Daredevil (Marvel Comics character)

Daredevil
Promotional art for Daredevil vol. 2, #65 (September 2004). Art by Greg Land.
Publication information
Publisher	Marvel Comics
First appearance	Daredevil #1 (April 1964)
Created by	Stan Lee (writer) Bill Everett (artist)
In-story information
Alter ego	Matthew Michael Murdock
Species	Human mutate
Place of origin	Hell's Kitchen, New York City
Team affiliations	Avengers New Avengers Defenders Marvel Knights The Chaste The Hand
Partnerships	Elektra Black Widow
Notable aliases	Man Without Fear Jack Batlin Mike Murdock
Abilities	Superhuman senses, agility, reflexes, stamina, coordination, and balance Echolocative radar sense Master martial artist, hand-to-hand combatant, and stick fighter Expertise in criminology, criminal law, and police procedures Utilizes billy club with multi-purpose functions Expert acrobat and gymnast

Daredevil is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Bill Everett, with some 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. 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 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 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 ironic contrast to his Catholic upbringing and beliefs, 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 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 the Marvel Universe. Miller introduced elements of film noir and ninja films, and subsequent writers for the title have continued these themes and imagery. In particular, the series often explore political corruption, moral ambiguity, childhood trauma, disability, Irish Catholic identity, and Christian themes. 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 blind people 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. Ben Affleck portrays the character in the 2003 feature film Daredevil. Subsequently, Charlie Cox portrays the character in the Marvel Television series Daredevil (2015–2018), and reprises 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 is set to again reprise the role in Daredevil: Born Again (2025).

Publication history

Further information: List of Daredevil titles

Further information: Daredevil collected editions

Creation

According to Steve Ditko, Stan Lee proposed a new Daredevil series to him, offering the options either to resurrect the original character or craft a novel one, provided it bore some resemblance to Spider-Man. Ditko 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 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. Timothy D. Peters, a legal scholar, has also drawn attention to the recurring visual analogy with Lady Justice, the classical figure for the legal system. 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 Frank Miller's re-invention.

1960s

Splash page of the first issue of Daredevil (April 1964) features the hero in his original costume. Art by Jack Kirby (penciler) and Bill Everett (inker).

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 that Kirby also designed the basic image of Daredevil's initial costume and that Everett modified it, but this has not been confirmed by anyone else. The 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 to enact 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 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 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 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 a classic story of the early series. Wood also redesigned Daredevil's costume to include communications equipment; in his depiction, the mask contains a complex radio receiver, and 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 a series of adventures involving such villains as the Owl and the Purple Man. In issue #16 (May 1966), Daredevil 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 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. This third identity 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 a blind Vietnam veteran against a frameup; Lee has cited it as one of his favorite stories.

Matt discloses his secret identity to his girlfriend Karen Page in a story published in 1969. 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 the late 1990s.

1970s

Gerry Conway took over as writer with issue #72, and turned the series in a pulp science fiction direction. Conway also moved Daredevil to San Francisco beginning with Daredevil #86, and simultaneously brought on 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 from November 1971 to August 1975. Issues #92-107 were published under the title Daredevil and the Black Widow. Conway introduced Black Widow as a romantic partner for Daredevil as "a way to re-energize the title". She joined the series in Daredevil #81 (1971). John Romita Sr. designed a new costume for Black Widow based on the 1940s Miss Fury comic strip, but Colan was the artist for the series. Conway responded to feminist criticism by making Black Widow a more active and independent character, beginning in Daredevil #91 (1972). The series was retitled Daredevil and the Black Widow in the following issue; her name was dropped from the title after issue #107 (1973). Steve Gerber became the writer for Daredevil with issue #97 (1972). Sales had declined, and in response he re-emphasized Daredevil as the central character. Tony Isabella became the writer for Daredevil with issue #118, and he believed that Daredevil and Black Widow should be split up. Black Widow departed from the series in issue #124, feeling overshadowed by Daredevil.

The writing and editing jobs went to Marv Wolfman with issue #124. He returned Daredevil to Hell's Kitchen. Wolfman promptly introduced 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. With issue #144, Jim Shooter briefly became the writer, but had difficulty keeping up with the schedule, and the writing chores were 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 battles a personification of death, and a re-envisioning of his Daredevil's origin shows him using stalker tactics to drive 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. Halfway through his run, McKenzie was joined by penciller Frank Miller with issue #158 (May 1979).

