Daredevil

"We don't live in a world that's fair. We live in this one. And I'm doing everything I can to make it a better place."

- Matt Murdock

Matthew "Matt" Murdock is a young man blinded as a boy but gifted with extraordinary senses, who dedicates his life to fight injustice in New York City as a lawyer by day, and by night as a vigilante known as Daredevil.

Early Life
Matt Murdock lived with his father, the washed-up boxer Jack Murdock. Jack consistently urged his young son to study hard and make something of himself, so Matt wouldn't end up like him. When Jack returned from boxing matches, Matt would stitch his injuries. During one of these sessions, Jack allowed Matthew to have a drink of scotch, to keep a steady hand. He stayed awake at night listening to sirens, trying to know of what they were, creating stories for them.

Blinded
"I can't see! I can't see!"

- Matt Murdock

When he was nine years old, Murdock saved an elderly man from being hit by a truck, causing an accident. Hazardous chemicals from the flipped truck splashed on his face and as they were absorbed into his eyes, Murdock was blinded. The last sight he had was of his father trying to comfort him during the multiple car accident. He screamed in pain and fear when he realized he would never see again.

He woke up in the hospital where he found he could hear every sound in the near-by area, causing him pain, his father tried desperately to comfort him. He let his son touch his face so he could recognize that it was him, which seemed to calm him down. Over the next few months, Murdock learnt to read with Braille and began to control his heightened senses. His father continued to work as a boxer despite losing almost all his fights, one day he returned home while Murdock was reading in Braille with severe bruises on his face, he let Murdock touch his face and make him promise not to be a boxer like him. One day, while Murdock was reading in his father's gym, he overheard his father being offered money to lose his upcoming fight with Carl Creel. Murdock listened to his father's fight with Carl Creel on the television and cheered when his father overcame the odds and won the match. Murdock waited at home for his father's return but became worried when he did not arrive. Murdock ran to the Boxing Gym and was stopped by a police officer. Murdock managed to push his way past the officer and found his father lying on the street having been murdered by local mobsters. Murdock fell to his knees and begged his father to wake up before crying over his father's lifeless body.

Trained by Stick
When his mother failed to take care of him after his father's death, Murdock was moved to Saint Agnes Orphanage. While there he continued to suffer with his enhanced senses.

While at the Orphanage, Murdock was visited by an old blind man named Stick. Stick knew that Murdock's other senses had been heightened and took him outside for ice-cream. While they sat together Stick asked Murdock what he could understand about near-by people just from listening to them. Stick promised to train Murdock to control and master his "gift". Murdock kept the wrapper from his ice-cream, planning on giving it to Stick as a present. Stick began a harsh training regime with Murdock, often pushing an emotional response from him to teach him to control his anger. Over the next few months and years, Murdock became a powerful fighter with almost complete control of his blindness. During one of their training sessions, Murdock gave Stick the wrapper from his ice-cream, having made it into a bracelet. Stick crushed it in his hand and told him he could no longer train him. Stick left and Murdock would not see him again for many years.

Law School
In his early twenties, Murdock gained a place at Columbia University Law School. He arrived in his room and introduced himself to his new roommate Foggy Nelson. Nelson had heard of Murdock, as he remembered what had happened to him as a child. Murdock and Nelson immediately made a strong relationship and Nelson often joked about his blindness while Murdock would tease Nelson about many of his poor life choices, such as he decision to join a course studying Punjabi simply to get close to a girl. They swore to work together for many years. Both Murdock and Foggy Nelson were able to work as interns at the large lawyer firm, Landman and Zack, during which time they found themselves being forced to defend large corporations against innocent people whose lives were being destroyed. Eventually the pair were both offered permanent jobs at the firm which Nelson showed great enthusiasm about, but believing that working for such a soulless company was not the right direction for them to go in, Murdock managed to convince the skeptical Nelson not to take the job offer and instead start up their own law firm where they could really help innocent people and make a difference to their city.

No Sleep for the Devil
"He spent the next month in a hospital, eating through a straw. And I never slept better."

- Matt Murdock

Sometime after law school, Murdock would have trouble sleeping because he kept hearing his next door neighbor's daughter crying at night as her father was abusing her. Murdock contacted the police to have him arrested; however, the man was able to get away with the crime as his wife claimed he would never do the crime and his daughter would not reveal the truth. Seeing that the man would not face justice, Murdock donned a black eyeless mask and went after him, cornering him at a train yard where he worked and severely beating him up and threatening that if he ever touched his daughter again, he would find him and possibly kill him. He slept better ever since.

The Mask
"Perhaps this would be easier if you told me what you've done." "I'm not seeking penance for what I've done, Father. I'm asking forgiveness, for what I'm about to do." "That's not how this works. What exactly are you going to do?"

- Matt Murdock speaks to Father Lantom

Many years later, Matt chose to take his vigilante career to the next level. He bought an all black suit online and started to use it when he went to stop crime. Later, Murdock went to confession, claiming he was not there to seek forgiveness for what he had done, but instead he was asking forgiveness for what he was about to do. He would not tell the priest his intentions however.

The same night, Murdock wore tight Black long sleeved shirt with Red stitching, a pair of Black jeans with a Black belt, Brass Knuckled strap on gloves and boots and a Mask which covered the entire top of his head (including his eyes). He then tracked down a group of gangsters led by Turk Barrett. The gangsters were planning on transporting a group of young women to be used as prostitutes. Murdock attacked the gangsters and soon knocked them all unconscious and freed the women.

In the morning, Murdock met with Foggy Nelson to view their new offices for their law practise Nelson and Murdock. The pair teased the Susan Harris, the real state agent about which one of them would get the room with a view. Murdock made her an offer on the office which was accepted and they both moved in.

