- "You don't remember me? You killed my father."
"Well, I hate to break it to you, son, but I killed a lot of guys' dads."
"Then let me help you. He hit hard. Like this." - ―Matt Murdock and Roscoe Sweeney[src]
The Attack on Roscoe Sweeney was an ambush planned by Elektra in order to prompt Matt Murdock to get revenge for the murder of Jack Murdock. However, despite brutally beating Sweeney, Murdock refused to kill him, which was a great disappointment for Elektra
Background[]
- "A guy named Roscoe Sweeney. I don't know if he pulled the trigger, but he gave the order."
"Did you ever try to find that piece of shit?"
"Yeah, once. When I was a kid. Got nothing. He probably went underground." - ―Matt Murdock and Elektra[src]
In 1994, Jack Murdock worked closely with Roscoe Sweeney and Sammy Silke, purposefully losing boxing matches they fixed in exchange for a cut of the profits. When Sweeney arranged a match between him and Carl Creel, Jack was instructed to go down in the fifth round, but Jack wanted out of the scheme to focus on his son Matt. Sweeney and Silke pressured Jack into agreeing to their terms, threatening to kill him if he backs down. Although Jack reluctantly agreed, he later he changed his mind, as he wanted to prove himself and have Matt hear the crowd cheering for him at least once.
Jack Murdock is killed by Roscoe Sweeney's men
At the last moment, Jack placed a bet on his victory, ensuring that Matt would have some money to support himself and asked Maggie Grace to look after their son if something happens to him. When Creel vs Murdock happened, Jack defeated Creel and emerged victorious, before attempting to escape. Sweeney was deeply displeased with Jack breaking their deal and had Jack killed, dumping his body in the alleyway.[2] Matt was left an orphan and spent the rest of childhood at Saint Agnes Orphanage.
Matt Murdock meets Elektra
Stick showed interest in Matt and trained him so he would join the Chaste in their war on the Hand, but ceased the training early because Murdock was not ready yet.[3] Years later, Stick sent Elektra to find Matt and get close to him in order to mold him into the warrior that Stick needed for his war.[4] Elektra approached Matt and started a relationship with him, with the intention to fully recruit him to the Chaste later. During a visit to Fogwell's Gym, Matt told Elektra about how Sweeney had his father killed and his own failed attempt to get revenge. Elektra tracked Sweeney down while he was hiding from the law in Monte Carlo, planning to use him to push Murdock to cross the line.[1]
Attack[]
Roscoe Sweeney gets captured by Elektra
- "Do it for your father, Matthew. Do it for us. Come on."
"Matthew? You're Battlin' Jack's boy! Oh, you amateur. Now I know your name. Nothing'll stop me from bloodying the street with your corpse. Just like I did to your old man!" - ―Elektra and Roscoe Sweeney[src]
Elektra brought him to Roscoe Sweeney's mansion, lying that it belonged to his father's associate. That night, Sweeney returned to the mansion, only to get ambushed and pinned down by Elektra, who then tied him up to a chair. Murdock was shocked to encounter Sweeney again and Elektra revealed that he was hiding in Monte Carlo, but finding him was not a difficult task. As Sweeney kept threatening both of them, Elektra told him that she would not do a thing to him, instead letting Murdock deal with him.
Although Murdock said that Sweeney had his father killed, Sweeney still did not recognize him, only taunting him more. Murdock said that his father used to hit hard and then proceeded to punch Sweeney in the face several times. Elektra kept encouraging Murdock to hurt him more to avenge his father, but once she mentioned his name, Sweneey finally realized how he was. He gloated that now that he knew Murdock's name, nothing one would stop him from killing Murdock, like he killed Murdock's father.
Matt Murdock beats Roscoe Sweeney
Murdock then lost his composure and wailed on Sweeney, beating his face into a bloody pulp until he lost his consciousness, to Elektra's delight. She then put a knife into Murdock's hand and urged him to finish it by killing Sweeney, as he knew Murdock's face and could not be spared. Murdock hesitated to kill a person, even someone like Sweeney, and ultimately said that he could not do with it. As Elektra failed to convince him, sh expressed her disappointment, as she thought they understood each other. As Murdock went on to call the New York City Police Department on Sweeney, Elektra vanished from the mansion and left him behind.[1]
Aftermath[]
Failing her mission to recruit Matt Murdock into the Chaste, Elektra went to report to Stick, who was displeased with Elektra not bringing Murdock along with her. Elektra said that she could not push Murdock over the edge due to his stubbornness, but Stick argued that she fell in love with him and could not bring herself to do what was necessary. Elektra believed that Murdock would never be able to kill on command as Stick wanted, and he decided to leave Murdock alone for now, focusing on their war on the Hand.[4]
For the next several years, Murdock never heard of Elektra, until she suddenly approached him to help her in her with fighting the Hand in New York City. She kept the part of the Hand and her being a Chaste warrior in secret, claiming that she simply needed legal assistance. Murdock was bitter about Elektra trying to push him into killing Sweeney and abandoning him when he refused, but he ended up helping her, when the situation became too heated.[1] However, remembering Elektra's unpredictable and violent nature, he made a point that she was not allowed to kill anyone if she wanted Murdock's help.[5]