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Family
Jack Murdock
Jonathan "Battlin' Jack" Murdock
Alter Ego: Jonathan Murdock
Notable Aliases: Jack Murdock, Battlin' Jack, The Devil, Kid Murdock
First Appearance: Daredevil #1 (April, 1964)
The father of Matt Murdock who boxed for a living. Often broke, he worked nights as a leg-breaker for the local crime boss "The Fixer". Despite his profession, he encouraged Matt towards a life of pacifism, and pushed Matt heavily in his studies. He was told by his boss to take a fall in a boxing match but, knowing Matt would be there, refused. For his insubordination, he was murdered.
- Boxing Battler: His job. He was a middleweight.
- Death by Origin Story: Dies in Daredevil #1. His death is what inspires Matt to become a crimefighter.
- Honor Before Reason: Won't throw a fight, even if it means his death.
- I Coulda Been a Contender!: Is aware that his window of opportunity is closing fast, if it hasn't closed already. It's because of his son's moral support that convinces him to really take boxing seriously again.
- So Proud of You: Pushes Matt in his schoolwork so that he'll be successful and have all the things he could never provide for him. When Matt announces he made it into Harvard, he's overjoyed.
- "Well Done, Son" Guy: Inverted. He refused to throw his final match so Matt could be happy that his father got a victory for once.
- When You Coming Home, Dad?: Subverted, as Matt is fully aware of he and his dad's financial situation, and understands that his father must work late.
Maggie Murdock
Sister Maggie/Grace Murdock
Alter Ego: Margaret Grace Murdock
Notable Aliases: Sister Maggie, Maggie Murdock, Maggie Grace
First Appearance: Daredevil #229 (April, 1986)
She is the ex-wife of Jack Murdock and the mother of Matt Murdock.
- Alliterative Name: Maggie Murdock, just like her son.
- The Atoner: After attacking Jack and an infant Matt due to her postpartum depression, she became a nun to atone out of guilt for trying to kill her husband and child.
- Cool Old Lady: Her main characteristic. Is also a self-admitted crusader/protester.
- Missing Mom: Left Jack and Matt when he was just a boy. Matt never asked why. For a long time it was believed that Jack abused her. Later, however, it was shown in the Original Sin tie-in that the situation was quite more complicated: Maggie suffered postpartum depression and tried to attack both her husband and son in a fit of irrational rage. Jack was forced to defend himself and Matt (but never attacked her), and Maggie ran away after coming back to her senses.
- Secret-Keeper: Knew Matt was Daredevil.
Mike Murdock
Michael Murdock
Notable Aliases: Matt Murdock
First Appearance:
Matt's twin brother who used to be an alias that was made real by The Reader and then canonized himself using the Nornstone.
- Alliterative Name: Just like his brother.
- Cosmic Retcon: He owes his existence as a separate person to one as "Mike" was originally just an identity that Matt made up as part of a Fake Twin Gambit. Said events also caused Mike to still be alive as Matt faked "Mike's" death to end the gambit.
- Death Equals Redemption: Matt is pleasantly surprised when he goes to Hell and finds his brother absent, meaning that despite everything he did in life, Mike ultimately allowed into Heaven.
- Defictionalization: In-universe. Originally a fictional twin Matt came up with to preserve his identity, Mike would later become a real being thanks to the Inhuman Reader.
- Fake Twin Gambit: How he originally started as Matt created "Mike" after Foggy and Karen got to close to figuring out he was Daredevil and wanted to throw them off.
- Faking the Dead: How Matt opted to end the Mike persona, by claiming he'd died fighting the Exterminator and Unholy Three, but he'd trained a new Daredevil before then.
- Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: Following the Cosmic Retcon, this was his and Matt's relationship. Matt was a hard-worker who eventually became a lawyer and a hero, Mike was a smooth-talking conman who constantly frustrated their father with his antics.
- Murder by Mistake: Gets killed by Wilson Fisk during Devil's Reign, who mistook him for Matt after he regained his memories of Daredevil's identity.
- My God, What Have I Done?: After using the Norn Stone to write himself into Matt’s history, he's overcome with guilt when it's revealed he's partially responsible for Matt's accident and his father's murder.
- Polar Opposite Twins: Even as children, Matt was a well-behaved child while Mike was a delinquent.
- Pretending to Be One's Own Relative: How Mike originally was during the Fake Twin Gambit when he needed to appear in person: Matt pretending to be him. When Mike became a real person he ended up reversing this, pretending to be Matt, both when Daredevil was arrested (and Mike was lead to believe Matt was simply out of town and needed a stand in) and when he found it convenient to masquerade as a high profile lawyer for his own schemes.
