Daredevil'' #86, and simultaneously brought on the Black Widow as a co-star for the series. The Black Widow served as Daredevil's crime-fighting ally as well as his love interest from issue #81–124 (Nov. 1971–Aug. 1975), of which #93-108 were titled ''Daredevil and the Black Widow''. Jann Wenner, the co-founder and publisher of the ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'' music magazine appeared in ''Daredevil'' #100 (June 1973) by Gerber and Colan. The writing and editing jobs went to

Marv Wolfman Marvin Arthur Wolfman (born May 13, 1946) is an American comic book and novelization writer. He worked on Marvel Comics's '' The Tomb of Dracula'', for which he and artist Gene Colan created the vampire-slayer Blade, and DC Comics's ''The New Te ...

with issue #124, which wrote the Black Widow out of the series and returned Daredevil to Hell's Kitchen. Wolfman promptly introduced the lively but emotionally fragile Heather Glenn to replace the Black Widow as Daredevil's love interest. Wolfman's 20-issue run included the introduction of one of Daredevil's most popular villains,

, and a story arc in which the Jester uses computer-generated images to manipulate the mass media. With issue #144,

Jim Shooter James Shooter (born September 27, 1951) is an American writer, editor and publisher for various comic books. He started professionally in the medium at the age of 14, and he is most notable for his successful and controversial run as Marvel Comic ...

became the writer and introduced

Paladin The Paladins, also called the Twelve Peers, are twelve legendary knights, the foremost members of Charlemagne's court in the 8th century. They first appear in the medieval (12th century) ''chanson de geste'' cycle of the Matter of France, where ...

in issue #150 (Jan. 1978). Shooter had difficulty keeping up with the schedule, and the writing chores were shortly turned over to Roger McKenzie. McKenzie's work on Daredevil reflected his background in horror comics, and the stories and even the character himself took on a much darker tone: Daredevil battled a personification of death, one of his archenemies was bifurcated by a tombstone, and a re-envisioning of Daredevil's origin showed him using stalker tactics to drive the Fixer to his fatal heart attack. McKenzie created chain-smoking ''

Daily Bugle The ''Daily Bugle'' (at one time ''The DB'') is a fictional New York City tabloid newspaper appearing as a plot element in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The ''Daily Bugle'' is a regular fixture in the Marvel Universe, mos ...

'' 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 ...

, who deduces Daredevil's secret identity over the course of issues #153–163, and had Daredevil using the criminal underworld of Hell's Kitchen as an information network, adding several small-time crooks to the supporting cast. Halfway through his run, McKenzie was joined by penciler

with issue #158 (May 1979). In a story arc overlapping Wolfman, Shooter, and McKenzie's runs on the series, Daredevil reveals his identity to Glenn and becomes partially responsible for the suicide of her father; their relationship would persist but would prove increasingly harmful to both of them. Though the Black Widow returned for a dozen issues (#155–166) and attempted to rekindle her romance with Daredevil, he ultimately rejects her in favor of Glenn.

1980s

Miller disliked Roger McKenzie's scripts, so new editor

Denny O'Neil Dennis Joseph O'Neil (May 3, 1939 – June 11, 2020) was an American comic book writer and editor, principally for Marvel Comics and DC Comics from the 1960s through the 1990s, and Group Editor for the Batman family of titles until his retir ...

fired McKenzie so that Miller could write the series. Miller continued the title in a similar vein to McKenzie. Resuming the drastic metamorphosis the previous writer had begun, Miller took the step of essentially ignoring all of Daredevil's continuity prior to his run on the series; on the occasions where older villains and supporting cast were used, their characterizations and history with Daredevil were reworked or overwritten. Most prominently, dedicated and loving father Jack Murdock was reimagined as a drunkard who physically abused his son Matt, entirely revising Daredevil's reasons for becoming a lawyer. Spider-Man villain Kingpin was introduced as Daredevil's new primary nemesis, displacing most of his large rogues gallery. Daredevil himself was gradually developed into something of an

antihero An antihero (sometimes spelled as anti-hero) or antiheroine is a main character in a story who may lack conventional heroic qualities and attributes, such as idealism, courage, and morality. Although antiheroes may sometimes perform actions ...

. In issue #181 (April 1982), he attempts to murder Bullseye by throwing him off a tall building; when the villain survives as a

quadriplegic Tetraplegia, also known as quadriplegia, is defined as the dysfunction or loss of motor and/or sensory function in the cervical area of the spinal cord. A loss of motor function can present as either weakness or paralysis leading to partial or ...

, he breaks into his hospital room and tries to scare him to death by playing a two-man variation on Russian roulette with a secretly unloaded gun. Following up a suggestion from O'Neill that he give Daredevil a realistic fighting style, Miller introduced

ninja A or was a covert agent or mercenary in feudal Japan. The functions of a ninja included reconnaissance, espionage, infiltration, deception, ambush, bodyguarding and their fighting skills in martial arts, including ninjutsu.Kawakami, pp. 2 ...

s into the Daredevil canon, bringing a martial-arts aspect to 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 Chaste refers to practicing chastity. Chaste may also refer to: * Aymar Chaste (1514–1603), Catholic French admiral * Chaste (Marvel Comics), a fictional Marvel Comics martial arts enclave * Chaste (canton) - see List of townships in Quebec T ...

, who had been Murdock's

sensei Sensei, Seonsaeng, Tiên sinh or Xiansheng, corresponding to Chinese characters , is an East Asian honorific term shared in Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese and Chinese; it is literally translated as "person born before another" or "one who c ...

after he was blinded; a rival organization of assassins called the Hand; and Elektra, an ex-girlfriend and sometime member of the Hand. This was a drastic change for a character once called "the sightless

swashbuckler A swashbuckler is a genre of European adventure literature that focuses on a heroic protagonist stock character who is skilled in swordsmanship, acrobatics, guile and possesses chivalrous ideals. A "swashbuckler" protagonist is heroic, daring, ...

." Elektra was killed by Bullseye in issue #181 (April 1982).

After #191 Miller left the series. O'Neil switched from editor to writer. He continued McKenzie and Miller's noir take on the series, but backed away from the antihero depiction of the character by having him not only spare Bullseye's life but express guilt over his two previous attempts to kill him. Miller returned as the title's regular writer, co-writing #226 with O'Neil. Miller and artist

David Mazzucchelli David John Mazzucchelli (; born September 21, 1960) is an American comics artist and writer, known for his work on seminal superhero comic book storylines '' Daredevil: Born Again'' and '' Batman: Year One'', as well as for graphic novels in other ...

crafted the acclaimed " Born Again" storyline in #227–233. In the ''Born Again'' storyline, Karen Page returns as a heroin-addicted porn star, and sells Daredevil's secret identity for drug money. The Kingpin acquires the information and, in an act of revenge, orchestrates a frameup that costs Murdock his attorney's license. Miller ended the arc on a positive note, with Murdock reuniting with both Karen Page and Maggie, the mother he thought dead, now a nun.

Ann Nocenti Ann "Annie" Nocenti (; born January 17, 1957) is an American journalist, filmmaker, teacher, comic book writer and editor. She is best known for her work at Marvel in the late 1980s, particularly the four-year stint as the editor of ''Uncanny X- ...

later became the series's longest-running regular writer, with a four-and-a-quarter-year run from #238–291 (Jan. 1987 – April 1991). The team returned Murdock to law by co-founding with Page a nonprofit drug and legal clinic, while Nocenti crafted stories confronting

feminism Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

, drug abuse, nuclear proliferation, and

animal rights Animal rights is the philosophy according to which many or all Animal consciousness, sentient animals have moral worth that is independent of their Utilitarianism, utility for humans, and that their most basic interests—such as avoiding s ...

-inspired terrorism. She introduced the antagonist Typhoid Mary, and in issues #262–265 used the Inferno event as a backdrop for the collapse of Daredevil's life: the clinic is destroyed, Page goes missing after learning that Matt has had an affair with Mary Walker, and Walker reveals herself as the alter ego of Typhoid Mary. Murdock subsequently becomes a

drifter A drifter is a vagrant who moves from place to place without a fixed home or employment. Drifter(s) or The Drifter(s) may also refer to: Films and television Films * ''The Drifter'' (1917 film), an American film directed by Fred Kelsey * ''Th ...

upstate New York Upstate New York is a geographic region consisting of the area of New York State that lies north and northwest of the New York City metropolitan area. Although the precise boundary is debated, Upstate New York excludes New York City and Long Is ...

, an especially controversial move in Nocenti's run, as it marked the first time the character had been taken outside of an urban environment. She ended her run with a positive turn in Murdock's fortunes: he returns to Hell's Kitchen, regains his sense of self, reconciles with Foggy Nelson, and resolves to seek out Karen Page.

1990s

New writer D. G. Chichester continued from where Nocenti left off, with Murdock resuming his friendship with

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 ...

