With Marvel's Daredevil getting a fresh reboot on Netflix this spring, fans and true believers alike once again get a glimpse into the comic book giant's cinematic universe on the small screen. As the new series on the Hero of Hell's Kitchen takes flight, we provide you a closer look at how the iconic crime fighter came to be.
'The Man Without Fear'
Long before he became the scourge of gangsters and supervillains, Matt Murdock was just a young boy trying to survive on the mean streets of Hell's Kitchen, New York. His father, a washed-up boxer named "Battlin" Jack Murdock, struggled to make ends meet for the both of them. Despite their predicament, Jack instilled in Matt the importance of nonviolence and having an education in the hopes that the boy would not waste his future.
Things turned for the worse for the father and son, however, when one day Matt was hit by an oncoming truck while trying to save a blind man. Matt was exposed to the radioactive chemical the truck was carrying, leaving the boy clinically blind but also heightening the rest of his senses beyond normal human thresholds.
To better provide for his impaired son, Jack went back to boxing, fighting in unsanctioned matches scheduled mostly by criminal organizations. In one such fight, Jack was approached by his promoter, a gangster known only as the Fixer, to throw his next match. When Jack refused because his son was in the audience to watch him fight, he was beaten to death by one of the Fixer's thugs.
Enraged and seeking justice, Matt donned his superhero costume made from Jack's old boxing robes and he went after his father's killers. Using his superhuman senses, Matt confronted the Fixer as the superhero Daredevil unintentionally, causing the gangster's death through a massive heart attack.
From then on, Matt Murdock vowed to rid the world of crime and injustices through his work both as a relentless public attorney by day and superpowered vigilante by night. In both capacities, he is joined by dependable friends and allies, such as his college roommate and business partner Foggy Nelson and the superhero-turned-private investigator Jessica Jones.
Matt also received occasional help from other superheroes in the Marvel Universe such as the wall-crawling Spider-Man, the martial artist extraordinaire Iron Fist and the hard-hitting Luke Cage.
Marvel's Daredevil
In Marvel and Netflix's web television series Daredevil, the story picks up on a young Matt Murdock, played by Charlie Cox (Boardwalk Empire), in his early days as a lawyer and crime fighter. This is contrasted by the rise of Wilson "Kingpin" Fisk, played by Vincent D'Onofrio (Law and Order: Criminal Intent), in the ladder of New York's organized crime.
Other important characters include Deborah Ann Woll as Karen Page, a mysterious woman who suddenly enters Murdock's life; Elden Henson as Foggy Nelson, Murdock's closest friend from college; and Rosario Dawson as Claire Temple, a night nurse who helps Murdock.
Marvel Television teamed up with ABC Studios, DeKnight Prods, and Goddard Textiles to produce the series. It is written by Steven S. DeKnight with Drew Goddard acting as consultant.
Daredevil is part of the larger Marvel Cinematic Universe and shares continuity with the company's other superhero film and TV franchises. It is also the first in a series of shows leading up to a Defenders crossover miniseries similar to the Avengers in film. Other upcoming shows include ones featuring Luke Cage, Jessica Jones and Iron Fist.
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