Death-Stalker is the name of two fictional characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics .
88-630: The first Death-Stalker was Philip Wallace Sterling. An enemy of Daredevil , he first appeared as the Exterminator in Daredevil #39 (April 1968); he first appeared as Death-Stalker in Daredevil #113 (September 1974). Philip Wallace Sterling was born in Riverdale, Bronx , New York. He was a wealthy man prior to embarking on a career as a professional criminal. When he first appeared as
176-488: A "radar sense." His father, a boxer named Jack Murdock , is a single man raising his now-blind son to form a better life for himself. Jack is killed by gangsters after refusing to throw a fight , leaving Matt an orphan. He hones his physical abilities and superhuman senses under the tutelage of a mysterious blind stranger named Stick , eventually becoming a highly skilled and expert martial artist. Some years later, after graduating from Columbia Law School , Murdock seeks out
264-411: A blind Vietnam veteran against a frameup ; Lee has cited it as one of the favorite stories of his career. Matt discloses his secret identity to his girlfriend Karen Page in issue #57. However, the revelation proves too much for her, and she breaks off the relationship. This was the first of several long-term breakups between Matt and Karen, who remains a recurring character up until her death in
352-486: A brief time, survived by his mother, Elizabeth Dawes Sterling. Lying on her deathbed, and in her hatred for Daredevil for the death of her son, she had her house converted into a deathtrap and built childlike androids fitted with self-destruct devices constructed to lure him to his demise. However, Daredevil just barely managed to escape her deadly revenge. Accidental exposure to an overdose of "t-radiation" altered Sterling's physiology, making it so that he normally existed in
440-554: A character as the shadowy crimefighter; the stories often took place on the rooftop level, with water towers, pipes and chimneys jutting out to create a skyline reminiscent of German Expressionism 's dramatic edges and shadows. Following up a suggestion from O'Neil that he give Daredevil a realistic fighting style, Miller introduced ninjas into the Daredevil canon, bringing a martial-arts aspect to Daredevil's fighting skills, and introducing previously unseen characters who had played
528-706: A dimension congruent to Earth. While in this realm, he could watch and listen to events on Earth without being observed from Earth by any means. By willing himself to do so, he could shift into the Earth dimension to varying degrees. He could become visible but intangible, or visible and tangible as he desired. He could shift from one state to the other instantaneously. Also, while completely in his interdimensional state, he could cover distances more rapidly, enabling him to disappear from one Earth location and reappear at another far sooner than if he had traversed that same distance on Earth. Death-Stalker could not continuously manifest in
616-460: A drug addict, and betrays Murdock's confidence by selling his secret identity to criminals. However, she returns to New York and begs forgiveness, which Murdock gives her, and she recovers from her drug addiction. She is later killed by Bullseye as well, however. Daredevil later has his secret identity revealed again, is imprisoned, runs for mayor of New York, and experiences many other adventures and misfortunes. Critics have commented that Daredevil
704-525: A hero and to a confrontation with Spider-Man. Murdock later abandons his Daredevil persona and focuses on his job as a parole officer, feeling that Daredevil does not bring justice and only harms the Hell's Kitchen community. His mantle is taken up by several vigilantes trying to replace Daredevil, eventually leading Murdock to don a black variation of Daredevil's outfit and fight against the mob, which has taken over Hell's Kitchen, usurping Wilson Fisk's control over
792-492: A law firm, Nelson and Murdock. Karen Page eventually joins the firm, and becomes Nelson's girlfriend after college. Matt begins a second career as a costumed vigilante. He encounters many supervillains. He reveals his secret identity to Page, but she is anxious about the relationship and eventually leaves to pursue a career as an actress in Hollywood. Briefly, Murdock moves to San Francisco and lives with Natasha Romanova , who
880-575: A major part in his youth: Stick , leader of the ninja clan, the Chaste , who had been Murdock's sensei after he was blinded; a rival organization of assassins called the Hand ; and Elektra , an ex-girlfriend and sometime member of the Hand. This was a drastic change for a character once called "the sightless swashbuckler ." Elektra was killed by Bullseye in issue #181 (April 1982). After #191 Miller left
968-407: A need to prove himself, compensating for his blindness. Miller believes that, like Batman , Daredevil is driven by his concern for justice, but while Batman is primarily concerned with punishing criminals, Daredevil is more interested in finding redress for victims. The contrast between his love of the law in his regular life and his exceptional vigilante activities often produces problems for him. He