In a story arc overlapping Wolfman, Shooter, and McKenzie's runs on the series, Daredevil reveals his identity to Glenn. 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.

1980s

Miller disliked Roger McKenzie's scripts, so new editor Dennis O'Neil fired McKenzie so that Miller could write 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 the superhero comic tradition. For example, he draws on techniques of suspense, dramatic irony, and ambiguous characterization adopted from Raymond Chandler. Miller moved away from the conventions of the commercially dominant genre of comic books, superhero comics, toward the style that interested him most: crime comics. Miller is also responsible for emphasizing Daredevil's Catholic beliefs and deep concern with penance.

Cover of Daredevil #184 (July 1982). Art by Frank Miller and Klaus Janson.

Resuming the drastic metamorphosis McKenzie began, Miller ignores much of Daredevil's continuity prior to his run on the series; on the occasions where older villains and supporting cast appear, their characterizations and history with Daredevil are reworked or overwritten. Most prominently, dedicated and loving father Jack Murdock is reimagined as a drunkard who physically abused his son Matt, entirely revising Daredevil's reasons for becoming a lawyer. Spider-Man villain Kingpin becomes Daredevil's new primary nemesis, displacing most of his large rogues gallery. Tormented by guilt, Daredevil gradually becomes something of an antihero. In issue #181 (April 1982), he attempts to murder Bullseye by throwing him off 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 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 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 drew detailed fighting scenes attentive to the physics and techniques of East Asian martial arts. Miller introduced ninjas into the Daredevil canon, introducing previously unseen characters who had played a major part in his youth: Stick, leader of the ninja clan, the Chaste, who had been Murdock's sensei after he was blinded; and Elektra, an ex-girlfriend and sometime member of the Hand. Elektra was eventually killed by Bullseye, in a shocking and widely read issue that was one of the defining events of comics for the decade.

Artist John Romita Jr., signing a copy of issue 254 of the series at Midtown Comics in Manhattan

After #191 Miller left 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 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. Murdock also discovers that his lost mother, Maggie, who he thought dead, is living as a nun. Miller ends the arc on a positive note, with Murdock reuniting with Karen Page. 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 a nonprofit drug and legal clinic. Nocenti's stories wrestle with feminism, alcoholism, and animal rights. She introduced the antagonist Typhoid Mary, who became a recurring villain. Typhoid Mary has dissociative identity disorder; while her "Typhoid" identity is evil, her alter ego, Mary, who dates Daredevil is sweet and reserved. In issues #262–265, In Nocenti's run, Murdock becomes a drifter in upstate New York; this was 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.

1990s

New writer D. G. Chichester continued from where Nocenti left off. In the early part of his run, Daredevil succeeds in toppling Kingpin from leadership of his criminal empire. This is a mirror of Miller's "Born Again," in which now it is Kingpin rather than Daredevil who is stripped of his power. Subsequent issues are devoted to more detailed description of the social environs of New York City. Beginning with issue #305 (June 1992), Scott McDaniel became the new series penciller. McDaniel's style was more exaggerated and melodramatic, in line with the most popular comics artists of the early 1990s, such as Todd McFarlane and Rob Liefeld.

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 story fleshed out the role of Stick in the genesis of Daredevil, as well as the beginning of Murdock's doomed love affair with Elektra. In this rendition, Elektra is more dominant and active as a character, and more sexually aggressive. For this story, Miller and Romita cited Walter Mosley and Mickey Spillane as inspirations. Miller initially prepared the series as a scenario for a proposed TV series.

The creative team of Chichester and McDaniel returned with their "Fall From Grace" storyline in issues #319–325 (Aug. 1993 – Feb. 1994). In this period, McDaniel emulated Frank Miller's later style in the noir crime comic Sin City. Elektra, who was resurrected in #190 but had not been seen since, finally returns. An injured Daredevil creates a more protective costume from biomimetic materials, resembling motocross gear: red and gray with white armor on the shoulders and knee pads. His 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. The later Chichester period has generally been dismissed by critics and fans as an example of sensationalistic "event comics" that had become typical in the 1990s. However, the series introduced some themes that were continually revisited later, such as Murdock's increasingly tenuous ability to keep his identity secret.