, struggling to re-win the heart of Karen Page, appealing the revocation of his attorney's license, and bonding more deeply than ever with Hell's Kitchen. Chichester's focus on Daredevil's relationship with New York City went so far as to have two issues devoted entirely to Daredevil defending New Yorkers from ordinary criminals and even simple accidents. The critically acclaimed "Last Rites" arc from #297–300 saw Daredevil regaining his attorney's license and finally bringing the Kingpin to justice.

returned to the character and his origins with the 1993 five-issue '' Daredevil: The Man Without Fear'' miniseries. With artist

John Romita Jr. John Salvatore Romita (; born August 17, 1956), known professionally as John Romita Jr., is an American comics artist best known for his extensive work for Marvel Comics from the 1970s to the 2010s. He is the son of artist John Romita Sr. Early ...

, Miller expanded his

retcon Retroactive continuity, or retcon for short, is a literary device in which established diegetic facts in the plot of a fictional work (those established through the narrative itself) are adjusted, ignored, supplemented, or contradicted by a subs ...

of the life and death of Murdock's father, "Battling Jack" Murdock, and Murdock'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. The creative team of Chichester and penciler

Scott McDaniel Scott McDaniel (born 1965) is an People of the United States, American comics artist who has drawn numerous comic book, books, including Marvel Comics' "Fall from Grace (comics), Fall from Grace" storyline for the ''Daredevil (Marvel Comics series ...

changed the ''status quo'' with their "Fall From Grace" storyline in issues #319–325 (Aug. 1993 – Feb. 1994). Elektra, who was resurrected in #190 but had not been seen since, finally returned. An injured Daredevil creates a more protective costume from biomimetic materials: red and gray with white armor on the shoulders and knee pads. Revamped billy clubs could attach to form

nunchucks is a traditional Okinawan martial arts weapon consisting of two sticks (traditionally made of wood), connected to each other at their ends by a short metal chain or a rope. It is approximately 30 cm (sticks) and 1 inch (rope). A person wh ...

or a

bo staff Bo or BO may refer to Arts and entertainment Film, television, and theatre * Box office, where tickets to an event are sold, and by extension, the amount of business a production receives *'' BA:BO'', 2008 South Korean film * ''Bo'' (film), a ...

. His secret identity becomes public knowledge, leading to him fake his own death and assuming the new identity of "Jack Batlin". This new identity and costume last for several story arcs, while Murdock finds a way to convince the world that he is not, in fact, secretly Daredevil (courtesy of a double). A short stint by

J. M. DeMatteis John Marc DeMatteis (; born December 15, 1953) is an American writer of comic books, television and novels. Biography Early career J. M. DeMatteis's earliest aspirations were to be a rock musician and comic book artist. He began playing in ban ...

returned Daredevil to his traditional red costume and Matt Murdock's identity. Under writers

Karl Kesel Karl Kesel (born January 7, 1959, Victor, New York) is an American comics writer and inker whose works have primarily been under contract for DC Comics. He is a member of Periscope Studio and is best known for his collaborations with fellow artis ...

and later Joe Kelly, the title 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. In 1998, ''Daredevil''s numbering was rebooted, with the title "canceled" with issue #380 and revived a month later as part of the

Marvel Knights Marvel Knights is an imprint of Marvel Comics that contained standalone material taking place inside the Marvel Universe (Earth-616). The imprint originated in 1998 when Marvel outsourced four titles (''Black Panther'', ''Punisher'', '' Daredevil ...

imprint.

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 ...

drew the new series, written by filmmaker

Kevin Smith Kevin Patrick Smith (born August 2, 1970) is an American filmmaker, actor, comedian, comic book writer, author, YouTuber, and podcaster. He came to prominence with the low-budget comedy buddy film '' Clerks'' (1994), which he wrote, directed, ...

. Its first story arc, " Guardian Devil", depicts Daredevil struggling to protect a child whom he is told could either be the

Messiah In Abrahamic religions, a messiah or messias (; , ; , ; ) is a saviour or liberator of a group of people. The concepts of '' mashiach'', messianism, and of a Messianic Age originated in Judaism, and in the Hebrew Bible, in which a ''mashiach ...

or the

Anti-Christ In Christian eschatology, the Antichrist refers to people prophesied by the Bible to oppose Jesus Christ and substitute themselves in Christ's place before the Second Coming. The term Antichrist (including one plural form)1 John ; . 2 John . i ...

. 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

's hands. When he discovers that the true party responsible for the scheme is

Mysterio Mysterio (Quentin Beck) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, the character first appeared in ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' #13 (June 1964). He is primarily depicted a ...

, who is currently dying of cancer, he leaves Mysterio to commit suicide, deciding to use the money Karen left him in her will to re-open Nelson & Murdock. Smith was succeeded by writer-artist David Mack, who contributed the seven-issue "Parts of a Hole" (vol. 2, #9–15). The arc introduced Maya Lopez, also known as

, a

deaf Deafness has varying definitions in cultural and medical contexts. In medical contexts, the meaning of deafness is hearing loss that precludes a person from understanding spoken language, an audiological condition. In this context it is written ...

martial artist.

2000s

David Mack brought colleague Brian Michael Bendis to Marvel to co-write the following arc, "Wake Up" in vol. 2, #16–19 (May 2001 – August 2001), which follows reporter

as he investigates the aftereffects of a fight between Daredevil and the new Leap-Frog. The 2001 ''Daredevil: Yellow'' miniseries presented another take on Daredevil's origins using letters written to Karen Page after her death. The series depicts the early rivalry between Matt Murdock and Foggy Nelson for Page's affection, and incorporates many events depicted in the earliest issues of ''Daredevil''. The supervillains the Owl and the

Purple Man The Purple Man (Zebediah Kilgrave) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Joe Orlando, he first appeared in ''Daredevil'' #4 (October 1964). His body produces pheromo ...

appear as antagonists. In this story, Daredevil credits Page with coining the phrase "The Man Without Fear", and she suggests to Daredevil he wear all maroon instead of dark red and yellow. Issue #26 (December 2001) brought back Brian Michael Bendis. Developments in this run included the introduction of romantic interest and future wife

Milla Donovan Milla Donovan is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. She is usually depicted as a supporting character in the comic-book series ''Daredevil''. She was created by Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev ...

, the outing once again of Murdock's secret identity, 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 (; born November 17, 1966) is an American comic book writer, cartoonist and screenwriter who works primarily in the crime fiction genre. He began his career with the semi-autobiographical series '' Lowlife'' and a number of serials i ...

and artist

Michael Lark Michael Lark (born 1966) is an American comics artist and colorist. 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'' a ...

, who became the new creative team with ''Daredevil'' vol. 2, #82 (Feb. 2006). Brubaker's first story arc had a new character masquerading as Daredevil in

. Murdock later discovered the ersatz Daredevil is his friend Danny Rand, the superhero Iron Fist. The series returned to its original numbering with issue #500 (Oct. 2009), which followed vol. 2, #119 (Aug. 2009). New writer

Andy Diggle Andy Diggle is a British comic book writer and former editor of the weekly anthology series '' 2000 AD''. He is best known for his work on ''Adam Strange'' and ''Green Arrow'' for DC Comics as well as his creator-owned series '' The Losers'' an ...

revised the status quo, with Daredevil assuming leadership of the ninja army the Hand. Daredevil later appeared in the one-shot '' Dark Reign: The List – Daredevil''.

2010s

Following this came the crossover story arc " Shadowland", in which it is revealed that Daredevil's recent actions after taking control of the Hand are the result of him being possessed by a demon. Purged of the demon by his allies, Murdock departs New York, leaving his territory in the hands of the Black Panther in the briefly retitled series' ''Black Panther: Man Without Fear'' #513. Murdock finds himself renewed in the miniseries ''Daredevil: Reborn'' #1–4 (March–July 2011), where he confronts a drug dealer with the power to make his opponents live their darkest fears, Murdock reaffirming his role as the man without fear as he confronts his enemy's taunts and resolves to return to New York. In July 2011, ''Daredevil'' relaunched with vol. 3, #1 (Sept. 2011), with writer Mark Waid. Waid focused on emphasizing the character's powers and perception of the physical world. In the premiere issue, Murdock finds he can no longer serve as a trial lawyer due to past allegations of his being Daredevil causing a case he represents in court to turn into a media circus. Two issues later, Nelson and Murdock have developed a new business strategy of serving as consulting counselors, by teaching clients how to represent themselves in court. Daredevil joins the New Avengers in a story written by former ''Daredevil'' series writer Brian Michael Bendis. Daredevil appeared as a regular character in the 2010–2013 ''New Avengers'' series in issues #16–34 (November 2011 – January 2013). At one point, Foggy begins to question Matt's sanity, ultimately leading to a fallout between the two. They reconcile once the truth is discovered. ''Daredevil'' vol. 3 ended at issue #36 in February 2014, in which Matt is forced to publicly reveal his Daredevil identity, resulting in his being disbarred by New York and prompting him to again relocate to San Francisco. Waid and

Chris Samnee Chris Samnee is an American comic book artist. He received the 2011 Harvey Award for Most Promising Newcomer for his work on the '' Thor: The Mighty Avenger'', and won a 2013 Eisner Award for Best Penciller/Inker for his work on '' The Rocketeer: ...

followed this up with

Infinite Comics Infinite Comics is an imprint of comic books published by Marvel Comics, featuring original, made-for-digital stories about the company's superhero characters, including Spider-Man, Wolverine, the Guardians of the Galaxy, the Silver Surfer, the ...