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#17327911326871056-533: A new character masquerading as Daredevil in Hell's Kitchen . Murdock later discovered the ersatz Daredevil is his friend Danny Rand, the superhero Iron Fist . Murdock is also imprisoned in this period. The series returned to its original numbering with issue #500 (Oct. 2009), which followed vol. 2, #119 (Aug. 2009). Brubaker won Eisner Awards for Best Writer for his work on Daredevil and other titles in 2007, 2008, and 2010. In 2009, new writer Andy Diggle revised
1144-568: A new t-ray machine, but most of his battles with Daredevil ended in a draw. He was allied with Gladiator against Daredevil. Death-Stalker traveled to the Florida Everglades in search of papers relating to Ted Sallis' experiments and encountered the Man-Thing . He later stole a set of ancient Lemurian mirror lenses from various museums and used them to create a powerful gun in order to destroy Daredevil. However, Daredevil destroyed
1232-497: A nonprofit drug and legal clinic. Nocenti crafted stories confronting feminism , drug abuse , nuclear proliferation , and animal rights -inspired terrorism. She introduced the antagonist Typhoid Mary , and in issues #262–265 used the Inferno event as a backdrop for the collapse of Daredevil's life: the clinic is destroyed, Page goes missing after learning that Matt has had an affair with Mary Walker, and Walker reveals herself as
1320-602: A series of adventures involving such villains as the Owl , Stilt-Man , the Gladiator , and the Enforcers . In issue #16 (May 1966), he meets Spider-Man , who will eventually become one of Daredevil's closest friends. A letter from Spider-Man unintentionally exposes Daredevil's secret identity, compelling him to adopt a third identity as his twin brother Mike Murdock, whose carefree, wisecracking personality more closely resembles
1408-602: A story arc overlapping Wolfman, Shooter, and McKenzie's runs on the series, Daredevil reveals his identity to Glenn and becomes partially responsible for the suicide of her father. Their relationship would persist, but proves increasingly harmful to both of them. Though the Black Widow returned for a dozen issues (#155–166) and attempted to rekindle her romance with Daredevil, he ultimately rejects her in favor of Glenn. Miller disliked Roger McKenzie's scripts, so new editor Dennis O'Neil fired McKenzie so that Miller could write
1496-562: A subsequent court case to establish a precedent for superheroes testifying in court without the need to expose their secret identities. Despite interference from the Kingpin, Murdock succeeds in taking this precedent to the Supreme Court so that all superheroes will have the same rights in future cases, and afterward returns to his traditional red costume. Following the release of Issue 28, much like with other Marvel series as part of
1584-475: A superpowered vigilante, Matt Murdock would often pretend to have a sighted identical twin brother named Mike Murdock , who Matt would claim was Daredevil whenever his identity was made public knowledge, and he would occasionally impersonate this fabricated twin. In 2018, Mike Murdock is actually brought into existence following Matt Murdock’s encounter with a reality-warping mutant . Charles Soule released his final Daredevil storyline "Death of Daredevil" during
1672-493: A tall building; when the villain survives as a quadriplegic , he breaks into his hospital room and tries to scare him to death by playing a two-man variation on Russian roulette with a secretly unloaded gun. Although still conforming to traditional comic book styles, Miller infused his first issue of Daredevil with his own film noir style. Miller sketched the roofs of New York in an attempt to give his Daredevil art an authentic feel not commonly seen in superhero comics at
1760-404: A working-class Irish-American district of New York City. Suffering from post-partum depression, his mother, Maggie , abandons the family and becomes a nun. His father, "Battlin' Jack" Murdock, is a struggling professional boxer. Matt's father is loving but controlling and over-protective, and physically abusive on one instance. Eventually, Jack Murdock is killed in the ring. As a youth, Matt Murdock
1848-477: Is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics . Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Bill Everett , with an unspecified amount of input from Jack Kirby , the character first appeared in Daredevil #1 (April 1964). Daredevil is the alias of Matthew Michael " Matt " Murdock , a lawyer blinded in childhood in a chemical accident that gave him special abilities. He
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#17327911326871936-424: Is a devout Catholic and often tormented by religious and moral guilt. However, he also has many romantic affairs, which frequently end badly. Miller also sees the character as driven by sensuality. Psychologist Travis Langley and literary scholar Christine Hanefalk comment that this disposition could be described as a sensation seeking personality trait. They note that while Murdock has had many lovers, his takes
