Daredevil

### Education

High school graduate; J.D. in law at Columbia University; self-taught in mechanical engineering

## Origin

### Origin

Blinded as a boy due to radioactive chemicals being spilled in his eyes; these same chemicals enhanced his remaining four senses to superhuman levels.

## History

### Early life

#### Pre-accident

**Matthew Michael Murdock** was born and raised in Hell's Kitchen, New York City. Matt was an only child, and had no relatives his age. His mother, Maggie Grace, was a nun at the Clinton Church. Maggie left the family shortly after Matt was born to return to nunhood, unable to deal with with her own mistakes. His father, Jonathan "Battling Jack" Murdock, raised Matt alone, claiming Matt's mother had died. Matt's relationship with his father was one of the only close friendships he had as a child.

Jack Murdock was a washed-up boxer and wanted his son to have a better life than him. He hoped that Matt would one day become a doctor or a lawyer. Jack impressed upon Matt the need to constantly study instead of playing sports with other kids. This led the neighborhood kids to bully the "cowardly" Matt and call him "Daredevil." As a hobby, Matt would listen to the sirens of the police cars and ambulances and imagine a story behind them. By the age of nine, Matt began to struggle with depression, and took out his frustrations by secretly training at the local gym.

#### Blinded

One day, when Matt was nine years old, he suffered an accident involving a Rand Oil and Chemicals truck which carried radioactive waste when he pushed an old man out of the truck's way and saved his life. Matt's eyes were exposed to the radioactive waste, and he received a concussion and became permanently blinded.

Upon recovering in the hospital, Matt discovered that the spill of radioactive waste caused his other senses to amplify to superhuman degrees. Matt's expanding senses allowed him to hear the city better. Eventually, he could hear not only the sirens in the city, but also crimes, fights, domestic abuse, and sexual excess. He could hear everything, and not just things he wanted to hear. There was more suffering in the world than he ever knew before, and his depression worsened. However, as an adult, this turn of events would motivate him to want to change the city for the better.

#### Trained by Stick

Jack Murdock was killed on the orders of the criminal known as the Fixer after refusing to lose a fight with Carl Creel, being inspired by Matt's words of encouragement. This event devastated Matt. Subsequently, he was placed in Saint Agnes Orphanage. While staying there, Matt's senses started enhancing even further, causing the young boy to suffer from severe sensory overload. Due to his condition, one of the nuns called for the help of the blind martial artist Stick, who trained Matt in controlling his gifts and in martial arts. Stick ended up leaving Matt after the boy became "too attached", which in his view, limited his training potential.

### Law school

#### Meeting Foggy

Matt graduated high school with excellent grades, moving on to study law at Columbia University. The first day of college he met his roommate Franklin "Foggy" Nelson, whose nickname was given by Matt for his loud snoring. The two would become fast friends, though Foggy would always hold a bit of resentment towards Matt due to his own insecurities. In the end, Matt graduated from Columbia University summa cum laude, and Foggy cum laude.

#### Meeting Elektra

Once during their college career, Matt and Foggy decided to crash a debutante's ball, through the kitchen, where they were welcomed by the disgruntled waiters. Matt decided to check out the party, where he met a very attractive young woman named Elektra Natchios. Impressed by Matt, Elektra invited him to spend more time with her, noting he was not as stupid as she had initially assumed he would be. The two then left the party and stole a car in the middle of the night.

About a week later, Elektra and Matt broke into Fogwell's Gym, the place where Jack Murdock used to train in his boxing days. As Elektra began asking questions about his past, Matt explained, without going into detail, that he was not born blind and that his father was a boxer who had died many years earlier at the hands of Roscoe Sweeney, better known as the Fixer, noting that although he did not know if Sweeney himself killed his father he did know that Sweeney had at least given the order to kill him.

As Matt continued to discuss his one time attempt to find and confront Sweeney, Elektra jokingly fought him to figure out that Matt was not exactly blind. Matt admitted that his blindness was a little more complicated than it first seemed. The two made passionate love in the ring.

#### Confronting the Fixer

Some time later, Elektra and Matt broke into a mansion that she claimed belonged to an associate of her father, Hugo Kostas Natchios. However, they were interrupted when Matt heard the sound of a car pulling up outside which Elektra claimed was the owner of the house. When Matt went to investigate he discovered the entire break-in was a setup by Elektra in order to allow him to confront the Fixer, the man responsible for his father's murder years earlier and the owner of the house.