Nelson and Murdock
Franklin "Foggy" Nelson
Franklin "Foggy" Nelson
Alter Ego: Franklin Nelson
First Appearance: Daredevil #1 (April, 1964)
Foggy is Matt's best friend and, for most of the series, his law partner.
- Affectionate Nickname: "Foggy" is one given to him by Matt. It's got nothing to do with his perceptiveness; it's actually short for "Foghorn" and comes from his being an atrociously loud sleeper in their college days.
- Badass Bookworm: Okay, he's not really a great physical fighter, but when it comes to standing up for Matt, nobody does it better than good old Foggy.
- Big Eater: Foggy really likes his food.
- Bizarre Taste in Food: As a running gag, Foggy is fond of eating bizarre and horribly smelly food combinations that make normal people gag and cause absolute havoc on Matt's enhanced senses.
- Faking the Dead: In the All-New Marvel NOW! run, had to do this as to not be targeted by Matt's enemies after he outed himself, since he is Matt's closest friend and the most vulnerable, as well as undergoing cancer treatment - in his weak condition, it would make him easy prey for any villain to find him at the hospital he'd be going to and take him out to get to Matt.
- Fat Best Friend: He is Matt's best friend, and he is Type B (Shrinking Violet).
- Fat and Proud: Not extremely fat, but definitely a bit chubby. A running gag in Waid's run is Matt putting Foggy on a diet and exercise regimen, and Foggy's attempts to get out of it. He does it in part because Foggy is an extremely loud chewer and it disrupts Matt's senses. He finally does lose weight during Waid's run due to cancer, however.
- Heterosexual Life-Partners: Is shown to be very supportive of Matt, even though they have their ups and downs.
- Hopeless Suitor: In the early days, he had a crush on Karen, but she only had eyes for Matt.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold/Nice Guy: Foggy was portrayed as a deeply conflicted character, continuously caught between his strong vocational disagreements with Matt, their rivalry for the affections of Karen Page, and his loyalty to his friend.
- Parental Abandonment: It is later revealed that Rosalind Sharpe is Nelson's biological mother: she divorced her husband and abandoned her son in order to be able to pursue her career as a lawyer. It was Sharpe's career that enticed her son to become a lawyer.
- Secret-Keeper: He knows that Matt is Daredevil. After Secret Wars, he's the only one of Matt's Secret Keepers that remembers that Matt is Daredevil.
Karen Page
Karen Page
First Appearance: Daredevil #1 (April, 1964)
Matt and Foggy's former secretary, Karen suffered from a serious drug problem following their breakup. She sold Matt's identity to Kingpin and was eventually murdered by Bullseye.
- The Atoner: She eventually realizes that she is too dependent on Matt and that her past is a constant barrier between them. Karen leaves Matt to accept a talk show host position in Los Angeles.
- Damsel in Distress: Karen was kidnapped quite often during Daredevil's battles, first by the Owl and again by the Purple Man.
- Drugs Are Bad: Karen becomes addicted to heroin and starts making pornographic movies. In need of a fix, she sells Daredevil's secret identity to a drug dealer, who in turn sells it to the Kingpin. Matt helps Karen beat her addiction and later founds a free drug and legal clinic where she counsels drug addicts and Matt provides legal advice and "ghost lawyering".
- First Love: Though it was later retconned to be Elektra, the trope still applies. Matt fell in love with her the moment he met her, and held a torch for her long after she left. When she returns to New York after selling him out, he instantly forgives her and picks up right where they left off. Her death causes Matt to have a Heroic BSoD, and he clearly still hasn't gotten over her, as he unconsciously compares all his subsequent girlfriends to her.
- Friendly Target: The second of Matt's girlfriends to be killed by Bullseye.
- Killed Off for Real: Murdered by Bullseye in "Guardian Devil".
- My God, What Have I Done?: You sold your ex-boyfriend's Secret Identity to his Arch-Enemy for a drug fix, that's what you did.
- Sexy Secretary: When she was Matt and Foggy's secretary.
- Taking the Bullet: Bullseye was aiming for Daredevil's mom (he didn't know it was her, but didn't care either). For once, he isn't bothered that he missed.
- Wet Blanket Wife: Early on, when they started dating, she tried to convince Matt to give up being Daredevil. Didn't work.
Becky Blake
Rebecca "Becky" Blake
Alter Ego: Rebecca Blake
First Appearance: Daredevil #155 (November, 1978)
While in college, Rebecca "Becky" Blake was sexually assaulted in an attack that left her unable to use her legs and confined to a wheelchair. She joined Nelson and Murdock as their legal secretary, where she worked for several years before leaving to pursue her own career in law. She would return some time later under invitation as the third partner at the new "Nelson, Blake and Murdock".