2024-429: Is also a costumed adventurer under the name Black Widow. After they break up, he returns to New York and begins a relationship with Heather Glenn. However, his ex-girlfriend Elektra returns, now a mysterious and fearsome ninja. Together, they find a criminal organization called the Hand. However, she becomes an enforcer for a local crime boss, the Kingpin. She is eventually killed by a hitman, Bullseye. Karen Page has become
2112-479: Is also sometimes ruthless and deceptive, and this can put his friends and loved ones at risk. Timothy Callahan even argues that Murdock is often mentally unstable or even psychotic "in his willingness to layer the fabric of lies in his relationships with others." One of his fundamental conflicts is between his attraction to extra-legal justice and punishment and his simultaneous fascination with objective order and legal, rational explanation. Miller says that Murdock
2200-538: Is commonly known by such epithets as "Hornhead", "The Man Without Fear", and "The Devil of Hell's Kitchen". While growing up in New York City 's Hell's Kitchen , a crime-ridden, working-class , Irish-American neighborhood, Murdock pushes a man from the path of an oncoming truck and is blinded by a radioactive substance that falls from the vehicle. His exposure to the radioactive material heightens his remaining senses beyond normal human ability and gives him
2288-496: Is drawn to violence because of anger at the world regarding his disability as well as his unresolved conflict with his father. Murdock's father, "Battlin' Jack", was a professional boxer who prohibited Matt from any athletic activity and compelled him to devote his time to study, attempting to mold an entirely different life for his son. Learning of his disobedience, the father resorted to corporal punishment to control his son. These events led Murdock to become obsessed with determining
2376-491: Is struck by a truck carrying radioactive materials. The accident blinds him, but gives him enhanced senses that give him extraordinary perception of his environment. Matt is mentored by Stick, a mysterious sensei. Matt is driven to bring his father's killers to justice, and eventually does so. Matt attends Columbia University and meets Foggy Nelson and Elektra Natchios . Nelson becomes Murdock's best friend, and Elektra becomes Matt's first serious girlfriend. Matt and Foggy found
2464-430: Is unknown. She is among the villains hired by Purple Man to help him start his new criminal empire. Death-Stalker was almost shot in the head by Crossfire and shrugs to him by stating "you can't kill what is already dead." Death-Stalker later survives the explosion of the boat she was on. The second Death-Stalker can teleport and has a microwave "death grip." Daredevil (Marvel Comics character) Daredevil
2552-425: Is unusually psychologically complex, by the standards of comic-book superheroes. He is highly determined and willing to make bold decisions to in order to fight crime in his city. In his public personality, as trial lawyer Matt Murdock, he also tries to defend his clients and to work within the established legal system. Miller argues that Murdock has taken on two demanding careers (as lawyer and vigilante) because of
2640-513: The Marvel Legacy event, the Daredevil series renumbered, as if it had never been relaunched, with #595 which was released on November 8, 2017, where Daredevil's longtime nemesis the Kingpin became the Mayor of New York City and begins a campaign to make costumed vigilantes officially criminals. Although Murdock's attempt to set up a sting operation results in his allies being arrested when
2728-491: The Black Widow as a co-star for the series. The Black Widow served as Daredevil's crime-fighting ally as well as his lover for issues #81–124 (Nov. 1971–Aug. 1975). Issues #92-107 were published under the title Daredevil and the Black Widow . The writing and editing jobs went to Marv Wolfman with issue #124. He wrote the Black Widow out of the series and returned Daredevil to Hell's Kitchen. Wolfman promptly introduced
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2816-648: The Exterminator, he recruited the Unholy Three . He constructed a "time displacer ray" ("t-ray") which could teleport its target into another dimension (possibly the Limbo from which Immortus hails). The Exterminator led the Unholy Three in a series of criminal activities and battled Daredevil . When Daredevil defeated the Exterminator and his agents, he also destroyed the t-ray, accidentally bombarding
2904-459: The Kingpin . He also becomes a skilled and respected lawyer who forms the law firm Nelson & Murdock with Franklin "Foggy" Nelson , his best friend and roommate. He subsequently meets his ex-girlfriend Elektra , who has become a fearsome ninja assassin. Writer/artist Frank Miller 's influential tenure on the title in the early 1980s cemented the character as a popular and influential part of
