History ComicBook / Daredevil

** It also [[AwesomeYetPractical doubles as his cane]], enabling him to carry it all the time without attracting suspicion.

* MoleInCharge: For a while, Daredevil ostensibly ran the evil ninja assassins called the Hand.

Part of the reason for the character's relative lack of popularity may lie in the fact that, Bullseye, The Hand, and The Kingpin (and possibly Mr. Fear and Mr. Hyde) aside, he has been lumbered with arguably the least impressive RoguesGallery in comics, including such threats to Western civilization as Shotgun (a guy with a gun), Ammo (a guy with ''lots'' of guns), The Jester (a bargain-bin [[SelfDemonstrating/TheJoker Joker]] knockoff), The Owl (a gang boss who can fly - v-e-r-y s-l-o-w-l-y), the Matador (whose entire gimmick revolves around [[ShootingSuperman making you unable to see him]]), and Stilt-Man (who unfortunately is [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin just what he sounds like]]). Luckily, in recent years the writers have been working to remedy this (see Echo, Purple Man, Gladiator, Bullet and Typhoid Mary).

Part of the reason for the character's relative lack of popularity may lie in the fact that, Bullseye, The Hand, and The Kingpin (and possibly Mr. Fear and Mr. Hyde) aside, he has been lumbered with arguably the least impressive RoguesGallery in comics, including such threats to Western civilization as Shotgun (a guy with a gun), Ammo (a guy with ''lots'' of guns), The Jester (a bargain-bin [[SelfDemonstrating/TheJoker Joker]] knockoff), The Owl (a gang boss who can fly - v-e-r-y s-l-o-w-l-y), the Matador (whose entire gimmick revolves around [[ShootingSuperman making you unable to see him]]), and Stilt-Man (who unfortunately is [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin just what he sounds like]]). Luckily, in recent years the writers have been working to remedy this (see Echo, Purple Man and Typhoid Mary).

* LighterAndSofter: Mark Waid accepted the offer to write Daredevil on the condition that he could move the series away from the overwhelming bleakness that had dominated the character for the better part of thirty years.

* BlessedWithSuck: well, would ''you'' trade in your eyesight for improved touch (everything HURTS more!), taste, smell, hearing, and a nebulously-defined "radar sense"? While Stick taught Murdock to control his senses enough to function normally, TheMovie has his senses seem to cause chronic pain, so he chomps painkillers like candy ''and'' he can only get to sleep in a '''''sensory deprivation tank'''''. Or next to a smoking hot babe. Guess natural dopamine still trumps artificial.

** The Punisher has also had this talk with Matt.

Daredevil is quite arguably one of the most underrated superheroes at Marvel, but hardcore Marvel fans do tend to give the character a lot of respect thankfully. The character was also one of two characters created by Stan Lee to have never been an [[ComicBook/TheAvengers Avenger]], until he was added to the ComicBook/NewAvengers line-up in 2011. After a long stretch of very dark stories, MarkWaid's lighter take has been well-received.

* DarkerAndEdgier: Daredevil was a grittier character even before Frank Miller took over in the 80s. Since then, he's been one of Marvel's grimmest (out-grimmed only by Comicbook/ThePunisher), to the point that MarkWaid's purpose statement for the new series is that he wants to read a ''Daredevil'' story that didn't [[DrowningMySorrows drive him to drink]].

A [[Film/{{Daredevil}} Daredevil film]] was released in 2003, starring Creator/BenAffleck and Creator/JenniferGarner, but despite being one of the most faithful comic-to-screen adaptations ever made--it lifted whole scenes and even entire chunks of dialogue from Miller's run--and some strong (if [[RaceLift idiosyncratic]]) casting, it was a critical failure, in no small part due to being a vehicle for [[Music/{{Evanescence}} nu-metal]] and having severe ExecutiveMeddling done to it; the director's cut is far better received. Some people prefer to believe that it [[FanonDiscontinuity never happened]], though many liked Colin Farrell as Bullseye and Creator/MichaelClarkeDuncan as Kingpin. Despite it making back more than double its budget at the box office, they did not do a direct sequel but a spin-off starring Garner as ''Film/{{Elektra}}''. It didn't go over well. On a lighter note, Garner and Affleck (who met on the first film) later married in real life, have had three children, and are still together, and reportedly quite happy as of this writing. As the film property's future, the rights have reverted to Marvel. Marvel is currently planning a Daredevil series to be released exclusively by {{Netflix}}, as part of [[http://marvel.com/news/story/21476/disneys_marvel_and_netflix_join_forces_to_develop_historic_four_series_epic_plus_a_mini-series_event a multi-series deal]] including LukeCage, IronFist and JessicaJones.