- Badass Bureaucrat
- Disabled Means Helpless: Both played straight and subverted. By nature, she is a shy and reclusive woman, and requires rescue by Daredevil on a number of occasions; however, in those circumstances she was not the only one in danger, and the use of her legs wouldn't have played much of a difference anyway. As well, once, when their offices are attacked by the Ani-Men, she manages to fight off Bird-Man long enough for Black Widow to arrive and subdue him.
- Put on a Bus: Twice. First, after appearing for almost the entirety of Frank Miller's run, she's not seen for almost fifteen years until a brief cameo in the late 90's. She then disappears again until the mid-Aughts when she becomes a partner at "Nelson, Blake and Murdock", becoming a core cast member again. And again after Shadowland.
- Rape as Backstory: While attending college, she was viciously assaulted by Michael Reese, a large man with a penchant for sadism towards women. The attack left her crippled and traumatized; she was left without the use of her legs, permanently bond to a wheelchair, and suffering severe PTSD.
- Rape as Drama: Her assault, which cost her the use of her legs, is treated very seriously. When she first joins Nelson and Murdock, she is still clearly traumatized by it, though she tries to hide it.
- Stepford Smiler: In her early appearances.
- Will Not Be a Victim: After joining Nelson and Murdock, she tries her best to be. But then a serial rapist starts making the papers...
Rosalind Sharpe
Rosalind Sharpe
First Appearance: Daredevil #166 (September, 1980)
A famous and controversial attorney from Boston, Rosalind Sharpe entered the life of Daredevil when she made an offer to Matt Murdock and Foggy Nelson to become her associates. Daredevil was surprised to find that Sharpe and Foggy knew one another until it was later revealed that she was Foggy's birth mother.
- Missing Mom: Divorced Franklin's father to pursue her legal career.
- No Such Thing as Bad Publicity: A defied case In-Universe; Sharpe officially fired Foggy from the firm when he was framed for rape and murder by Mysterio as she didn’t want to deal with the negative publicity of the subsequent case, prompting Matt to quit in a rage.
- Silver Vixen: Looks pretty good for someone with an adult son.
Kirsten McDuffie
Kirsten McDuffie
First Appearance: Daredevil Vol 3 #1 (September, 2011)
The assistant D.A. Matt meets at the beginning of Mark Waid's run. Eventually moves with him to San Francisco as his law partner.
- Amicable Exes: Well, after accidentally siccing Spider-Man on him. Since, the two have been on pretty good terms.
- Black Bra and Panties: Shows them off to Matt, just to see if he's faking the blind-man routine.
- Daddy's Girl: Used to be one as a kid. While they still get along, she would rather she didn't have to depend on him for anything, considering she's an assistant D.A.
- Deadpan Snarker: Very fond of teasing Matt about totally not being Daredevil.
- One of the Boys: Likes sports and practical jokes, and seems to actively enjoys hanging out with Matt and Foggy. She's also a lot more tolerant of Foggy's antics than some of their other bosses, and even Matt at times.
- Secret-Keeper: For Matt, until that secret was officially and irreversibly outed.
- The Tease: Loves teasing Matt, even before they got into a relationship. She even unbuttoned her shirt to show him a bra that said "you are Daredevil".
- Two Guys and a Girl: With Matt and Foggy. Notable in that not since Karen has a female character really filled this role.
- Working with the Ex: Replaces Foggy as Matt's partner, since he was being treated for cancer then had to fake his death.
Jessica Jones
Jessica Jones
Alter Ego: Jessica Campbell Jones Cage
Notable Aliases: Jewel, Knightress, Power Woman
First Appearance: Alias #1 (November 2001)
See Jessica Jones
The Chaste
Master Izo
Master Izo
First Appearance: Daredevil Vol 2 #112 (December, 2008)
Izo was a member of the organization known as the Hand, over hundreds of years ago. He chose to leave the group when the leader died and it devolved into a ninja cult criminal organization, prone to serving a demon. Around that time he cut out his eyes. He later formed the Hand's rival group, the Chase, where he trained Daredevil's own master, Stick. He was voted out of the group for his unprofessional behavior.
- All for Nothing: By the end of Shadowland, Izo laments all his schemes ended up going to waste.
- Bare-Handed Blade Block: Stops a sword bare handed during a fight.
- The Chessmaster: During the end of Brubaker's run, it is revealed that he orchestrated several plans to put Matt Murdock in charge of the Hand. It is strongly implied he was working with Lady Bullseye all along to cause the Kingpin's return (and thus kickstart the chain of events that'd lead to Matt being forced to assume the control of the Hand). He also planted several moles within the Hand.
