Daredevil is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Bill Everett, with some input from Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in Daredevil #1 (April 1964). The basic concept of a blind vigilante was probably inspired by the classical symbol of blind justice; Everett's legally blind daughter, whose hearing was more acute as a result, was a direct influence on the character's enhanced senses. Daredevil was the first disabled protagonist in the Marvel Silver Age and is one of the best-known blind superheroes in American comics.
Daredevil is the alias of Matthew Michael "Matt" Murdock, a lawyer from Hell's Kitchen who was blinded in childhood by a chemical accident that enhanced his other senses. Matt hones his physical abilities and superhuman senses under his mentor, the blind and mysterious Stick, becoming an expert in martial arts. Eventually, in ironic contrast to his Catholic upbringing and beliefs, Matt dons a devil-like costume and takes up a dual life of fighting against the criminal underworld in New York City. This puts him in conflict with many super-villains, including his archenemies Bullseye and the Kingpin. He also becomes a skilled and respected lawyer who forms a law firm with Franklin "Foggy" Nelson, his best friend and college roommate. He establishes a long relationship with co-worker Karen Page, who experiences many hardships before her eventual murder by Bullseye. Daredevil also has a relationship with Elektra Natchios, a fearsome ninja assassin who is murdered by Bullseye before being resurrected.
Writer/artist Frank Miller's influential tenure as lead author of the title in the early 1980s cemented the character as a popular and influential part of the Marvel Universe. Miller introduced elements of film noir and ninja films, and subsequent writers for the title have continued these themes and imagery. In particular, the Daredevil comics often explore political corruption, moral ambiguity, childhood trauma, disability, Irish Catholic identity, and Christian themes. The representation of women in the comic is controversial, but at times it has expressed feminist themes, particularly in the issues written by Ann Nocenti from 1986 to 1991. Daredevil is a critically acclaimed series, has won multiple Eisner Awards, in particular for later authors Brian Michael Bendis, Ed Brubaker, and Mark Waid.
The character first appeared on screen in the television film The Trial of the Incredible Hulk (1989), portrayed by Rex Smith. Ben Affleck portrayed Daredevil in the 2003 feature film of the same name. Charlie Cox has portrayed the character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, most prominently in the television series Daredevil (2015–2018) and Daredevil: Born Again (2025–present).
Publication history
Creation Following the success of the Fantastic Four in 1961, demand for superheroes increased in the comic book market, and Marvel Comics made an effort to create new characters to meet that demand. Stan Lee sought the creative input of Bill Everett, who had previously created Namor, and Jack Kirby, the co-creator of the Fantastic Four, the Avengers, and other well-known superheroes. Kirby and Everett co-designed Daredevil's original costume. Dartmouth professor Paul Young indicated that the basic concept of the character as a heroic blind vigilante is probably inspired by the symbol and motif of blind justice. Timothy D. Peters, a legal scholar, has also drawn attention to the recurring visual analogy with Lady Justice, the classical figure for the legal system. Bill Everett's daughter, Wendy Everett, was legally blind and found that her senses of hearing were more finely attuned as a result; this family experience became an inspiration for Daredevil's hyper-senses.Mike Friedrich and Wendy Everett, "William Blake Everett: Conversation with the Great Cartoonist's Daughter", Comic Book Artist 2 (Summer 1998) 34 at 35.
Prior blind characters in crime fiction and film included the British detective Max Carrados (created by Ernest Bramah) and the New York City detective Duncan Maclain (by Baynard Kendrick), who used their strong senses of hearing, touch, taste and smell to compensate for their lack of vision.
1960s
The character debuted in Marvel Comics' Daredevil #1 (cover date April 1964), created by writer-editor Lee and artist Everett. The original costume design was a combination of black, yellow, and red, reminiscent of acrobat tights. The first issue covered the character's origins as well as the murder of his father, boxer "Battling Jack" Murdock, who raised young Matthew Michael Murdock in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan, 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 gives him a kind of "radar" sense, enabling him to detect the shape and location of objects around him. 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 adopts 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. Daredevil soon embarked on a series of adventures involving such villains as the Owl and the Purple Man.