' ''Daredevil: Road Warrior'' weekly digital miniseries, which focused on an adventure during Matt's trip to San Francisco. It was reprinted as issue 0.1 in ''Daredevil'' volume 4, which launched under Waid and Samnee with a new issue #1 (March 2014) as part of the

All-New Marvel NOW! Marvel Now! (stylized as Marvel NOW!) is a comic book branding for the relaunch of several ongoing comic books published by Marvel Comics, that debuted in October 2012 with new #1 issues. The relaunch also included some new titles, including ''Un ...

storyline centered on Matt's new life in San Francisco. ''Daredevil'' volume 4 ended with issue #18 in September 2015. A new volume began as part of the

All-New, All-Different Marvel All-New, All-Different Marvel (ANADM) is a 2015–2019 branding for Marvel Comics' entire main line of comics. Taking place after the crossover storyline " Secret Wars", it details the new Marvel Universe, with nearly 60–65 titles relaunched w ...

branding, written by

Charles Soule Charles Soule is a New York-based comic book writer, novelist, musician, and attorney. He is best known for writing '' Daredevil'', '' She-Hulk'', ''Death of Wolverine'', and various '' Star Wars'' books and comic series from Del Rey Books and ...

with art by

Ron Garney Ron Garney is an American comic book writer/artist, known for his work on books such as '' JLA'', ''The Amazing Spider-Man'', ''Silver Surfer'', ''Hulk'', ''Daredevil'' and ''Captain America''. Career Garney has worked on '' JLA'', ''The Amazin ...

with the first two issues released in December 2015. In this series, Matt returns to New York, where he now works as an Assistant District Attorney. He had a redesigned costume and a new apprentice in Samuel Chung, an undocumented immigrant who has been living in New York's Chinatown since he was a child, who has taken up the codename Blindspot. Flashbacks in a later story arc reveal how Matt regained his secret identity; when the Purple Children acquired a machine designed by their father to enhance his powers after Matt had saved them from a mob, they used the machine to erase the world's knowledge of Matt's identity as Daredevil, Matt only allowing Foggy to know his secret identity afterward, enabling him to be re-instated as a New York Attorney. Using his restored secret identity, Murdock is able to take advantage of a subsequent court case to establish a precedent for superheroes testifying in court without the need to expose their secret identities. Despite interference from the Kingpin, Murdock succeeds in taking this precedent to the Supreme Court so that all superheroes will have the same rights in future cases, and afterward returns to his traditional red costume. Following the release of Issue 28, much like with other Marvel series as part of the ''

Marvel Legacy Marvel Legacy is a 2017–18 relaunch of a line of American comic books published by Marvel Comics. It is concurrent with All-New, All-Different Marvel and Marvel NOW! 2.0. Publication history On April 22, 2017, Marvel Comics announced Marvel ...

'' event, the ''Daredevil'' series renumbered, as if it had never been relaunched, with #595 which was released on November 8, 2017, where Daredevil's longtime nemesis the Kingpin became the Mayor of New York City and begins a campaign to make costumed vigilantes officially criminals. Although Murdock's attempt to set up a sting operation results in his allies being arrested when the Kingpin turns this trap against him, Fisk's legal manipulations work against him when he is attacked by the Hand, leaving Fisk in a coma and Murdock legally mayor of New York from his position as deputy mayor due to a loophole added by a prior administration that had not been amended, allowing Matt to take control of the city and release his fellow heroes to help him stop the Hand. Charles Soule released his final Daredevil storyline "Death of Daredevil" during the October and November 2018 releases, in a 4-part bimonthly release which ended the series. Afterwards the series went on hiatus for two months and resumed distribution in February 2019, with a brand-new volume written by

Chip Zdarsky Steve Murray (born December 21, 1975), known by the pen-name Chip Zdarsky, is a Canadian comic book artist and writer, journalist, illustrator and designer. He has also used the pseudonym Todd Diamonte. He worked for ''National Post'' for over a ...

. The primary artist on the series is Marco Checchetto. This new volume follows Daredevil's return to crime-fighting as he accidentally kills a robber during an arrest, leading him to doubt his status as a hero and to a confrontation with Spider-Man. Murdock later abandons his Daredevil persona and focuses on his job as a parole officer, feeling that Daredevil does not bring justice and only harms the Hell's Kitchen community. His mantle is taken up by several vigilantes trying to replace Daredevil, eventually leading Murdock to don a black variation of Daredevil's outfit and fight against the mob, which has taken over Hell's Kitchen, usurping Wilson Fisk's control over the district.

2020s

After he helps save Hell's Kitchen, Daredevil, still in his mask, gives himself up to police custody, stating that he wants to stand trial for his crimes but will only do so on the condition his identity is never revealed. He voluntarily confesses to the killing and is sentenced to a prison term. While Matt serves his time, Elektra takes up the Daredevil costume and protects Hell's Kitchen at his behest. In the prison, Murdock grapples with the idea that Daredevil and Matt Murdock work together to put people in prison, which he comes to see as ruining people's lives without reforming them or setting them on the right path. In August 2021, it was confirmed that volume 6 of the series would end in November 2021, at Issue #36. The series lead into the crossover event "

Devil's Reign "Devil's Reign" is an American comic book event written by Chip Zdarsky with art by Marco Checchetto, published from 2021 to 2022 by Marvel Comics. Premise In a ploy to increase his power, Mayor Wilson Fisk has outlawed superheroes in New York C ...

" with the same creative team. Following the conclusion of that series, another ''Daredevil'' series, also written by Zdarsky, was launched in July 2022.

Powers, skills, and equipment

Although the character is blind, his remaining four senses function with superhuman accuracy and sensitivity, giving him abilities far beyond the limits of a sighted person. Few characters know that the hero cannot see. Daredevil developed a

Radar Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, we ...

-Sense, as well as echolocation. Writer/co-creator Stan Lee said that he was worried that blind people would be offended at how far he exaggerated the way a blind person's remaining senses are enhanced, but that his fears were assuaged by letters from organizations such as The Lighthouse for the Blind which said that blind people greatly enjoyed having Daredevil comics read to them. The

Beyonder The Beyonder () is a fictional cosmic entity appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Jim Shooter and artist Mike Zeck, the Beyonder first appeared in ''Secret Wars'' #1 (May 1984) as an unseen, self-procla ...

once restored Daredevil's eyesight, but, suspecting a trick on the Beyonder's part, Daredevil immediately insisted that his blindness be restored. Beyonder agreed. When

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 some martial artists claim to have. 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 commonly used his superhuman hearing to serve as a

polygraph A polygraph, often incorrectly referred to as a lie detector test, is a device or procedure that measures and records several physiological indicators such as blood pressure, pulse, respiration, and skin conductivity while a person is asked ...

for interrogation by listening for changes in a person's heartbeat. This ability can be fooled if the other person's heart is not beating at a natural rate, such as if they have an

artificial pacemaker An artificial cardiac pacemaker (or artificial pacemaker, so as not to be confused with the natural cardiac pacemaker) or pacemaker is a medical device that generates electrical impulses delivered by electrodes to the chambers of the heart eit ...

. 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 temporarily weaken his radar sense. This weakness is often used to immobilize Daredevil. Alternately, the lack of taste or smell of certain substances can be used against him, as in one instance of a hallucinogenic drug designed so that Daredevil could not tell he was drugged. His senses are highly acute, capable of sensing the minor atmospheric disturbance created moments before a teleporting character appears. People with superhuman speed, such as Spider-Man, are too fast to be detected and targeted by his radar sense. While his radar sense mostly compensates for his blindness, it has certain limitations. He cannot perceive color without touch, and he can only read printed matter if the ink is raised enough for his sense of touch. Most photographs, televisions, and computer screens are blank to him. However, the radar sense has shown on numerous occasions the ability to "see" through walls and fabrics. The radar sense also grants him an omnidirectional field of vision. These two latter abilities are the most notable advantages the radar has over normal vision. 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. He uses elements from a wide variety of martial arts, including

Ninjutsu , sometimes used interchangeably with the modern term , is the martial art strategy and tactics of unconventional warfare, guerrilla warfare and espionage purportedly practised by the ninja. ''Ninjutsu'' was a separate discipline in some trad ...

, Aiki Jūjutsu,

Aikido Aikido ( , , , ) is a modern Japanese martial art that is split into many different styles, including Iwama Ryu, Iwama Shin Shin Aiki Shuren Kai, Shodokan Aikido, Yoshinkan, Renshinkai, Aikikai and Ki Aikido. Aikido is now practiced in aroun ...

Judo is an unarmed modern Japanese martial art, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyclopedia Nipponica, "Judo"). ...

, Karate, Jujitsu,

Kung Fu Chinese martial arts, often called by the umbrella terms kung fu (; ), kuoshu () or wushu (), are multiple fighting styles that have developed over the centuries in Greater China. These fighting styles are often classified according to commo ...

Silat is the collective term for a class of indigenous martial arts from the Nusantara and surrounding geocultural areas of Southeast Asia. It is traditionally practised in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Southern Thailand, Southern Phil ...

