Hero Spotlight - Daredevil

Hero Spotlight – Daredevil


What Motivates the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen? What kind of man is he? Why does he stand out amongst other superheroes? Let’s talk Daredevil.


From His childhood, Matthew Murdock (Daredevil) had struggles to overcome, and I’m not just talking about blindness. Matt’s dad, Jack was a struggling boxer in New York who had fallen in with the wrong crowd. They didn’t have much money and it was Jack’s dream to get “Matty” out of the gutter lifestyle they had lived for so long. When Jack finally made the decision to do right and disobey the mobsters controlling him, he was murdered. It was just the two of them, so Matt was then raised by the Catholic Church. Matt’s tough childhood and deep religious faith molded him into a man who clearly saw right from wrong. He really had the heart of a hero before he even had powers and before he was even grown.

The origin of Daredevil’s powers began when young Matt Murdock jumped in front of a moving truck to shove an old man out of the way. The truck crashed and radioactive liquid splashed into his eyes blinding him and heightening his other senses to such a level that he had a sort of radar sense. This gave him perfect balance. The really neat effects of his combined super senses gave him all sorts of abilities that made him a potentially lethal opponent in any sort of hand-to-hand combat. As a blind man who could easily jump head first off a building and, while falling, plan his moves to land, he earned the title “The Man Without Fear.”

So that, in a nutshell, sums up the origins of Daredevil, now let’s get into why I think Daredevil is so unique and just a great all around comic hero.

Daredevil is an “every-man.” In other words, it is very easy to see life through his eyes (pun intended). As you see his stories unfold, his struggle to value life, his struggle to keep his law firm in business, getting brutalized every night to do what’s right, you can really find something about his character to grab ahold of. His struggles very much remind me of the best parts of Spider-Man and that, my friend is a good thing.

Daredevil has a dark side. First of all, he is blind so he doesn’t need light at all. Ever. I’m reminded of the quote from Bane to Batman about being molded by the dark. Yeah, whatever Bane. Try being Daredevil for even one night. So, Daredevil likes to knock out lights and fight in the dark. That gives him a huge advantage over most of his foes. Also, his dad had a dark side. Jack had the potential to be a great fighter when he harnessed his primal aggression. Daredevil holds the same aggression, and when he needs to, he can go dark and kick butt hardcore. This reminds me of the best parts of Batman. Daredevil can really stand side-by-side with Batman as far as performance and theatrics. The thing that Daredevil one-ups Batman on is the addition of super powers. DD for the win!

Daredevil’s good values run deep. Matt Murdock is a lawyer and he believes in the justice system. He wants to catch bad guys and let the legal system take its course. He also has deep roots in the Catholic Church and often visits a priest to confess his sins and get advice on how to Biblically defeat his foes. In a world where so many so-called heroes are simply killing their enemies, Daredevil holds a strong line at killing. This aligns him with the most admired and iconic superheroes in comic book history. The dilemma of not taking the easy route of murder when facing people who are more than willing to murder him makes for great stories.

Daredevil has powers, but he is still human. Yes, he has really cool abilities that make him so much better than many of the villains that he faces. But his powers do not grant him flight, healing, super endurance, immortality, or even long life. When his hero career is over, Matt Murdock will likely have many scars, sore joints, and probably a little brain damage from all of his concussions. Daredevil’s humanity is always one injury away and he continually risks everything to do what he believes to be the right thing.

In conclusion, Daredevil gets an A+ rating in the Hero Spotlight for holding so many characteristics of the great super heroes, yet still holding his own unique place from 1964 to the present.

What did you think of this Hero Spotlight?

Who do you want to see in the spotlight next?

I’ll be posting more Hero Spotlights in the future here. Same bat time, same bat channel.


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4 thoughts on “Hero Spotlight – Daredevil

  1. I LOVE DAREDEVIL!!! Really, watching the show there’s just so much more to it than just some kickass fights and whatever. It leaves you something to think about. There’s just so much to the struggle, I mean last season him debating if he should kill or not and deciding to be the better person and let the law do what it’s supposed to. And now this season him seeing that sometimes no matter what the law fails, and then you wonder if maybe the Punisher has the right idea about it. Man the Punisher did such a great job, of being someone you want to root for but also like this guy is kind of crazy Daredevil might should stop him. Really great acting.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I have really enjoyed the show. The way they present the characters gives the viewers a strong connection to each person and their motives. In my mind, Bernthal will now be the Punisher forever! Can’t wait to see what they do next!

      Liked by 1 person

  2. I feel like Batman might be a prudent choice for a future article. There have been so many iterations of the character over the years, it’s hard to keep track of how many times I’ve seen his parents die.

    Liked by 1 person

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