A [[Film/{{Daredevil}} Daredevil film]] was released in 2003, starring Creator/BenAffleck and Creator/JenniferGarner, but despite being one of the most faithful comic-to-screen adaptations ever made--it lifted whole scenes and even entire chunks of dialogue from Miller's run--and some strong (if [[RaceLift idiosyncratic]]) casting, it was a critical failure, in no small part due to being a vehicle for [[Music/{{Evanescence}} nu-metal]] and having severe ExecutiveMeddling done to it; the director's cut is far better received. Some people prefer to believe that it [[FanonDiscontinuity never happened]], though many liked Colin Farrell as Bullseye and Creator/MichaelClarkeDuncan as Kingpin. Despite it making back more than double its budget at the box office, they did not do a direct sequel but a spin-off starring Garner as ''Film/{{Elektra}}''. It didn't go over well. On a lighter note, Garner and Affleck (who met on the first film) later married in real life, have had three children, and are still together, and reportedly quite happy as of this writing. As the film property's future, the rights have reverted to Marvel. Marvel is currently planning a Daredevil series to be released exclusively by {{Netflix}}, as part of [[http://marvel.com/news/story/21476/disneys_marvel_and_netflix_join_forces_to_develop_historic_four_series_epic_plus_a_mini-series_event a multi-series deal]] including LukeCage, IronFist and JessicaJones.]]

A [[Film/{{Daredevil}} Daredevil film]] was released in 2003, starring Creator/BenAffleck and Creator/JenniferGarner, but despite being one of the most faithful comic-to-screen adaptations ever made--it lifted whole scenes and even entire chunks of dialogue from Miller's run--and some strong (if [[RaceLift idiosyncratic]]) casting, it was a critical failure, in no small part due to being a vehicle for [[Music/{{Evanescence}} nu-metal]] and having severe ExecutiveMeddling done to it; the director's cut is far better received. Some people prefer to believe that it [[FanonDiscontinuity never happened]], though many liked Colin Farrell as Bullseye and Creator/MichaelClarkeDuncan as Kingpin. Despite it making back more than double its budget at the box office, they did not do a direct sequel but a spin-off starring Garner as ''Film/{{Elektra}}''. It didn't go over well. On a lighter note, Garner and Affleck (who met on the first film) later married in real life, have had three children, and are still together, and reportedly quite happy as of this writing. As the film property's future, the rights have reverted to Marvel. Marvel is currently planning a Daredevil series to be released exclusively by {{Netflix}}, as part of [[http://marvel.com/news/story/21476/disneys_marvel_and_netflix_join_forces_to_develop_historic_four_series_epic_plus_a_mini-series_event a multi-series deal including LukeCage, IronFist and JessicaJones.]]

A [[Film/{{Daredevil}} Daredevil film]] was released in 2003, starring Creator/BenAffleck and Creator/JenniferGarner, but despite being one of the most faithful comic-to-screen adaptations ever made--it lifted whole scenes and even entire chunks of dialogue from Miller's run--and some strong (if [[RaceLift idiosyncratic]]) casting, it was a critical failure, in no small part due to being a vehicle for [[Music/{{Evanescence}} nu-metal]] and having severe ExecutiveMeddling done to it; the director's cut is far better received. Some people prefer to believe that it [[FanonDiscontinuity never happened]], though many liked Colin Farrell as Bullseye and Creator/MichaelClarkeDuncan as Kingpin. Despite it making back more than double its budget at the box office, they did not do a direct sequel but a spin-off starring Garner as ''Film/{{Elektra}}''. It didn't go over well. On a lighter note, Garner and Affleck (who met on the first film) later married in real life, have had three children, and are still together, and reportedly quite happy as of this writing. As the film property's future, the rights have reverted to Marvel with no immediate plans for new films.

-->- Wolverine #24

* StepIntoTheBlindingFight: Daredevil invokes this trope despite being [[HandicappedBadass blind]] himself. His superb hearing and "radar" senses allows him to "see" in the dark much to the disadvantage of the criminals who can actually see. While they're paranoid and distracted he's calm and controlled and kicks their asses.

* ArchEnemy: Kingpin and Bullseye

* TheChessmaster: The Kingpin yet again

Part of the reason for the character's relative lack of popularity may lie in the fact that, Bullseye and The Kingpin (and possibly Mr. Fear and Mr. Hyde) aside, he has been lumbered with arguably the least impressive RoguesGallery in comics, including such threats to Western civilization as Shotgun (a guy with a gun), Ammo (a guy with ''lots'' of guns), The Jester (a bargain-bin [[SelfDemonstrating/TheJoker Joker]] knockoff), The Owl (a gang boss who can fly - v-e-r-y s-l-o-w-l-y), the Matador (whose entire gimmick revolves around [[ShootingSuperman making you unable to see him]]), and Stilt-Man (who unfortunately is [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin just what he sounds like]]). Luckily, in recent years the writers have been working to remedy this (see Echo, Purple Man and Typhoid Mary).