2992-515: The Marvel Universe . Miller introduced elements of film noir and ninja films , and subsequent writers for the title have continued these themes and imagery. Daredevil is a critically acclaimed series, and has won multiple Eisner Awards , in particular for authors Brian Michael Bendis , Ed Brubaker , and Mark Waid . Daredevil is a prominent example of a disabled superhero, and has served as inspiration and positive representation for
3080-420: The original character or craft a novel one, provided it bore some resemblance to Spider-Man . He declined the assignment, citing his existing commitments. Faced with the unavailability of Ditko, Lee sought the creative input of Jack Kirby to design the envisioned new character. Kirby's initial design sheet formed the basis for the majority of the final cover image, although numerous alterations were made during
3168-577: The Daredevil guise than the stern, studious, and emotionally-withdrawn Matt Murdock. The "Mike Murdock" plotline was used to highlight the character's quasi- multiple personality disorder (he at one point wonders whether Matt or Mike/Daredevil "is the real me" ). This proved confusing to readers, and was dropped in issues #41–42; Daredevil fakes Mike Murdock's death and claims he had trained a replacement Daredevil. The series' 31-issue run by writer-editor Stan Lee and penciller Gene Colan (beginning with issue #20) includes Daredevil #47, in which Murdock defends
3256-540: The Eisner Award for Daredevil in 2012. Daredevil joins the New Avengers in a story written by former Daredevil series writer Brian Michael Bendis . Daredevil appeared as a regular character in the 2010–2013 New Avengers series in issues #16–34 (November 2011 – January 2013). At one point, Foggy begins to question Matt's sanity, ultimately leading to a fallout between the two. They reconcile once
3344-419: The Exterminator with its strange energy and seemingly killing him. Sterling found himself trapped between two dimensions, able to return to Earth at will but only for a few hours at a time; furthermore, the mutation caused his skin to become chalk-white. He stole a pair of gloves from AIM that gave him a "death-grip," and began calling himself "Death-Stalker." He tried several times to kill Daredevil and build
3432-492: The Fixer to his fatal heart attack. McKenzie created chain-smoking Daily Bugle reporter Ben Urich , who deduces Daredevil's secret identity over the course of issues #153–163, and had Daredevil using the criminal underworld of Hell's Kitchen as an information network, adding several small-time crooks to the supporting cast. Halfway through his run, McKenzie was joined by penciller Frank Miller with issue #158 (May 1979). In
3520-445: The Fixer, a known gangster, and the only man willing to contract the aging boxer. When he refuses to throw a fight because his son is in the audience, he is killed by one of the Fixer's men. Having promised his father not to use violence to deal with his problems, Matt adopts a new identity who can use physical force. Adorned in a yellow and black costume made from his father's boxing robes and using his superhuman abilities, Matt confronts
3608-400: The Kingpin to justice. Frank Miller returned to the character and his origins with the 1993 five-issue Daredevil: The Man Without Fear miniseries. With artist John Romita Jr. , Miller expanded his retcon of the life and death of Murdock's father, "Battling Jack" Murdock, and Murdock's first encounters with the Kingpin and Foggy Nelson. The role of Stick in the genesis of Daredevil
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3696-417: The Kingpin turns this trap against him, Fisk's legal manipulations work against him when he is attacked by the Hand, leaving Fisk in a coma and Murdock legally mayor of New York from his position as deputy mayor due to a loophole added by a prior administration that had not been amended, allowing Matt to take control of the city and release his fellow heroes to help him stop the Hand. Throughout his career as
3784-555: The October and November 2018 releases, in a 4-part bimonthly release which ended the series. Afterwards the series went on hiatus for two months and resumed distribution in February 2019, with a brand-new volume written by Chip Zdarsky . The primary artist on the series is Marco Checchetto. This new volume follows Daredevil's return to crime-fighting as he accidentally kills a robber during an arrest, leading him to doubt his status as
3872-468: The Purple Children acquired a machine designed by their father to enhance his powers after Matt had saved them from a mob, they used the machine to erase the world's knowledge of Matt's identity as Daredevil, Matt only allowing Foggy to know his secret identity afterward, enabling him to be re-instated as a New York Attorney. Using his restored secret identity, Murdock is able to take advantage of
3960-475: The acclaimed " Born Again " storyline in #227–233. In the Born Again storyline, Karen Page returns as a heroin-addicted porn star, and sells Daredevil's secret identity for drug money. The Kingpin acquires the information and, in an act of revenge, orchestrates a frameup that costs Murdock his attorney's license. Miller ended the arc on a positive note, with Murdock reuniting with both Karen Page and Maggie ,