Capoeira Capoeira () is an Afro-Brazilian martial art that combines elements of dance, acrobatics, music and spirituality. Born of the melting pot of enslaved Africans, Indigenous Brazilians and Portuguese influences at the beginning of the 16th cent ...

Wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...

, and

Stick Fighting Stick-fighting, stickfighting, or stick fighting is a variety of martial arts which use simple long, slender, blunt, hand-held, generally wooden "sticks" for fighting, such as a gun staff, bō, jō, walking stick, baston, arnis sticks or similar ...

combined with American-style

Boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermine ...

while making full use of his Olympic-level gymnastic capabilities. Daredevil's signature weapon is his specially designed baton, which he created. Disguised as a blind man's cane in civilian garb, it is a multi-purpose weapon and tool that contains 30 feet of aircraft-control cable connected to a case-hardened steel grappling hook. 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 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 New York attorney. He is a skilled detective, tracker, and interrogation expert, as well as being an expert marksman. After his identity was publicly exposed and he was forced to relocate to San Francisco, Matt Murdock's secret identity as Daredevil was restored by the Purple Children, the children of his old foe the

. From the description given by the Purple Children, their influence renders it impossible for anyone to determine Daredevil's secret identity through deductive research unless he actually tells them who he is under the mask, or someone unmasks him.

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 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 was trained by an old blind ninja master named Stick following his childhood accident. Matt Murdock's closest friend is Franklin "Foggy" Nelson, his college roommate,

sidekick A sidekick is a slang expression for a close companion or colleague (not necessarily in fiction) who is, or is generally regarded as, subordinate to the one they accompany. Some well-known fictional sidekicks are Don Quixote's Sancho Panza, ...

, and law partner. Their relationship in the early years of the series was fraught with tension due to Nelson's sense of inferiority to Murdock as a lawyer and as a target for the affections of their secretary,

. They frequently argued over Murdock's preference for defending supervillains, as Nelson's enthusiasm is for corporate law. The pudgy and fallible Nelson has often been used by writers for lightheartedness and even comic relief. As a superhero, one of Daredevil's best friends is the hero Spider-Man; with his enhanced senses, Murdock was able to physically identify Spider-Man on their first meeting, and Spider-Man in turn learned his secret identity some time after. Due to the events of the " One More Day" storyline, and later the ''Purple'' story arc, neither of them knows the other's secret identity any longer. Iron Fist would 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 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 ...

, is a friend of Daredevil as well. Maya Lopez, a deaf woman and skilled martial artist, is 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.

, a reporter for the ''

'' 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. 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 ...

, anti-hero Frank Castle, is one of Daredevil's reluctant allies, as well as his antagonist due to their different philosophies in crime-fighting. Daredevil has a convoluted and often tortured love life. One of Daredevil's more notable love interests is Elektra, an assassin who would later be killed and later resurrected. He also had a short-lived romantic relationship with Black Widow who for a time also served as his crime-fighting partner while they both were in San Francisco until she broke it off because she did not want to feel like a

; despite this they remain as close confidantes. In the 2000s, Murdock marries a woman named

, although one of Daredevil's enemies drives her to insanity.

Enemies

In his early years, Daredevil fought a number of costumed supervillains, the first of these being Electro, a prominent Spider-Man foe, in ''Daredevil'' #2. A number of recurring villains would be introduced over the years, such as the

, the

, Mr. Fear,

, Gladiator, the Jester, the

Man-Bull The Man-Bull is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character made its live-action debut in the Marvel Cinematic Universe television series '' She-Hulk: Attorney at Law'', played by Nate Hurd. Pu ...

, and

Death-Stalker Dagger Dagoth Dagoth is a demon who has clashed with Doctor Strange. Daken Dakimh the Enchanter Damballah Daniel Whitehall Daniel Whitehall is a British intelligence agent also known as the Kraken. An elite assassin and member of the ...

. The supervillain duo of the Cobra and

Mr. Hyde Dr. Henry Jekyll, nicknamed in some copies of the story as Harry Jekyll, and his alternative personality, Mr. Edward Hyde, is the central character of Robert Louis Stevenson's 1886 novella ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde''. In the story, ...

have frequently clashed with Daredevil, and Hyde has fought Daredevil alone on several occasions. The psychotic assassin

was introduced by

in issue #131, and was a frequent antagonist over the next six years of the series. Beginning with Frank Miller's run on ''Daredevil'', his traditional rogues' gallery was used less often, and The Kingpin became Daredevil's arch-enemy. Like the Purple Man, Death-Stalker, Assassin, and several others, the Kingpin has long known Daredevil's secret identity. His run as the series's central villain ended with issue #300, but he continues to menace Daredevil on occasion. Elektra made her debut as a bounty hunter, and though her time as part of Daredevil's rogues' gallery was brief (spanning barely a year of the series), her romantic past with him is an important part of the mythos. In ''Daredevil'' #254,

introduced Typhoid Mary, an assassin for the Kingpin with

dissociative identity disorder Dissociative identity disorder (DID), better known as multiple personality disorder or multiple personality syndrome, is a mental disorder characterized by the presence of at least two distinct and relatively enduring personality states. The di ...

(the diagnostic term for multiple personalities), who would become a prominent Daredevil foe.

Other versions

1602

In Neil Gaiman's ''

Marvel 1602 ''Marvel 1602'' is an eight-issue comic book limited series published in 2003 by Marvel Comics. The limited series was written by Neil Gaiman, penciled by Andy Kubert, and digitally painted by Richard Isanove; Scott McKowen illustrated the distin ...

'', set in Earth-311, Matthew Murdoch (known as The Bard) is introduced as a blind balladeer. Secretly he is an adventurer for hire, who charges excessive prices to anyone who has the money, for any job. Matthew, as a child, was a fearless boy who would explore anywhere. One day he discovered a dark cave that glowed inside from a green substance. As a boy Matthew thought nothing of tasting it, and so he did to know what it was. He soon walked back the way he came. His mother later found him with a fever and discovered that her son is completely blind. Though he lost his sight, the rest of Matthew's senses became enhanced with superhuman sharpness. Matthew traveled as a blind beggar and poet, singing songs of heroes, and appearing weak and helpless. His true nature would be revealed when he was either on a job for a client or attacked. The Queen of England's head spymaster, Nicholas Fury, had hired him to hunt down and protect Donal, the Templar keeper of

Thor Thor (; from non, Þórr ) is a prominent god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred groves and trees, strength, the protection of humankind, hallowing, an ...

’s staff. On the way to meet Donal he encountered a woman named Natasha (aka the Black Widow), whom he referred to as the most dangerous woman in Europe. His analysis of Natasha proved to be very accurate when she betrayed him by smashing a bottle over his head and pushing Matthew off a bridge into a canyon below. Murdoch survived, and appeared again in a dark cave just in time to save Donal from being attacked by Natasha's men. Matthew attempts to rescue Donal from her by taking him as far away as he could. But Natasha had the cave entrance surrounded with a garrison of men, sent by Count Otto von Doom of Latveria to capture the old man's treasure, Donal, and Matthew Murdoch. Doom imprisons them in one of his castle's cells and works to uncover the secrets of the golden bauble that Donal gave to him to distract him from the true treasure: the staff. Donal is also in contact with Doctor Strange, the former Queen's court magician and physician, who informs them that a group of heroes are on their way to the castle. When the imprisoned Captain of the Fantastic Four rails against his stone prison, it shakes the castle from its foundations and frees Murdoch and Donal. Murdoch uses his abilities to carry the old man and leap from wall to wall to the courtyard many feet below. When Doom's men corner them, after Donal demands to find his staff, the old man uses it to transform himself into the Thunder God, Thor. Thor uses his immortal powers to stop Doom's men and assist Carlos Javier’s witchbreed in their attack on Doom's castle, finally allowing Doom to use Thor's electricity to explode the golden sphere that Donal had given him, scarring Doom and bringing him to the brink of death. While Donal-as Thor-joins the group aboard their ship, headed to the New World to fix the tear in their universe, Murdoch uses his own means to leave Latveria. Murdoch later appears to King James, in the dark, threatening to cut his throat if he ever attacked the late Queen's spymaster, Fury. He then disappears through the window, promising to return again if James is untrue to his word, and with a final warning not to touch his home land of Ireland.

2099

Daredevil 2099 is Samuel Fisk, a grandson of Wilson Fisk, who feels some remorse over his grandfather's actions, and carries on the legacy of Daredevil, as well as the Kingpin legacy he inherited. * The one-shot ''2099 A.D. Genesis'' (Jan. 1996) introduced a

Marvel 2099 Marvel 2099 is a Marvel Comics imprint, started in 1992, that was originally one possible future of the Marvel Universe, but later revealed in a climax of ''Superior Spider-Man Goblin Nation arc'' and ''Amazing Spider-Man'' Vol. 3 #14 to be the ...

version of Daredevil, opposing the corporate criminals of Alchemax in a futuristic New York. His real identity is Eric Nelson, grandson of Matt Murdock's longtime associate Franklin "Foggy" Nelson.

Age of Apocalypse

In the ''

Age of Apocalypse "Age of Apocalypse" is a 1995 comic book crossover storyline mostly published in the X-Men franchise of books by Marvel Comics. The ''Age of Apocalypse'' briefly replaced the universe of Earth-616 and had ramifications in the main Marvel Comics ...