Defending Karen Page
Shortly after moving into their new offices, Nelson received a call from a policeman that a young woman called Karen Page had been found in her apartment having seemingly murdered a workmate with a knife. Murdock and Nelson met Page and offered to represent her, when she asked how long the pair had been practising law, Murdock told her it had been seven hours. Murdock listened to her heartbeat while she told them what had occurred, knowing that her heartbeat was not changing, Murdock knew she was tell the truth and convinced Nelson that they should take on her case. They learnt that the same night Page was almost assassinated in her prison cell, so they managed to have her freed. Back in their offices they began to question Page about who would try to kill her and why, she revealed that she had discovered a money laundering scheme inside the company she worked for. As it was clear that she should not stay in her apartment so Murdock allowed her to stay in his apartment. Once there he gave her new clothes and asked her more questions. When he asked if she had a copy of the hard-drive, she lied and told him she did not. During the night Page sneaked out of Murdock's apartment, Murdock followed her and found her inside her home after collecting the hard-drive. He discovered her moments before she was attacked by an assassin, Murdock engaged the assassin in a fight, throwing himself and his enemy out the window, Murdock eventually used his strength and determination to defeat the assassin. After the fight, Murdock took the assassin to the police along with the hard-drive. This caused the company to be destroyed and Page to be set free. She was quickly hired to work as a secretary for Nelson and Murdock.

Meeting Claire Temple
"Okay I find a guy in a dumpster who turns out to be some kind of blind vigilante who can do all this really weird shit, like smell cologne through walls and sense whether someone unconscious or faking it. Slap on-top of that he can take an unbelievable amount of punishment without one damn complaint." "The last part's just Catholicism."

- Claire Temple and Matt Murdock

Murdock heard a young boy had been kidnapped by Russian gangsters so went out to try and rescue him. However he soon discovered that it was a trap and he was attacked. Barely escaping with severe injuries, he hid inside a skip until he was found by Santino and Claire Temple. Temple took him upstairs into her apartment and treated his injuries, she quickly discovered that he was blind. Murdock woke up and tried to leave but Temple insisted that he had to stay as he wounds were too severe. As Murdock refused to give her his name she began calling him Mike. After a while, Murdock smelt a Russian mobster wearing strong aftershave coming up the stairs looking for him. Temple answered the door while Murdock hid and the man claimed to be an NYPD officer looking for the suspect of a robbery, Temple told the man that she hadn't seen anything. The mobster left but Murdock heard him on the phone and knew that he had not believed her, so he chased him down and dropped a fire extinguisher on his head, knocking him out. Murdock noticed that Santino had witnessed the attack and ran away. Together, Murdock and Temple dragged the unconscious mobster up to the roof. Once on the roof, Murdock began questioning the mobster on the location of the missing boy, telling him that he would hurt him every time he lied. Temple suggested that Murdock should stab him just above the eye, causing the man incredible pain. When that still didn't work, Murdock threatened to throw him off the roof, this made the mobster tell him exactly where the boy was. Murdock still threw him off the roof, letting him fall into the same dumpster he had been pulled out of earlier. When Temple asked if he was alive Murdock assured her he was. Murdock gave Temple a phone so they could contact each other and told her that it would be wise for her to relocate. Murdock then went to the place where the boy was being held hostage. He arrived and immediately began fighting the mobsters, after a prolonged fight during which many of the mobsters were thrown through doors, Murdock came out as the winner with all the mobsters lying unconscious on the floor or in too much pain to move. Murdock then removed his mask and freed the boy, telling him that he was now safe. Murdock carried him out of the house and later returned him to his family.

Defending John Healy
The next morning Murdock visited his church and spoke to Father Lantom. Lantom told him that he was aware he was Jack Murdock's son but assured him that through the seal of confession he could not tell anyone what they had spoken about. He asked if Murdock was there for confession, but he said told him he was not, he then suggested that Murdock should join him for a cup of coffee but Murdock said they will do it another time.

Back at the office, Murdock and Nelson were visited by James Wesley, who asked them to represent his client John Healy, who had just brutally murdered a gangster called Prohaszka. When Wesley left the office, having insulted Karen Page, Murdock followed him, tracking him by the tick of his watch. Murdock heard Wesley enter in limo and be driven away, before he considered following, Murdock felt a pain in his side and felt blood running from an open wound. Although he showed initial uncertainty towards the case, Murdock decided to take the case in an attempt to learn who was behind the criminal activity in Hell's Kitchen. Murdock and Nelson cross-examined Healy, who clearly was experienced in court proceedings. They began working out a strategy to get Healy off by claiming self defense. During the trial, Murdock noticed one of the women in the juries' heart begin to raise when Wesley entered, Murdock tracked down the man threatening her and forced him to leave her alone. Murdock later gave a speech during the trial claiming that there was not enough evidence to convict Healy. As the result was being read out, Murdock noticed that another juryman's heart raced as Wesley entered; the jury announced a hung jury, resulting to Healy's freedom.

Murdock later tracked down and confronted Healy. The pair began to fight, Healy using objects around him to attack Murdock, after an exhausting fight Murdock came out as the victor and began questioning Healy on who his employer was. Eventually Healy claimed it was Wilson Fisk. Healy told Murdock that now he had revealed Fisk's name, he, his family and his friends would all become targets. Seeing no alternative, Healy slammed his face into an iron spike, killing him instantly. Murdock could only watch in horror.

Pursuing the Russians
Murdock later attacked Russian Gangster, Anatoly Ranskahov and his men, although Ranskahov escaped with only minor injuries, Murdock was able to throw one of his men out of a window and onto his car. After escaping, Murdock went to Claire Temple to treat his injuries. Later, he received a phonecall from Temple just as she was being kidnapped by Russian mobsters. Murdock ran to her aid but was too late, he spoke to her neighbor Santino who was able to reveal that she had been taken away in a taxi driven by the Russians.

Murdock arrived at the taxi's firm where he found Temple being tortured by the Russians, Murdock switched off the lights in the room and managed to fight of the Russians in the dark and rescued Temple. He took her back to his apartment and tried to comfort her. Temple asked him to feel her heart and tell her how she was feeling; Murdock knew then that she was terribly afraid for her life. However, Temple assured him that he could do something about that fear. Murdock then revealed to her his real first name.