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, 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 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 be 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. Black Widow also returns to the series, and the two seem to resume their relationship. When Daredevil discovers that the true party responsible for the scheme is Mysterio, who is dying of cancer, he leaves Mysterio to commit suicide.

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. Critics have commended the character and the story as a complex and multifaceted portrayal of a disabled Latina and Indigenous superhero, and an unusual relationship for Daredevil.

2000s

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 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.

Brian Michael Bendis wrote an long run of Daredevil stories in the 2000s.

David Mack brought colleague Brian Michael Bendis to Marvel to co-write 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, particularly on Leap-Frog's young son. After an interlude, Bendis resumed his arc in issue #26 (December 2001). In this run, Murdock meets his romantic interest and future wife Milla Donovan, who is also blind. Donovan later considers having the marriage annulled, on the grounds of Murdock's dishonesty. Bendis's storyline also explores the re-emergence of the Kingpin, the betrayal of him by his associates (including his own son), and vengeance for this betrayal enacted by his wife, Vanessa Fisk. Vanessa Fisk takes over the Kingpin's empire and sells it to gentrifiers and to real estate magnate Donald Trump. When Kingpin attempts to return to power, Daredevil beats him to the point of incapacity and declares himself a new "kingpin" of Hell's Kitchen, forbidding all criminal activity. In the Bendis and Maleev period, Daredevil's identity is leaked, first to the FBI and subsequently to the press. He becomes desperate to hold onto his increasingly tenuous secret identity, willing to make enormous sacrifices in service of this goal. At the conclusion of Bendis's storyline, Murdock is arrested and imprisoned alongside his adversaries, with the FBI hoping that he will be killed by his enemies. 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. However, Miller joked with him that the award was also his; Bendis responded that he was "glad that he knew I knew that without him, nothing we did would have existed."

The impact of 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, beginning 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 cites inspiration from noir fiction. Brubaker's arc begins with Murdock imprisoned. Another character masquerades as Daredevil in Hell's Kitchen. Murdock later discovers this ersatz Daredevil is his friend Danny Rand, the superhero Iron Fist. Brubaker introduces the new character Master Izo, another blind warrior who founded the Chaste centuries ago. Brubaker's series also includes Lily Lucca, a new femme fatale manipulated by Mister Fear. Brubaker won Eisner Awards for Best Writer for his work on Daredevil and other titles in 2007, 2008, and 2010. Comics critic Ryan K. Lindsay compares Brubaker's stories to the films of neo-noir and New Hollywood directors of the 1970s, such as Martin Scorsese, Roman Polanski, and Sam Peckinpah.

In 2009, new writer Andy Diggle wrote a new story line in which Daredevil assumes leadership of the ninja army the Hand; this continued in a one-shot titled Dark Reign: The List – Daredevil.

2010s

In 2010, Daredevil continues to lead the Hand with the intent of transforming them into an organization that seeks justice. However, when Bullseye kills over a hundred people with a bomb, Daredevil and the Hand launch an onslaught of vengeance. In the ensuing arc, "Shadowland", Daredevil makes the city block that Bullseye destroyed into a fortress administered by the Hand. Murdock returns to his senses after a battle with Elektra and several superheroes. The story reveals that Murdock's erratic behavior is caused by a demonic possession. Purged of the demon by his allies, Murdock departs New York, and becomes the leading character of a new miniseries titled Daredevil: Reborn. He leaves his territory in the hands of the Black Panther in the briefly retitled series' Black Panther: Man Without Fear #513.

In July 2011, Daredevil relaunched with vol. 3, written by Mark Waid. Waid focused on emphasizing the character's powers and perception of the physical world. The Waid period also emulates Stan Lee's earlier, more light-hearted tone. Waid won the Eisner Award for Daredevil in 2012. Daredevil vol. 3 ended at issue #36 in February 2014. 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 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 also joins the New Avengers in a story written by former Daredevil series writer Brian Michael Bendis.

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 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. Flashbacks in a later story arc reveal how Murdock regained his secret identity: Supernatural entities alter the memory of everyone on earth except Foggy Nelson. Timothy Peters describes this plot twist as "fantastically ludicrous" but necessary in order to set up the future plot machinations that depend on the social discrepancy of a secret identity. Peters views the subsequent storyline as an intriguing illustration of contemporary expectations and perceptions about the legal system. Using his restored secret identity, Murdock is able to take advantage of 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.