'' timeline (Earth-295), Keeper Murdock serves

Mikhail Rasputin Mikhail Nikolaievitch Rasputin is a fictional supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is the older brother of Colossus of the X-Men and Magik of the New Mutants. He first appeared in ''The Uncanny ...

, one of Apocalypse's

Four Horsemen The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse are figures in the Christian scriptures, first appearing in the Book of Revelation, a piece of apocalypse literature written by John of Patmos. Revelation 6 tells of a book or scroll in God's right hand tha ...

. Exposure to toxic waste during his time in one of Apocalypse's labor camps for humans caused Murdock's blindness and powers, though he believed his powers were granted by an implant given to him by Rasputin. When he accidentally touched the incapacitated

Empath Empathy is the capacity to understand or feel what another person is experiencing from within their frame of reference, that is, the capacity to place oneself in another's position. Definitions of empathy encompass a broad range of social, cog ...

, he realized the error of his ways, he then put Empath out of his misery by beating him to death with his Billy Club. Renouncing Mikhail, Murdock ripped off his visor and realized that his enhanced senses were not the result of his cybernetic augmentation. Murdock broke down upon realizing how many years Mikhail had been manipulating him. Ten years later, Murdock is seen working for Weapon Omega, Apocalypse's replacement. He serves as the keeper of New Apocalypse city, using his sense to monitor humans who try to enter the city. He is seen hunting for Harper Simmons and fights with Prophet hand to hand but was defeated with a poison gas that allowed Prophet escape with the X-Terminators.

Amalgam

In the

Amalgam Comics Amalgam Comics was a collaborative publishing imprint shared by DC Comics and Marvel Comics, in which the two comic book publishers merged their characters into new ones (e.g., DC Comics' Batman and Marvel Comics' Wolverine become the Amalgam ...

universe, Slade Murdock is a blind mercenary in New Gotham City acting under the name of "

Dare the Terminator The following is a list of fictional characters that appear or are only mentioned in the comic books of Amalgam Comics. They are listed by comic book and a team section is also provided. The amalgamations of characters or the Amalgam versions of o ...

", because of the dares she takes, and that few dare to challenge her. Dare is a female combination of Daredevil and

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...

Deathstroke the Terminator Deathstroke (Slade Joseph Wilson) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Marv Wolfman and George Pérez, the character debuted in ''The New Teen Titans'' #2 in December 1980 as Deathstroke the Te ...

. Another Daredevil amalgam is mentioned, called Deaddevil, the Man Without Life and is apparently Daredevil merged with

Deadman Deadman or Deadman's may refer to: * "Deadman" or "dead man", are alternative terms for a dead man's switch * "Deadman's foot" is another name for a Salamander in metallurgy * "Deadman anchor" is a buried object (log, concrete, block, etc.) used ...

House of M

In the ''

House of M "House of M" is a 2005 comic book storyline published by Marvel Comics, consisting of a core eight-issue comic book Limited series (comics), limited series written by Brian Michael Bendis and illustrated by Olivier Coipel and a number of fictiona ...

'' crossover, Matt Murdock/Daredevil is romantically involved with She-Hulk. The origins and the extent of his powers are never explained, but is very much similar to his mainstream counterpart. It is also unknown if he gained the fighting skills from his radioactive senses, or if they were gained when Layla Miller "awakened" him.

Earth X

In the ''

Earth X ''Earth X'' is a 1999 comic book limited series published by American company Marvel Comics. ''Earth X'' was written by Jim Krueger with art by John Paul Leon. Based on Alex Ross' notes, the series features a dystopian version of the Marvel Uni ...

'' series, there are at least three different alternative "Daredevils". First, in an interesting visual pun, Kurt Wagner eventually goes back in time to become the red-skinned demon Belasco. But ultimately, when he becomes a hero again, he goes to Hell's Kitchen (the original Daredevil's old stomping grounds), to become the neighborhood protector. Secondly, in the afterlife, Matthew Murdock is shown as part of the Avenging Host. Thirdly (and most prominently) an invulnerable stunt man, thought by the Thing to be

Deadpool Deadpool is an antihero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Fabian Nicieza and artist/writer Rob Liefeld, the character first appeared in ''New Mutants'' #98 (cover-dated Feb. 1991). Initially, Deadp ...

, goes by the name of Daredevil, as well as donning a costume that looks somewhere between that of Daredevil and

Evel Knievel Robert Craig "Evel" Knievel (; October 17, 1938 – November 30, 2007) was an American stunt performer and entertainer. Over the course of his career, he attempted more than 75 ramp-to-ramp motorcycle jumps. Knievel was inducted into the Motor ...

. This version craves his own death. Ben Grimm repeatedly tries to guess at Daredevil's identity, guessing Deadpool at first and then a string of other obscure Marvel characters, but Daredevil denies being any one of them. Eventually Machine Man confronts Daredevil and reveals that he was never any previously known Marvel character - he is an original character from the Earth X universe.

''End of Days''

''Daredevil: End of Days'' is a 2013 eight-issue comic book miniseries that chronicled Daredevil's final days. During his final battle with

, Daredevil whispers the single word "Mapone" to Bullseye before being killed by a blow to the head by his own billy-club. Several years before his death, Daredevil had confronted the Kingpin when he returned to Hell's Kitchen. Fisk had made a deal with the government and Daredevil, seeing no other options to stop Fisk, killed him in front of many people on the streets. After killing Fisk, Daredevil disappeared many years until his final battle with Bullseye, having either alienated from or shunned by his friends and fellow superheroes. Matt had been training Tim Urich, the adopted son of longtime friend

, to become the new Daredevil. After finishing Tim's training and becoming aware of Bullseye's return to Hell's Kitchen, Daredevil returned to prevent any more of his past enemies to affect his successor. His actions during his final battle drove Bullseye mad with curiosity over the word "Mapone", leading him to commit suicide. It is revealed that Matt had fathered a daughter named Mapone Romanova with the Black Widow. After Natasha's death, Matt and Mapone seemingly became estranged. Matt was also allegedly the father of four other children with several of his past lovers: Elektra Natchios has a son also named Matthew,

has a son named Franklin, and Mary Walker is the mother of twin boys.

Exiles

The Daredevil from Earth-181 is an assassin working for his reality's Kingpin.

Earth-13584

On Earth-13584, Daredevil appears as a member of Spider-Man's gang.

Secret Wars

During the "

Secret Wars ''Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars'', commonly known as ''Secret Wars'' for short, is a twelve-issue American comic book crossover limited series published from May 1984 to April 1985 by Marvel Comics. The series was written by Jim Shooter, with ...

" storyline, different versions of Daredevil appear on

Battleworld Battleworld is a fictional patchwork planet appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Publication history The first Battleworld debuted in the ''Secret Wars'' crossover where it was created by Jim Shooter and Mike Zeck. The ...

. * In "Howard the Human," a mouse version of Matt Murdock named Mouse Murdock appears in the Battleworld domain of New Quack City. Mouse Murdock assists Howard the Human by telling him the murdered informant Howard was investigating was playing possum for Wilson Fisk (who is a gorilla). Fisk sends monkey ninjas after them, but Murdock defeats them all and then gives him the location on the possum's whereabouts. * In the Battleworld domain of Limbo, Matt is married to Karen. He is put under a spell by Mephisto before the evening of the final Inferno into thinking about Typhoid Mary and is attacked by Mephisto who was disguised as her. Karen saves Matt by cutting off Mephisto's head and they share a final kiss as the world starts falling apart.

Marvel Mangaverse

The

Marvel Mangaverse The Marvel Mangaverse is a series of comic books published by Marvel Comics from 2000 to 2002, with a sequel "New Mangaverse" released in 2006. The series depicts an alternate (or possibly two alternates, see below) Marvel universe, where its ch ...

features a version of Daredevil called the Devil Hunter. His costume is patterned after an

oni An is a kind of ''yōkai'', demon, orc, ogre, or troll in Japanese folklore. Oni are mostly known for their fierce and evil nature manifested in their propensity for murder and cannibalism. Notwithstanding their evil reputation, oni possess ...

, or Japanese demon.

Marvel Zombies universe

Daredevil appears in the limited series ''

Marvel Zombies vs. The Army of Darkness ''Marvel Zombies vs. The Army of Darkness'' is a five-issue 2007 comic book limited series published by Marvel Comics in association with Dynamite Entertainment, an intercompany crossover in which Ash Williams, hero of the popular ''Evil Dead'' fi ...

''. While still un-zombified, he is seen fighting the villain Thunderball. Ash, misunderstanding, unexpectedly helps Thunderball win the fight. Daredevil also appears in '' Marvel Zombies: Dead Days''. He shows up on the scene in order to save a terrified Nova from the zombified Spider-Man, saying that they have to kill Spider-Man immediately. Ironically, he becomes a zombie when Spider-Man bites him on the back because Nova is too scared to assist him. In the limited '' Marvel Zombies'' series, Daredevil is among those who chase and eventually eat Magneto, but not before Magneto hurls an

I-beam An I-beam, also known as H-beam (for universal column, UC), w-beam (for "wide flange"), universal beam (UB), rolled steel joist (RSJ), or double-T (especially in Polish, Bulgarian, Spanish, Italian and German), is a beam with an or -shape ...

completely through his

torso The torso or trunk is an anatomical term for the central part, or the core, of the body of many animals (including humans), from which the head, neck, limbs, tail and other appendages extend. The tetrapod torso — including that of a huma ...

