'Daredevil' is a
superhero in the
Marvel Comics Universe. The character was created by writer
Stan Lee and artist
Bill Everett in 1964, with an unspecified amount of input from
Jack Kirby,
[1], and is notable as being among the few superheroes with a
disability, being
blinded in a
radioactive accident when young (although his remaining senses were drastically heightened and he gained a "radar-sense" allowing him to perceive his surroundings). In his secret identity of 'Matt Murdock' he is a successful
attorney-at-law.
Although ''Daredevil'' had been home to the work of many legendary comic-book artists — Everett, Kirby,
Wally Wood,
John Romita, Sr., and
Gene Colan, among others — it is
Frank Miller's influential tenure on the title in the late 1970s and early 1980s that is best remembered, cementing the character as a popular and individual part of the
Marvel Universe.
Publication history
Volume 1: 1964 - 1998
Daredevil's original costume, as designed by Jack Kirby was a combination of black, yellow and red, reminiscent of practical acrobat's tights, and went through minor revisions in issues #2 through #4 by
EC Comics artist
Joe Orlando. Fellow acclaimed EC veteran Wally Wood penciled #5-8, introducing the modern, completely red costume in issue #7.
Golden Age great
Bob Powell (
Sheena, Queen of the Jungle) penciled two issues over Wood layouts, and they then swapped for #11, which Wood inked over Powell's pencils.
Daredevil's first costume, from ''Daredevil'' Vol. 1, #1 (April 1964). Splash-page art by
Jack Kirby (penciler) and
Bill Everett (inker).
1.
Issue #12 began a brief run by Jack Kirby (layouts) and
John Romita, Sr. It was Romita's return to superhero penciling after a decade of working exclusively as a
romance-comic artist for DC. Romita had felt he no longer wanted to pencil, in favor of being solely an inker.
[2]
When Romita left to take over ''Amazing Spider-Man'', Lee gave ''Daredevil'' to the character's first signature artist,
Gene Colan, who began with issue #20 (Sept. 1966). Colan pencilled all but three issues through #100 (June 1973), plus the 1967 annual, followed by ten issues sprinkled from 1974-79. (He would return again, an established legend, for an eight-issue run in 1997). Among the notable plot developments during this period were Matt Murdock's panicky creation of a "twin brother", the "sighted" and devil-may-care Mike Murdock, in #25 (Feb. 1967), whom Karen Page and Foggy Nelson are led to believe is Daredevil; "Mike's" death in #41 (June 1968); and Matt revealing his Daredevil identity to Karen Page in #57 (Oct. 1969).
Much like in ''
The Amazing Spider-Man'' — and in what was already an established hallmark of Marvel Comics storytelling — interpersonal drama was as central to the series as action and adventure. A triangle of unrequited love develops between Foggy Nelson, Karen Page and Murdock, with Nelson unable to win over Page and Matt unable to admit that Page loves anyone other than Daredevil. When the revelation of Murdock's dual identity proves too much for Page, she leaves the firm and the comic.
In the 1970s the title featured a double billing, co-starring Daredevil's girlfriend, the
Black Widow. During this time, the series' writers included
Gerry Conway,
Steve Gerber and
Chris Claremont. Artists included
Bob Brown and
Don Heck.
The modern definition of ''Daredevil'' began in 1979 with
Frank Miller's entrance on the title. Miller's first contributions were as an artist, where he imbued a new dynamism and a drastically different visual style. The series' tone became that of
noir with
Hell's Kitchen itself playing a more prominent role.
With issue #168, Miller additionally became the series' writer, and the comic underwent a drastic metamorphosis. The most significant change was the introduction of
Spider-Man villain
Kingpin as Daredevil's new archnemesis. Until that point, Daredevil's enemies were primarily, though not exclusively, costumed villains. The Kingpin was a departure in that although he possessed extraordinary size, strength and fighting ability, his villainy came from his ruthless brilliance in running a criminal empire, rather than superpowers. The title still retained costumed antagonists — notably
Bullseye and
Elektra — but found its central theme to be one more grounded in reality:
organized crime.
Miller also introduced
ninjas into the Daredevil canon, bringing a greater focus on the
martial arts aspect of Daredevil's fighting skills, and introducing the characters
Stick and the
Hand. This was a drastic change to a character once considered a swashbuckler. The focus of a ninja's control of the inner self served as a counterbalance to the emerging themes of anger and torment.