- Deadpan Snarker: He's as caustically sarcastic as the day is long.
- Defector from Decadence: He defected from the Hand once he saw they became corrupt and cruel. A similar process happened with The Chase, which he left after realizing they were going through a He Who Fights Monsters phase regarding the Hand.
- Drunken Boxing: His style of martial arts is very similar, with his often incorporating blades.
- Drunken Master: Is almost always drunk, but it doesn't slow him down in a fight.
- Eccentric Mentor: Deconstructed along with Mr. Vice Guy badly. He’s a wise old martial artist master but his irreverent gambling, whoring, and drinking habits became so intolerable Stick and the rest of Izo’s students voted to kick him out of his own group. Instead of being endearing, he comes off as thrill seeking old jerk who just happens to want to fight the bad guys.
- Expy: He appears to essentially be a replacement for Stick in his initial appearances (the trickster old man with deep knowledge of the Hand), though Divergent Character Evolution kicks in and he quickly becomes a much more different character.
- Foil: To Stick. While Stick was an ardent Knight Templar with a very Spartan and ascetic worldview, Master Izo is noticeable for his much more nuanced hedonistic worldview and his fondness for booze and the pleasures of the flesh.
- Handicapped Badass: He may be blind, but he can kick all kinds of ninja butt.
- Hustler: Stick learned it from him.
- Manipulative Bastard: Izo plays everyone like a fiddle in his quest to fight the Hand.
- Master Swordsman: No one is able to beat him in a swordfight.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: His gambit to put Matt in charge of the Hand ends up leading to the apocalyptic Shadowland.
- Old Master: He is several centuries old and has learned much in that time. He trained Daredevil's own master, Stick.
- Really 700 Years Old: Was a member of the original Hand from centuries past, and has lived to the modern day.
- Shout-Out: Izo is clearly a reference to the Zatoichi film series, more specifically to Takeshi Kitano's Zatoichi (2003): Izo is a blind swordsman with a trickster streak who wields a sword disguised inside a sword cane. He noticeably resembles
◊ Takeshi Kitano's portrayal◊ of the character (notice the same cane and haircut).
- Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Izo is attempting to redeem the Hand. This proves to be a terrible idea.
Stick
Stick
First Appearance: Daredevil #176 (November, 1981)
Stick is a blind sensei who trained Matt Murdock. Stick has made it his mission to keep the Chaste pure and clean from any evil infection. He forbade another of his prominent students, Elektra Natchios, from remaining in their ranks because of her vengeful personality, in spite of her formidable progress
- Back from the Dead: In Contest of Champions (2015), he's resurrected by the Maestro to fight in the Contest.
- Bad Samaritan: Teaching Matt tacitly conscripted the young boy into the Chaste's (and later the Fist's) hidden war with the Hand without the lad's knowledge let alone consent.
- Cynical Mentor: Stick may have trained Matt to be a skilled fighter, but he was a very harsh teacher, often being verbally abusive towards Matt and had a sink or swim attitude towards Matt's training.
- Handicapped Badass: Stick may be blind, but he is one of the most skilled martial artists in the Marvel Universe.
- Handy Helper: When Daredevil lost his radar senses for a brief time, Stick taught him to fight without them.
- Healing Hands: Cures Black Widow of the Hand's poison by, from all appearances, just laying his hands on her for a few moments. He explains later that he was curing her by manipulating her ki.
- Hustler: In his spare time, Stick would hustle people at Josie's Bar. He challenges them to games of pool, playing up the fact that he was blind and then completely humiliate them over the course of the game, taking their money in the process.
- Ki Manipulation: His primary power.
- Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane: Stick posits as to whether or not the chemicals that blinded Daredevil really gave him his powers, or merely opened his mind to abilities he already possessed. Due to Stick having some magical abilities of his own, along with his radar sense, it's left ambiguous.
- Mentor Archetype: Was the man who taught Matt Murdock to be a skilled warrior.
- Old Master: Is quite old, and probably one of the greatest martial artists in the Marvel Universe.
- Soul Power: He has ki manipulation.
- Super-Senses: Stick possessed a "Radar" that enabled him to perceive the shapes and locations of objects in his vicinity despite his blindness. The limits of his "radar sense" are unknown, but it was more acute even than Daredevil's "radar sense."
Stone
Stone
First Appearance: Daredevil #187 (October, 1982)
Stone - Specializes in swords.
Shaft
Shaft
First Appearance: Daredevil #187 (October, 1982)
Shaft – Uses a bow and arrow.
- The Faceless: His face is never seen.
- We Hardly Knew Ye: Only appeared for 3 issues before being killed alongside Claw.