. It is assumed that he is eventually destroyed after several zombies gain the

Power Cosmic Galactus () is a fictional Character (arts), character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Formerly a mortal man, Galactus is a cosmic entity who consumes planets to sustain his life force, and serves a functional role ...

and incinerate all the other zombies.

MC2

In the alternative timeline published under the MC2 imprint, Daredevil is murdered by the Kingpin while saving the life of Kaine. Kaine attempts to revive Daredevil by sorcery, but inadvertently bonds both Daredevil's soul and the demon

Zarathos Zarathos (, ) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is usually depicted in stories featuring the character Ghost Rider. A demonic being who tortures and devours souls, Zarathos first appeared in ...

to Reilly Tyne, who becomes the superhero Darkdevil.

Mutant X

The alternative universe version of Daredevil in the '' Mutant X'' series wears a similar costume to the character of the same name published by

Lev Gleason Publications Lev Gleason Publications, founded by Leverett Stone Gleason (1898–1971), was the publisher of a number of popular comic books during the 1940s and early 1950s, including '' Daredevil Comics'', '' Crime Does Not Pay'', and '' Boy Comics''. Backg ...

during the 1940s as an homage.

''Old Man Logan''

In the storyline ''

Old Man Logan Old Man Logan is an alternative version of the Marvel Comics fictional character Wolverine. This character is an aged version of Wolverine set in an alternate future universe designated Earth-807128, where the supervillains overthrew the super ...

'' in an alternative future on Earth-807128, fifty years after the superheroes lost a great battle, two young men dressed as Daredevil and the

are found chained together on a pole by a new Kingpin, who has killed

Magneto A magneto is an electrical generator that uses permanent magnets to produce periodic pulses of alternating current. Unlike a dynamo, a magneto does not contain a commutator to produce direct current. It is categorized as a form of alternator, ...

in the past, after an attempted mission to free the town from him. The man dressed as Daredevil asks for the whereabouts of Spider-Man's granddaughter Ashley Barton, who is also the daughter of the Avenger Hawkeye. The new Kingpin states that he is still thinking of what to do with her and that Daredevil and the Punisher got off easy. They are then eaten by

Velociraptor ''Velociraptor'' (; ) is a genus of small dromaeosaurid dinosaur that lived in Asia during the Late Cretaceous epoch, about 75 million to 71 million years ago. Two species are currently recognized, although others have been assigned in the p ...

s. In ''Old Man Hawkeye'', the prequel to the original "Old Man Logan" arc, Matt is revealed to be one of the few heroes left alive. After the villains conquered most of the planet, Matt escaped to the Himalayas and formed his own dojo while taking on his master's alias, "Stick." When Clint Barton loses his vision following an attack by

Avalanche An avalanche is a rapid flow of snow down a slope, such as a hill or mountain. Avalanches can be set off spontaneously, by such factors as increased precipitation or snowpack weakening, or by external means such as humans, animals, and eart ...

, he seeks out Stick's help to learn how to cope with his blindness so he continue the fight against Red Skull, Matt agrees to help him. In the pages of "Old Man Logan" that takes place on Earth-21923, Enchantress fought She-Hulk, Daredevil, and Moon Knight. After Punisher killed Electro, Enchantress casts a spell that caused the sounds to be amplified enough for Daredevil's senses to go into overload enough for his head to explode.

Noir

In ''

Daredevil Noir ''Marvel Noir'' is a 2009/2010 Marvel Comics alternative continuity combining elements of film noir and pulp fiction with the Marvel Universe. The central premise of the mini-series replaces super powers with driven, noir-flavored characteriza ...

'', part of the Marvel Noir imprint, Matt Murdock was blinded by his father's assassin who brutally slammed his head into a brick wall, leaving him blind. Though he did wish to become a lawyer, his impoverished lifestyle denied it, leaving him to be a performer instead, under the name Daredevil. Later he took to the streets as a vigilante, killing criminals to avenge those they killed.

''Runaways''

In a Runaways alternative future, Daredevil is a member of

Heroine A hero (feminine: heroine) is a real person or a main fictional character who, in the face of danger, combats adversity through feats of ingenuity, courage, or strength. Like other formerly gender-specific terms (like ''actor''), ''hero ...

's team of Avengers.

''Ruins''

In the two issue

Warren Ellis Warren Girard Ellis (born 16 February 1968) is a British comic book writer, novelist, and screenwriter. He is best known as the co-creator of several original comics series, including ''Transmetropolitan'' (1997–2002), ''Global Frequency'' ( ...

limited series ''

Ruins Ruins () are the remains of a civilization's architecture. The term refers to formerly intact structures that have fallen into a state of partial or total disrepair over time due to a variety of factors, such as lack of maintenance, deliberate ...

'', a newspaper headline reveals that Matthew Murdock was fatally injured when an atom truck crashed spilling a radioactive substance in his face. Thus he never became Daredevil.

''Spider-Ham''

The

talking animal A talking animal or speaking animal is any non-human animal that can produce sounds or gestures resembling those of a human language. Several species or groups of animals have developed forms of communication which superficially resemble verbal ...

comic book ''

Spider-Ham Spider-Ham (Peter Porker) is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is an anthropomorphic pig and is a cartoon animal parody version of Spider-Man. He was created by editor Larry Hama, T ...

'' from the Marvel children's-comics imprint

Star Comics Star Comics was an imprint of Marvel Comics that began in 1984 and featured titles that were aimed at child readers and were often adaptations of children's television series, animated series or toys. The last comic published under the imprint ...

included versions of Daredevil named "Deerdevil" and "Deviled Ham".

''Spider-Gwen''

Matt Murdock serves as the main antagonist for most of ''Spider-Gwen''. His ninja training, law background, and powers are the same as his mainstream counterpart. However, he eventually becomes this world's version of the Kingpin and constantly antagonizes Gwen Stacy, who is the Spider-Woman of this dimension.

''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' (Mirage Studios)

The story of the

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' is an American media franchise created by the comic book artists Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. It follows Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello and Raphael, four anthropomorphic turtle brothers (named after It ...

in the original comics is that they were four newborn pet turtles owned by a young boy who were splashed by a mutagenic compound and dropped in the sewers when their owner was involved in an accident involving a truck carrying said compound. The circumstances of their creation was intentionally designed to resemble Daredevil's origin, with the scenes even being drawn similarly. The creators of the comic later confirmed that the boy was intended to be a young Matt Murdock, explaining Daredevil's own abilities as the result of exposure to the mutagen.

Ultimate Marvel

The

Ultimate Marvel Ultimate Marvel, later known as Ultimate Comics, was an imprint of comic books published by Marvel Comics, featuring re-imagined and modernized versions of the company's superhero characters from the Ultimate Marvel Universe. Those characters ...

version of Daredevil (Matt Murdock) has appeared in two different limited series, ''

Ultimate Daredevil and Elektra ''Ultimate Daredevil and Elektra'' is a four-issue comic book mini-series published by Marvel Comics written by Greg Rucka with art by Salvador Larroca. Marvel characters Daredevil and Elektra are introduced to the Ultimate universe in the series ...

'' written by

Greg Rucka Gregory Rucka (born November 29, 1969) is an American writer known for the series of novels starring his character Atticus Kodiak, the creator-owned comic book series '' Whiteout'', ''Queen & Country'', '' Stumptown'' and '' Lazarus'', as well as ...

, and ''Ultimate Elektra'', a team to take down the Kingpin. It is revealed in ''Ultimate Spider-Man'' #109 that his father Jack was a boxer killed by the Kingpin ( a.k.a. Wilson Fisk) when Jack would not throw a match. Later, after the Kingpin burns down Murdock's law offices, a crazed Daredevil breaks into Fisk's apartments and threatens to murder the comatose

Vanessa Fisk Vanessa Fisk ( née Marianna) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. She is married to the crime boss the Kingpin (Wilson Fisk) and is the mother of Richard Fisk, although she herself is not portra ...

, but is convinced not to by Spider-Man. During

's flooding of New York during ''

Ultimatum An ultimatum (; ) is a demand whose fulfillment is requested in a specified period of time and which is backed up by a threat to be followed through in case of noncompliance (open loop). An ultimatum is generally the final demand in a series ...

'' in which millions of people are killed, Daredevil was found dead by Spider-Man and Hulk.

Ray Connor

A new exclusive iteration of Daredevil (Ray Connor) appears in '' Ultimate Comics: Avengers''. He is discovered and trained by Stick after experiencing an accident similar to the one that gave his predecessor powers. On a somewhat related note, Conner is a fan of Spider-Man. Sometime after being publicly known as the new Daredevil, he and Stick are attacked by Vampire X's vampires and turned. Luring the Avengers to their sewer, Daredevil bites Captain America. Just when Daredevil was about to kill

Blade A blade is the portion of a tool, weapon, or machine with an edge that is designed to puncture, chop, slice or scrape surfaces or materials. Blades are typically made from materials that are harder than those they are to be used on. Histor ...

