Daredevil (Marvel Comics)
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Daredevil (Marvel Comics)
Daredevil (Matt Murdock) is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Daredevil #1 (April 1964) and was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Bill Everett, with an unspecified amount of input from Jack Kirby,[1] Daredevil is notable as being among the few superheroes with a disability, being blinded as a youth in a radioactive accident that also drastically heightened his remaining senses and gave him a "radar-sense" allowing him to perceive his surroundings. 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 influential part of the Marvel Universe. Daredevil has also been adapted into various other media including a live-action film released in 2003, in which he was portrayed by Ben Affleck.
Publication historyThe 1960sThe character first appeared in Daredevil #1 (April 1964) and was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Bill Everett. The first issue covered both his origins and his desire for revenge on the men who had killed his father, boxer "Battling Jack" Murdock. Matthew Murdock is raised by single father in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of 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 thresholds, enabling him to detect the shape and location of objects around him.[2] In order to support his Son, Jack Murdock returns to boxing and when he refuses to throw a fight is killed by gangsters. 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. [2] Daredevil's original costume was a combination of black, yellow and red, reminiscent of acrobat 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 #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.[3] When Romita left to take over The 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). Daredevil embarks on a series of colorful adventures involving such villains as the Owl, Stilt-Man, the Gladiator, and the Enforcers. 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. He also meets Spider-Man during this time.[4] 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. 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). When the revelation of Murdock's dual identity proves too much for Page, she leaves the firm and the comic.
Daredevil #47 (Dec. 1968). Cover art by Gene Colan (pencils) and George Klein (inks). the 1970sIn the 1970s the title featured a double billing, co-starring Daredevil's girlfriend, the Black Widow.The narrative had Daredevil move to San Francisco for a time to live with the spy and super-heroine the Black Widow, and enters into a romantic relationship with her[5] but she soon ends the relationship, fearing that playing "sidekick" to Daredevil is sublimating her identity.[6] Murdock returns to Hell's Kitchen. During this time, the series' writers included Gerry Conway, Steve Gerber and Chris Claremont. Artists included Bob Brown and Don Heck.
Daredevil #181 (April 1982). Cover art by Frank Miller and Klaus Janson. 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 #164 (May 1980). It was one of Wood's final assignments before his death in 1981. The 1980sThe 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 dramatically 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 arch-nemesis. 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. Daredevil encounters the assassin Bullseye for the first time, and the two battle each other.[7] Eventually, Daredevil's secret identity is deduced by the reporter Ben Urich.[8] Daredevil encounters the Kingpin, who has hired his old flame Elektra as an assassin, and Daredevil battles her.[9] He returns to his former mentor Stick for aid.[10] Bullseye then murders Elektra in a fight to determine the better killer. Taking revenge, Daredevil drops Bullseye from a clothesline high above a street,[11] Daredevil allies with the Punisher against drug pushers.[12] Daredevil battles the Hand, and Elektra is briefly resurrected.[13] 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 "Daredevil: Born Again" storyline in #227-233 (Feb.-Aug. 1986), with artist David Mazzuchelli. Karen Page eventually 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, getting him disbarred, menacing his personal life and nearly driving him insane.[14] Matt suffers a nervous breakdown.[15] Miller ends the story on a positive note, with Murdock reuniting with Karen Page as his sometime lover,[16] and the mother he thought dead, now a nun, and resuming a less complicated life in Hell's Kitchen. [17] 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 penciller 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. The 1990sDaredevil'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). 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. Frank Miller returned to the character and his origins with the 1994 five issue mini-series Man without Fear. With artist John Romita Jr, expanded upon the characters beginnings and provide additional detail about the life and death of "Battling Jack" Murdock and Matt's first encounters with the Kingpin and Foggy Nelson. [18] The role of Stick in the genesis of daredevil is expanded up as Murdock's doomed love affair with Elektra Natchios, the daughter of a Greek diplomat.
The death of Karen Page. Promotional art for Daredevil Visionaries: Kevin Smith by Joe Quesada and Jimmy Palmiotti.
Cover art for Daredevil: Yellow #3, by Tim Sale: Murdock and Nelson founding their firm.