Claw
Claw
First Appearance: Daredevil #187 (October, 1982)
Claw – Uses handheld metal blades (similar to Wolverine's adamantium claws) in combat.
- The Faceless: His face is never seen.
- We Hardly Knew Ye: Only appeared for 3 issues before being killed alongside Shaft.
Flame
Flame
First Appearance: Daredevil #188 (November, 1982)
Flame – Power of pyrokinesis.
- The Faceless: His face is never seen.
- We Hardly Knew Ye: Only lasted for two issues before being killed.
Star
Star
First Appearance: Daredevil #296 (September, 1991)
Star – Uses shuriken.
- The Faceless: His face is never seen.
Trahn
Trahn
First Appearance: Daredevil: Ninja #1 (December, 2000)
One of the last members of Stone's "The Seven", the order that Daredevils mentor, Stick, once ran.
- The Smurfette Principle: She's the only known female of the Chaste.
Wing
Wing
First Appearance: Daredevil #296 (September, 1991)
Wing – Power of levitation.
- The Faceless: His face was never seen.
Allies
Ben Urich
Ben Urich
First Appearance: Daredevil #153 (July, 1978)
- "Listen, if you have a story for me, cut the mystery man crap and just tell me straight."
Urich is a chain-smoking, tough-as-nails investigative journalist for the New York newspaper The Daily Bugle. Urich deduced the secret identity of Daredevil and has used him as a source of information and vice versa. To a lesser extent, he has a similar relationship with Spider-Man, whose alter ego Peter Parker was a photographer for the Bugle who occasionally accompanied Urich on assignments. Urich has used these connections to expose supervillains posing as businessmen including Kingpin and Green Goblin.
- Action Survivor: How many times has this guy risked his life?
- Badass Normal: Not for his fighting skills (he doesn't have any) so much as his guts; be you Wilson Fisk or Norman Osborn, even if you put the fear of God into him, sooner or later this man will stand up to and expose you, knowing full well that he is risking his life by doing so.
- Beware the Nice Ones: One time over, Ben did beat a crooked cop to death after the officer tried to assassinate him.
- Cool Uncle: To his sometime superhero nephew Phil (at least, until Phil went Ax-Crazy, did a Face–Heel Turn, and became the newest Hobgoblin).
- Friend in the Press: Ben's integrity and willingness to get to the bottom of a story has made him a staunch ally of not just Matt (who entrusts him with his real identity) but also Spider-Man (despite his boss' well-known hatred for the webslinger).
- Intrepid Reporter: His first story involved him deducing Daredevil's secret identity. The scoop on Kingpin nearly cost him the life. He (with Sally Floyd) has also covered some of major Marvel's events like Civil War and World War Hulk.
- Pals with Jesus: Ben, who is about as normal as you can get, is on a real-identity basis with both Daredevil and Spider-Man.
- Secret-Keeper: He knows Matt Murdock is Daredevil. And also knows that Peter Parker is Spider-Man. Well, he knew both of these things. His knowledge of Matt's identity was wiped from his mind after Secret Wars, and his knowledge of Peter's identity was wiped after One More Day.
Big Ben Donovan
Big Ben Donovan
Alter Ego: Benjamin Donovan
First Appearance: Luke Cage, Hero for Hire #14 (October 1973)
See Luke Cage
Black Cat
Black Cat
Alter Ego: Felicia Hardy
Notable Aliases: Felicia Harmon, Felicity Harmon, Leesh, Party Hardy
First Appearance: The Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 1, #194
See Black Cat
Black Widow
Black Widow
Alter Ego: Natalia Alianovna Romanova (Natasha Romanoff)
Notable Aliases: Natalie Rushman, Laura Matthers, Mary Farrell, Natasha Romanoff, Oktober, Yelena Belova
First Apperance: Tales of Suspense #52 (April 1964)
See Black Widow
Blake Tower
Blake Tower
First Appearance: Daredevil #124 (August 1975)
Blake Tower is a lawyer in New York City and helps Daredevil with information to capture criminals. He was also a runner-up to the position of District Attorney.
Blindspot
Blindspot
Alter Ego: Samuel Chung
Notable Aliases: Ghost Brother, Daredevil
First Appearance: All-New, All-Different Marvel Point One #1 (December 2015)
Samuel Chung was an illegal immigrant from China who invented a suit that allows him to become invisible. Under the guidance of Daredevil, he becomes a vigilante known as Blindspot.
- Defector from Decadence: His mother was The Dragon for a corrupt church leader named Tenfingers. Sam himself spent his days as an enforcer for him, while spending his nights as Blindspot fighting his influence in Chinatown.
- Eye Scream: Muse blinds him by gouging his eyes out.