Comics-artist legend
Wally Wood, following kidney failure and the loss of vision in one eye, returned to the character he helped define, inking Miller's cover of ''Daredevil'' Vol. 1, #164 (May 1980). It was one of Wood's final assignments before his death in 1981.
Miller's noir take on the character continued, even after he left (in 1983, after issue #191). However, successor
Dennis O'Neil did not find the commercial success of his predecessor. In late 1985, Miller returned to the series, co-writing #226 with O'Neil, then writing the acclaimed "" storyline in #227-233 (Feb.-Aug. 1986), with artist
David Mazzuchelli.
A
round-robin of creators contributed in the year that followed ''Born Again'': writers
Mark Gruenwald,
Danny Fingeroth,
Steve Englehart (under the
pseudonym "John Harkness") and
Ann Nocenti, and pencilers
Steve Ditko,
Barry Windsor-Smith, Louis Williams,
Sal Buscema,
Todd McFarlane,
Keith Pollard,and Chuck Patton.
Longshot co-creator Nocenti, who'd written #236, became the regular writer for a four-and-a-quarter year run of all but two issues from #238-291 (Jan. 1987 - April 1991).
John Romita, Jr. joined as penciler from #250-282 (Jan. 1988 - Jul. 1990), and was generally inked by
Al Williamson. The team specifically addressed societal issues, with Murdock, now running a non-profit urban legal center, confronting
sexism,
racism, and
nuclear proliferation while fighting supervillains. Nocenti introduced the popular antagonist
Typhoid Mary in issue #254.
Under writers
Karl Kesel and later
Joe Kelly, the book 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.
Volume 2: 1998 - Present
In 1998, ''Daredevil's numbering was rebooted, with the title "cancelled" and revived a month later as part of the
Marvel Knights imprint.
Joe Quesada drew the new series, written by filmmaker
Kevin Smith. Its first eight-issue story arc, "" depicts Daredevil struggling to protect a child whom he is told could either be the
Messiah or the
Anti-Christ. 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
Bullseye's hands.
After "Guardian Devil", Smith was succeeded by writer-artist
David Mack, who contributed the seven-issue "Parts of a Hole" (#9-15). This arc introduces Maya Lopez, also known as
Echo, a
deaf martial artist. Mack brought indie-comic colleague
Brian Michael Bendis to Marvel for the following arc, "Wake Up" (#16-19), which follows reporter
Ben Urich as he investigates the aftereffects of a fight between Daredevil and an obscure old villain called
Leapfrog. Following Mack and Bendis were ''
Back to the Future'' screenwriter
Bob Gale and artists
Phil Winslade and David Ross for the story "Playing to the Camera" ( Mack continued to contribute covers ).
Issue #26 (Dec. 2001) brought back
Brian Michael Bendis, working this time with artist
Alex Maleev, for a four-year-run that became one of the series' most acclaimed. Maleev's harsh and grainy look is in contrast to Quesada's more cartoony lines, and distinctively reads like a marriage of Frank Miller's
film noir style and the
pulp-magazine art of the 1920s and '30s. Developments in this run included the introduction of Milla Donovan, the outing of Murdock's secret identity to the press, the reemergence of the Kingpin, and Daredevil's surrender to the FBI. Writer
Ed Brubaker and artist
Michael Lark became the new creative team with ''Daredevil'' #82 (Feb. 2006), no longer under the
Marvel Knights imprint.
Fictional character biography
Early life
Irish-American Matthew Murdock is raised by
single father and fading
boxer "Battling Jack" Murdock after his mother, presumably a
nun named Maggie, left both Jack and Matthew in the
Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of
New York City. Jack instills in Matt the importance of education and non-violence with the aim of seeing his son become a better man than himself. Though Jack's intentions are noble, Matt is left unprepared to handle the bullying he received at school, and is branded with the sarcastic nickname, "Daredevil". Matt vents his frustration and anger by training in secret.
[3]
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. Though the act of heroism robs him of sight, the radioactive exposure heightens his remaining senses beyond normal human thresholds, enabling him to detect the shape and location of objects around him. A mysterious man,
Stick, becomes his mentor, and teaches him to control his new abilities while honing his natural aptitude in
acrobatics and
martial arts. Stick, also blind, teaches Matt how to form a mental image of the objects around him, and Matt develops a "radar sense" to make up for his sight. Still in school, Matt continues to honor his father's wishes by excelling in his studies, and ultimately enrolls in the
Columbia School of Law.
