Daredevil

Daredevil, born Matthew "Matt" Murdock in 1942, is an American hero in New York City. Due to an accident with radioactive matter in his youth, Daredevil is blind, but possesses exceptionally acute senses otherwise, which more than make up for his lack of sight. He is also remarkably agile and proficient in combat as a result of rigorous training.

Biography

Origin

The son of boxer Jack Murdock, young Matthew grew up idolizing his father, and dreamt about becoming a great athlete. But Jack followed his late wife's wish for Matt to get an education, and insisted that he study as hard as he could to make something of himself in life. Matt did as his father wished, eschewing all physical activities in school in favor of intense study, despite his desire to play sports. This earned him the snide nickname "Daredevil" from other boys. Tired of being picked on, Matt privately trained his body, devoting all of his time to schoolwork and exercise. At the age of 15, Matt witnessed an old man who was apparently blind and deaf crossing the street as a truck carrying radioactive materials was fast approaching. Matt leapt into action, pushing the man out of harm's way, but taking some of the impact himself. The truck itself stopped before doing any serious damage, but the radioactive material spilled out onto Matt. As he recovered in the hospital, he found that he had gone blind, but the rest of his senses were extraordinarily sharpened. He continued to study hard into college, where he met his roommate Foggy Nelson.

Meanwhile, Matt's father was undergoing a career renaissance as a boxer, though this was in fact due to his manager the Fixer setting up the results without Jack's knowledge. Jack had a major fight coming up, and Matt and Foggy eagerly attended. Jack was informed prior to the fight that he was to take a fall, and he reluctantly agreed, but upon seeing his son in the audience simply couldn't bear the indignity. Jack won the fight, filling his son with pride. After the event however, Jack was found murdered, killed by a single gunshot. Matt worked through his distress at this news and soon graduated from college, immediately starting the Nelson & Murdock law firm with financial help from the former's father. Foggy also hired a secretary, Karen Page; she and Matt were immediately smitten with each other. Matt privately vowed to avenge his father, and reclaimed his childhood nickname to become the crimefighting Daredevil. He sewed together a suit to hide his identity, his extreme tactile abilities allowing him to identify the feels of different-colored fabrics, and modified his walking stick to become a versatile weapon. Suspecting that the infamously crooked Fixer had been involved in his father's death, Daredevil tracked down his hideout and fought through his goons to get to the man himself. He found the Fixer and one of his henchmen who had physically committed the murder, and chased them out of the building and into the subway. Fixer, an overweight smoker, collapsed from exertion and died of a heart attack. The police arrived on the scene, and the henchman frustratedly confessed. Daredevil introduced himself to the police, and told them to remember his name.

1964-1965

Full article: Biography of Daredevil, 1964-1965

See also

• Daredevil (Earth-1610)