In February 2019, the series began a brand-new volume written by Chip Zdarsky and with art primarily by Marco Checchetto. In this story, Kingpin becomes Mayor of New York, which advantages criminals over heroes.

2020s

In the Zdarsky arc, Daredevil temporarily quits his superhero activities out of guilt after killing a thief accidentally. When a team of villains invades Hell's Kitchen, he returns to fight alongside Elektra and ordinary citizens who have collectively adopted the "Daredevil" identity. In the aftermath of the battle, he gives himself up to police custody. He continues to conceal his face with his mask, stating that he wants to stand trial for his crimes but will only do so on the condition that 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 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. Zdarsky was nominated for an Eisner Award for his writing on this series.

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 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.

Characterization

Fictional character biography

Matthew Murdock is born in Hell's Kitchen, 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, 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 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 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. Along with the name Daredevil, he is commonly known by such epithets as "Hornhead", "The Man Without Fear", and "The Devil of Hell's Kitchen". 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 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 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. He then marries Milla Donovan, a woman without superpowers who is also blind. They have a troubled marriage because of his secret life as a costumed crime-fighter. Simultaneously, his secret identity is leaked to the press, and he becomes desperate to cast doubt on the public's suspicions about his activities. For a time, he declares himself a new kingpin of his neighborhood, forbidding criminal activity. Murdock is subsequently imprisoned, and later released. He experiences many other adventures and misfortunes. He then assumes control of the Hand, and attempts to employ them as an army against criminals and evil-doers. In the process of doing so, he becomes possessed by a demon, and his efforts go wildly out of control. He is purged of the demon by his friends and allies, and eventually returns to his previous role as an enforcer of justice. His secret identity is leaked to the press, and eventually it becomes an open secret that Matt Murdock is Daredevil; however, supernatural entities alter the fabric of human knowledge so that Daredevil can again become an unknown, mysterious figure. However, he accidentally kills a common thief. Overcome by guilt, he tries to give up the Daredevil identity and crime-fighting activity. He feels compelled to return to such endeavors when a team of supervillains invades Hell's Kitchen; he fights alongside a legion of ordinary citizens who have also adopted the "Daredevil" symbolism.

Personality and motivation

Critics have commented that Daredevil 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 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 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 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 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 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, he takes the approach of serial monogamy rather than promiscuity or sex addiction.

Themes and motifs

Political corruption and moral ambiguity

Like other comic books influenced by film noir, Daredevil comics often depict modern urban society as highly corrupt, with no trustworthy authority. The comics frequently present a crisis of authority in which Daredevil or various antagonists, such as Kingpin, attempt to achieve a position of sovereignty in order to enforce some kind of recognized order. Daredevil comics also present debates on questions about religion and the relationship between human and divine justice, as well as Christian ideals of forgiveness and generosity. In particular, Matt Murdock is a devout Catholic, and some stories, such as Miller's Born Again, treat themes and traditions particular to the Catholic denomination.

Irish Catholic identity and culture

From his creation, Daredevil carries an ethnic and socioeconomic identity of a working class, Irish American childhood. Kevin Michael Scott writes that "When Daredevil first appeared in 1964, there was no other comic that placed its hero so squarely in the realm of the poor and working classes." In the period of Miller's authorship, his characterization emphasized a particularly Irish Catholic identity (Miller comes from an Irish Catholic ethnic background as well). Scholar Matthew Cressler argues that Daredevil's disability has a particular resonance for Catholic culture, because Catholic tradition and folklore presents afflictions or impairments as opportunities for holiness and potential sainthood. Cressler views the Born Again story as particularly inflected with Catholic cultural tradition and in dialogue with Catholic expectations. He argues that the significance of boxing in Daredevil's early life and training has a particular meaning for US Catholic culture, because "boxing was a crucial site for the making of American Catholic manhood in the twentieth century," commended by clergy as a means to learn moral and spiritual discipline. Cressler argues that Born Again also a demonstrates a white racial identity beyond Irish Catholic ethnicity, because Daredevil concerns himself with protecting his neighborhood and loved ones from vices and dangers that the narrative associates with minor antagonists who are not white. Cressler associates this with the cultural affinity of Irish Americans with the presidency of Ronald Reagan and his values and rhetoric.