The next night, Murdock followed a taxi carrying a blind man to a warehouse. Once there he attacked the Russian gangsters guarding the man, although the blind man was killed during the fight, Murdock was able to catch one of the gangsters. Murdock tried to learn the location of Vladimir Ranskahov but the gangster begged him not to cut off his head, when Murdock asked what he meant the gangster told him that everyone believed the masked man had cut off the head of Vladimir's brother Anatoly. Before he could learn anymore, the police arrived and Murdock made his escape.

Back at the office, Murdock began to ask Foggy Nelson and Karen Page about whether or not they had heard about a Russian gangster having his head cut off before they were interrupted by the arrival of Elena Cardenas. Mrs Cardenas explained that she needed legal help as her landlords her attempting to kick her out of her property and demolish her home after failing to finish building work to the property. They agreed to take the case and Murdock told Mrs. Cardenas that Nelson would speak to her landlord's lawyer which he went to the NYPD, Nelson complained knowing that the landlord's was represented by their former employers Landman and Zack.

Murdock arrived at the police department and spoke to Brett Mahoney, Murdock explained the situation to Mahoney and asked to see the complain files against Armand Tully, who owned Cardenas' home. Mahoney agreed and asked Murdock to wait. While he was waiting, Murdock overheard the questioning of one of the Russians he had attacked the night before, he heard the Russian ask for a deal in exchange for information on his employer Wilson Fisk. The two officers questioning him, Blake and Carl Hoffman, turned out to also be under Fisk's pay. They pretended to be attacked by the Russian and shot him before Murdock could do anything.

Knowing that they detectives were working for Fisk, Murdock tracked down and attacked detective Blake, Blake tried to stick to his story that the Russian had attacked his partner, until Murdock began breaking his arm. Murdock asked him why Fisk had had Prohaszka murdered; he refused to answer, so Murdock knocked him out and stole his phone. Murdock later called Claire Temple and had her help him look at the phone, she told him the phone had a list of four locations sent to it, all of which listed where the Russians were. Murdock went to go after the locations, but Temple told him that she could not fall in love with someone who was so willing to put his life in danger.

Final Days of the Russians
"That sounds bad but I don't speak asshole."

- Matt Murdock to Vladimir Ranskahov

Murdock traveled to the location from the phone and found a pair of Russian guards standing by the door. Murdock began fighting the men, during the fight he overheard panic inside the building and knew a bomb was about to be set off, Murdock used his opponent as a shield as the door was blown off towards them as the building exploded, killing the Russians inside. When he awoke, Murdock caught Vladimir Ranskahov attempting to escape the wreckage, he attacked him and knocked him out, but before he could gain any information, the police arrived and attempted to arrest him. Murdock was able to fight off the police, but was unable to spot Ranskahov from being shot in the side, he then escaped with Ranskahov's unconscious body.

Murdock took carried Ranskahov to an abandoned building and began questioning him. Ranskahov claimed that Murdock was responsible for the murder of his brother Anatoly Ranskahov and that he had been working with Wilson Fisk, Murdock told him that he had been played by Fisk, who was responsible for Anatoly's murder and the destruction of his warehouses. Murdock offered to help him escape from Fisk's men, in exchange for information that would help him make Fisk pay for everything he had done, Ranskahov crudely refused before losing consciousness.

Knowing that Vladimir Ranskahov would die without medical attention, which he could not get to him, Murdock phoned Claire Temple for assistance. He explained the situation to her and asked her to walk him through saving his life, but when he explained who it was they were helping, Temple was furious. She agreed to help however and asked Murdock to look for something to help, Murdock used his heightened senses to detect a flare in the warehouse. Under Temple's instruction, Murdock lit the flare and used it to burn Ranskahov's open wound, sealing it, Ranskahov screamed in agony until he lost consciousness again.

Murdock heard a police officer arriving in the warehouse, after hearing Ranskahov's screams, Murdock attacked the man and began questioning him. The police officer told him that he was not corrupt and was a new cop who had not been paid off by Fisk yet. Murdock ordered the man to call off backup, but instead he told them that he had been taken hostage, Murdock was unable to knock him out in time to stop him. Murdock tied up the officer before pulling the officer's gun apart and throwing it away. Murdock began questioning Ranskahov again, who asked him about his morals on not killing people but being willing to let people die. Murdock reminded Ranskahov that Fisk had taken down his operation and had enough police in his pocket to ensure that Ranskahov was killed before he could leak information. Ranskahov agreed and told the man about his first encounter with Fisk and how their operation first came about, Murdock learned that Fisk was working with the Chinese. Ranskahov told him there was one name he needed to know, Fisk's moneyman, when Murdock leant in to hear it, Ranskahov attacked him, causing them to fall through the floorboards.

The pair survived the fall and Murdock told him that it wasn't a smart thing to do. Ranskahov then lost consciousness again, this time stopping his heart, Murdock performed CPR and saved his life. Afterward Murdock began to look for a way out, finding a sewage manhole cover but finding it was too hard to lift alone. He was interrupted when Wilson Fisk used Sullivan's radio to contact them, Murdock picked up the radio and spoke to his enemy for the first time. Fisk told him that they had a lot in common but Murdock assured him that they did not and he would bring him down. Fisk then offered Murdock the choice to kill Vladimir Ranskahov and go free, when Murdock refused, Fisk ordered his men to open fire at the police and release footage of Murdock attacking police, Fisk then hung up. Believing he'd be killed in the night, Murdock called Claire Temple to say goodbye and began searching for a way out, this time however, Ranskahov helped and they made their way through the sewer.

Once in the sewer, they were attacked by a small team of S.W.A.T. officers, Murdock was able to beat them but found the wounded Ranskahov had taken one of their guns and was aiming it at him. Ranskahov told him that he blamed on staying behind and fighting to the death, as his testimony would not lead to Fisk's arrest and only death would stop Fisk, Murdock insisted that he was not a killer. Ranskahov told him that Fisk would destroy his life and his family, he then told him that Fisk's money man's name was Leland Owlsley. Murdock then escaped as Vladimir Ranskahov fought until his death.

