Daredevil (Comics)

"You were always an inspiration to us...it can't end like this."

- Matthew Murdock (Daredevil) on Captain America

Daredevil is a fictional character, a superhero that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Bill Everett, with an unspecified amount of input from Jack Kirby, and first appeared in Daredevil #1 (April 1964).

Living in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of New York City, Matt Murdock is blinded by a radioactive substance that falls from an oncoming vehicle. While he no longer can see, the radioactive exposure heightens his remaining senses beyond normal human ability. His father, a boxer named Jack Murdock, supports him as he grows up, though Jack is later killed by gangsters after refusing to throw a fight. After donning a yellow and black, and later a dark red, costume, Matt seeks out revenge against his father's killers as the superhero Daredevil, fighting against his many enemies including Bullseye and The Kingpin Daredevil's nickname is "the Man Without Fear".

Although blind, the character's remaining four senses function with high levels of superhuman accuracy and sensitivity, giving him abilities far beyond the limits of a sighted person; few know that the hero cannot see. Daredevil developed a sonar sense,[42 ] which is similar to echolocation. According to Stan Lee, due to the fact that Murdock's sensory organs have a superhuman level of development, his inner ear, which controls the equilibrium and motions of the body, is also preternaturally developed, aiding him in acrobatic feats that surpass even Olympic-level athletes.[citation needed]

When Frank Miller expanded most of Daredevil's abilities, he attempted to make them "extraordinary enough to be exciting, but not on par with Superman", noting Superman's distinctly unbelievable powers.[42 ] When Miller joined the title in 1979, the first thing he did to the character was "revamp" his radar sense and made it less distinct and more believable; he wanted Daredevil to have the "proximity" sense that most martial artists claim to have.[42 ] Because of this, he created an ability for Daredevil to hear the Hulk's heartbeat four blocks away. Due to the character's sensitive sense of touch, Daredevil can read by passing his fingers over the letters on a page.[42 ] (though laminated pages prevent him from reading the ink[43 ] ) Daredevil has also commonly used his superhuman hearing to serve as a lie detector for interrogation by listening for changes in a person's heartbeat. However, this ability can be fooled if the other person's heart is not beating at a natural rate, such as if they have a pacemaker.[44 ]

However, just as Daredevil's other senses are stronger, they are also sensitive; his main weakness is his vulnerability to powerful sounds or odors that can be used to temporarily weaken his radar sense.[45 ] This weakness is often used to immobilize Daredevil if he were bombarded by too much sound, which will cause him great pain and disorient him.[46 ] Additionally Daredevil needs to detect something with his radar to know it is there or it will remain invisible to him, which makes it possible to have something get past his radar if he is unable to detect it. In one instance the hallucinogenic drug that Mysterio created was designed with no taste or smell so Daredevil could not tell he was drugged until he consulted Doctor Strange who was able to discover it from the small cross that Mysterio gave to Daredevil in disguise which contained the drug and magically cured him.[47 ] When Daredevil fought Psylocke during the war between the Avengers and the X-Men, he briefly gained an advantage when she tried to read his mind and found herself overwhelmed by the sensory input he received from his enhanced senses, reflecting the scale of psychological training required for Daredevil to operate as he does.[48 ]

Though he has no superhuman physical attributes beyond an enhanced sense of balance, Daredevil is a master of martial arts.[49 ] Having been trained by Stick, Daredevil is a master hand-to-hand combatant. His typical moves are unique blends of the martial arts of Ninjutsu, Aikijujutsu, Jujutsu, Kung Fu, capoeira, Judo, Aikido, wrestling and stick fighting combined with American-style boxing while making full use of his gymnastics capabilities.