4048-681: The alter ego of Typhoid Mary. Murdock subsequently becomes a drifter in upstate New York , an especially controversial move in Nocenti's run, as it marked the first time the character had been taken outside of an urban environment. She ended her run with a positive turn in Murdock's fortunes. He returns to Hell's Kitchen, regains his sense of self, reconciles with Foggy Nelson, and resolves to seek out Karen Page. New writer D. G. Chichester continued from where Nocenti left off, with Murdock resuming his friendship with Foggy Nelson , struggling to re-win
4136-509: The basic image of Daredevil's initial costume, though Everett modified it. That original costume design was a combination of black, yellow, and red, reminiscent of acrobat tights. The first issue covered both the character's origins and his desire for justice on the man who had killed his father, boxer "Battling Jack" Murdock , who raised young Matthew Murdock in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan , New York City. Jack instills in Matt
4224-693: The battle. Sterling resumed the Death-Stalker identity and assembled a large gathering of criminals to take part in an undisclosed theft, presumably of t-ray components. Daredevil found out about the gathering and in the resulting confrontation Death-Stalker touched (and thus killed) one of his underlings, frightening the others away. Seeing no point in battling Daredevil at this time, he teleported away. Angered at this latest interference with his plans, he created another Smasher and sent him to kill Daredevil. The new Smasher failed and Daredevil refused to imprison him, knowing that Death-Stalker would have entered
4312-538: The blind and their advocates. He has appeared in various forms of media, including films and TV series. The character was first portrayed in live action by Rex Smith in the 1989 television film The Trial of the Incredible Hulk , and then by Ben Affleck in the 2003 film Daredevil . Charlie Cox portrays the character in the Marvel Television series Daredevil (2015–2018). He reprises
4400-433: The character's powers and perception of the physical world. In the premiere issue, Murdock finds he can no longer serve as a trial lawyer due to past allegations of his being Daredevil causing a case he represents in court to turn into a media circus. Two issues later, Nelson and Murdock have developed a new business strategy of serving as consulting counselors, by teaching clients how to represent themselves in court. Waid won
4488-613: The conclusion of that series, another Daredevil series, also written by Zdarsky, was launched in July 2022. In May 2023, it was announced that volume 7 and Zdarksy's time on Daredevil would conclude with issue #14 in August 2023, with a new volume written by Saladin Ahmed and drawn by Aaron Kuder set to launch in September that same year. Matthew Murdock is born in Hell's Kitchen,
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#17327911326874576-564: The criminal element in Hell's Kitchen and begins to fight crime. He targets the local gangsters who murdered his father and succeeds in bringing them to justice. Eventually, in somewhat of a juxtaposition to his Catholic upbringing, Matt dons a costumed attire modeled after a devil and takes up a dual life of fighting against the criminal underworld in New York City as the masked vigilante Daredevil, which puts him in conflict with many super-villains, including his arch-enemies Bullseye and
4664-495: The device to be effective—a "lone weakness" which Daredevil learned he could exploit to attack Sterling. All in all, Philip Wallace Sterling was a brilliant criminal mastermind—running a global " espionage syndicate "—in addition to being an accomplished inventor and scientist with extensive knowledge of advanced scientific apparatus. A new Death-Stalker appeared in the first issue of Villains for Hire (the villain counterpart of Heroes for Hire ). This Death-Stalker's true identity
4752-555: The dimension of Earth for more than several hours at a time. His "cybernetic death-grip" device, stolen from AIM, was worn in his gloves, which emitted a dose of microwave radiation when activated by mental command, crippling or killing (depending on the duration of contact) any living creature who came into contact with it. This self-described "touch of death" energy has been described as microwaves, but seems to have properties of both lightning and truly intense cold. Death-Stalker, however, had to materialize tangibly, and in full, on Earth for
4840-426: The district. After he helps save Hell's Kitchen, Daredevil, still in his mask, gives himself up to police custody, stating that he wants to stand trial for his crimes but will only do so on the condition his identity is never revealed. He voluntarily confesses to the killing and is sentenced to a prison term. While Matt serves his time, Elektra takes up the Daredevil costume and protects Hell's Kitchen at his behest. In