As originally conceived, Daredevil relied only on his heightened senses; however, in issue #5, the first drawn by Wally Wood, his radar sense was introduced.Jim Harmon, "A Swell Bunch of Guys", All in Color For a Dime, 2d edition, eds. Dick Lupoff and Don Thompson (Krause Publications: Iola WI, 1997) page 183Stan Lee and Wally Wood, "The Mysterious Masked Matador!", Daredevil 5 (Marvel: December 1964) page 8. Wood then introduced Daredevil's standard red costume in issue #7. John Romita Sr. briefly became the new artist in May 1966, just prior to his long tenure on The Amazing Spider-Man, soon replaced by Gene Colan, who stayed as artist until the early 1970s. In issue #16 (May 1966), Daredevil meets Spider-Man, who will eventually become one of Daredevil's closest friends. When Daredevil's secret identity becomes endangered, Matt adopts a third identity as his twin brother Mike Murdock, whose carefree, wisecracking personality more closely resembles the Daredevil guise than the stern, studious, and emotionally-withdrawn Matt Murdock. This third identity was dropped in issues #41–42; Daredevil fakes Mike Murdock's death and claims he had trained a replacement Daredevil. The series' 31-issue run by writer-editor Stan Lee and penciller Gene Colan (beginning with issue #20) includes Daredevil #47, in which Murdock defends a blind Vietnam veteran against a frame-up; Lee has cited it as one of his favorite stories. Colan argues that he was the first to introduce film noir influences to the series.
Matt's secret identity is accidentally disclosed to his girlfriend Karen Page in a story published in 1969.Roy Thomas and Barry Smith, "The Night of the Panther!", Daredevil 52 (May 1969) 13. However, the revelation proves too much for her, and she breaks off the relationship and moves to Hollywood to become an actress.
1970s Gerry Conway took over as writer with issue #72. He moved Daredevil to San Francisco 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 lover from November 1971 to August 1975. Conway introduced Black Widow as a romantic partner for Daredevil as "a way to re-energize the title". She joined the series in Daredevil #81 (1971) after her own solo feature in the title Amazing Adventures was cancelled two months earlier.Amazing Adventures 8 (September 1971); the cancellation was announced in the letters page of that issue. Conway responded to feminist criticism by making Black Widow a more active and independent character, beginning in Daredevil #91 (1972). The series was retitled Daredevil and the Black Widow in the following issue. Steve Gerber became the writer for Daredevil with issue #97 (1973). Sales had declined, and in response he re-emphasized Daredevil as the central character. Black Widow's name was dropped from the title after issue #107 (1973). Chris Claremont briefly wrote for the title in the mid-1970s. Jenny Blake Isabella (credited as Tony Isabella) became the writer for Daredevil with issue #118, and she believed that Daredevil and Black Widow should be split up. Black Widow departed from the series in issue #124, feeling overshadowed by Daredevil.
The writing and editing jobs went to Marv Wolfman with issue #124 in 1975; he returned Daredevil to Hell's Kitchen. Wolfman promptly introduced the lively and emotionally fragile Heather Glenn to replace the Black Widow as Daredevil's love interest. Wolfman's 20-issue run also included the introduction of one of Daredevil's most popular villains, Bullseye. Jim Shooter wrote the series for issues #144 to No. 151.
Roger McKenzie began writing the series in 1978. 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 battles a personification of death, and a re-envisioning of his Daredevil's origin shows him using stalker tactics to drive the Fixer to his fatal heart attack. McKenzie created chain-smoking Daily Bugle reporter Ben Urich, who eventually deduces Daredevil's secret identity. Halfway through his run, McKenzie was joined by penciller Frank Miller with issue #158 (May 1979).
In a story arc of this period, Daredevil reveals his identity to Heather Glenn. Their relationship survives, but proves increasingly harmful to both of them. Though the Black Widow returns for a dozen issues (#155–166) and attempts to rekindle her romance with Daredevil, he ultimately rejects her in favor of Glenn.
1980s Frank Miller was hired by editor Dennis O'Neil to take over the art on the series, recommended by Shooter because of Miller's earlier work on issues of The Spectacular Spider-Man guest-starring Daredevil. Miller says that the title was close to cancellation at the time he was hired. Miller initially collaborated with McKenzie, but eventually became the sole writer and the main artist. His initial run, first as penciler, then writer/penciler, and last a writer and layout artist began in May 1979 and ended in February 1983. The series made Miller a star in the industry. At the time that Miller wrote and drew the series, it was unusual in mainstream comics for one person to both illustrate and author a comic book. Miller modeled Matt Murdock's appearance on the actor Robert Redford. He took writing inspiration from hardboiled crime fiction and film noir, as well as the superhero comic tradition. For example, he drew on techniques of suspense, dramatic irony, and ambiguous characterization adopted from Raymond Chandler. Miller moved away from the conventions of the commercially dominant genre of comic books, superhero comics, toward the style that interested him most: crime comics. He cited Will Eisner and Moebius, from the comics tradition, and filmmakers Orson Welles, Fritz Lang, and Alfred Hitchcock as inspirations. Miller is also responsible for emphasizing Daredevil's Catholic beliefs and deep concern with penance.