However, Paul Young draws attention to a complex and unresolved combination of social and political values in Daredevil's character and activities; while he sometimes practices violent retribution and law and order principles, he also adheres to social liberalism in his stated ideals and in his moral choices and behaviors. While the character has a clear ethnic and racial identity, fans who are not white have said that they find themselves able to closely identify with Daredevil's characteristics. For example, John Jennings, a professor of Cultural Studies and Black studies who is himself African American, writes that he particularly identified with Daredevil as a child because of Daredevil's childhood poverty, his isolation and feeling of peculiarity, his experience of bullying, and his tenacity, all of which could be characteristic of the childhood experiences of people of color.

Blindness

The comic series also often addresses the challenges of blindness and visual impairment. While Daredevil is the best-known blind superhero, and among the first, he had predecessors in two early superheroes created in 1939, Doctor Mid-Nite and the Black Bat. The basic trope of a blind person with exceptional sensory abilities is long-standing in literature and mythology. However, along with Professor X, Daredevil is one of the first modern disabled superheroes. Other supporting characters in the series are also blind, such as Stick and Master Izo are also blind, and present variations on classic characters of blind martial artists presented in Asian cinema, such Zatoichi. Writer/co-creator Stan Lee said that he was worried that blind people would be offended at how far he exaggerated the enhancement of a blind person's remaining senses, but that his fears were assuaged by letters from organizations such as the Lighthouse for the Blind, which said that blind people greatly enjoyed having Daredevil comics read to them.

Violence and trauma

The stories also often address the long-term effects of trauma and adverse childhood experiences. The early stories first introduce Matt Murdock's complex relationship with his father, and Murdock's experience of loss and drive for justice following his father's murder. Matt Murdock's abandonment by his mother, physically abusive treatment by his alcoholic father, and bullying from childhood peers are all detailed by later stories in the series. Other prominent characters, such as Kingpin and Elektra, are also revealed to have experienced childhood misfortunes that affect aggressive and thrill-seeking behavior in adulthood. In 1981, Miller declared that "violence is actually the theme of the book," insisting on the depiction of realistic injury in order to convey the hazards and moral ambiguity of a heroic lifestyle.

Powers and abilities

Frank Miller, seen here signing a copy of issue 181 at Midtown Comics, revamped the character's Radar-Sense to make it more believable.

Although the character is blind, his remaining four senses function with superhuman accuracy and sensitivity, giving him abilities far beyond the limits of a sighted person. Few characters know that the hero cannot see. Daredevil developed a "radar-sense," as well as echolocation.

When Frank Miller expanded most of Daredevil's abilities, he attempted to make them "extraordinary enough to be exciting, but not on par with Superman", noting Superman's distinctly unbelievable powers. When Miller joined the title in 1979, the first thing he did to the character was "revamp" his radar sense and made it less distinct and more believable; he wanted Daredevil to have the "proximity" sense that some martial artists claim to have. Due to the character's sensitive sense of touch, Daredevil can read by passing his fingers over the letters on a page, though laminated pages prevent him from reading the ink. Daredevil has commonly used his superhuman hearing to serve as a polygraph for interrogation by listening for changes in a person's heartbeat. This ability can be fooled if the other person's heart is not beating at a natural rate, such as if they have an artificial pacemaker.

Just as Daredevil's other senses are stronger, they are also sensitive; his main weakness is his vulnerability to powerful sounds or odors that can temporarily weaken his radar sense. This weakness is often used to immobilize Daredevil. Alternately, the lack of taste or smell of certain substances can be used against him, as in one instance of a hallucinogenic drug designed so that Daredevil could not tell he was drugged. His senses are highly acute, capable of sensing the minor atmospheric disturbance created moments before a teleporting character appears.

While his radar sense mostly compensates for his blindness, it has certain limitations. He cannot perceive color without touch, for example. Most photographs, televisions, and computer screens are blank to him. However, the radar sense has shown on numerous occasions the ability to "see" through walls and fabrics. The radar sense also grants him an omnidirectional field of vision. These two latter abilities are the most notable advantages the radar has over normal vision.

