Long unloved, Daredevil now seems to be winning back the hearts of his followers. A look back at the not always easy journey of this tormented and exciting superhero.
A blind man in a red suit, with horns on the top of his head and a lasso-cane… Hard not to recognize Daredevil. However, despite his fame, this iconic Marvel comics superhero has not always had it easy. Whether in the pages of our favorite comics or in view of the treatment given to him, the vigilante of Hell's Kitchen has often been relegated to the background.
Most certainly the fault of the original creative bias. Dreamed up by Stan Lee and Bill Everett, the adventures of Daredevil were once considered B-movie, mixing both the drama of dual identities and a humorous tone. Fortunately, in 1979, Frank Miller reshuffled the cards to make the adventures of Matt Murdock a collection of cult comics. By taking over the reins, the screenwriter offered a darker and psychological apprehension of the superhero, an intention often associated with the works of the American author.
In the 1980s, a real attraction was born around this too long underrated superhero. We realize today that his representation indeed goes further than that of a blind neighborhood vigilante in the universe of Marvel comics. Daredevil's power has often been overlooked, as have the stakes of its story.
Daredevil, an unloved hero
Originally, Daredevil had all the qualities to win the hearts of comic book readers. Inspired by the mute superhero Bart Hill, whose adventures were published in the 1940s, those of Daredevil begin on April 1, 1964, two years after the first publication of Spider-Man.
It played a significant role in relation to the public, already bitten by the Spider-Man. Daredevil has indeed often been compared to Peter Parker. Like the young man, Matt Murdock operates like a neighborhood vigilante to fight crime. They also share a lot of similarities in terms of powers, whether it's their sharp super-senses, their agility, their resistance to shocks, or their ability to swing from building to building. Common points which have also favored their alliance in the comics. But it was often done at the expense of Daredevil, ultimately considered a secondary sidekick rather than a real partner.
Competition also came from DC Comics pages. Daredevil has never quite matched Batman's popularity, despite Frank Miller's twisted and dark twist on him, as well as the many similarities he shares with Gotham's vigilante. Although the series of comics under the screenwriter's aegis was a great success, it was not enough to make the character an anthology superhero. His adventures against the more realistic New York gangsters certainly managed to attract many readers, but without obtaining the recognition they deserved.
Where Captain America & Co focus on battling alien threats, Daredevil's playground is often the underworld. We also note the late introduction of Winston Fisk alias the Kingpin, Matt Murdock's flagship antagonist. Once again, thanks to the talent of Frank Miller, the superhero obtained an iconic enemy, an element that was sorely missing from the first stories.
Behind the glasses and the cane hides a deep hero
Daredevil's newfound apprehension has given him a more polished personality. By choosing to give thickness to his characterization and his past, the writers have approached an identity of antihero. From his accident that blinded him to the fight to defend the innocent, through the assassination of his father, Matt Murdock's life has never been simple. Still, Daredevil's character goes beyond the classic lone hero. It has a human and realistic dimension. He is moving, tormented, as fragile as he is discreet, and his sense of justice testifies to an extremism as dangerous as it is courageous.
Morality and law are two important notions in the Daredevil comics. His adventures are the pretext to point the finger at an entire judicial system. Seeing his limits and failures leads Matt Murdock to put on his suit every night. Through the violence of his actions, the superhero exorcises his frustration. The changes that justice requires cannot be accomplished by a lawyer, but by a masked vigilante.
The duality of the character also makes it possible to highlight universal themes, such as the difference between justice and law, the harmfulness of power or faith confronted with violence. Religion takes up a lot of space in the universe of Daredevil. His costume is also reminiscent of the devil, and Matt Murdock does not hesitate to confess for his acts committed as a vigilante. Nevertheless, the comics have never fallen into the trap of Manichaeism.
Beyond fiction, comics have also had an impact in terms of representativeness. At a time when diversity is invading the universe of superheroes, making a blind man one of the key characters in his universe, from the 1960s, is quite unique. If DC's Doctor Mid-Nite paved the way in 1941, Matt Murdock proved that disability and heroism were compatible.
The character's adventures are now also compatible with the world of entertainment. The Netflix series in which Charlie Cox lends his features to Matt Murdock has had unprecedented success, putting the superhero back in the spotlight and thus making people forget the painful memory of the film with Ben Affleck. The generations of yesterday and today have (re)discovered the character, the show having focused on the action, but above all on the psychology of the superhero. The platform has not forgotten the key elements of the universe either, by including the key protagonists, and by coupling its adventures with those of the Defenders.
Both the small and the big screen now seem to want to bet on the hero of Hell's Kitchen, evidenced by the last appearance of Matt Murdock in Spider-Man: No Way Home. A renewed interest that could allow it to be appreciated at its fair value. Undervalued for a long time, the various evolutions of the character through the comics have allowed him to gain in maturity and depth, to become the catalyst of a minority and of a message beyond the imagination of the comics. Finally, elements that we expect from our modern heroes, and which make us hope that the one we call the man without fear still has a bright future ahead of him.
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