Reunion with Stick
In the offices of Nelson and Murdock, Murdock, Foggy Nelson and Karen Page discussed the recent events in Hell's Kitchen, including the footage of the masked man attacking the police. Nelson had become convinced that the masked man was a terrorist while Page insisted he was not. Murdock later tracked down and attacked Leland Owlsley and asked him for whom he worked; when Owlsley lied, Murdock punched him. Before he could get anymore information from him however, he was distracted by the sound of a man with a stick approaching; Owlsley used this moment to stun him with a taser before escaping. As Murdock lay on the ground, his own mentor Stick arrived and berated him for being beaten by an old man.

Murdock brought Stick back to his apartment, where Stick began to immediately insult him, claiming that he should not be living such a comfortable lifestyle. Murdock argued that Stick was just pissed off that he had made something of his life without his help. Stick told him that he should abandon his work, life and friends and live as a warrior. When Stick insulted Jack Murdock's legacy, Murdock attacked him but was only able to break his hold. Stick revealed he was there to continue his war by fighting the Japanese and wanted the weapon Nobu was transporting, known as Black Sky. Murdock agreed to help him as long as Stick promised not to kill anyone. The pair arrived at the dock and found Nobu moving a large container from a cargo ship. Stick sent Murdock down to fight off Nobu's soldiers; he went down and silently knocked out a few of the guards without raising the alarm. When the container was opened, Murdock realised that Black Sky was in fact a young child. Sensing that Stick was preparing to shoot the child with an arrow, Murdock leapt into action and deflected the arrow, alerting the guards to his presence. Nobu escaped with Black Sky and Murdock fought off the guards. When the guards were defeated, Murdock realized that Stick had disappeared.

Back in his apartment, Murdock found Stick waiting for him. Stick revealed that he had indeed hunted down and murdered Black Sky. Furious at the realisation, Murdock attacked Stick; during the fight most of Murdock's apartment was damaged or destroyed. Stick was able to maintain the upper hand during the majority of the fight but in the end, Murdock managed to defeat his former mentor. Murdock threw Stick's bag at him and demanded that he leave his home. After Stick had gone, Murdock was cleaning up his apartment when he found the bracelet he had made for Stick as a child, which he believed Stick had destroyed when he left him as a child.

Exposing Fisk
The next morning, Murdock awoke in his wrecked apartment and went to work. Arriving, Murdock overheard Foggy Nelson and Karen Page discussing their secret investigation of Union Allied Construction. Murdock tried to convince them to leave it alone for their own good, but Page was insistent. They told him they were working with Ben Urich, who would break the story for them. Murdock agreed to help them, as long as they promised they would bring down Union Allied through the legal system. While they investigated the case, Page told them Detective Blake had just woken up in hospital after being shot.

When Murdock arrived at Blake's hospital ward, he found Carl Hoffman injecting him with poison. Murdock put Hoffman in a chokehold and knocked him out before turning his attention to Blake. He locked the door and informed Blake the poison had already reached his heart; there was nothing anyone could do to save his life. The vigilante told Blake to tell him everything he knew about Wilson Fisk. Once Blake had given him the information he needed, Murdock escaped the room moments before the police kicked down the door and found Blake lying dead.

Murdock later tracked down Ben Urich, the journalist Karen Page had been speaking to. Murdock insisted he was not the one responsible for the explosions in Hell's Kitchen. Instead, he wanted Urich to expose the man who was--Fisk. Urich was initially unsure about this claim. When he pressed Murdock for proof, the vigilante was unable to provide any. However, Murdock did reveal to Urich the details of Fisk's operation, including Leland Owlsley's involvement and Fisk's part in the murder of Detective Blake. Urich ultimately agreed to write the article. However, not long afterwards, Fisk made a public announcement which contradicted everything Urich would have said.

Questioning Morality
"Do you believe in the devil, Father?" "You mean as a concept?" "No, do you believe he exists, in this world, among us?"

- Matt Murdock speaks to Father Lantom

Considering the recent events, Murdock went to Father Lantom for council and accepted his offer for a latte. Once Lantom had poured his coffee, Murdock asked him if he believed in the devil and if the devil walked among them. Lantom chose to tell Murdock the tale of a holy man he had met while working overseas, and Lantom had witness the man and his family had been murdered by a military commander. Lantom claimed that he had seen the devil in the eyes of the man who had murdered his friend.

Murdock arrived back at the offices of Nelson and Murdock to discover Ben Urich was having a meeting with Karen Page and Foggy Nelson about what to do about bringing down Fisk. Murdock joined the debate, agreeing with most of Urich's points as they both wanted to keep everyone as safe as possible, they discussed tracking down Arnmand Tully who was responsible for moving tenants out of their homes under Fisk's orders. When Page commented on how "bad ass" the man in the mask was, Murdock couldn't help but smile, despite Nelson still claiming that the man was a terrorist.

As their leads proved more and more fruitless, they were visited by Elena Cardenas, who revealed that Fisk had doubled the offer to get the tenants to move out of their homes. They agreed to refuse the offer and continue to fight back. After she had gone however, Murdock argued that it was too dangerous to fight Fisk this way as he was sure to win. He told them to continue digging as he believed they would find something in a lost document somewhere. Murdock then went out to look for the woman who appeared with Fisk at his press event as he appeared to be close to her, Page confirmed which art gallery she worked at and Murdock left.

Meeting Wilson Fisk
"This city and it's future, seeing Hell's Kitchen to it's fullest potential is very important to me." "I feel the same way."

- Wilson Fisk and Matt Murdock

Murdock arrived at the Scene Contempo Gallery where he was soon approached by Vanessa Marianna. Murdock jokingly explained the reasons for a blind man looking to purchase art as he claimed his guests would often state his home was a bit stark and he wished to warm it up. Marianna began describing some of the pieces of artwork for Murdock to imagine. He then asked her if she was seeing anyone, claiming to wish to know what a man who won her heart appreciated. Wilson Fisk then arrived in the building, although he had to control his anger, Murdock greeted him warmly. Fisk claimed that if he wished to purchase art he should buy whatever Marianna told him to, Murdock however reminded him that they should not be speaking as they were on opposing sides of a law case. Murdock then left claiming he needed to consider the cost of the art work.