The extent of Daredevil’s superhuman physical attributes beyond his super-senses and radar sense varies depending on the writer and depiction of the character, though he has always been portrayed as having a superhumanly enhanced sense of balance and coordination. In most cases, he is depicted as also possessing superhuman agility, reflexes, and stamina. In all cases, Daredevil is depicted as a master of martial arts and expert acrobat and gymnast, with his superhuman attributes aiding him in his mastery of these skills. Matt Murdock was initially self-taught as a boxer, following his father's example. Subsequently, he was trained by Stick to become a master hand-to-hand combatant in martial arts.

Daredevil's signature weapon is his specially designed baton, which he created. Disguised as a blind man's cane in civilian garb, it is a multi-purpose weapon and tool that contains 30 feet of aircraft-control cable connected to a case-hardened steel grappling hook. Internal mechanisms allow the cable to be neatly wound and unwound, while a powerful spring launches the grapnel. The handle can be straightened for use when throwing. The club can be split into two parts, one of which is a fighting baton, the other of which ends in a curved hook.

In his civilian identity, Murdock is a skilled and respected New York attorney. He is a skilled detective and interrogation expert.

Supporting characters

Elektra

Main article: Elektra (character)

Elektra is a pivotal character for Daredevil, although she appears in relatively few of his stories. At different times, she is an enemy, a romantic partner, and an ally. Elektra made her debut as a bounty hunter, and though her time as part of Daredevil's rogues' gallery was brief (spanning barely a year of the first Frank Miller series), her romantic past with him is an important part of the mythos. Created by Frank Miller, the character first appeared in Daredevil #168 (Jan. 1981). Her violent nature and mercenary lifestyle has served as a point of conflict between her and Daredevil, which, in 2020, culminated in her becoming the second Daredevil.

Elektra is an unusually ruthless antihero and femme fatale. Scholar Paul Young defines some of her defining initial characteristics as including her succinct speech patterns, her "athletic, eroticized body," her father complex, and her lethal weapons and fighting prowess. He notes that another critic, Larry Rodman, memorably compared her to a "psychotic swimsuit model.

She shows few compunctions about killing her adversaries, and in some stories even kills innocent people. However, she maintains a strong affection for Matt Murdock and, later, other people she admires. She is often morally conflicted, and eventually attempts to use her skills for good. Miller says that Elektra's violent disposition originates from the trauma of the loss of her father, and that he meant the character to illustrate Jung's Electra complex: "She was a young woman who had her sexual interest centered on her father, and just as she was transferring this to another man, her father is killed." Miller argues that this initial anger led to corruption by other forces (the Hand and the Kingpin). In his view she is not essentially good, but rather "one of the villains who's got a weak streak in them." She has continued to appear in various subsequent series as a complicated anti-hero. In stories of the 2020s, she even takes on the identity of Daredevil herself, initially because the original Daredevil is imprisoned.

Allies

Throughout the core Daredevil series, many characters have had an influence in Matt Murdock's life. His father, "Battlin' Jack" Murdock instills in Matt the importance of education and nonviolence with the aim of seeing his son become a better man than himself. He always encouraged Matt to study, rather than fight like him. Jack forbade his son from undertaking any kind of physical training. It is his father's murder that prompts the super-powered character to become a superhero, fighting gangsters. He was trained by an old blind ninja master named Stick following his childhood accident.

Matt Murdock's closest friend is Franklin "Foggy" Nelson, his college roommate, sidekick, and law partner. Their relationship in the early years of the series was fraught with tension due to Nelson's sense of inferiority to Murdock as a lawyer and as a target for the affections of their secretary, Karen Page. They frequently argued over Murdock's preference for defending supervillains, as Nelson's enthusiasm is for corporate law. The pudgy and fallible Nelson has often been used by writers for lightheartedness and even comic relief. However, in the period written by Brian Michael Bendis, Nelson is a close confidante to Murdock, and assists him emotionally and legally in the period of crisis when his secret identity is on the verge of public knowledge.

Ben Urich, a reporter for the Daily Bugle, often appears in Daredevil stories. An investigative reporter, Urich shares some of Daredevil's intellectual abilities but does not have any kind of fighting prowess. He discovers Daredevil's identity and eventually becomes his friend as well. However, during his identity dispute Daredevil decides to end his "secret professional relationship" with Urich to avoid getting Urich mixed up in his problems.