[[caption-width-right:250:The Man Without FEAR!!!]]

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Despite his book having been home to some of the most respected writers and artists in the business, Daredevil has never really succeeded in making the breakthrough into mainstream popular culture in the way that stablemates such as Franchise/SpiderMan and the Comicbook/{{X-Men}} have, and he was generally considered to be at best a C-list character until FrankMiller took over the title in 1981 and introduced what are now considered to be some of the defining elements of the Daredevil mythos, including the characters of the Kingpin (originally a ''Spider-Man'' villain), Bullseye and ComicBook/{{Elektra}}.

A [[Film/{{Daredevil}} Daredevil film]] was released in 2003, starring Creator/BenAffleck and Jennifer Garner, but despite being one of the most faithful comic-to-screen adaptations ever made--it lifted whole scenes and even entire chunks of dialogue from Miller's run--and some strong (if [[RaceLift idiosyncratic]]) casting, it was a critical failure, in no small part due to being a vehicle for [[Music/{{Evanescence}} nu-metal]] and having severe ExecutiveMeddling done to it; the director's cut is far better received. Some people prefer to believe that it [[FanonDiscontinuity never happened]], though many liked Colin Farrell as Bullseye and Creator/MichaelClarkeDuncan as Kingpin. Despite it making back more than double its budget at the box office, they did not do a direct sequel but a spin-off starring Garner as ''Elektra''. It didn't go over well. On a lighter note, Garner and Affleck (who met on the first film) later married in real life, have had three children, and are still together, and reportedly quite happy as of this writing. As the film property's future, the rights have reverted to MarvelComics with no immediate plans for new films.

* AlliterativeName: Matthew Michael Murdock.
** Hell, ''Daredevil'' is an alliterative name--that's why he wears the interlinked "DD" on his front.
* [[AllGirlsWantBadBoys All Guys Want Bad Girls]]: He made a life out of having affairs with bad girls such as the Black Widow, Elektra or Typhoid Mary.

* BadassBookworm: A variant in that he's not a scientific genius like most versions of this trope, but rather an expert lawyer.
** Although, apparently he crammed a master's degree in applied mechanical engineering in his spare time. Also he's uncommonly knowledgeable in chemistry. Of course that probably comes with the territory when you're able to identify different types of metals by scent.

* BlessedWithSuck: well, would ''you'' trade in your eyesight for improved touch(everything HURTS more!), taste, smell, hearing, and a nebulously-defined "radar sense"? While Stick taught Murdock to control his senses enough to function normally, TheMovie has his senses seem to cause chronic pain, so he chomps painkillers like candy ''and'' he can only get to sleep in a '''''sensory deprivation tank'''''.
** Or next to a smoking hot babe. Guess natural dopamine still trumps artificial.

* CharlesAtlasSuperpower: His athletic abilities are so close to superhuman that it makes no difference. In at least one instance he overturned a small car.
** Actually not so small... a freaking LIMO, with 4 people in it.

*** [[MadeOfIron And being able to handle getting stabbed, electrocuted and knocked off buildings in rapid succession.]]
**** DD also tends to hit people hard enough to send them flying several meters, parallel to the ground. Although, how he does so without killing them is anybody's guess.

** An early CMOA had Daredevil go up against Namor back when Namor was enough to take on either the whole of Comicbook/TheAvengers or the whole of the Comicbook/FantasticFour. Daredevil doesn't win the fight ''per se'' but Namor cancels his attack in respect to Daredevil's bravery and tenacity.

** Did the same with TheHulk, lasting long enough for the green guy to calm down and end his rampage. DD went straight to the hospital, but it worked.

* EvilCostumeSwitch: During the "Shadowland" storyline, Daredevil abandoned his iconic red suit in favor of a black suit with larger horns, a larger & more stylised DD chest insignia, and blades attached at the wrists.

* HeterosexualLifePartners: Matt's relationship with his law partner Foggy Nelson.
** Also DD and Spider-Man, who know each other's secret identities.
*** Until they don't (or, rather, until no one knows Spidey's).

* HurtingHero: More so since Bendis and Brubaker have been writing, though FrankMiller helped quite a bit.

* ILoveNuclearPower: In some versions, his augmented senses are the result of the radioactive materials which blinded him. FrankMiller believed that was the [[StupidestThingIveEverHeard Stupidest Thing He'd Ever Heard]], instead integrating him into a [[TheVerse 'Verse]] of [[SupernaturalMartialArts Supernatural Martial Artists]] that has become integral to the character.

* ItsNotYouItsMyEnemies: No, seriously. When Matt's enemies find out who he is, they make his life Hell. They don't destroy him, they ''make him destroy himself.'' This even extends to him turning down an invitation to join the ComicBook/NewAvengers on two separate occasions, as he didn't want to put the rest of the team at risk by associating with him - he accepted the second invitation, however, when Luke Cage & Jessica Jones pointed out that he'd be an Avenger, so they'd have his back.

