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Superhero Blog
A superhero is a fictional character who is noted for feats of courage and nobility, who usually has a colorful name and costume and who possesses abilities beyond those of normal human beings. |
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July 07, 2003 | |
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Daredevil Daredevil (Matt Murdock) is a Marvel Comics superhero. Created by Stan Lee and Bill Everett, he first appeared in Daredevil #1 (April 1964).As a child, Murdock was doused in radioactive material, which caused him to become blind but raised his other four senses to superhuman levels and gave him a sixth one, a sonar-like "radar sense". He fights crime using his enhanced senses, his training in acrobatics and martial arts, and his trademark billy club, which splits into two segments connected by a sturdy line, forming a snare and grappling hook. During the day, Murdock is an attorney who attempts to defend the innocent and punish the guilty through the American legal system. Daredevil was not an overly popular or influential Marvel hero until the late 1970s when writer/illustrator Frank Miller made him a much darker character. Miller’s Daredevil was a fierce guardian of inner city New York who danced along the edge of sanity as he attempted to uproot deep corruption and urban decay. Miller's noir-like style has been imitated by most subsequent writers to author Daredevil’s comic book series and the makers of the 2003 film adaptation of the character. Matt Murdock was a boy who grew up in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of New York City, the son of Battling Jack Murdock, a fading boxer and occasional hired muscleman. Jack was insistent that his son be well-schooled so he would not follow in his father's footsteps. Matt followed his father's wishes, but worked out in secret in order to defend himself from bullies. His schoolmates taunted the apparent bookworm with the nickname "Daredevil". Matt's life dramatically changed when he saved an old blind man who was crossing the street and was about to be hit by an oncoming truck by pushing him out of way. The truck swerved and crashed, and its cargo of a radioactive waste container was released and opened with a portion of the content striking Matt in the face, permanently blinding him. After a difficult recovery, the blinded youth soon learned to cope with his disability, only to secretly learn of the boons the radioactive exposure granted him. Namely, his remaining senses had been raised to superhuman sharpness. He can hear any sound regardless of volume or pitch, his sense of smell is more sensitive than a bloodhound, his sense of taste allows him to identify individual ingredients of prepared foods, his sense of touch is so acute he can read regular print as if it is braille. The improvements to his ear also granted him a radar sense which allows him to detect physical objects' positions and their general shape (similar to echolocation), giving him a valuable advantage, especially in the dark where the odds are in his favour. Although Matt excelled in his classes in law school, his father was still struggling to help support him. To that end, he approached the one fight promoter willing to book him, a small time crook nicknamed the Fixer. The Fixer agreed, and arranged a series of matches with opponents instructed to lose on purpose in order to create the image of the aging boxer being a real contender. This all was to lead to one big fight in which the Fixer instructed Murdock to take a dive. At the fight, Jack realized too late that his son was watching. He did not have the heart to disappoint his son, and so he fought with all his heart and won by a knockout. After the fight, he was murdered by the Fixer's men for breaking their deal. Distraught, Matt Murdock investigated the crime and learned of the Fixer's involvement. Hungry to bring the criminal to justice, but still mindful of his childhood promise not to resort to violence, Matt decided to don another identity as a loophole in his oath. Fashioning a yellow and black suit, he decided to use to the old school taunt name, Daredevil, and adjusted the cowl to have two small hornlike points and put a large double letter D on the chest. Armed only with a billy club, he confronted the Fixer and his gang. With his superb physical skill, he sent them reeling. Panicked, the Fixer flew the scene with Daredevil in close pursuit until he keeled over from a fatal heart attack. Matt Murdock continued his war of crime while he ran his law firm with his partner, Franklin "Foggy" Nelson and their secretary, Karen Page. Along the way, he racked up his own eclectic rogue's gallery like the Owl, the Stiltman, and the Gladiator. |
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| MARVEL, SPIDER-MAN, DOCTOR OCTOPUS and all MARVEL character names and distinctive likenesses thereof: TM & © 2003 Marvel Characters, Inc. All Rights Reserved. MARVEL and SPIDER-MAN: Trademarks registered in the USA and certain other countries. © 2003 Sony Pictures Digital Inc. All rights reserved. |