Everything that we need to know about Daredevil (Photo Credit – Facebook)
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Daredevil is set to make a return in the upcoming Daredevil: Born Again, which will release on Disney+ in March 2025. Daredevil had made his debut in the MCU through his 2015 live-action series, which originally released on Netflix and ran for three seasons. Since then, he was a leading character in MCU’s The Defenders series, and has since made supporting appearances in Spider-Man: No Way Home and She Hulk: Attorney at Law.
Similar to his MCU counterpart, the original Marvel comic book character also has a storied history, being one of the many new characters co-created by Stan Lee during his relaunch of Marvel Comics. Read on to learn of the rich history behind “The Man Without Fear.”
Daredevil has been a longstanding Marvel character
Daredevil’s origins can be traced back to the early days of Stan Lee’s tenure as Marvel’s editorial lead, and he made his debut in 1964. Daredevil is the superhero alias of Matt Murdock, who never knew his mother and was raised by his father, a boxer who struggled to make ends meet. Determined not to have his son face the same career dead-end he landed up in, his father pressured him to excel in his studies.
Matt Murdock’s life was permanently changed, however, when he saved a blind man from a road accident, only to end up getting injured himself. Having been hit by a truck carrying radioactive chemicals, Matt was permanently blinded as a consequence.
However, this accident would also turn him into a superhuman, enhancing his remaining senses to an enormous degree, and making him a dreaded crime fighter in his neighborhood of Hell’s Kitchen, Manhattan. Meanwhile, in his civilian identity, Matt would make the most of his education and open up a legal practice with his best friend Foggy Nelson, and off-and-on love interest Karen Page.
The Daredevil comics were launched with considerable hype, with his debut issue pointing out that his character came from the makers of Spider-Man and The Fantastic Four. However, for most of its run, the comic was overshadowed by those very aforementioned series. Nonetheless, Daredevil remained a staple of Marvel comics, and served as a platform for developing other Marvel characters, most notably the Black Widow, who co-starred with him in an iconic run in the 1970s.
Daredevil’s character was eventually revamped by Frank Miller when he took over the comic in 1978. Frank Miller’s work on Daredevil was so influential that every subsequent adaptation of the character has been influenced by it, from the 2003 film starring Ben Affleck, to the MCU version of the character, played by Charlie Cox.
Miller was responsible for the creation of Elektra, an old flame of Matt’s who’s since become an assassin in the employ of the sinister organization known as The Hand. Miller also introduced
Spider-Man villain The Kingpin to Daredevil’s rogue’s gallery, with the two becoming archenemies during his storylines.
As evidenced by the prominent role The Hand and The Kingpin have had in Daredevil’s MCU appearances, it’s clear that Frank Miller’s legacy lives on in Daredevil’s story as we know it today.