4928-556: The earliest issues of Daredevil . The supervillains the Owl and the Purple Man appear as antagonists . In this story, Daredevil credits Page with coining the phrase "The Man Without Fear", and she suggests to Daredevil he wear all maroon instead of dark red and yellow. Issue #26 (December 2001) brought back Brian Michael Bendis . Developments in this run included the introduction of romantic interest and future wife Milla Donovan ,
5016-401: The exposure of Murdock's identity as Daredevil continued as a plot point in storylines by the new creative team, writer Ed Brubaker and artist Michael Lark . Brubaker and Lark began with Daredevil vol. 2, #82 (Feb. 2006). Brubaker says that, in his view, "Daredevil is one of the most experimental mainstream comics there is," and cited inspiration from noir fiction . His first story arc had
5104-603: The first two issues released in December 2015. In this series, Matt returns to New York, where he now works as an Assistant District Attorney. He had a redesigned costume and a new apprentice in Samuel Chung, an undocumented immigrant who has been living in New York's Chinatown since he was a child, who has taken up the codename Blindspot . Flashbacks in a later story arc reveal how Matt regained his secret identity; when
5192-482: The following arc, "Wake Up" in vol. 2, #16–19 (May 2001 – August 2001), which follows reporter Ben Urich as he investigates the aftereffects of a fight between Daredevil and the new Leap-Frog . The 2001 Daredevil: Yellow miniseries presented another take on Daredevil's origins using letters written to Karen Page after her death. The series depicts the early rivalry between Matt Murdock and Foggy Nelson for Page's affection, and incorporates many events depicted in
5280-544: The gun, and in the midst of their battle, Death-Stalker was mysteriously discorporated by the Sky-Walker. He reappeared in a third costumed guise as the second Death's-Head , gifting an enforcer called Smasher with superhuman strength and kidnapping Karen Page in order to force her to give him the original Death's Head's research. He was defeated by Daredevil and the Ghost Rider , killing Smasher with his touch during
5368-594: The hands of the Black Panther in the briefly retitled series' Black Panther: Man Without Fear #513. Murdock finds himself renewed in the miniseries Daredevil: Reborn #1–4 (March–July 2011), where he confronts a drug dealer with the power to make his opponents live their darkest fears. He reaffirms his role as the man without fear as he confronts his enemy's taunts and resolves to return to New York. In July 2011, Daredevil relaunched with vol. 3, #1 (Sept. 2011), with writer Mark Waid . Waid focused on emphasizing
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#17327911326875456-458: The heart of Karen Page, appealing the revocation of his attorney's license, and bonding more deeply than ever with Hell's Kitchen. Chichester's focus on Daredevil's relationship with New York City went so far as to have two issues devoted entirely to Daredevil defending New Yorkers from ordinary criminals and even simple accidents. The critically acclaimed "Last Rites" arc from #297–300 saw Daredevil regaining his attorney's license and finally bringing
5544-501: The importance of education and nonviolence with the aim of seeing his son become a better man than himself. In the course of saving a blind man from the path of an oncoming truck, Matt is blinded by a radioactive substance that falls from the vehicle. The radioactive exposure heightens his remaining senses beyond normal human limits, and gives him a kind of "radar" sense, enabling him to detect the shape and location of objects around him. To support his son, Jack Murdock returns to boxing under
5632-575: The killers as the superhero Daredevil, unintentionally causing the Fixer to have a fatal heart attack. Wally Wood introduced Daredevil's modern red costume in issue #7, which depicts Daredevil's battle against the far more powerful Sub-Mariner , and has become one of the most iconic stories of the series. In issue #8, it is revealed that his mask contains a complex radio receiver, and that his horns are both antennae to pick up radio signals and amplifiers of his own super-sensory radar blips. However, these concepts would be dropped. Daredevil embarks on
5720-433: The late 1990s. Gerry Conway took over as writer with issue #72, and turned the series in a pulp science fiction direction: a lengthy story arc centered on a robot from thousands of years in the future trying to change history. Even long-standing arch-villain the Owl was outfitted with futuristic weaponry and vehicles. Conway also moved Daredevil to San Francisco beginning with Daredevil #86, and simultaneously brought on
5808-507: The lively but emotionally fragile Heather Glenn to replace the Black Widow as Daredevil's love interest. Wolfman's 20-issue run included the introduction of one of Daredevil's most popular villains, Bullseye , and a story arc in which the Jester uses computer-generated images to manipulate the mass media. With issue #144, Jim Shooter became the writer and introduced Paladin in issue #150 (Jan. 1978). Shooter had difficulty keeping up with