, Captain America teleports the Triskelion to the desert of Iran using the deceased

Perun In Slavic mythology, Perun (Cyrillic: Перýн) is the highest god of the pantheon and the god of sky, thunder, lightning, storms, rain, law, war, fertility and oak trees. His other attributes were fire, mountains, wind, iris, eagle, f ...

's hammer, leaving Ray's fate unknown but presumably dead.

''What If''

In ''What If Everyone Knew Daredevil Was Blind?'', Electro realized Daredevil's secret when he assisted Spider-Man in a fight, Electro noticing that Daredevil was not bothered when he triggered a particularly intense flash of light. Although Matt tried to continue as normal, when the Owl attacked Daredevil with weapons designed specifically to exploit Matt's heightened senses, Matt decides to undergo a risky operation to restore his sight. When exposure to another dose of radioactive waste deprived Matt of his enhanced senses while leaving him with his sight, after defeating the Owl's attempt to stage a mock trial, Matt decided to retire from his costumed career and run for district attorney. In ''What If Karen Page had Lived?'', when Karen survives Bullseye's attempt to kill her as part of

's last scheme, the fear of losing her drove Matt to beat the Kingpin to death for his role in the scheme. Despite his friends' defense, Matt was sentenced to 44 years in prison for Fisk's murder, but was left alone in prison due to the other prisoners' fear, and was often consulted by Nick Fury on legal matters. He was eventually released after 15 years for good behavior. However, in the beginning of the comic book, it is revealed that the entire story is the speculation of the main Marvel Universe version of Brian Michael Bendis, the writer himself, who makes a cameo as narrator.

Reception

Daredevil was named ''

Empire An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...

'''s 37th Greatest Comic Book Character, citing him as "a compelling, layered and visually striking character". '' Wizard'' magazine ranked Daredevil 21st among their list of the 200 Greatest Comic Characters of All Time, and comic book readers polled through the website

Comic Book Resources ''Comic Book Resources'', also known by the initialism 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 1995 as a development of the Kingdom Co ...

voted the character the third best of the Marvel Comics stable.

IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...

in 2011 ranked ''Daredevil'' as #10 on their list of "Top 100 Comic Book Heroes". In 2022, '' Screen Rant'' included Daredevil in their "10 Most Powerful Lawyers In Comics" list. In 2022, ''

CBR.com ''Comic Book Resources'', also known by the initialism 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 1995 as a development of the Kingdom Co ...

'' ranked Matthew Murdock 1st in their "10 Most Powerful Lawyers In Marvel Comics" list. In 2022, '' Screen Rant'' included Daredevil in their "MCU: 10 Most Desired Fan Favorite Debuts Expected In The Multiverse Saga" list.

In other media

Television

Live-action

* In 1975,

Angela Bowie Angela Bowie (born Mary Angela Barnett; September 25, 1949) is an American model, actress, and journalist. Alongside her ex-husband David Bowie, she influenced the glam rock culture and fashion of the 1970s. She was married to Bowie (whom she a ...

secured the TV rights to Daredevil and the Black Widow for a duration of one year and planned a TV series based on the two characters. Bowie had photographer Terry O'Neill take a series of pictures of herself as Black Widow and actor

Ben Carruthers Benito F. Carruthers (August 14, 1936 in Illinois, USA – September 27, 1983 in Los Angeles, California) was an American film actor, most notable for his role in John Cassavetes' debut feature film ''Shadows'' (1959). His other films includ ...

as Daredevil (with wardrobe by Natasha Kornilkoff) to shop the project around to producers, but the project never came to fruition. * In 1983, ABC planned a live-action ''Daredevil'' pilot. Academy Award-winning writer

Stirling Silliphant Stirling Dale Silliphant (January 16, 1918 – April 26, 1996) was an American screenwriter and producer. He is best remembered for his screenplay for '' In the Heat of the Night'', for which he won an Academy Award in 1967, and for creating ...

completed the draft of the program, but it was not aired. * Daredevil appears in NBC's 1989 live-action

'' The Trial of the Incredible Hulk'', portrayed by Rex Smith. This version was inspired by a police officer to become a hero. Additionally, he wears a black ninja-like outfit, a variation of which would later appear in Frank Miller and John Romita Jr.'s 1993 ''Daredevil: The Man Without Fear'' miniseries and the

series. When David Banner gets arrested, Matt Murdock helps to prove Banner's innocence. Murdock tells his origins to Banner before battling Wilson Fisk with the Hulk's help.

Animation

* Matt Murdock appears in a flashback depicted in the ''

Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends may refer to the following shows: * ''Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends'' (1981 TV series), a 1981 cartoon series * ''Spidey and His Amazing Friends'' (2021 TV series), a 2021 Disney Junior cartoon {{Disam ...

'' episode "Attack of the Arachnoid", voiced by Frank Welker. Daredevil served as Spider-Man's lawyer after the latter he was framed by a chemical scientist named Zoltan Amadeus, who became the Arachnoid. * In the 1980s,

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

had planned a Daredevil animated television series that would have featured a

guide dog Guide dogs (colloquially known in the US as seeing-eye dogs) are assistance dogs trained to lead blind or visually impaired people around obstacles. Although dogs can be trained to navigate various obstacles, they are red–green colour blin ...

named "Lightning the Super-Dog".Mark Evanier, quoted in: Television writer

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 '' Spider-Man: The Animated Series'' episodes "Framed" and "The Man Without Fear", voiced by

Edward Albert Edward Laurence Albert (February 20, 1951 – September 22, 2006) was an American actor. The son of actor Eddie Albert and Mexican actress Margo, he starred opposite Goldie Hawn in ''Butterflies Are Free'' (1972), a role for which he won a ...

. This version's blindness occurred after he accidentally witnessed his father Jack Murdock taking part in crime. J. Jonah Jameson hires Matt Murdock to defend Peter Parker when he is framed for industrial espionage by

Richard Fisk Richard Fisk is a fictional character, a criminal appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appears in ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' #83 (April 1970) and was created by Stan Lee and John Romita Sr. He is the so ...

. These episodes were later incorporated into the direct-to-DVD animated film '' Daredevil vs Spider-Man''. * Daredevil appears in the 1990s '' Fantastic Four'' episode "And a Blind Man Shall Lead Them", voiced by

Bill Smitrovich William Stanley Zmitrowicz Jr. (born May 16, 1947), known professionally as Bill Smitrovich ( ), is an American actor. Personal life Smitrovich was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut, the son of Anna ( née Wojna) and Stanley William Zmitrowicz, a ...

. He helps the powerless Fantastic Four get into the Baxter Building when Doctor Doom takes it over. * Production stills for a proposed Daredevil animated series meant to air on Fox Kids were made.

Film

* In 2003,

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 ...

released the film '' Daredevil'', written and directed by

Mark Steven Johnson Mark Steven Johnson (born October 30, 1964) is an American filmmaker. Life and career Johnson began his career writing the Warner Bros. films '' Grumpy Old Men'' and its sequel ''Grumpier Old Men''. Johnson wrote and directed two comic book bas ...

. Actor

starred as the title character. * A deleted scene in the 2005 '' Elektra'' film, later included in the Director's Cut, has Ben Affleck briefly reprising the role in a dream sequence. * In the climax of the 2018 film '' Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse'', a young

Matt Murdock Daredevil is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Daredevil was created by Literary editor, writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Bill Everett, with an unspecified amount of input from Jack Kirby. The c ...

from Gwen Stacy's home dimension appears in an "

Easter egg Easter eggs, also called Paschal eggs, are eggs that are decorated for the Christian feast of Easter, which celebrates the resurrection of Jesus. As such, Easter eggs are common during the season of Eastertide (Easter season). The oldest tr ...

" cameo as the adopted son of the Kingpin.

Marvel Cinematic Universe

In November 2013, Disney and Marvel announced that a new '' Daredevil'' television series set in the

would be released exclusively on

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 fi ...

. Then-

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 ...

CEO Bob Iger stated that if Marvel's Netflix TV shows such as ''Daredevil'' become popular, "It's quite possible that they could become feature films". In December 2013, Marvel confirmed that

Drew Goddard Andrew Brion Hogan Goddard (born February 26, 1975) is an American filmmaker. He began his career writing episodes for the television shows ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'', ''Angel'', ''Alias'', and ''Lost''. After moving into screenwriting in fi ...

would be the executive producer and showrunner for the series, and would write and direct the first episode. By May 2014, Goddard had departed as showrunner, being replaced by Steven S. DeKnight, while Goddard was to remain with the show as a consultant. Later that month,

was cast in the starring titular role. Filming began in July 2014. The first season was released in April 2015, the second season was released on March 18, 2016, and the third and final season was released on October 19, 2018. Cox also reprises the role in '' The Defenders'', a crossover miniseries. In December 2021, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige announced that Cox will reprise his role in future MCU projects produced by the studio. Cox reprises his role as Murdock in the film '' Spider-Man: No Way Home'' (2021), wherein he successfully clears

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 ...