Seeking moral guidance, Murdock went to visit Father Lantom again. Murdock told Lantom that he had been to visit someone close to the devil and had only learned that Fisk did indeed have someone he loved, who loved him in return. Lantom tried to convince him to leave the judgement and punishment to god, as he did not wish for Murdock to commit murder. Murdock and Lantom discussed if it was better to commit murder or allow someone to continue to cause grave crimes without being stopped, Lantom then posed the question if Murdock was struggling with the thought that he had to kill the devil but didn't want to, or that he didn't have to but wanted to.

Back in the office, Foggy Nelson presented Murdock with an official sign for Nelson and Murdock. While they were celebrating however, Karen Page received a phonecall that Elena Cardenas had been murdered in her home. They went together to identify the body and Brett Mahoney revealed that a junkie had stabbed her while stealing her purse. The group went to Josie's Bar to drown their sorrows with alcohol, there they discussed the idea that Cardenas' death was not a random act of violence but a planned assassination. While they were talking, Wilson Fisk appeared on the TV claiming to be mourning Mrs. Carenas' death. Murdock and Page then discussed religion where Murdock revealed his Catholic beliefs. Murdock then claimed to have had enough and left.

Encounter with Wilson Fisk
"I'm gonna kill you" "Take your shot."

- Matt Murdock and Wilson Fisk

Putting on his black suit, Murdock hunted down the junkie who had killed Elena Cardenas, he questioned the man violently, throwing him into broken glass. The junkie claimed not to know the names of the men who hired him, stating he had been taken to a warehouse and given his orders. Murdock ordered the man to hand himself in to Brett Mahoney at the police station.

Arriving at the warehouse, Murdock was confronted by Nobu, who was wearing an all red ninja suit. Murdock complimented Nobu on his ability to slow his heartbeat to ensure the encounter was a surprise. As the two fought, Murdock was vastly outmatched and was cut and stabbed repeatedly by Nobu's Kyoketsu-shoge. Managing to rip off Nobu's mask, the ninja commented that Murdock was a worthy opponent and he considered it to be an honour to claim his life. Eventually Murdock, barely able to stand, managed to kick Nobu into fuel which was lit on fire by an electrical spark, causing Nobu to burn to death.

Before he could escape, Murdock was confronted by Wilson Fisk, who was accompanied by James Wesley and one of his guards. Fisk claimed he had used Murdock to kill Nobu, although he had wished that they had killed each other and admitted to organising the death of Elena Cardenas. Murdock told him he would kill him and the two began fighting, but the wounded Murdock was no match for Fisk and was brutally beaten, during the fight he tried to cut Fisk and learned he was wearing body armour in his suit. As Murdock lay wounded, Fisk ordered Wesley to shoot him, but Murdock managed to leap out of the window and swim to safety. He eventually made it back to his apartment where he collapsed and was found by Foggy Nelson.

Nelson vs Murdock
"If you weren't half dead I would kick your ass Murdock, am I lying about that?" "No."

- Foggy Nelson and Matt Murdock

Nelson called Claire Temple who arrived and treated Murdock's injuries, when he regained consciousness, he found Nelson still in his apartment, furious about having been lied to for all the years of their friendship. Nelson questioned if Murdock was the one responsible for the bombing and the killings of cops, Murdock told him that Fisk was responsible for everything. When Karen Page tried to phone, Nelson turned the phone off, when Page called Nelson, he answered and told her that Murdock was in a car accident. He then demanded that Murdock tell him everything about his abilities and his history.

Murdock told him how he was trained by Stick and how he had been taught to use his blindness as an advantage. Later Nelson received a call from Brett Mahoney informing him that the junkie who killed Elena Cardenas had seemingly committed suicide by jumping off a roof. Murdock told Nelson that he had never killed anyone but wanted to after Cardenas' death, telling him how he had gone to the warehouse with the intention of killing Wilson Fisk. Murdock then told Nelson how his abilities actually developed as he was a child and how he tried not to become a fighter to make his father proud but was left with no choice when he heard a little girl being abused by her father, leading him to attack the father, putting him on the path to wearing the mask. During their continued arguments Nelson compared Murdock to Fisk and told him he would not have kept this a secret from him before storming out.

Mental and Physical Recovery
Karen Page arrived the next morning to check on Murdock, believing him to have been in a car accident. Murdock opened a bottle of beer for himself and skirted around the questions Page threw at him. Page started to suspect there was not a car accident and Murdock had endangered himself against Wilson Fisk after meeting Vanessa Marianna, she asked him if someone had broken in and beaten him up and Murdock said nothing. Page then told him that they had discovered that Fisk's mother was still alive and living under the name Marlene Vistain and Fisk had murdered his father as a young boy. Murdock reminded skeptical as he did not believe it would make a difference, Page left after giving Murdock a balloon.

When Murdock tried to move too much he pulled out his stitches, so he called Claire Temple who returned to stitch up is wounds again. They spoke about how Murdock used meditation to help heal his wounds, Temple suggested that Murdock should invest in body armor to protect himself, he told her how he had seen that Wilson Fisk wore a special light body armor. Temple then announced that she was planning on leaving the city for a few months, she told him that she believed he had been killed the night the Russians were blown up and they knew that they could only be together if Murdock stopped wearing the mask, which he never would. She left after telling him she would always be there to patch him up and comparing him to a martyr.

With little confidence, Murdock returned to church to seek guidance from Father Lantom. Murdock told him that he did not kill the man he had told him about, but that he had wanted to, he explained how Claire Temple had told him if he continued what he was doing he would end up bloody and alone. Lantom revealed that he knew that Murdock was indeed the man in the mask who was attacking criminals at night, although he did not know how he did it. Murdock asked why god had put the devil within him and they discussed what the devil actually represented.