- Gadgeteer Genius: To an extent. He built his invisibility suit himself, one that runs on D-cell batteries.
- The Illegal: The reason he works using a mask and refuses to give Daredevil his real name.
- Invisibility Cloak: His outfit renders his entire body invisible
- Student–Master Team: He's Daredevil's apprentice
- White Mask of Doom: Heroic example. His invisibility suit includes a white mask. It even includes a setting that leaves only the mask visible for when he wants to talk to someone.
Brett Mahoney
Brett Mahoney
First Appearance: Marvel Comics Presents Vol. 2 #1 (November 2007)
Detective Brett Mahoney is a member of the New York City Police Department and was stationed at the 27th Precinct. He's the partner of Stacy Dolan.
Cole North
Cole North
First Appearance: Daredevil Vol. 6 #1
A highly regarded detective, Cole North transferred to the NYPD from the Chicago Police Department. Due to having an extreme distaste for masked vigilantes, he was assigned to investigate a homicide committed by Daredevil. Despite this, Cole began to see Daredevil as a valued ally during his time navigating through a corrupt NYPD.
- My Greatest Failure: He was transferred to New York because in Chicago he had shot and killed an unarmed teenager. He is extremely ashamed of this and the fact that the crime was so easily swept under the rug by his department made Cole become obsessed with accountability.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Is on the receiving end of this not just by several other officers for his standoffishness, but Spider-Man for wasting so much time and effort trying to arrest masked vigilantes. He in turn gives one to the NYPD for tolerating the vigilante violence of Daredevil and other vigilantes despite being indirectly helped by their actions when they're supposed to be cops enforcing the law.
Colleen Wing
Colleen Wing
Alter Ego: Colleen Wing
Notable Aliases: Carol Speed, Lady Samurai
First Appearance: Marvel Premiere #19 (November 1974)
Dakota North
Dakota North
First Appearance: Dakota North #1 (June 1986)
Dakota North had a successful career as a fashion model. Despite her fame, she wanted something with more depth, more importance, and become a private investigator and opened her own agency. She has worked as an investigator for a number of heroes, including Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and Daredevil.
See Dakota North
Echo
Echo
Alter Ego: Maya Lopez
Notable Aliases: Ronin
First Appearance: Daredevil #9 (December, 1999) note ; The New Avengers #11 (November, 2005) note
Team Affiliations: New Avengers
Joined In: New Avengers #11 (November, 2005)
First, I will bury the worst parts of my memory, the dead parts of my heart, in the hole. Then I will cover it up and plant something inside it. Something that will grow. But I'm not sure if the dead parts will stay buried. I'm done with them. But I don't think they are done with me.
— Maya Lopez, Daredevil vol. 2 #51
Maya was a Native American girl who was born deaf. Her father, Willie "Crazy Horse" Lincoln, was secretly a mob enforcer for Wilson Fisk, the Kingpin of Crime, but was killed under Fisk's orders. Impressed and intrigued by Maya's skills and photographic reflexes, the Kingpin adopted her and sent her to the best schools, gaining her trust. Finally, he "revealed" to her that Daredevil killed her father and sent her to kill him in return.
Despite the Kingpin's lies, Maya learned the truth and shot the Kingpin, leaving him blind for a while. She left New York to visit her father's tribe and have a vision quest. This motivated her to return to New York and start performing theater through using sign language, dance, and music.
Maya was next seen in the pages of New Avengers, where she showed up as the masked ninja Ronin. (The writer of the book, Brian Michael Bendis, originally had planned for Daredevil to be Ronin, but changed his mind.) She fought alongside the New Avengers against the Hand, before being killed by the Hand's new leader, Elektra. (This Elektra turned out to be a Skrull imposter, however.) Elektra and the Hand then resurrected her and tried to brainwash her to be evil, but were thwarted by the New Avengers and another Ronin (who ended up being Clint Barton). Echo remained with the New Avengers at their headquarters in Doctor Strange's Sanctum Santorum and fought with them against the secret Skrull invasion.
She next appeared in Moon Knight vol 6, also written by Bendis, where she began helping Marc Spector, the Moon Knight, with his fight against the so-called "Kingpin of LA," which turned out to be Count Nefaria. Unfortunately, during a fight, Nefaria killed her with his optic blasts.
She next showed up a few years later in Daredevil Annual vol 4 #1, where she helped Daredevil stop Klaw, a supervillain made of sound, from taking over New York City.
In The Avengers (Jason Aaron) she took part in the "Enter the Phoenix" Tournament Arc. Maya was one of a number of individuals summoned to the White Hot Room by the Phoenix to determine its next host. While empowered by the Phoenix, she fought a similarly-empowered Namor the Sub-Mariner, who left her at the bottom of the ocean. However, that did not stop her and she rose from the sea, pulling the rest of the Phoenix into her and becoming the next host of the Phoenix Force. Her story continued in the solo comic Phoenix Song: Echo.
