Daredevil

Daredevil is the superhero identity of Matt Murdock, a Hell's Kitchen lawyer created by writer Stan Lee and artist Bill Everett, with character-design contributions from Jack Kirby. He first appeared in Marvel Comics' Daredevil #1, dated April 1964. As a boy, Matt saved an elderly man from an oncoming truck. Radioactive material carried by that truck struck his eyes, blinding him but intensifying his other senses. His exceptional hearing, smell, touch, and sensitivity to vibrations give him a radar-like awareness of people and objects around him, although he remains medically blind.

Matt's father, boxer Jack Murdock, raised him alone and wanted his son to pursue education rather than fighting. Jack, known as "Battlin' Jack" Murdock, was murdered after refusing to throw a bout for the Fixer. Matt later trained under Stick, a blind martial artist associated with the secretive Chaste. He studied law, became a lawyer, and formed Nelson and Murdock with his college friend Franklin "Foggy" Nelson. Karen Page became their secretary and an important figure in Matt's life.

Daredevil's stories are closely tied to New York City, particularly Hell's Kitchen. His principal enemy is Wilson Fisk, the Kingpin, a crime lord who became one of Marvel's most influential villains despite lacking superhuman powers. Bullseye, a mercenary able to turn nearly any object into a lethal projectile, is another defining adversary. In Daredevil #168, Bullseye killed Elektra Natchios, Matt's former lover and a skilled assassin known as Elektra. Her death became one of the character's most consequential tragedies.

Frank Miller's work during the 1980s reshaped Daredevil by emphasizing crime, corruption, ninja mythology, and Matt's personal vulnerability. Miller wrote the "Born Again" storyline, illustrated by David Mazzucchelli, in which Karen Page sells Matt's secret identity for drugs and Fisk systematically destroys Matt's career, home, and reputation. Later acclaimed runs included work by Brian Michael Bendis, Alex Maleev, Ed Brubaker, and Mark Waid. Charlie Cox portrayed Matt Murdock in Marvel Television's Daredevil series, which premiered on Netflix in 2015, and later returned to the role in Marvel Studios productions.