Designing the Red Suit
"What do you want me to make?" "A symbol."

- Melvin Potter and Matt Murdock

Murdock returned home and tried to meditate to calm his mind and recover his body, but he continued to suffer from the memories of his violent fights with Nobu and Wilson Fisk. Putting his suit back on, he tracked down and chased Turk Barrett and disarmed him. He threatened that if he went for any of his backup weapons, he would throw him off the roof. Murdock demanded to know where Fisk got his armored suits from, Barrett initially claimed to not know but quickly revealed that it was Melvin Potter when Murdock nearly threw him off the roof.

Arriving at Melvin Potter's Workshop, Murdock explored the Workshop and looked at designs and blueprints on the tables. He was soon interrupted by the arrival of Melvin Potter. When Murdock revealed his presence, Potter appeared confused and frightened, claiming that no one should be there, he then attacked Murdock with items around the workshop including chains and buzzsaws. Eventually Murdock managed to overpower Potter and spoke to him, Murdock quickly realised that Potter was a mentally unstable man who was being forced to work for Wilson Fisk under the threat that his friend and carer Betsy Beatty would be killed. Murdock promised he would protect Potter and Beatty if he designed an armored suit for him.

Murdock arrived back at the Nelson and Murdock Law Office and found Foggy Nelson and Karen Page speaking to each other, after an awkward encounter with Nelson as he was leaving in which neither said a word, Murdock spoke to Page. Page told him that Nelson believed that he had taken responsibility for the death of Elena Cardenas, she tried to convince him to repair his relationship with his friend. Murdock suspected that Page was hiding something, when he asked if something had happened she told him that the world had fallen apart.

Bringing down the Drug Trade
Murdock met with Ben Urich outside his offices and asked him for information regarding the heroin he had taken from the junkie who had killed Elena Cardenas. He told Urich that he believed since the Russians had been wiped out, Wilson Fisk would have likely taken over distribution of the heroin and he wanted to disrupt that trade to throw Fisk off balance. When Urich revealed he was working on something he believed could help, Murdock told him to keep his head down, using Anatoly Ranskahov's death as an example. Urich told him it was a woman running the Chinese drug trade and they were using blind men and women to deliver the heroin. Urich jokingly told Murdock he needed a new outfit and Murdock assured him he was working on it.

Waiting in the street Ben Urich told him he had seen the blind men delivering the drugs, Murdock used his heightened hearing, he waited to hear the taps of a stick. Murdock followed the woman until she was picked up by a car, Murdock followed the car using the classical music it was playing to keep track of it's location, running over rooftops until it stopped outside a warehouse. Murdock listened and memorised the secret knock to gain entry. Murdock returned home, while stitching up his wounds again he called Karen Page to tell her he would not be coming into the office as he claimed he was working on something that could help the case.

Murdock used the secret knock to gain entry into the Chinese drugs den, once inside he took out the guards before looking at all the blind workers making the heroin, who had seemingly all been blinded with burns. He was spotted by the woman in charge, Madame Gao, who ordered the workers to attack him. Murdock survived the attack however and confronted Gao, she revealed that all her workers had blinded themselves rather than her blinding them because they had faith in her. When Murdock tried to ask her about Wilson Fisk, she hit him in the chest and sent him flying across the room, when he looked up he found she had escaped. With the building burning down, Murdock ordered one of the guards to allow the blind workers to escape. As Murdock was leaving he was confronted by Brett Mahoney who attempted to arrest him, Murdock knocked him down and told him that Blake and Carl Hoffman were dirty cops before escaping.

Murdock returned to the office to find Karen Page had locked the door, Page asked him if the company had become three people who never speak to each other, in response Murdock quoted Stick's speech that he should push the people he cared about away, and although he had tried to ignore it he clearly had listened to those words and taken them onboard. He told Page that he had had a terrible night in which he had seen the worst of humanity and learned that he could not do what he did alone anymore. As he broke down crying, Page took him in her arms and comforted him telling him he was not alone and he never was.

Personal Loss
"How are you holding up?" "Like a good Catholic boy." "That bad huh?"

- Lantom and Matt Murdock

After Ben Urich was found murdered in his home, Murdock and Karen Page attended his funeral, led by Father Lantom. He listened as Page spoke to Ben's widow Doris Urich. Lantom approached Murdock to ask how he was holding up after the death of his friend, Murdock told him he felt that it was his fault that Urich had died as he had not stopped Fisk. Back at the office, Page expressed her anger that Urich's former boss Ellison had attended as she believed he had been taking money from Wilson Fisk, they then discussed Foggy Nelson who had failed to turn up to the funeral. Page told Murdock she was too afraid to return home in case Fisk ever found out she was with Urich when they spoke to Marlene Vistain, Murdock swore to protect her.

Murdock attempted to question Ben Urich's former boss Ellison but failed. While training at Fogwell's Gym, Murdock was visited by Foggy Nelson, when Nelson asked how he had found him, Nelson told him he had always known about the gym but assumed it was something to do with Murdock's father so he had never questioned it. They spoke about Karen Page's reactions to Nelson not attending the funeral and their own relationship. Nelson revealed he had been working with Marci Stahl who had been copying files concerning Landman and Zack's dealings with Wilson Fisk and Leland Owlsley, Murdock told him to leave it alone as this is what killed Urich. Nelson desperately tried to convince him not to go after Fisk in the mask again to use the law and they agreed to work together again.

Bringing down Fisk
The pair met with Brett Mahoney who spoke about the warehouse fire at Madame Gao's base, he told them about his encounter with the masked man and how he was starting to believe that Wilson Fisk was the enemy, mentioning that there wasn't a single fingerprint at the scene of Ben Urich's death. During their conversation Murdock overheard two officers talking about hunting down Carl Hoffman, they continued their research back at the Nelson and Murdock offices where Karen Page commented on how nice it was to be back together. They looked through the files given to them by Marci Stahl to try and find anything in the money movements that could led them to where Leland Owlsley could be keeping Carl Hoffman. Eventually Page worked out there was a property missing from the record and there was no profit from selling it, meaning it was being hidden from the records.