Back in Hell's Kitchen, Jack struggles and becomes an enforcer for small-time crook and boxing manager, the
Fixer. In exchange for his services, the Fixer rigs a series of matches and provides "Battling Jack" a late-life boxing renaissance, resulting in the once near-destitute fighter becoming a title contender. On the night of the title fight against "Crusher" Creel, the future
Absorbing Man, with his son in the crowd, Jack ignores the Fixer's demands to take a dive and wins by knockout. For his disobedience, the Fixer has him murdered.
In college, Matt meets and falls in love with
Elektra Natchios, the daughter of a
Greek diplomat. When Elektra and her father are kidnapped by
terrorists, Matt dons a mask for the first time and fights to save the two. In the mayhem that follows, Elektra's father is accidentally shot and killed by a SWAT team member. Overcome with grief, Elektra breaks Murdock's heart by leaving America behind and returning to the study of martial arts.
Matt is devastated by the loss of his father and the judicial system's failure to convict the men responsible. Mindful of the childhood promise he made to his father not to lead a violent life, Matt dons a new identity for providing justice. Adorned in a yellow and black costume made from his father's boxing robes, renamed with the moniker of his childhood derision, and using his superhuman abilities, Matt confronts the killers and avenges his father as the superhero Daredevil.
Superhero
After establishing his law firm with his best friend and college roommate
Franklin "Foggy" Nelson and secretary
Karen Page, Daredevil embarks on a series of colorful adventures involving such villains as the
Owl,
Stilt-Man, the
Gladiator, the
Enforcers, the
Black Widow, a spy/superheroine, and
Bullseye, who would later come to be Daredevil's archenemy. Daredevil's early exploits were often large,
swashbuckling adventures, and sub-plots involved
romantic triangles between Matt, Karen and Foggy and cases of
mistaken identity.
Daredevil moves to
San Francisco for a time to live with Black Widow, however, the move does not last long: The Widow ends the relationship, fearing that playing "
sidekick" to Daredevil was causing her to lose her identity as a solo superheroine, and Murdock returns to Hell's Kitchen. The two remain intimate friends and occasional lovers.
Daredevil encounters the
Kingpin, who has hired his old flame Elektra (now returned to New York as a ninja mercenary) as an assassin, and Bullseye murders her in a fight to determine the better killer. Taking revenge, Daredevil drops Bullseye from a clothesline high above a street, but he is later given an
adamantium spine by
Japanese villain Lord Darkwind. Karen Page returns as a heroin-addicted star of
adult films, who sells Daredevil's secret identity for drug money. The Kingpin uses this information to destroy Murdock piece by piece: blowing up his house, ruining his reputation as a lawyer, menacing his personal life and nearly driving him insane. Miller ends the story on a positive note, with Murdock reuniting with Karen Page as his sometime lover, and the mother he thought dead, now a nun, and resuming a less complicated life in Hell's Kitchen.
However, Daredevil's secret identity becomes public knowledge. Forced to fake his own death and change his uniform to an armored "razor costume", Murdock undergoes one of his numerous breakdowns. The change does not last, and Daredevil soon returns to his traditional red costume, while Murdock finds a way to convince the world that he is not, in fact, secretly Daredevil (courtesy of a
deus ex machina doppelgänger).
Daredevil encounters the supervillain
Mysterio, who is dying of cancer from overexposure to his primary weapon, a mist. Mysterio orchestrates events so that Daredevil is convinced he is involved in the saving of a reborn baby
Jesus, leading to a battle between Daredevil and Bullseye that ends with the death of
Karen Page.
[4]
Ambitious mobster
Sammy Silke orchestrates a coup against the Kingpin, leading to violent revenge by
Vanessa Fisk, the Kingpin’s wife. Silke, in exchange for protection, gives Daredevil's identity to the
FBI, which makes it public in the ''Daily Globe''. Murdock responds by vigorous denials and a
libel lawsuit against the newspaper. While the world ponders whether the respected attorney has made a mockery of the justice system with many past trials involving Daredevil he hires
Luke Cage and
Jessica Jones as bodyguards. In other developments, client Hector Ayala, the superhero
White Tiger, is shot and killed by police after Murdock loses a
manslaughter case in which Ayala was innocent.