As a superhero, one of Daredevil's best friends is the hero Spider-Man. They reveal their secret identities to one another in Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #110, in 1986. However, due to the events of the "One More Day" storyline, Daredevil no longer knows Spider-Man's secret identity. Spider-Man also initially lost all memory of Daredevil's secret identity following the Purple story arc, but regained it at the beginning of the Red Fist story arc. Iron Fist would later become one of his greatest friends, and at one point took on the role of Daredevil himself. Jessica Jones, a former superhero turned private investigator acts as a bodyguard for Matt Murdock in his civilian life. Her husband, Luke Cage, is a friend of Daredevil as well. The Punisher, anti-hero Frank Castle, is one of Daredevil's reluctant allies, as well as his antagonist due to their different philosophies in crime-fighting.

Daredevil is somewhat unusual among superheroes in that he does not generally work consistently with a group of teammates. However, he has worked alongside the Fantastic Four, the Defenders, and the Avengers. All three of these groups invited Daredevil to join, which he generally resisted. In 2011, Daredevil did join one version of the Avengers, led by Luke Cage, as well as one of the iterations of the Defenders.

Romantic interests

Daredevil has a convoluted and often tortured love life. His relationships often end badly. The longest connections he has maintained with women have been with other costumed fighters: Black Widow and Elektra. The relatively high number of violent deaths for his partners has been criticized as examples of the women in refrigerators trope, according to which female characters in comic books are often disposable and serve as plot devices to motivate or complicate male heroes.

Murdock had a long-term relationship with Karen Page. Initially, Murdock and Foggy Nelson constituted a love triangle with page, with each vying for affections. Murdock revealed his secret identity to her in Daredevil #56 (September 1969). Page has various doubts and anxieties about her relationship. However, in Daredevil #86 (January 1972) Page leaves to pursue an acting career in Hollywood. He maintains an on-again off-again relationship until her tragic death. Like Elektra, Page is murdered by Bullseye; but she is never resurrected.

In the 1970s, he had a romantic relationship with Black Widow, who fought crime with him while they were in San Francisco. They cohabited, a daring choice for the time. She complained about Daredevil's sexist attitudes, and broke off the relationship because she did not want to feel like a sidekick. They remain close confidantes in ensuing stories, some of which suggest the possibility of resuming the relationship. Some critics suggest that the series consistently presents Black Widow as the best match for Daredevil.

In the later 1970s, Daredevil began a relationship with heiress and party girl Heather Glenn. He revealed his identity to her in a 1977 storyline, As Young puts it, Glenn has "a casual and flirty manner, and a voracious sexual appetite;" she is also elusive and casual regarding her relationship with Murdock. Young compares to her to one of the Sternwood sisters from Chandler's The Big Sleep. As initially characterized by Gerry Conway, Glenn is somewhat stereotyped because of her flighty nature. However, Young argues that the Miller period gives her a degree of verisimilitude, even arguing that she has more depth than Chris Claremont's female heroes. In contrast, J. Andrew Deman has argued that Miller's depiction of women is much more stereotypical than Clarement's. Glenn eventually kills herself, in Daredevil #220 (March 1985).

In the late 1990s, he had a brief relationship with Maya Lopez, a deaf woman and skilled martial artist. While Murdock and Lopez fell in love, Lopez was manipulated by the Kingpin into believing that Daredevil had killed her father (while it was Kingpin himself who was responsible) Under the name Echo, Lopez fought Daredevil and was eventually convinced of his innocence.

In the 2000s, Murdock marries a woman named Milla Donovan. Donovan shares Murdock's disability. Eventually, one of Daredevil's enemies drives her to insanity.

Enemies

Main article: List of Daredevil enemies

In his early years, Daredevil fought a number of costumed supervillains, such as the Owl, the Purple Man, and the Matador. Critics have noted similarities between Daredevil's early rogue's gallery and the villains associated with Batman, the popular character published by Marvel's competition, DC Comics. Marv Wolfman introduced the psychopathic assassin Bullseye in 1976.

Frank Miller's run on Daredevil pared down the rogue's gallery to Kingpin, previously introduced as an antagonist of Spider-Man, and Bullseye. The Kingpin learned Daredevil's secret identity in the "Born Again" storyline. In Daredevil #254, Ann Nocenti introduced Typhoid Mary, an assassin for the Kingpin with dissociative identity disorder (the diagnostic term for multiple personalities), who would become a prominent Daredevil foe.