Murdock went down to the building and found a team of corrupt police officers had killed Owlsley's guards and were preparing to shot Carl Hoffman, Murdock was able to save Hoffman and take out the corrupt officers. He sat opposite Hoffman and convinced him to give evidence against Wilson Fisk rather than sit and wait for someone to kill him. He told him to give himself into Brett Mahoney and use Nelson and Murdock as his lawyers. Murdock followed him to ensure he did as instructed and watched as Hoffman arrived at the precinct and gave himself up to Mahoney. Nelson and Murdock were hired as his lawyers and sat with him as he gave evidence against Fisk, exposing his entire operation and leading to the arrests of Turk Barrett, the corrupt cops, Senator Randolph Cherryh and Wilson Fisk.

With Fisk being taken to prison, Murdock celebrated with Foggy Nelson and Karen Page. They raised their glasses in tribute to everyone Fisk had hurt, including Elena Cardenas and Ben Urich. However during their celebrations, a news report came on the television showing that the armored van carrying Wilson Fisk was being hijacked, they decided to get home quickly before they became endangered but Murdock decided to leave them and get his own taxi, Nelson tried to convince him not to endanger himself but Murdock convinced him he knew what he was doing. He took a cab to Melvin Potter's Workshop where he collected his new red and black armored suit. Standing on a rooftop, Murdock listened to the police sirens to try and locate Fisk.

Showdown with Wilson Fisk
"You were right. What you told me over the radio that night. Not everyone deserves a happy ending."

- Daredevil to Wilson Fisk

Finding the van transporting Fisk, Murdock threw one of his batons at the window, causing the driver to crash. Murdock confronted Wilson Fisk and told him that not everyone deserved a happy ending. While Murdock fought his guards, Fisk attempted to escape on foot. After knocking out the guard with the use of his batons, Murdock cornered his enemy, Fisk roared at Daredevil, telling him he was going to kill him, Murdock repeated what Fisk had told him after his fight with Nobu and told him to take his shot.

The pair engaged in a fierce and brutal fight, with Fisk's brute strength and determination was equally matched with Murdock's speed and agility. Although his new armored suit offered extra protection, Fisk was still able to beat Murdock nearly to death by throwing him at walls and hard onto the ground before beating with with a metal pole repeatedly, all while ranting about how the city did not deserve heroes but deserved people like himself and his father. Determined to bring Fisk down, Murdock disarmed Fisk and used his own batons to beat him into submission. Barely able to stand, Fisk mocked Murdock's attempts to make a difference to the city while wearing a costume, but with a final hard punch to the face, Daredevil knocked out Fisk. Brett Mahoney arrived on the scene and arrested Fisk.

Daredevil
"That is a serious upgrade." "I don't know, I think the horns are a little much."

- Karen Page and Foggy Nelson talk about Daredevil

The next morning, Karen Page read the newspaper article regarding Fisk's arrest at the hands of Daredevil and joked about the name and the costume. Foggy Nelson finished attaching a sign to the outside of the Nelson and Murdock offices. They discussed how long it could take for Wilson Fisk to go to trial considering the size of the case. Murdock spoke to Page, commenting that there was still something in her voice that told him she was still frightened; she told him that putting Fisk behind bars would not bring back Ben Urich or Elena Cardenas or erase the trauma they had been through. He told her all they could do was move forward. That same night, Murdock put on his new red armored suit once more and stood on a rooftop overlooking his beloved city, now free from the clutches of Wilson Fisk and his deadly plans, but still in need of a lone hero willing to protect its people from any dangers and new enemies that came its way. Upon hearing the screams of some women in danger nearby, Daredevil readied his batons and ran off the roof to save them, ready to forever protect the good and the innocent people of Hell's Kitchen from whatever threat that came their way, now or in the future.

Personality
Matt Murdock, for lack of a better term, is complicated. As a child, he felt immense guilt and loss; blaming himself for the death of his father as well as feeling lost after losing his sight. He was both heroic and selfless even as a child, shown best when he saved an elderly man from being hit by a truck, at the cost of his own vision.

Murdock has "daddy issues" with both his actual father Jack and his subsequent father figure Stick, having lost both either to death or from being abandoned. Stick tried to raise him to be coldblooded but suddenly abandoned him when Matt started expressing filial affection; this abandonment and rejection has left Matt with difficulty forging real emotional connections, despite his determination to not let Stick define him.

Matt has a high desire for justice and doing the right thing. He convinced his friend Foggy to quit their work for a firm and work for the common man. During the start of their firm he aimed to help only innocent people.

Unable to allow injustice, he got frustrated when the police or judge failed to help. He decided to work as a vigilante to save people and help where the justice system could not. During this he demonstrated extreme selflessness as he kept risking his life for others, even after he barely made it out of dangerous situations and ended up badly wounded multiple times.

While fighting crime he can be very brutal and heavily injures criminals. However he has avoided killing anyone so far and limits himself to hand to hand combat and sticks to not inflict lethal injuries, even if this results in himself getting injured during fights. He usually attempts to avoid killing anyone, however on occasion (when sufficiently infuriated) he has thrown away his concern for the well-being of his opponents, such as when he threw Semyon off of a rooftop and only checked to see if he was still alive after being asked by Claire Temple. He has also threatened to kill Wilson Fisk, and has acknowledged that he meant it at the time. So far he has been lucky that during these lapses in his sense of morality he has failed to follow through on his intent, however even his temporary willingness to kill still feeds his sense of guilt when he reflects on it.

As a Catholic, Murdock experiences a lot of guilt and soul-searching over his actions when he allows his anger and contempt for violent criminals to cause him to enjoy beating them bloody, and he frequently wonders whether he is doing the right thing in the eyes of God or whether he is allowing evil into his heart. When he feels this way, he approaches his local priest, Father Lantom, for spiritual guidance and advice, however he asks his questions in a roundabout way to conceal his identity as Daredevil, though Lantom has managed to figure out the truth. Either way, Lantom is bound by the seal of confession not to divulge what they discuss.