5896-472: The mother he thought dead, now a nun. Miller's period of authorship was enormously commercially successful; his story arcs on Daredevil were the only sales competition for Chris Claremont 's Uncanny X-Men , the consistent top seller in the 1980s. Ann Nocenti later became the series's longest-running regular writer, with a four-and-a-quarter-year run from #238–291 (Jan. 1987 – April 1991). In this period, Murdock returns to law by co-founding with Page
5984-568: The new series, written by filmmaker Kevin Smith . Its first story arc, " Guardian Devil ", depicts Daredevil struggling to protect a child whom he is told could either be the Messiah or the Anti-Christ . Murdock experiences a crisis of faith exacerbated by the discovery that Karen Page has AIDS (later revealed to be a hoax) and her subsequent death at Bullseye 's hands. When he discovers that
6072-529: The outing once again of Murdock's secret identity, the reemergence of the Kingpin, and Daredevil's surrender to the FBI. Bendis won an Eisner Award for Best Writer for his work on Daredevil , as well as other concurrent titles, in 2002 and 2003. Daredevil by Bendis and Maleev also won the Eisner for Best Continuing Series in 2003. Bendis says he was congratulated for this achievement by Frank Miller. The impact of
6160-479: The prison and killed him for his failure. Turning to a new plan, he stole a newly developed scientific apparatus from Stark International. Death-Stalker attempted to kill Daredevil while the crime-fighter was hospitalized, but was stopped by the Avengers . He created a new Unholy Three and had them kidnap Matt Murdock, whose secret identity as Daredevil he had learned by observation from between dimensions. Daredevil
6248-482: The prison, Murdock grapples with the idea that Daredevil and Matt Murdock work together to put people in prison, which he comes to see as ruining people's lives without reforming them or setting them on the right path. In August 2021, it was confirmed that volume 6 of the series would end in November 2021, at Issue #36. The series lead into the crossover event " Devil's Reign " with the same creative team. Following
6336-827: The process. Paul Young indicates that the basic concept of the character as a heroic blind vigilante is probably inspired by the symbol and motif of blind justice . The character was generally considered second-string in Marvel's pantheon of heroes, and had low commercial viability, for the first decade and a half of his existence, prior to Miller's re-invention. The character debuted in Marvel Comics ' Daredevil #1 ( cover date April 1964), created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Bill Everett , with character design input from Jack Kirby , who devised Daredevil's billy club. Writer and comics historian Mark Evanier has suggested without confirmation that Kirby also designed
6424-433: The proper moral and legal rules for behavior, and to develop a highly ambivalent relationship to combat sports and thrill-seeking behavior. Film and comic scholar Paul Young points out that the stories often depict a gap between Murdock's stated motivations and his actions, demonstrating that Murdock has inherently limited self-knowledge and sometimes deceives himself with incomplete justifications for his choices. Murdock
6512-590: The role in the miniseries The Defenders (2017), the Marvel Studios film Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021), and the Disney+ television series She-Hulk: Attorney at Law (2022) and Echo (2024). Cox will return in Daredevil: Born Again (2025). According to Steve Ditko , Stan Lee presented the proposition of launching a new Daredevil series, offering the option to resurrect
6600-421: The schedule, and the writing chores were shortly turned over to Roger McKenzie . McKenzie's work on Daredevil reflected his background in horror comics, and the stories and even the character himself took on a much darker tone: Daredevil battled a personification of death, one of his archenemies was bifurcated by a tombstone, and a re-envisioning of Daredevil's origin showed him using stalker tactics to drive
6688-507: The series. In this period, Miller modeled Matt Murdock's appearance on the actor Robert Redford . Miller's initial run, first as penciler, then writer/penciler, and last a writer and layout artist begins in May 1979 and ends in February 1983. During this period, circulation doubled, to average sales of 276,812 copies per month. The series made Miller a star in the industry. Miller took writing inspiration from hardboiled crime fiction as well as
6776-402: The series. O'Neil switched from editor to writer. He continued McKenzie and Miller's noir take on the series, but backed away from the antihero depiction of the character by having him not only spare Bullseye's life but express guilt over his two previous attempts to kill him. Miller returned as the title's regular writer, co-writing #226 with O'Neil. Miller and artist David Mazzucchelli crafted