Subsequent writers, such as Jeph Loeb, Brian Michael Bendis and Ed Brubaker, have re-introduced the Daredevil's rogues gallery of the 1960s, particularly the Owl; however, in the new interpretations they are "radically different from their original incarnation – nastier, meaner, and more cruel."

Reception

Daredevil has been inspirational for readers with disabilities, particularly those with visual impairment. For example, Tom Sullivan, a blind man, writes that "When I read my first Daredevil in the mid-'60s, I decided Matt Murdock represented everything I thought I could be." Further, he argues that blind people in real life sometimes experience enhanced awareness of other senses, like Daredevil and that this can help them in athletics; he credits inspiration from Daredevil with cultivating his own abilities.

Daredevil was also groundbreaking in the degree of violence that could be depicted in a mainstream superhero comic book, particularly in the instance of the murder of Elektra by Bullseye in 1982.

Daredevil was also a strong inspiration for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The concept took its ninja imagery from Daredevil. In the original comics, the characters were even implied to be the pet turtles of Matt Murdock, who mutated as a result of the same accident that gave him superpowers.

Joe Quesada, an editor at Marvel, says that Kevin Smith's authorship of the "Guardian Devil" arc of the Daredevil series in 1998-1999 "changed everything" and that this is "probably the single most important development in this particular era of comics, from the '90s to today." Quesada says this is because Smith was the first Hollywood director to write a mainstream superhero comic, and this encouraged subsequent authorship of comics by writers from film, TV, and literature.

In other media

Main article: Daredevil in other media

Daredevil has appeared in various other media, particularly in television and film. He first appears in live action in the TV filmThe Trial of the Incredible Hulk, portrayed by Rex Smith.

A Daredevil live-action feature film starring Ben Affleck as the character and directed by Mark Steven Johnson was released in 2003. The film received mixed reviews from critics, and was a moderate box-office success.

In 2015, a Daredevil television show, starring Charlie Cox as the protagonist and created by Drew Goddard premiered on Netflix and lasted for three seasons. This was acclaimed by critics and attracted a cult following from fans. Steven S. DeKnight, an executive producer of the show, has said that it took inspiration from the Frank Miller period as well as the storylines by Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev, with Maleev's art in particular providing "a template for the look of the show."

Then-Disney CEO Bob Iger stated that if Marvel's Netflix TV shows such as Daredevil become popular, "It's quite possible that they could become feature films". In December 2013, Marvel confirmed that Drew Goddard would be the executive producer and showrunner for the series, and would write and direct the first episode. By May 2014, Goddard had departed as showrunner, being replaced by Steven S. DeKnight, while Goddard was to remain with the show as a consultant. Later that month, Charlie Cox was cast in the starring titular role. Filming began in July 2014. The first season was released in April 2015, the second season was released on March 18, 2016, and the third and final season was released on October 19, 2018. Cox also reprises the role in The Defenders, a crossover miniseries in which Daredevil teams up with Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist.

Cox reprises his role as Murdock in the film Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021), wherein he successfully clears Peter Parker's name from Mysterio's death. The film does not reference his superhero identity beyond a brief display of his enhanced senses when he catches a brick thrown through the Parkers' window. According to Tom Holland, Murdock's appearance was written after filming began due to uncertainty about the rights to include the Marvel Netflix characters.

In March 2022, Marvel Studios was revealed to be developing a Daredevil reboot series, with Kevin Feige and Chris Gary producing. The following month, Cox was revealed to have also joined the cast of the Disney+ television series Echo (2024) alongside his Daredevil co-star Vincent D'Onofrio, who had recently reprised the role of Wilson Fisk / Kingpin in the series Hawkeye (2021). Later in May, the Daredevil reboot was confirmed to be taking the form of a new series in development for Disney+, with Matt Corman and Chris Ord attached as the series' head writers and executive producers according to Variety. The series was also described by The Hollywood Reporter as a continuation of the events of the prior show as opposed to a full reboot.

In July 2022, it was announced at San Diego Comic-Con that Charlie Cox would reprise his role voicing an alternate version of Daredevil in the animated series Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man (2024). He was also confirmed to be reprising his role in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law (2022), as well as in his own series: a revival of the Netflix series entitled Daredevil: Born Again (2025).

See also

• List of Daredevil titles
• 1964 in comics
• Animal echolocation
• Ben Underwood
• Daredevil (Lev Gleason Publications)

References

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