[5] (During this period, Daredevil was invited to join the
New Avengers after aiding the team in stopping a riot at a supervillain prison, but refused the offer because he didn't want to affect their reputations in the public eye
[6], although he did suggest his ex-girlfriend
Echo as an alternative member
[7])
Murdock meets and romances the blind
Milla Donovan, and battles efforts by the
Owl to take Fisk's place as Kingpin by marketing the drug MGH (Mutant Growth Hormone). Daredevil discovers that the Kingpin, thought dead, has recovered from the coup's attempt on his life and after a violent confrontation that sends his nemesis to the hospital, Daredevil declares himself the kingpin of Hell's Kitchen.
[8]
A year later, the increasingly violent and antisocial Daredevil has married Donovan and also won his case against the ''Daily Globe'', resulting in a multimillion dollar settlement he reinvests into the community. His reporter friend
Ben Urich suggests he's suffered a
nervous breakdown brought on by unresolved feelings over the death of Karen Page. Donovan, in response, annuls the marriage.
frame
Imprisoned by the FBI through the machinations of the Kingpin, Murdock cannot stop the apparent murder of Foggy Nelson at Ryker's, while a mysterious new Daredevil appears in Hell's Kitchen.
[9] Murdock escapes with the
Punisher during a prison riot and discovers the ersatz Daredevil to be his friend,
Hero for Hire Danny Rand, the superhero
Iron Fist. Rand is unwittingly employed by a mysterious figure who has been manipulating Daredevil. Unbeknownst to Daredevil, Nelson is alive and well in the
Witness Protection Program.
Traveling to Europe, Murdock learns that Vanessa Fisk is behind both Nelson's attack and the employment of the fake Daredevil.
[10] Dying, she blames Daredevil and the Kingpin for putting her in a position where she felt she had to kill her son, and to gain revenge she presents Matt with a
Faustian pact - free Kingpin in exchange for solving his secret identity problems. DD refuses, but despite this Vanessa stages a suicide with the FBI director with a fake suicide note saying he framed Matt. Matt reunites with Foggy and Milla in New York, and feels obliged to have the Kingpin's charges dropped. His U.S. citizenship is revoked and the Kingpin leaves the country. Vanessa dies of her terminal illness.
In Fallen Son: The Death of Captain America, Daredevil helped Wolverine track down and interrogate Crossbones, who was arrested for killing Captain America.
Powers, abilities, and weapons
Daredevil's four remaining senses are heightened far beyond human levels. Although Murdock is blind, he can "see" by means of his "radar sense". This radar sense allows him to react to attacks and launch his own attacks much faster than normal humans. This also enables him to dodge most ranged and close combat attacks with reliability.
His sense of touch is sensitive enough to detect the faint impressions of ink on paper, allowing him to read by touch. He is also able to feel minute changes in temperature and pressure due to body heat and air disturbance. His sensitivity to heat allows him to sense the temperature of people and objects in order to determine whether a person is living or dead and, if dead, for how long.
Daredevil’s sense of smell is enhanced enough to distinguish individuals by their natural odors, and remember and identify them no matter how they attempt to mask their scent, as well as track that individual scent through a crowd of people. His sense of taste is sharp enough to enable him to detect the number of grains of salt on a pretzel.
Daredevil’s enhanced sense of hearing enables him to detect acoustic pressure changes that ordinary humans cannot. Daredevil can often hear gunshots in time to avoid them, if the shooter is far enough away. He can hear human voices through soundproofed walls and the steady rhythm of a heartbeat from several feet away. Daredevil's sense of hearing makes him constantly aware of his own heartbeat, blood circulation, breathing, physical movements, etc.
Daredevil senses grant him a superhuman level of
kinesthetic awareness, which greatly enhances his fighting skills. Daredevil has extensive knowledge of pressure points, due to his training and radar sense. Due to his training by Stick, and his self training, Daredevil is a master of a unique martial art from a blend of
ninjutsu, aiki-jujutsu,
judo and American-style
boxing. Daredevil is a superb athlete and gymnast, possessing extraordinary agility, endurance, skill and balance.
Daredevil's signature weapon is his Billy Club of which he designed and created the prototype by himself. The club is disguised as a cane in civilian garb. It is a versatile, multi-purpose weapon that contains thirty feet of aircraft control cable, which is connected to a case-hardened steel
grapnel. 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 also extend to a staff and can be split into two clubs. Daredevil has extreme accuracy when throwing his club, and can hit multiple enemies with ricochets.
Characters
Love interests
Daredevil and
Elektra.
Detail from cover of ''Daredevil Visionaries: Frank Miller Vol. 2'' TPB. Art by Miller.
