We all know that Spider-Man is amazing and the Hulk is incredible, and that the X-Men are uncanny. But what can be said about the self proclaimed “man without fear” known as Daredevil? “Who’s Daredevil?” you may ask. Daredevil is a superhero who fights for the little guy. He doesn’t save the world. He doesn’t have any obvious super powers such as flight or super strength. “So, what makes Daredevil so special?” you may be asking at this point. Daredevil is special because Daredevil happens to be blind.
“A blind superhero?!?” As impossible as it seems, Daredevil has been fighting crime for 40 years now. Created by writer Stan Lee (who also created Spider-Man, the Hulk, X-Men, the Fantastic Four and hundreds of other characters for the Marvel Comics universe) and artist Bill Everett, Daredevil made his first appearance in 1964. The signature of Marvel comics is the realism in which their characters are portrayed with. Even though Spider-Man might save the city, he may lose out on a date with his girlfriend because he was out saving the city. Iron Man is an alcoholic, and struggles with that every day. So, when coming up with a different type of problem for Daredevil to overcome, Lee decided, “I’ll make him blind.”
The
ideas just came so easily,” Lee says of this period in Marvel’s history. Lee
decided to make Daredevil’s alter ego a blind attorney named Matt Murdock. By
making him a lawyer, Murdock could be a champion of the people on both ends of
the law. Lee even invented a creative way for Daredevil to get his powers. When
Murdock was a young boy he pushed an elderly man out of the path of a runaway
truck. Murdock’s kindness
was cruelly repaid by fate when radioactive waste from the truck’s payload splashed onto his eyes, blinding him. Devastated at first by his apparent handicap, Murdock began to realize that even though his sight was lost, the accident had heightened his other senses to a superhuman degree. Unable to adjust to his overdeveloped senses, the terrified Murdock eventually came under the tutelage of the blind martial arts master known only as Stick. A stern, unrelenting task master, Stick educated Murdock in both the spiritual and physical aspects of the martial arts, refusing to let him think of himself as a helpless victim. Murdock emerged as an Olympic-class gymnast and formidable hand-to-hand combatant. Daredevil’s powers work like a “radar sense,” similar to that of a bat. This allows him to ‘see’ where people and objects are as well as being able to listen to a person’s heart rate to determine if they are lying.
Murdock’s father, Jack, was a past his prime prize fighter who had fallen in with the wrong crowd, and was ultimately murdered for refusing to throw a fight. Not satisfied with the police investigation, Murdock hid his identity beneath a mask and took it upon himself to track down the criminals who had set up and murdered his father. Taking the name Daredevil, he brought those responsible to justice. Finding satisfaction and release in his extracurricular activities, Murdock adopted his costumed identity on a permanent basis. During the day, he worked with the judicial system, aided by college roommate and fellow attorney Foggy Nelson. But at night, freed from the constraints of the courtroom, Murdock pursued those criminals who had slipped through the system’s cracks.
While the big guns like the Fantastic Four and the Avengers were saving the world (and occasionally, the universe) Daredevil chose to keep his fight against crime in the streets of New York’s Hell’s Kitchen. For a time, Murdock knew happiness as Daredevil, living out his fantasies as a swashbuckling adventurer. But Daredevil’s efforts to undermine New York’s crime infrastructure attracted the attention of the crime lord known as the Kingpin. Daredevil had been a thorn in the Kingpin’s operations for years, so the Kingpin made it his personal mission to destroy the hero. After years or relative détente between the two, the Kingpin once again struck at Daredevil. Karen Page, an ex-girlfriend of Matt Murdock, had hit hard times, she became a drug addict. In a fit of desperation, she sold Daredevil’s secret identity to his greatest foe, the Kingpin. The crime lord used this information to destroy Murdock’s private and professional lives. Eventually, the Kingpin’s own arrogance led to his undoing and Murdock picked up the pieces of his shattered life and started rebuilding.
Murdock’s pain and guilt over the losses in his life have replaced his earlier motivations, fueling his battles as Daredevil long after any reasonable man would have quit the fight. Even though his nemesis, the Kingpin is gone (for the moment), life has definitely not gotten any easier for Daredevil. With his secret identity being “outed” in the newspapers, new and old villains out to get him, and trying to maintain his tattered love life--not to mention battling hostile juries and prosecutors (in the courtroom)--things look daunting for Daredevil.
If you think he’s being picked on unfairly, he’s not. A few years ago, Marvel Comics decided to dissolve its relationship with the Comics Code Authority (CCA), which regulates the censors in comics. With the CCA out of the way, this cleared the way for Marvel to print more adult-oriented comics under the imprint called “Marvel Knights”.
Daredevil was the first character chosen to head up the Marvel Knights imprint. Since the move to the MK imprint, Daredevil has consistently ranked in the top 20 (in terms of sales) of all comic books. A lot of Daredevil’s success can be attributed to great art and (in my opinion) even better storytelling. Artist Alex Maleev and superstar writer Brian Michael Bendis are wrapping up a super-successful, star- making run on Daredevil. “This gig has meant the world to me on levels I can’t even express,” Bendis offers.” Daredevil has a rich history with creators and I really wanted to deliver something special and unique without being derivative of anyone else. I’m just glad that it didn’t bomb.” Not the case. In a plot device for the ages Bendis and Maleev revealed Daredevil’s secret identity to the entirety of the Marvel universe! “Every book is about a superhero,” the writer explains. “This book is about a superhero that’s been outed and it just never goes away. We thought that would be fascinating.”
Even though the Bendis/Maleev team is winding down their run at the end of 2005, their enthusiasm for Daredevil – due to hit issue 75 next summer – is as great as ever.
In many ways, Daredevil symbolizes many of the changes that have occurred at Marvel in the late 1990’s. Daredevil also joined fellow superheroes (such as Spider-Man, X-Men, Blade and the soon to be released Fantastic Four) in Hollywood with the 2003 release of the Daredevil movie featuring Ben Affleck as Matt Murdock and Jennifer Garner as his girlfriend, Elektra. The success of the Daredevil movie spawned a spin-off movie, Elektra (with Garner reprising her role). The Daredevil DVD features some great extras for the visually impaired, such as money marking and mobility exercises that can help those who are not visually impaired to better understand our plight. For those who are interested in reading Daredevil, Marvel Comics prints out large print comics called “Treasury Editions,” which are slightly oversized but effective. Another option is to check out, www.marvel.com where Marvel has online comic books that can be read by a screen reader. And yes, Daredevil is featured on there as well.
For people
thinking our mandate is to put the genie back in the bottle as far as the mess
we’ve made, that is not the case.” Bendis says. Marvel editor-in-chief (and
former Daredevil artist) Joe Quesada adds, “I am unbelievably pleased with what
we were able to accomplish on this book and the freedom we were given. So,
while other heroes like Spider-Man and Wolverine are better known, the guardian
devil of Hell’s Kitchen has proven that he can hold his own with the best of
them. Maybe it’s time that we give the devil his due.