's name from

's death and subtly attempts to get Happy Hogan to hire him by both describing himself as and telling Hogan he will need "a really good lawyer" to defend him against allegations of stealing technology from Stark Industries. The film does not reference his superhero identity beyond a brief display of his enhanced senses when he catches a brick thrown through the Parkers' window. According to Tom Holland, Murdock's appearance was written after filming began due to uncertainty about the rights to include the Marvel Netflix characters. On March 17, 2022, an issue of ''Production Weekly'' reported that Marvel Studios was developing a ''Daredevil'' reboot project, with Kevin Feige and Chris Gray attached as producers. Production is expected to begin either in late 2022 or 2023. The following month, Cox was revealed to have also joined the cast of the

television series ''

'' (2023) alongside his ''Daredevil'' co-star

Vincent D'Onofrio Vincent Philip D'Onofrio (; born June 30, 1959) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is known for his supporting and leading roles in both film and television. He has been nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award. His roles include Private Leonar ...

, who had recently reprised the role of Wilson Fisk / Kingpin in the series '' Hawkeye'' (2021). Later in May, the ''Daredevil'' reboot was confirmed to be taking the form of a new series in development for Disney+, with Matt Corman and Chris Ord attached as the series' head writers and executive producers according to ''

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), ...

''. The series was also described by ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Hollywood film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade paper, and in 2010 switched to a weekly larg ...

'' as a continuation of the events of the prior show as opposed to a full reboot. On July 24, 2022, it was announced at

San Diego Comic-Con San Diego Comic-Con International is a comic book convention and nonprofit multi-genre entertainment event held annually in San Diego, California since 1970. The name, as given on its website, is Comic-Con International: San Diego; but it is ...

that Charlie Cox would reprise his role voicing an alternate version of Daredevil in '' Spider-Man: Freshman Year'', an animated series exploring a variant

's origin story and early days as Spider-Man under the tutelage of

Norman Osborn Norman Osborn is a fictional character, fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character, created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, first appeared in ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' #14 (July ...

. He was also confirmed to be reprising his role in '' She-Hulk: Attorney at Law'' (2022), as well as in his own series: a revival of the Netflix series entitled ''Daredevil: Born Again'' (2024).

Video games

* Daredevil made a cameo appearance in '' Venom/Spider-Man: Separation Anxiety''. * Daredevil appears as a playable character in '' Spider-Man: Web of Fire'', voiced by

Dee Bradley Baker Dee Bradley Baker (born August 31, 1962) is an American voice actor. Much of Baker's work features vocalizations of animals and monsters. Baker's roles include animated series such as ''Avatar: The Last Airbender'', '' Codename: Kids Next Door'', ...

. * Daredevil appears in the 2000 '' Spider-Man'' video game, voiced again by Dee Bradley Baker. * Daredevil appears as the title character of the '' Daredevil'' film tie-in game. * Daredevil appeared as a playable character in '' Marvel Nemesis: Rise of the Imperfects'', voiced by David Kaye. * Matt Murdock made a cameo appearance in ''

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 ...

'', voiced by

Steve Blum Steven Jay Blum (; born April 29, 1960) is an American voice actor. Known for his distinctively deep voice, his most well-known roles include Spike Spiegel from the anime series '' Cowboy Bebop'', Garazeb Orrelios from the animated series '' ...

. * Daredevil appeared as an unlockable character in '' Marvel: Ultimate Alliance'', voiced by

Cam Clarke Cam Clarke is an American voice actor, known for his work in animation, video games and commercials. Among his notable roles are Leonardo and Rocksteady in the 1987 ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' animated series, Shotaro Kaneda in the 1989 ...

. * Daredevil appears as a playable character in '' Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2'', voiced by Brian Bloom. For the PS2, PSP and Wii versions, he is part of the Anti-

Registration Register or registration may refer to: Arts entertainment, and media Music * Register (music), the relative "height" or range of a note, melody, part, instrument, etc. * ''Register'', a 2017 album by Travis Miller * Registration (organ), th ...

campaign and serves as a boss for the Pro-Registration campaign. * Matt Murdock makes a cameo appearance in

Chris Redfield is a character in '' Resident Evil'' (''Biohazard'' in Japan), a survival horror video game series created by Japanese company Capcom. Chris debuted as one of the two playable characters of the original ''Resident Evil'' (1996), alongside his ...

's ending for '' Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds''. Additionally, he appears in the Shadowland stage for ''Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3'' in his black outfit and as a card in the Heroes vs. Heralds mode. Moreover, the '' Marvel Zombies'' incarnation of Daredevil makes a cameo in Frank West's ending. * Daredevil appears as a playable character in ''

Marvel Super Hero Squad Online ''Marvel Super Hero Squad Online'' was a massively multiplayer online game for younger audiences based on the ''Marvel Super Hero Squad'', developed by American video game companies The Amazing Society and Gazillion Entertainment. The open beta ...

'', voiced again by Brian Bloom. * A Daredevil outfit is available in ''

LittleBigPlanet ''LittleBigPlanet'' (stylized as ''LittleBIGPlanet''; abbreviated ''LBP'') is a puzzle platform video game series created and produced by British developer Media Molecule and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Most games in the seri ...

'', as part of the "Marvel Costume Kit 1" DLC. * Daredevil appears as a playable character in '' Marvel: Avengers Alliance''. * Daredevil appears as a playable character in '' Marvel Heroes'', voiced again by Brian Bloom. * Daredevil appears as a playable character in ''

Lego Marvel Super Heroes ''Lego Marvel Super Heroes'' is a 2013 Lego-themed action-adventure video game developed by Traveller's Tales and published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii U, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Microsoft W ...

'', voiced again by Steven Blum. * Daredevil appears as a playable character in ''

Marvel Contest of Champions ''Marvel Contest of Champions'' is a 2014 fighting video game developed and published by Kabam. It was released on December 10, 2014, for iOS and Android. The fighting game is primarily set in the Marvel Universe. The game is strongly based o ...

''. * Daredevil appears as a playable character in '' Marvel: Future Fight''. * Daredevil appears as a playable character in ''

Lego Marvel's Avengers ''Lego Marvel's Avengers'' is a Lego-themed action-adventure video game developed by Traveller's Tales and published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, for the Nintendo 3DS, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Wii U, Wind ...

'', voiced by Roger Craig Smith. * Daredevil appears as a playable character in '' Marvel: Avengers Alliance 2''. * Daredevil appears as a playable character in ''

Marvel Strike Force ''Marvel Strike Force'' is a turn-based role-playing mobile game by FoxNext (later acquired by Scopely) for Android, iOS, and iPadOS platforms. The game was launched worldwide on March 28, 2018, and is primarily set in the Marvel Universe. Pre ...

''. This version is a member of the

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and Shadowlands teams. His default costume is based on his appearance in the '' Daredevil'' television series, while his Shadowlands outfit appears as an alternate skin. * Daredevil appears as a playable character in '' Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order'', voiced again by Brian Bloom. * Daredevil appears as a playable character in ''

Marvel Puzzle Quest ''Marvel Puzzle Quest'' is a video game released by D3 Publisher and Marvel Entertainment on October 3, 2013, and developed by Demiurge Studios. The fourth installment in the ''Puzzle Quest'' series, it is a free-to-play, match-three ''Bejeweled ...

''. * Daredevil appears as a purchasable outfit in ''

Fortnite Battle Royale ''Fortnite Battle Royale'' is a free-to-play battle royale video game developed and published by Epic Games. It is a companion game to '' Fortnite: Save the World'', a cooperative survival game with construction elements. It was initially ...

''.

Toys

* Daredevil is featured in the

Marvel Legends Marvel 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. The line initially began as a spin-off of ...

(third series) toy line. The action figure was based on the film version

starred in. The Marvel Legends Showdown 1/18th scale line 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, included a Daredevil figure, clad in his traditional red costume. The action figure resembles

Marvel Marvel may refer to: Business * Marvel Entertainment, an American entertainment company ** Marvel Comics, the primary imprint of Marvel Entertainment ** Marvel Universe, a fictional shared universe ** Marvel Music, an imprint of Marvel Comics * ...

Editor-in-Chief

's representation of Daredevil; it is derived from Quesada's stint as an artist on ''Daredevil''. Accessories to the figure include the two

billy club A baton (also known as a truncheon or nightstick) is a roughly cylindrical club made of wood, rubber, plastic, or metal. It is carried as a compliance tool and defensive weapon by law-enforcement officers, correctional staff, security guards ...

s that the character uses. Unlike the mainstream comics, the clubs are white (rather than red). An expensive variant of the character included him in his original yellow and black garb, released in the same series. * Daredevil is the thirteenth figurine in the Classic Marvel Figurine Collection. * Daredevil was featured in wave one of the first series in the 3 3/4" Marvel Universe line.

Tabletop games

* Daredevil has been featured in

Heroclix HeroClix is a collectible miniatures game that uses the Clix system that centers on the world of superhero comic books, especially the DC Comics and Marvel universes like Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Spider-Man, the Incredible Hulk, the X-Me ...

Collectible Miniatures Game. * Daredevil has been announced for Marvel Crisis Protocol Miniatures Game.

References

External links

* * *
Marvel Toonzone: Daredevil

Daredevil at Comic Book Database
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