Within
Marvel Comics, few characters endure a love life as convoluted and tortured as Daredevil's. His girlfriends fall roughly into two groups: ordinary women who suffer great pain at his side; and superpowered, highly dangerous love interests. Either way, most end up killed, maimed or traumatized, a narrative aspect some media critics refer to as "
Women in Refrigerators" syndrome.
★
Karen Page — Once his law firm's secretary-receptionist, she devolved into a
heroin-
addicted pornographic actress. She later turns her life around and gets a respectable job but not long after she is killed by
Bullseye.
★
Black Widow — Soviet defector, costumed agent of
S.H.I.E.L.D.
★ Heather Glenn — Became an alcoholic and committed suicide.
★
Elektra Natchios — Daughter of a Greek diplomat and college love of Murdock who became an assassin for the
Kingpin. Murdered by Bullseye, she was later
supernaturally resurrected by the Hand.
★ Glorianna O'Breen — Killed by Victor Krueller, a henchman of the Kingpin.
★
Typhoid Mary — Kingpin assassin with a
dissociative identity disorder and the power of
pyrokinesis and
telekinesis.
★
Echo — Daughter of a trusted associate of the Kingpin, later a member of the
Avengers under the alias of
Ronin.
★
Milla Donovan — Murdock's wife in mid-2000s issues. She left him when she discovered their marriage might be a symptom of his
nervous breakdown, and in late 2005 attempted to reconcile.
Recurring characters
★
Luke Cage — A hero for hire with unbreakable skin who has been an occasional bodyguard for Matt Murdock.
★
Iron Fist - A master martial artist and was once a Hero for Hire alongside with Luke Cage. He has occasionally helped Daredevil and at one point took on the role of Daredevil.
★
Jessica Jones — Former superhero turned private investigator, wife of
Luke Cage. Acts at times as bodyguard for Matt Murdock in his civilian life.
[11]
★ Sister Maggie — His long-estranged mother who is a
nun. She has rarely appeared in the comics.
★
Spider-Man — Daredevil's closest friend in the superhero community.
★
Franklin "Foggy" Nelson — Matt Murdock's best friend, college roommate,
sidekick and law partner.
★
Karen Page - Receptionist in for Matt Murdock in
Silver Age stories and would later become one of his notable romances.
★
Stick — An old and blind ninja master who served as Murdock's mentor following Murdock's childhood accident.
★ Turk — A street-level Kingpin flunky who frequently acts as Daredevil's unwilling informant and comic relief.
★
Ben Urich — A reporter for the ''
Daily Bugle'' who discovered Daredevil's identity and eventually became his friend.
★
Dakota North — A private investigator that works for
Nelson & Murdock law firm.
Enemies
★
Bullseye — Daredevil's deadliest enemy, a frequent assassin for the Kingpin. He killed the first two loves of Murdock's life: Elektra and
Karen Page.
★
Bushwacker - An
assassin whose right arm can be turned into a
machine gun. Also an enemy of the
Punisher.
★
Crusher II - A bantamweight boxer who was made into a heavyweight by a coroner named Dr. Jakkelburr who recreated the Crusher Formula after studying/treating the corpse of the original Crusher.
★
Death-Stalker - Formerly the Exterminator, Philip Wallace Sterling was exiled to a shadowy dimension after Daredevil destroyed his signature weapon, the "T-Ray". He has since returned to our dimension (more insane than ever), in a ghost-like form, to kill the "Man Without Fear".
★
Electro — Primarily a Spider-Man foe, he was nevertheless the first supervillain Daredevil faced (''Daredevil'' vol. 1, #2).
★
Gladiator — Former costume designer Melvin Potter. Has super strength, armor, and deadly wrist blades. Villain of Daredevil who later become Matt's friend and bodyguard. In mid-2000s comics, he is coerced into betraying Daredevil in issue number 95 in volume 2.
★
Jester - A former actor who uses various "toys" such as yo-yo's, explosive balls and mini-robots as weapons.
★
Kingpin— Criminal mastermind and Daredevil's archnemesis. He has long known Daredevil's secret identity, and used this information to try to destroy Murdock's life.
★
Kirigi - A ninja assassin, resurrected by
The Hand. Opponent of both
the Chaste and two of Stick's former pupils, Daredevil and
Elektra Natchios.
★
Leap-Frog - A frog-themed supervillain who frequently crosses paths with Daredevil.
★
Mephisto - Daredevil fought this demon on different occasions
★
Mr. Fear - Villain of Daredevil who uses "fear gas" to instill fear to his victims. Somewhat similar to
Scarecrow of the
Batman comics.
