Matt Murdock
| Character | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Matthew Michael "Matt" Murdock |
| Occupation: | Lawyer, Vigilante |
| Relationships: | Natasha Romanova (Black Widow, love interest), Elektra Natchios (love interest/frenemy), Felicia Hardy (Black Cat, love interest/ally), Karen Page (love interest) |
| Fandom: | Daredevil, The Avengers, Marvel Cinematic Universe |
| Other: | Portrayed by Ben Affleck (film); Charlie Cox (Netflix's TV series) |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Matt Murdock, also known as the Daredevil, is a Marvel Comics character and is the titular character of the Daredevil comics and related media.
Canon
Matt Murdock first appeared in Daredevil #1 by Stan Lee and Bill Everett (April 1964). In his youth he was injured in a car accident, pushing an elderly man to safety. A chemical or radioactive material was splashed in his eyes. He was left blind - his eyes unresponsive to light - but found himself able to 'see' in other ways. He became hypersensitive to sounds and smells as well as tactile sensations: he can feel subtle changes in air pressure and temperature, hear heartbeats, smell at a distance. He also developed a radar sense (similar to echolocation) that allows him to navigate objects and barriers in his environment.
Matt was born and raised in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of New York City. Matt's father, 'Battlin' Jack' Murdock, made his living as a boxer, sometimes throwing fights for the mob. Jack pushed his son to do well in school, to make a living with his brains instead of his brawn. As a result, Matt became a lawyer. When Jack refused to throw a particular fight, he was murdered. Vengeance for his father in part motivated Matt to create the masked vigilante Daredevil.
Upon finishing school, Matt started a legal practice with his best friend Foggy Nelson. A blind lawyer by day, he patrols rooftops as Daredevil at night, in hopes of making his city a better place.
Matt represents himself as a sober, serious young man dedicated to the law. In his early comic-book years, his alter ego Daredevil was a wise-cracking acrobat similar to Spider-man, self-trained in his father's gym. In later versions, he received training in martial arts and meditation from an old blind man known only as Stick. Stick also helped him understand and develop his special skills. Some later versions of Daredevil exhibit anger and guilt rather than playfulness, but still contrast with Matt's mild-mannered public persona. When his identity is accidentally revealed, Matt invents a twin brother, Mike, who is as carefree and flippant as Daredevil. He portrays this twin himself, using his skills to convince his friends that he (as Mike) can see perfectly.
Catholic guilt, a major feature of the character's struggle in the Netflix series Daredevil (TV), is absent from his early comic-book persona and may have originated with Frank Miller in the 1980s. As he did with Batman, Miller famously gave the character a darker history and outlook as well as a more detailed origin story. His work was a major influence on the Netflix series.
Fandom
This article or section needs expansion. |
Comics
2003 film
MCU
Common Tropes and Fanon
- Avengers Crossover Although the Netflix Daredevil series references events which took place in The Avengers, Matt Murdock has not appeared in an MCU film to date. Several fics expand on the idea of Daredevil meeting or joining the Avengers team.
- Dumpster Bros Matt and Clint Barton become bros after both being thrown in the same dumpster. A variant of this trope involves Matt meeting Peter Parker in a similar fashion.
- Avocados At Law is an oft-repeated phrase within the MCU Daredevil fandom. It's a reference to an early scene where Foggy and Matt are drunk and Foggy confuses the Spanish word "abogados" (meaning "lawyers") with "avocados."
Shipping
For the comicverse fandom, the most common pairings include:
- Matt Murdock/Elektra Natchios
- Matt Murdock/Peter Parker
- Matt Murdock/Foggy Nelson
- Matt Murdock/Frank Castle
- Matt Murdock/Danny Rand
- Matt Murdock/Natasha Romanova
- Matt Murdock/Lester Bullseye
For the 2003 film fandom, the most common pairing included Matt Murdock/Elektra Natchios.
For the MCU/Daredevil (TV Series) fandom: the most common pairings include:
- Matt Murdock/Claire Temple
- Matt Murdock/Foggy Nelson
- Matt Murdock/Karen Page
- Matt Murdock/Danny Rand
- Matt Murdock/Clint Barton ("Dumpster Bros")
- Matt Murdock/Laurel Lance
- Matt/Karen/Foggy
- Matt Murdock & Skye
Of the above MCU pairings, a lot of them are interchangeable with the gen version.
Fanworks
| Examples Wanted: Editors are encouraged to add more examples or a wider variety of examples. |
Fanfiction
- A Different Kind of Mask by aloneintherain, 27 Apr 2015
- Double Blind by smilebackwards, 28 Oct 2015
- None So Blind by prettybirdy979, 18 Mar 2016
Art
Comics:
MCU:
- Daredevil | Matt Murdock by gabbiki
- The Man Without Fear, The Devil of Hell's Kitchen by nataljaromanoff
- Black Widow and Daredevil by Timetravel6000v2 (Matt/Natasha Romanoff)
Vids
MCU:
Meta
- matt murdock is like the epitome of cripplepunk
- couple things about the claim that matt murdock ‘isn’t really blind’
- thoughts on the daredevil disability representation
Archives & Fannish Links
- Matt Murdock tagged works on AO3
- Matt Murdock works at FFN under the Daredevil comics category
- Matt Murdock works at FFN under the Avengers category
- Matt Murdock at DeviantArt
Tumblr
Resources
References