Elektra explained that she had finally tracked down the Fixer within Monte Carlo where he had been living under several different aliases. Under the advice of Elektra, Matt revealed his own identity to the Fixer and proceeded to beat him to a bloody pulp in revenge for his father's murder, but he then refused Elektra's proposal to kill the Fixer by cutting his throat. Elektra expressed her own sudden disappointment in Matt and, while he called the police to report the Fixer as a wanted felon, she vanished. Matt would not see her again for several years.

#### Avocados at law

After a beer run, Matt and Foggy Nelson swore to work together for many more years once they had finally graduated from Columbia University. Foggy asked about Elektra, but Matt declared that their relationship had ended. Foggy and Matt then joked about their future as lawyers, with Nelson mistakenly saying they'd be "avocados" rather than saying the correct Spanish word.

When Matt revealed to Foggy that he had his first alcoholic drink when he was nine, because he had to stitch his dad up after a fight, Foggy comforted him, saying that if he could see him now, his father would be proud of the man he had become. Foggy then noted that his whole family was coming to his graduation. They then continued to talk about their future as Matt noted that they should call their future law firm Nelson and Murdock, joking that while he was blind his hearing was still excellent before they then got up to continue their night of drinking together and discussing a future of working together.

#### Landman and Zack

Both Matt and Foggy Nelson were able to work as interns at the successful and powerful law firm, Landman and Zack, during which time they found themselves being forced to defend many large and highly profitable corporations, such as the Roxxon Corporation. They eventually found out that their cases pitted them against innocent people whose lives were being destroyed under the orders of powerful people like Parish Landman, who ran the company. These incidents disgusted Matt personally, as he watched while an older man who had been poisoned by Roxxon lost his case to them.

Eventually the pair were both offered permanent jobs inside the firm, which excited Foggy. Matt, however, believed that working for such a soulless company was not the right direction for them to go in, and managed to convince the skeptical Foggy not to take the job offer and instead work to start up their own law firm. The firm, which would become Nelson and Murdock, was to be a place where they could really help innocent people and make a difference to New York City. Although he was highly unsure, Foggy eventually agreed and quit Landman and Zack with Matt in order to pursue their dream of working together.

#### No sleep for the Devil

Shortly after he and Foggy quit working at Landman and Zack, Matt was having trouble sleeping at night because he kept hearing his neighbor's daughter crying. Eventually, he discovered that this was because her father was sexually abusing her while his wife was asleep. Matt contacted child services to have him arrested. However, the man was able to get away with the crime, being smart enough not to leave a mark. Seeing that the man would not face justice, Matt donned an eyeless mask and hoodie and ambushed him at a train yard where he worked. Matt beat him severely and threatened that if the man ever touched his daughter again, he would know about it. Matt then left the man, who laid on the ground, bloody and unconscious.

Matt later joined Foggy for a drink at Josie's Bar where Foggy expressed his concern as Matt had claimed to have tripped causing his cut on the lip. Foggy meanwhile invited Matt to feel the drawing he had done of Nelson and Murdock's sign which would go outside of their law office in the future. Although Foggy made it clear that he was highly nervous about what their future held, he claimed that because he trusted in Matt's judgement, he was with him for whatever came next and believed that they make Nelson and Murdock a success by working together.

### Masked vigilante

#### First encounter with Turk Barrett

Years later, Matt chose to take his vigilante career to the next level in order to protect the people of New York City. He bought a black outfit online and began creating the alias "Daredevil", a fearless street-level superhero who brought justice when the law couldn't. Later, Matt went to confession with Father Lantom, telling stories about growing up with his father before claiming he was not there to seek forgiveness for what he had done, but was asking forgiveness for what he was about to do. He would not tell Father Lantom his intentions.

The same night, Matt tracked Turk Barrett who was now leading a group of Russian Mafia gangsters who were engaged in both kidnapping and sex trafficking under the orders of Vladimir and Anatoly Ranskahov. They planned on transporting a group of young women into a shipping container and threatening to torture them if they resisted in any way. Seeing this terrible act, Matt, dressed up as Daredevil, snuck up behind Barrett's men and attacked, knocking down many of the guards and avoiding Barrett as he attempted to shoot him, having heard the gun clicking before it was fired, before subduing him by throwing a steel beam at his head which knocked Barrett to the ground and knocked him out.

With all the gangsters now defeated, Daredevil then focused his efforts on the hostages. He freed the women and ordered them to head towards the city in the light and flag down the first police officer they found, banging on the container door to make them leave faster. As the women ran to freedom, Daredevil dodged out of the way of Barrett's gunshot before beating him senseless and leaving him to be found and arrested by the police when they arrived.

The very next morning, Matt was awoken in the early hours by a phone call from Foggy Nelson who ordered him to get out of bed so they could view the new offices ready to finally open their own law practice, Nelson and Murdock, while teasing him about Matt having possibly spent the night with a woman. Before they went Foggy joked that he was going to bribe the New York City Police Department Officer Brett Mahoney, much to Matt's frustration.