As Matt met his mentor Stick again he started to doubt his ways and even considered killing Wilson Fisk as he doubted he could stop him any other way. This created an internal struggle as his best friend and others did not want him to act as a vigilante. In the final confrontation against Fisk, he kept true to his vow and ultimately did not kill Fisk.

Powers
"There are other ways to see."

- Matt Murdock


 * Enhanced Senses: Murdock possesses four senses (besides sight) beyond human level. He claims to constantly feel numerous things, including balance, direction, minuscule changes in air density, vibrations, and blankets of temperature variations. That, combined with his acute hearing and olfactory senses, allows Murdock to see what he describes as an "Impressionistic painting" of the world around him, which, according to him, looks like "the world on fire."
 * Enhanced Hearing: Murdock's hearing is so acute that he can clearly hear people converse at great distances away, hear people's heartbeats, and hear Claire's bones shifting as she breathed. Murdock can focus on what he hears; in a crowded courtroom with the judge speaking, Murdock heard a juror's heartbeat accelerate when James Wesley entered the room. Hearing the changes in people's heartbeats allows Murdock to predict how they feel and what actions they'll take such as attack or run. He was also able to memorize the pattern of Wesley's watch so he could follow him.
 * Lie Detection: Murdock's hearing is so acute that he can tell whether people are lying or not, based on the rate of their heartbeat.
 * Enhanced Smell: His olfactory senses are so good that he can smell a man's scent of stale cigarettes and cheap cologne three floors above him and through several walls. When he was a boy, his sense was already so acute he could smell an old man sitting at a bench across from him had cancer. By smelling an old cigarette, Murdock could tell that whoever smoked it previously had rotten teeth. He was able to smell that Foggy had onions in his lunch, at the time, two days ago.
 * Enhanced Taste: Murdock was able to tell that Claire Temple had ripped open some of the stitches on her back, due to tasting copper in the air from the blood of her open wound. Stick taught him how to train this sense, allowing him to pick out every individual ingredient of the ice cream he was eating, including that the milk used came from three different dairy farms and that the man who served him used a certain type of soil in his garden.
 * Enhanced Touch: Murdock can feel the presence of those around him through vibrations, air currents and body temperature. He can dodge attacks and even bullets by feeling them cut through the air, creating ripples of currents only detectable by him. He locates enemies through walls and from different floors by feeling the vibrations they make from moving such as footsteps. Murdock could feel the heat generated from the blood spilling from the gunshot wound on Vladimir Ranskahov; to one-half of a degree, he was able to distinguish the difference in temperature.
 * Enhanced Balance: Murdock's sense of balance is enhanced giving him perfect equilibrium, greatly increasing his agility and refining his movements.

Abilities
"That sounds pretty bad, but I don't speak asshole."
 * Master Martial Artist: Despite being blind, Murdock was trained in martial arts by Stick at a young age and excelled in it. He continued training despite Stick giving up on him, and he eventually used his skills to fight criminals as Daredevil. By the time he met Stick again, Murdock already rivaled his former mentor in skill, managing to keep up with him in a one-on-one duel, and ultimately overpowering him in the end, earning Stick's praise. Even Nobu acknowledged Daredevil as a worthy opponent, and was only able to gain the upper hand against the latter by repeatedly cutting him with his shoge hook. Through some difficultly, Murdock was ultimately able to also overpower Wilson Fisk, a man of immense brute strength.
 * Master Acrobat: Murdock incorporates gymnastics and acrobatics into his fighting style as he battles opponents, and could already do several agile flips as a child. He is able to quickly move over rooftops and climb buildings.
 * Expert Stickfighter: Taught by his mentor, Matt is highly skilled in using both a pair of sticks or a single staff in combat.
 * Expert Marksman: Because of his enhanced senses, Matt has an increased awareness of where objects are, allowing him impressive marksmanship with firearms and throwing weapons.

- Daredevil


 * Multilingualism: Murdock speaks fluent Spanish, having studied the language at college. However, he cannot speak or understand Russian.
 * Master Lawyer: Murdock is a persuasive and trained lawyer, having graduated summa cum laude from.
 * Meditation: Murdock uses meditating to improve his abilities and increase his healing, greatly impressing Claire with the amount of punishment that he could take.

Equipment
"Thing about red, they can't tell how much you're bleeding."

- Matt Murdock


 * Vigilante Suit
 * Wooden Sticks
 * Armored Suit
 * Billy Club

Family

 * Grandmother
 * Mother
 * Jack Murdock † - Father

Allies

 * Defenders - Teammates
 * Luke Cage
 * Jessica Jones
 * Iron Fist
 * Stick - Mentor
 * Nelson and Murdock
 * Foggy Nelson - Best Friend and Associate
 * Karen Page - Co-worker and Friend
 * Claire Temple - Friend and Love Interest
 * Father Lantom - Friend
 * Santino
 * Ben Urich †
 * Sergeant Brett Mahoney
 * Josie
 * Elena Cardenas † - Client and Friend
 * Melvin Potter
 * Carl Hoffman - Enemy turned Client
 * Fran - Neighbor

Enemies

 * Wilson Fisk
 * Leland Owlsley †
 * John Healy †
 * Vladimir Ranskahov †
 * Anatoly Ranskahov †
 * Nobu †
 * Madame Gao
 * Rance †
 * Detective Blake †
 * Turk Barrett
 * Semyon †
 * Oscar
 * Sergei †
 * Dmitry
 * Mikhail
 * Piotr †
 * Aslan

Trivia

 * In the comics, Daredevil has a long and complicated relationship with Black Widow.
 * The black costume Matt Murdock wears takes inspiration from Frank Miller and John Romita Jr.'s 1993 limited series Daredevil: The Man Without Fear; said series serves as a slight retelling of Daredevil's origins, notably the inclusion of Stick.