Maya made her Marvel Cinematic Universe entrance in the Disney+ show Hawkeye, where she is played by Alaqua Cox, a Native American actress who is deaf and an amputee. She eventually received her own Spin-Off show, Echo, with Cox reprising her role.
- Action Girl: Thanks to her ability, she became a strong martial artist. She has gained Bullseye's uncanny aim and Daredevil's acrobatic abilities after watching tapes of their fights.
- Affirmative-Action Legacy: A deaf, Native American woman becomes the new host to the Phoenix, whose most famous (or infamous) previous host was a white woman.
- Anti-Villain: Briefly. She was pitted against Daredevil by the Kingpin, but had no idea that she was working for a criminal (or at least, how bad a criminal he was) and mistakenly believed that Daredevil killed her father. A solid Type 4.
- Boxing Battler: In Vision Quest she states she was "a natural" at boxing when starting to learn martial arts, implying innate talent independent of her mimic ability. The same comic also implies she won an Olympic gold medal in the sport.note
- Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: After being a member of the New Avengers for five issues following Civil War, she disappears without a word after Secret Invasion (2008). Lampshaded by Spider-Man asking if anyone knew where she'd gone; and again with her reappearance when Luke Cage and Jessica Jones were looking for a Nanny, as she angrily asks if Cage even remembers that she used to be on the team.
- Clark Kenting: While operating on her own in Japan, she pretended to be a ditzy socialite to gain access to her targets. Then, as Ronin, she comes back and unleashes Hell on them.
- C-List Fodder: Just narrowly avoided being replaced by Skrull infiltrators, Hawkeye noting she'd be an easy person to replace because she's so low down the totem pole, barely anyone knows her, and therefore wouldn't notice if her replacement slipped up.
- Dating Catwoman: Like Typhoid Mary, she dates Matt Murdock while trying to kill Daredevil. Unlike her, she only does so because she was tricked.
- Death Is Cheap: In New Avengers, Elektra (or more accurately a Skrull impersonating Elektra) runs her through with a sword, so the Hand can resurrect her as a brainwashed minion.
- Deceptive Legacy: The Kingpin murdered her father, but honored the dying man's wish that he take care of her and raise her as his own. Then he told her that Daredevil killed her father.
- Dropped a Bridge on Him: Echo was killed by Count Nefaria in the Moon Knight series. However, a few years later, she showed up alive and well again.
- Facial Markings: A white handprint, in the same place her father placed his hand on her while he was dying.
- Fight Clubbing: When she was still associated with Kingpin, she competed in underground boxing matches.
- Fights Like a Normal: Played with. Echo's martial arts skill is almost entirely due to her mimic ability, but she's also limited by her own strength, agility, durability, etc., which are only those of a peak human and not a superhuman.
- Foil: Daredevil's a blind man with super acute hearing, smell, touch, and taste. She's a deaf woman with super acute eyesight and a photographic memory.
- Handicapped Badass: While Matt Murdock is blind, Echo is deaf. A deaf who posses "photographic reflexes" that allow her to mimic the feats of those around her.
- Magical Native American: Subverted with her father, who was Native American, but also a mob enforcer. Maya herself straddles the line, often subverting it by being a well-rounded and nuanced character...but one who also went on a "vision quest" and met an "animal spirit" in order to find out what to do next in life.
- One-Man Army: As Ronin, she carves through the Japanese criminal underworld... until the Hand come after her.
- Pay Evil unto Evil / Laser-Guided Karma: Once she finds out what really happened to her father, she responds by putting a bullet between Kingpin's eyes. He survives, but was blinded, just like Matt, except without the super-senses.
- Photographic Memory: Maya possess "photographic reflexes" or the uncanny ability to perfectly copy other people's movements, similar to that of the Taskmaster. Just by watching other people, she has become a concert-level pianist, a strong martial artist, a highly skilled acrobat, and a gifted ballerina (and on one occasion even piloted a Quinjet for a few minutes).
- Put on a Bus: She was written out from New Avengers and eventually joined the cast of Moon Knight. And then died. She came back a few years later, alive and well.
- Real Award, Fictional Character: She's won at least three gold medals from the Special Olympics and the Olympics, though it's not entirely clear what the events were.
- Spanner in the Works: The Skrull infiltration of Earth would've gone off a lot easier had she not shaken off the Hand brainwashing and ran their Elektra impersonator through. At the very least, the Avengers wouldn't have known about it until it was too late.