The pair teased real estate agent Susan Harris about which one of them would get the room with a view, with Nelson laughing when Harris awkwardly curtsied which he then had to explain. Harris told Matt that the building had been barely damaged at all during the devastating Battle of New York involving the Avengers which was why it was on the market for such a low price. Matt made her an offer on the office which was soon accepted and they both agreed to move in, despite Foggy's protests as he felt they were not making enough profit as a law firm to even consider buying office spaces like these. Matt insisted that it was the right move.

#### Defending Karen Page

Shortly after moving into their new offices, Foggy Nelson received a call from Brett Mahoney who informed him that a young woman named Karen Page had been found in her apartment having seemingly murdered a workmate with a knife. Foggy and Matt met Karen and offered to represent her; when she asked how long the pair had been practicing law, Matt told her it had been seven hours. Matt listened to her heartbeat while she told them what had occurred; knowing that her heartbeat was not changing, Matt knew she was telling the truth.

Matt convinced Foggy that they should take on her case but quickly told Foggy that he believed that Karen was innocent of her crime, which Foggy was highly skeptical of. Matt however noted that it was strange that the police were not taking her straight to trial as the evidence seemed so obvious, therefore he felt that there was something wrong with this case. Foggy proceeded to tease Matt about his history with beautiful and dangerous women, however Foggy agreed to back Matt's theory and they began work on finding who had actually committed the violent murder.

Later that night, they learned that Karen was almost assassinated in her prison cell by officer Clyde Farnum, so they managed to have her freed. Matt and Foggy personally confronted the Detectives Christian Blake and Carl Hoffman to ensure that Karen was freed from their custody, much to their annoyance. Blake agreed to free Karen but made a point to threaten Matt, noting that he did not care that he was blind as if he used the same tone with him again he would be willing to beat him senseless. While Blake and Hoffman were gone Matt noted that this case made no logical sense.

Back in their own offices, Foggy stole some tea without any milk to help Karen feel comfortable as he and Matt began to question her about who would try to kill her and why; she eventually revealed that she had discovered an illegal money laundering scheme inside Union Allied Construction who she had worked for and had been discovered by her boss McClintock. As it was clear that she should not stay in her own apartment, Matt allowed her to stay at his apartment in order to keep her safe as she was clearly terrified for her own safety and the safety of anyone close to her.

Once there, Matt explained that he would be sleeping on the couch as a large sign outside his window caused the living room to be constantly filled with light, so Karen would only get a good night's sleep in his bed. Matt then gave her new clothes, and Karen briefly asked him if he had always been blind, and he explained his story before Matt asked her more questions about what had happened to her. When he asked if she still had the incriminating files she had discovered, she lied and told him she did not. However, he could hear her heart racing and secretly knew she was lying, and decided to keep tabs on her in case she did something else unexpected.

#### Securing Karen's hard-drive

During the rainy night, Karen snuck out of Matt's apartment, unaware that he was still awake. Matt then proceeded to follow her home, where she was collecting the hard-drive she had stolen from Union Allied Construction. He discovered her moments before she was attacked by an assassin named Craig Rance who slammed her head against a wall and prepared to cut her throat. Daredevil engaged the assassin in a fight, throwing himself and his enemy out the window.

Although Rance proved to be a highly dangerous enemy, using his knife to attempt to cut Daredevil's flesh and kill him, Daredevil was able to use his heightened senses to predict when the attacks were coming and fight back against Rance. Daredevil eventually used his strength and determination to defeat the assassin, wrapping a chain around his neck and knocking him out with a final kick in front of the horrified Karen. Daredevil first promised to take the hard-drive to the New York City Police Department but Karen told him that this would not work as the police were clearly far too corrupt.

Believing that Karen was correct, Matt took the assassin to the offices of the New York Bulletin along with the hard-drive in order to expose Union Allied Construction's corruption to all of New York City in one go. This caused Karen to be set free and all charges against her to be dropped, for which she thanked Foggy and Matt by cooking them a meal that was her mother's secret recipe. Both Foggy and Matt then happily agreed to hire Karen to work as a secretary for their new law firm as she promised she would work for free, to begin with at least which please them all greatly.

## Personality

Daredevil was a morally righteous and highly religious individual with a strong sense of law and justice. This also influenced him to become a lawyer. Daredevil objected to lethal violence and preferred to allow his enemies to continue living; however, Daredevil did have a dark side, and would not hesitate to badly injure foes under certain circumstances, often when he was under a period of stress.