★
Mr. Hyde - Mad scientist who developed a serum that would turn him into a rampaging monster. Originally an enemy of
Thor. Based on the
fictional character.
★
The Owl — The first supervillain created in ''Daredevil'', introduced in vol. 1, #3 (June 1964). In mid-2000s issues, he makes a play for the Kingpin's territory by manufacturing the drug
Mutant Growth Hormone.
★
The Punisher — One of Daredevil's most prolific antagonists and sworn enemy, Frank Castle is a vigilante who has often crossed paths with Daredevil usually when he is hunting down criminals he intends to kill.
★
Purple Man — Has the ability to make people do what he wants due to his radiated skin. Daredevil's willpower and blindness have always kept him outside of the Purple Man's influence.
★
Stilt-Man — Armored villain who towers on gigantic, hydraulically operated "stilts" (actually telescoping leg armor).
Other versions
Main articles: Alternate versions of Daredevil
Parodies
★ Personality Comics' ''Spoof Comics'' #5 (Oct. 1992)
parodied Daredevil, the Man Without Fear, as Daredame, Woman Without a Brassiere. In the 16-page "The Origin of Daredame", a radioactive isotope hits Pat Paddock, daughter of
mud wrestler Joltin' Jackie Paddock, in the chest while she saves a man crossing the street. Her bust enlarges hugely and develops a radar sense.
[12]
★
Alan Moore,
Mike Collins and
Mark Farmer parodied Frank Miller's Daredevil stories in "Grit!", a short story in ''
The Daredevils'' #8.
★
Kevin Eastman and
Peter Laird parodied various aspects of Daredevil in their
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic series.
★ The ''
Toyfare'' magazine
comic strip "
Twisted Toyfare Theater", which uses photos of posed
action figures portrays Daredevil as completely blind and seemingly lacking his radar sense as he bumbles his way into comical situations, such as mistakenly going to a supervillains', rather than a superheroes',
poker game.
★ The film '
Jay and Silent Bob Strikes Back' includes a clip of the shooting of an outdoor set where Daredevil is knocked down by the security guards,
Kevin Smith plays the part of Silent Bob, writer for DD in 1999.
In other media
Television
★ Daredevil first appeared on television in his civilian identity as Spider-Man's lawyer, Matt Murdock (voiced by
Frank Welker), in the "
Attack of the Arachnoid" episode of the 1981-83 ''
Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends''
animated TV series. Daredevil appears in a flashback cameo narrated by Stan Lee.
★ Daredevil's first live-action appearance was in the
1989 TV movie ''
The Trial of the Incredible Hulk'', in which he was played by
Rex Smith.
The Kingpin was played by
John Rhys Davies.
★ The character appeared as a guest in the various Marvel superhero
animated series.
Bill Smitrovich provided Daredevil's voice in the 1990s ''Fantastic Four'' animated series, while
Edward Albert voiced Daredevil on the Spider-Man animated series.
★ A child is dressed as Daredevil in the X-men Animated Series episode "Bloodlines".
Film
''Daredevil'' movie poster.
Daredevil's earliest appearance in a theatrical movie was a cameo in Kevin Smith's ''
Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back'' (2001), in which the starring characters run through a movie lot where an actor in a Daredevil costume has an action scene in the background. The DVD includes a longer Daredevil scene. Kevin Smith had previously written for ''Daredevil''.
In
February 2003,
20th Century Fox released
''Daredevil'', a feature film starring
Ben Affleck,
Jennifer Garner,
Colin Farrell and
Michael Clarke Duncan, and directed by
Mark Steven Johnson. While opening strongly and eventually surpassing $100 million in ticket sales, poor word-of-mouth and mixed reviews curtailed its momentum.
A
director's cut DVD was released November 2004 with nearly 30 minutes of additional footage, including a subplot involving a murder trial that led to the capture of Kingpin Wilson Fisk. Several appearing scenes in the theatrical release were missing from or altered in the director's cut. Missing scenes include Murdock and Elektra's love scene, and scenes set inside a church
confessional. A scene featuring Bullseye that was placed after the credits in the theatrical version was integrated into the movie in the director's cut.
Matt Murdock also appeared on a deleted dream sequence of the movie's spin-off ''
Elektra'', featured on the DVD release.
Video games
Daredevil as he appears in ''Marvel: Ultimate Alliance''.