Danny Rand as Daredevil. Art by Michael Lark. Powers, abilities, and equipmentAlthough Daredevil is blind, the exposure to chemical radiation that cost him of his sight has enhanced his four remaining senses to function with high levels of superhuman accuracy and sensitivity, giving him abilities far beyond the limits of a sighted person. Daredevil's sense of hearing allows him to detect sounds ordinary humans can't, such as detecting the steady rhythm of a person's normal heartbeat several feet away, and sounds that normal humans can hear but at much greater distances. His hearing can detect the subtle changes in a person's respiration and heartbeat during a lie, which serves as a type of lie detector. A drawback to such enhanced hearing is his sensitivity to loud noises, which can be detrimental at times. Daredevil's sense of touch is sensitive enough to feel the impressions of ink on paper, enabling him to read by touch. He can detect minuscule changes in pressure and temperature. This sensitivity to heat allows him to sense the temperature of other beings or objects, which he often uses to determine whether a person is alive or dead. A side effect of his sense of touch is Daredevil's ability to manipulate his muscles and internal organs. His sense of smell is sufficiently enhanced to distinguish an individual by his or her natural scent. He can use this sense of smell to track someone over great distances or through large crowds with a high degree of success. His sense of taste is similarly enhanced, allowing him to minutely detect the every ingredient of whatever he consumes. For instance, he can detect the number of grains of salt present on a pretzel. Although he's blind, Daredevil can "see" by means of a type of "radar sense" that allows him to sense the proximity of people and objects around him. Daredevil's radar sense is connected with his hearing (thus it is technically a form of sonar, using sound rather than radio waves), as the bouncing of sounds and vibrations off his surroundings enable him to "see" what's happening around him. It also allows him to trace the trajectory of a projective weapon sufficiently to dodge or deflect it with relative ease, if he's far enough away from it. He also uses his radar sense in much the same way during hand to hand combat, with the sounds allowing him to "see" in order to block or attack. Through years of training and practice, Daredevil has developed tremendous concentration that allows him to sift through the vast amount of sensory input to any one specific stimulus to the extend that he's able to exclude all the others. Otherwise, something as simple as being able to fall asleep would be practically impossible. Though he has no superhuman physical attributes, Daredevil has great natural strength, speed, stamina, agility, and reflexes, due to both extensive training and the heightened sense of balance his superhuman hearing affords him. He has shown himself to be a superb acrobat with abilities that are superior to those of an Olympic-level sighted gymnast. Daredevil's training by Stick has made him into a formidable hand-to-hand combatant. His typical moves are unique blends of the martial arts of Ninjutsu, Jujutsu, and Judo combined with American-style Boxing while making full use of his gymnastics capabilities. Daredevil's signature weapon is his specially-designed billy club, which he created. Disguised as a blind man's cane in civilian garb, it is a multi-purpose weapon and tool that contains thirty feet of aircraft control cable 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 be split into two parts, one of which is a fighting baton, the other of which ends in a curved hook. Daredevil has extreme accuracy when throwing his club, and can hit multiple enemies with ricochets. He also uses the club for hand-to-hand strikes, and to deflect bullets and other projectiles. In earlier stories, Daredevil's billy club contained other gadgets such as a hearing amplifier, smoke pellets and spring loaded cloth sheets. Some stories have depicted Daredevil's suit as being made of a metal mesh as well as being insulated. As Matt Murdock, Daredevil is a highly skilled criminal defense attorney with an extensive knowledge of the American legal system, even going so far as to defend some of his former adversaries in court. CharactersLove interests
Daredevil and Elektra. Detail from cover of Daredevil Visionaries: Frank Miller Vol. 2. Cover 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 super-powered, 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.
Recurring characters
Enemies
Other versionsParodies
Other mediaTelevision
Film
Video games
Daredevil as he appears in Marvel: Ultimate Alliance.
Toys
Bibliography
Promotional art for Daredevil vol. 2, #62 (Sept. 2004), by Alex Maleev. Main
One-shots and limited series
Team-ups
Company crossovers
Other
Awards
FootnotesReferencesExternal links
bg:????????? ca:Daredevil da:Daredevil de:Daredevil es:Daredevil fr:Daredevil it:Devil (fumetto) he:??????? hu:Fenegyerek nl:Daredevil ja:????? no:Daredevil pl:Daredevil pt:Demolidor ru:??????? ?????? (Marvel Comics) sk:Daredevil fi:Daredevil sv:Daredevil tr:Daredevil Source: Wikipedia | The above article is available under the GNU FDL. | Edit this article
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