As a young lad, Matt was instilled with high morals by his father, Jack Murdock, who encouraged the boy to focus on his studies and not to play or fight with other kids. Matt took his father's lessons to heart and was thought to be an exemplary of good nature by figures of authority. Despite all this Matt did have a mischievous side. Matt was also incredibly selfless, which led to him performing many heroic deeds in his life. One of the earliest examples of this was his saving of a blind man from an oncoming truck, which led to his blindness. In the early stages of his disability Matt suffered increased frustration, feelings of helplessness, and self-loathing; however, due to training under Stick, Matt managed to conquer the struggles which boosted his confidence and he eventually developed a fearless attitude.

As Daredevil, he has displayed a heavy sense of humor and snarky remarks in various life-threatening situations, especially early in his career. Throughout his long tenure, however, his various trials have made Daredevil a grimmer and less light-hearted vigilante. Despite all his great virtues, Daredevil is not without his flaws, and has shown extreme ruthlessness and wrath, especially when those close to him have been threatened or targeted by his enemies. However, he also possesses an indomitable will, which helps him stick to his principles even when he desires to do otherwise.

## Powers and abilities

**Radioactive enhanced physiology:** Matt was originally enhanced by the radioactive isotope which later blinded him. As a result, he possesses superhuman senses, agility, reflexes, and balance. Matt's nervous system has also increase some of his abilities to a peak human level.

* **Superhuman senses:** At his early age, Matt did not know how to handle his powers until he met Stick, who became Matt's mentor and taught him to control and enhance them.
	+ **Superhuman hearing:** Daredevil's sense of hearing enables him to detect an acoustic pressure change of one decibel at a pressure level of seven decibels (whereas the lowest threshold for average human hearing is twenty decibels). He can hear a person's heartbeat at a distance of over twenty feet, or people whispering on the other side of a standard soundproofed wall. Through practice, Daredevil is able to control his hearing acuity, mentally blocking out specific sounds like his own breathing and heartbeat, all ambient sounds to a normal human level of perception, or all sounds but a particular sound he is concentrating upon. He also utilizes his superhuman sense of hearing as an aid in processing, filtering, and interpreting the feedback of his radar sense to actually give him a three-dimensional picture of his surroundings. Additionally, Daredevil's combined use of his super hearing and radar sense can also give him tactical advantages, such as awareness of people hiding around the corners of rooms, walls, buildings, and furniture and makes it virtually impossible to literally blindside him.
	+ **Superhuman tactile sense:** Daredevil's sense of touch is so acute that his finger can feel the faint impressions of ink on a printed page, allowing him to read by touch (though laminated pages prevent him from touching), and thus reading the ink impressions at a much faster pace than a normal person would be able to read. The rest of his skin is equally sensitive, enabling him by concentration to feel minute temperature and pressure changes in the atmosphere around him. Even with his senses of smell and hearing blocked, he can feel the presence of a person standing five feet away from him simply by his or her body heat and disturbance of air. A side effect of his sense of touch is Daredevil's ability to manipulate his muscles and internal organs. The sense of touch is not just external, but internal too (central nervous system), thereby giving him the ability to have total body control, increasing his strength and speed to peak human levels, his agility and reflexes to superhuman levels, and also giving him the ability to numb himself to pain.
	+ **Superhuman olfaction:** Daredevil's sense of smell is so acute that he can distinguish between familiar people by way of minute differences in smell. He can detect odors of an atmospheric concentration of thirty parts per million. Furthermore, his ability to remember smells enables him to identify any person he has spent at least five minutes with by smell alone, no matter how he or she might try to camouflage his or her natural body odor. His powers of concentration are such that he can focus upon a single person's smell and follow it through a crowd of people from a great distance.
	+ **Superhuman taste:** Daredevil's sense of taste enables him to determine every ingredient of a food or drink he experiences, as long as there are at least twenty milligrams of that substance present.
	+ **Peak human reflexes:** Due to his exposure to the radioactive waste that caused his blindness, Daredevil's reflexes borderline superhuman.
	+ **Peak human agility:** Daredevil's agility was enhanced to a peak human level by his accident.

**Peak human conditioning:** Due to his intense training under Stick, as well as his own personal dedication and discipline, Daredevil has developed a level of physical conditioning classes as the peak of what is achievable by a non-enhanced human being.

* **Peak human strength:** Thanks to his control over his central nervous system and due to his many years of martial arts training, Daredevil can utilize a peak human level of strength.
* **Peak human speed:** Similar to his strength, Daredevil can increase his speed to peak human level. Daredevil's running speed is also above an Olympic-level athlete's speed, such as a track and field sprinter/decathlete.