★ Daredevil had a cameo appearance in '' for the
Sega 32X and the 2000 ''
Spider-Man''
video game (voiced by
Dee Bradley Baker) released for
PlayStation,
N64,
Dreamcast and
PC.
★ He has the title role in a game for the
Game Boy Advance based on the 2003 movie.
★ ''Daredevil: The Man Without Fear'' was a
3D title in development for the
Xbox and PlayStation2, canceled in 2004.
[13] [14]
★ His Matt Murdock alias has a cameo as the lawyer of
Frank Castle in the 2005 ''
Punisher'' video game.
★ He also stars as a character in the 2005 video game '' alongside other Marvel characters. He was voiced by David Kayne (who also voiced
Iron Man for the game).
★ Daredevil appears as an unlockable character (also by collecting five action figures of this hero through the game) in '' voiced by
Cam Clarke. A simulation disk has Daredevil protecting Elektra from Bullseye. His classic, original, armored, and Marvel Knight costumes are available.
Toys
★ Daredevil has appeared in the
Marvel Legends toy line. In series 3, he was a chase figure and was based on the movie
Ben Affleck version. He is one of the figures in the Urban Legends box set along with
Spider-Man,
Elektra and the
Punisher. He appeared in the spin off series Face-Off (with an unmasked variant) along with the
Kingpin.
The "Spider-Man Classics" toy line, which was a precursor to Marvel Legends, also included a Daredevil figure, clad in his traditional red costume. A very hard to find (and sometimes quite expensive) variant of DD in his original yellow and black garb was also released in the same series.
Bibliography
Promotional art for cover of ''Daredevil'' Vol. 2 #62, by
Alex Maleev.
Main
★ ''Daredevil'' Vol. 1: #1-380 (April 1964 - Oct. 1998)
★ ''Daredevil'' Vol. 2: #1- (Nov. 1998- ) Note: With #22, began official dual-numbering with original series, as #22 / 402, etc.
★ ''Daredevil Special'' #1 (Sept. 1967)
★ ''Daredevil Special'' #2 (Feb. 1971; reprints)
★ ''Daredevil Special'' #3 (Jan. 1972; reprints)
★ ''Daredevil Annual'' #4 (1976)
★ ''Daredevil Annual'' #4 (1989) Note: mislabeled #4, rather than #5, both on cover and in indicia
★ ''Daredevil Annual'' #6-10 (1990-1994)
★ ''Daredevil /
Deadpool '97 Annual'' (1997)
One-shots and limited series
★ ''Giant-Size Daredevil'' #1 (1975)
★ ''Daredevil / Black Widow: Abattoir'' (July 1993 graphic novel)
★ ''Daredevil: The Man Without Fear'' #1-5 (Oct. 1993 - Feb. 1994) by
Frank Miller and
John Romita, Jr.
★ ''Daredevil'' #1/2 (17-page comic published within ''
Wizard'' #96, Aug. 1999)
★ ''Daredevil: Ninja'' #1-3 (Dec. 2000 - May 2001) by
Brian Michael Bendis
★ ''Daredevil: Yellow'' #1-6 (Aug. 2001 - Jan. 2002) by
Jeph Loeb and
Tim Sale
★ ''Daredevil: The Target'' (per indicia), also known as '' (per cover) #1 (Jan. 2003) by
Kevin Smith and
Glenn Fabry
★ ''Daredevil: Father'' #1-6 (June 2004, Oct. 2005 - Jan. 2006) by
Joe Quesada
★ ''Daredevil: 2099'' #1 (Nov. 2004) by
Robert Kirkman
★ ''Daredevil: Redemption'' #1-6 (April-Aug. 2005; no cover dates; #1-2 both indicia-dated April 2005) by
David Hine and
Michael Gaydos
★ ''
Captain Universe / Daredevil'' #1 (Jan. 2006)
Marvel team-ups
★ ''Spider-Man and Daredevil Special Edition'' #1 (March 1984; reprints)
★ ''Daredevil and the
Punisher: Child's Play'' #1 (1988; reprints)
★ ''Daredevil and the Punisher'' (1994)
★ ''Spider-Man / Daredevil #1'' (Oct. 2002)
★ ''Daredevil / Spider-Man'' #1-4 (Jan.-April 2001)
★ ''Daredevil vs. Punisher: Means and Ends'' #1-6 (Sept. 2005 - Jan. 2006; no cover dates; #1-2 both indicia-dated Sept. 2005) by David Lapham
Company crossovers
★ ''Daredevil /
Batman'' (per indicia), also known as ''Daredevil and Batman'' (per cover) #1 (Jan. 1997)
★ ''
Shi / Daredevil #1'' (Jan. 1997)
★ ''Daredevil / Shi #1'' (Feb. 1997)
Other
★ ''The Daredevils'' #1-11 (month n.a., 1982 - Nov. 1983)