* OhCrap: When the Masked Marauder realizes Daredevil is unaffected by his blinding eye beams.
** [[YouShouldKnowThisAlready Even earlier]] when Kingpin realizes that after ruining Matt Murdock's personal life, he has nothing left to hope for and consequently nothing left to be fearful for.

* RoguesGalleryTransplant: While Electro earned his spurs fighting Franchise/SpiderMan, he was also the first supervillain Daredevil defeated, and returned to tangle with Matt on a semi-regular basis. Daredevil would also have one-off fights with other villains, such as Klaw (an enemy of the BlackPanther), the Absorbing Man (an enemy of Comicbook/TheMightyThor), the Blob and Pyro (enemies of the ComicBook/{{X-Men}}), and Nitro (an enemy of {{Captain Mar-Vell}}).

** Mysterio, again a Spider-Man villain, had Daredevil as his "adopted" nemesis during an arc because TheCloneSaga deal kept Mysterio from knowing if Spider-Man was the real thing or just a clone.

* UniquenessDecay: Matt Murdock's radar sense was originally a super power, the freak result of the accident that blinded him. Later, FrankMiller introduced a mentor character and revealed that anyone could learn to "see" without their eyes the way that Matt does.
* VillainTeamUp: Electro and Typhoid Mary would both organize their fellow Daredevil villains in order to try and get revenge on the horn-headed hero.

* WhatTheHellHero: SelfDemonstrating/{{Deadpool}} was not all that impressed with Daredevil on hearing about his first meeting with (the girl who would become) Typhoid Mary.

!!Later versions by FrankMiller and modern writers provide examples of:

* ChristianityIsCatholic: Well, Daredevil himself is, at least. Oh, and his mother is a nun.
** FrankMiller added this to his character as a ''joke''. "I figured Daredevil must be Catholic because [[NoOneElseIsThatDumb only a Catholic]] could be both an attorney and a vigilante."

* DemonicPossession: [[spoiler: Possessed by the Beast, the demonic ManBehindTheMan of The Hand and the real BigBad of the "Shadowlands" event.]]

* HighlyVisibleNinja: The Hand is a whole bunch of these. Not to mention Elektra, the {{Stripperific}} [[McNinja Greek ninja]].

* KnightTemplar: [[spoiler: as the leader of The Hand, read ''Shadowland'']]

* LegacyCharacter: Danny Rand/Iron Fist took his place briefly during the Civil War.
** And BlackPanther, who briefly took over as the defender of Hell's Kitchen after the events of ''Shadowland''.

* LighterAndSofter: Mark Waid's current run on the title which has seen ol' hornhead return to being more of a superheroic adventurer taking on large threats as opposed to being the grim and gritty vigilante that every writer since FrankMiller has written him as. Surprisingly, the results have been rather successful.

* NotSoDifferent: The Kingpin gave this one to Daredevil on more than one occasion.
** The Punisher has also had this talk with Matt.
* TheObiWan: Stick

* ShadowArchetype: Bullseye
** And the Kingpin, whose constant evasion of criminal convictions cause Murdock to seriously doubt the law's ability to deal with the most calculating criminals.

* StuffedInTheFridge: Karen Page, who gets [[HumiliationConga dumped repeatedly for "bad girls" and turned into a drug-addicted porn star]] before... getting back with Matt and being happy again just before she goes into another nervous breakdown and gets killed by Bullseye. Okay...

* TeethFlying: One issue briefly but specifically mentions this; Daredevil lands a blow on Max the Ax that'll cost him a lot of money in dental work.

* TokenMotivationalNemesis: The Fixer[[note]] different character than [[{{Thunderbolts}} P. Norbert Ebersol[[/note]], who traumatized Matt into the man he is today, unceremoniously dies of a heart-attack at the end of the ''first'' volume of the comics, having served his narrative purpose.

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* SecondSuperIdentity: A Story Arc in Daredevil had an ersatz Daredevil running around Hell's Kitchen (the real Daredevil is in prison at the time), which turned out to be [[spoiler: Iron Fist.]]

* {{Expy}}: When Daredevil was first created and Stan Lee was writing him, Daredevil was little more than an Expy of Spider-Man. Both traveled by swinging around the city, both had an acrobatic fighting style, and both had some kind of enhanced senses that allowed them to spot danger. Daredevil's personality wasn't particularly distinctive either. Thankfully, future writers fleshed out the character. ''A lot.''

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* ItsNotYouItsMyEnemies: No, seriously. When Matt's enemies find out who he is, they make his life Hell. They don't destroy him, they ''make him destroy himself.''

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