6864-566: The shoulders and knee pads. Revamped billy clubs could attach to form nunchucks or a bo staff . His secret identity becomes public knowledge, leading to him fake his own death and assume the new identity of "Jack Batlin". This new identity and costume last for several story arcs, while Murdock finds a way to convince the world that he is not, in fact, secretly Daredevil (courtesy of a double). A short stint by J. M. DeMatteis returned Daredevil to his traditional red costume and Matt Murdock's identity. Under writers Karl Kesel and later Joe Kelly ,
6952-458: The status quo, with Daredevil assuming leadership of the ninja army the Hand . Daredevil later appeared in the one-shot Dark Reign : The List – Daredevil . Following this came the crossover story arc " Shadowland ", in which it is revealed that Daredevil's recent actions after taking control of the Hand are the result of him being possessed by a demon. Purged of the demon by his allies, Murdock departs New York, leaving his territory in
7040-603: The superhero comic tradition. For example, he draws on techniques of suspense, dramatic irony, and ambiguous characterization adopted from Raymond Chandler . Miller continued the title in a similar vein to McKenzie. Resuming the drastic metamorphosis the previous writer had begun, Miller took the step of essentially ignoring all of Daredevil's continuity prior to his run on the series; on the occasions where older villains and supporting cast were used, their characterizations and history with Daredevil were reworked or overwritten. Most prominently, dedicated and loving father Jack Murdock
7128-491: The time. Miller cited Will Eisner and Moebius , from the comics tradition, and filmmakers Orson Welles , Fritz Lang , and Alfred Hitchcock as inspirations. One journalist commented: Daredevil's New York, under Frank's run, became darker and more dangerous than the Spider-Man New York he'd seemingly lived in before. New York City itself, particularly Daredevil's Hell's Kitchen neighborhood, became as much
7216-485: The title gained a lighter tone, with Daredevil returning to the lighthearted, wisecracking hero depicted by earlier writers. Matt and Foggy (who now knows of Matt's dual identities) join a law firm run by Foggy's mother, Rosalind Sharpe. In 1998, Daredevil ' s numbering was rebooted, with the title "canceled" with issue #380 and revived a month later as part of the Marvel Knights imprint. Joe Quesada drew
7304-489: The true party responsible for the scheme is Mysterio , who is currently dying of cancer, he leaves Mysterio to commit suicide, deciding to use the money Karen left him in her will to re-open Nelson & Murdock. Smith was succeeded by writer-artist David Mack , who contributed the seven-issue "Parts of a Hole" (vol. 2, #9–15). The arc introduced Maya Lopez, also known as Echo , a deaf martial artist. David Mack brought colleague Brian Michael Bendis to Marvel to co-write
7392-441: The truth is discovered. Daredevil vol. 3 ended at issue #36 in February 2014, in which Matt is forced to publicly reveal his Daredevil identity, resulting in his being disbarred by New York and prompting him to again relocate to San Francisco. Waid and Chris Samnee followed this up with Infinite Comics ' Daredevil: Road Warrior weekly digital miniseries, which focused on an adventure during Matt's trip to San Francisco. It
7480-442: Was expanded, as was Murdock's doomed love affair with Elektra. The creative team of Chichester and penciler Scott McDaniel changed the status quo with their "Fall From Grace" storyline in issues #319–325 (Aug. 1993 – Feb. 1994). Elektra , who was resurrected in #190 but had not been seen since, finally returned. An injured Daredevil creates a more protective costume from biomimetic materials: red and gray with white armor on
7568-409: Was reimagined as a drunkard who physically abused his son Matt, entirely revising Daredevil's reasons for becoming a lawyer. Spider-Man villain Kingpin was introduced as Daredevil's new primary nemesis, displacing most of his large rogues gallery. Daredevil himself was gradually developed into something of an antihero . In issue #181 (April 1982), he attempts to murder Bullseye by throwing him off
7656-598: Was reprinted as issue 0.1 in Daredevil volume 4, which launched under Waid and Samnee with a new issue #1 (March 2014) as part of the All-New Marvel NOW! storyline centered on Matt's new life in San Francisco. Daredevil volume 4 ended with issue #18 in September 2015. A new volume began as part of the All-New, All-Different Marvel branding, written by Charles Soule with art by Ron Garney with
7744-401: Was taken to St. Stephens Cemetery, where Death-Stalker killed two of the Unholy Three and attacked Daredevil. Unable to overcome Death-Stalker's superior abilities, Daredevil knocked out the nearby street light, thus enclosing the cemetery in darkness. Fighting blindly, Death-Stalker rematerialized while his body was phasing through a tombstone, which killed him instantly. Death-Stalker was, for
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