Marvel UK series, mostly reprint)
★ ''Daredevil vs. Vapora'' #1 (1993)
:Free health-and-safety comic sponsored by Gas Appliance Manufacturers Association & Consumer Product Safety Commission
★ ''Marvels Comics: Daredevil'' #1 (July 2000)
Awards
Daredevil
limited series have received the following awards:
★ ''Daredevil: The Man Without Fear'': 1992
Comics Buyer's Guide Fan Award — Favorite Limited Comic-Book Series
★ ''Daredevil: Yellow'': 2001 Comics Buyer's Guide Fan Award — Favorite Limited Comic-Book Series
Footnotes
1. Comics historian and former Jack Kirby assistant Mark Evanier, investigating claims of Kirby's involvement in the creation of both Iron Man and Daredevil, interviewed Kirby and Everett on the subject, years before their deaths. In his column P.O.V. Online: The Jack FAQ: "What did Jack do on the first stories of Iron Man and Daredevil?", he concluded that, "in both cases, Jack had already drawn the covers of those issues and done some amount of design work. He ... seems to have participated in the design of Daredevil's first costume. ... Everett did tell me that Jack had come up with the idea of Daredevil's billy club. ... Jack, in effect, drew the first page of that first Daredevil story. In the rush to get that seriously late book to press, there wasn't time to complete Page One, so Stan had [production manager] Sol Brodsky slap together a paste-up that employed Kirby's cover drawing. ... Everett volunteered to me that Jack had "helped him" though he wouldn't — or more likely, couldn't — elaborate on that. He just plain didn't remember it well, and in later years apparently gave others who asked a wide range of answers".
Marvel editor-in-chief Joe Quesada later noted in his ''Newsarama'' column "Joe Fridays Week 4" (2005, no other date given) that when Everett turned in his first-issue pencils extremely late, Brodsky and Spider-Man artist Steve Ditko inked "a lot of backgrounds and secondary figures on the fly and cobbled the cover and the splash page together from Kirby's original concept drawing" .
2. Romita, from ''Comic Book Artist'' #6 (Fall 1999) [1]: "I had inked an ''Avengers'' job for Stan, and I told him I just wanted to ink. I felt like I was burned out as a penciler after eight years of romance work. I didn't want to pencil any more; in fact, I couldn't work at home any more — I couldn't discipline myself to do it. He said, 'Okay,' but the first chance he had he shows me this Daredevil story somebody had started and he didn't like it, and he wanted somebody else to do it." Elaborating in ''Alter Ego'' #9 (July 2001) [2], he added, "Stan showed me Dick Ayers' splash page for a ''Daredevil''. He asked me, "What would you do with this page?" I showed him on a tracing paper what I would do, and then he asked me to do a drawing of Daredevil the way I would do it. I did a big drawing of Daredevil ... just a big, tracing-paper drawing of Daredevil swinging. And Stan loved it."
3. Daredevil: The Man Without Fear, Frank Miller, , , Marvel comics, ,
4. ''Daredevil'' vol. 2, #8 (June 1999)
5. ''Daredevil vol. 2, #26-37, (Dec. 2001 - Nov. 2002)
6. ''New Avengers'' #3
7. ''New Avengers'' #11
8. ''Daredevil'' vol. 2 #46-50 (June-Oct. 2003)
9. ''Daredevil'' vol. 2, #87 (Sept. 2006)
10. ''Daredevil'' vol. 2, #89-93 (Nov. 2006 - March 2007)
11. Vol. 2, #40-44 (Feb.-April 2003), and elsewhere
12. DD Resource: Daredevil Parodies/Spoofs
13. IGN.com game-profile pages for ''Daredevil: The Man Without Fear'' Xbox and PS2
14. IGN.com (May 27, 2004): "Daredevil Game Canceled", by David Adams
References
★
Official webpage at Marvel.com
★
Man Without Fear fan site
★
Ed Brubaker's interview on Newsarama
★
"Secrets, lies — and lawyers!", Douglas Wolk,
Salon.com, January 5, 2006. Retrospective of the Bendis/Maleev run.
★
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