- Twofer Token Minority: Deaf, part-Hispanic, part-Native American.
- Unexplained Recovery: Despite apparently being killed by Count Nefaria during the Moon Knight series in 2012, she would reappear to help Matt in 2016, without explaining how or why she survived or came back (although the intervening universal restoration may account for this).
- You Killed My Father: Believed this to be Daredevil, but later learnt it was actually the Kingpin.
Elektra
Click here to see her as Daredevil
Alter Ego: Elektra Natchios
Notable Aliases: Daredevil
First Appearance: Daredevil #168 (January, 1981) note ; Daredevil (Vol. 6) #25 (December, 2020) note
The lethal scarlet assassin. Daredevil's most fearsome enemy as well as his former lover and most renowned as being the greatest assassin in the world.
See Elektra
Glorianna O'Breen
Glorianna O'Breen
First Appearance: Daredevil #205 (April, 1984)
Matt Murdock's girlfriend for a time, before becoming Foggy's girlfriend. She was killed by one of the Kingpin's goons.
- Amateur Photographer
- Back for the Dead: After being absent from the comics for several years, she is brought back for roughly two issues before being killed off.
- Collateral Angst: Killed off after being absent from the comic just to give Daredevil more reasons to angst.
- Damsel in Distress: Matt had to rescue her on a number of occasions.
- Fiery Redhead: Has red hair.
- Intrepid Reporter: Dabbles in this from time to time, usually resulting in her being put in danger and having to be rescued by Matt.
- Killed Off for Real: She is killed by Victor Krueller. The Kingpin is even indirectly responsible.
- Oireland
Heather Glenn
Heather Glenn
First Appearance: Daredevil #126 (October, 1975)
A former girlfriend of Matt Murdock. She was a head of the now closed Glenn Industries, before her father committed suicide and she was forced to sign away the company. Suffering from depression, she grew more and more dependent on Matt, and ended up committing suicide after she thought that Matt had ended the relationship.
- The Alcoholic: When she dated Tony Stark, both were heavily involved with alcohol abuse.
- All Take and No Give: Both her and Matt have played both roles at different time. When they first started dating, Matt tried to be the perfect boyfriend, looking past Heather's rudeness towards him and his friends, and tolerated her constant partying. Later, when Heather lost her father, despite very clearly being in an emotionally vulnerable state, Matt strong armed her into living with him and cutting her off form her former socialite friends. Even Foggy and Glorianna called him out on it.
- Broken Bird: Heather was the flighty fun loving former girlfriend of Matt. Subsequently, Matt uncovered a criminal conspiracy involving her father, who was under the control of the Purple Man. Despite the efforts of Murdock's alter ego, Daredevil, who tried to find evidence to exonerate him without exposing his secret identity, Heather's father committed suicide and Heather started to abuse alcohol.
- Destructive Romance: After losing her father and his company in quick succession, she grows overly reliant on Matt for emotional support, an attitude which he unconsciously encourages. When the two of them separate, she doesn't take it well.
- Driven to Suicide: In the end, she committed suicide.
- Really Gets Around: Dated Tony Stark, and cheated on Matt several times.
- Uptown Girl
Iron Fist
Iron Fist
Alter Ego: Daniel Thomas "Danny" Rand-K’ai
Notable Aliases: Daredevil, The Living Weapon, Young Dragon, Daniel Thomas Rand, Daniel Rand-Kai
First Appearance: Marvel Premier #15 (May 1974)
See Iron Fist
Luke Cage
Luke Cage
Sweet Christmas!
Alter Ego: Luke Cage, Born Carl Lucas
Notable Aliases: Power Man
First Appearance: Luke Cage, Hero For Hire #1 (June 1972)
See Luke Cage
Milla Donovan
Milla Donovan
First Appearance: Daredevil Vol 2 #41 (March, 2003)
A blind woman who Matt Murdock saved from a speeding truck. They quickly fell in love and were privately married. Believing that she was just a replacement for Karen Page, along with the dangers of being Daredevil's wife, Milla filed for divorce, despite both her and Matt still having feelings for one another.
- All Girls Want Bad Boys: Milla herself admits that she has a history of going after bad boys and part of her initial attraction to Matt was this.
- Amicable Exes: For a given value of "amicable".
- Fourth-Date Marriage: One of the many, many reasons it didn't work out.
- It's Not You, It's My Enemies: Defied, in a Tempting Fate sort of way.
- Love Martyr: Was driven insane by Mr. Fear.
- Replacement Goldfish: For Karen Page, which is partially why she decides to divorce Matt.
- Revenge by Proxy:
- On the receiving end of this after Matt Murdock was accused of being Daredevil, such as when Bullseye broke into her room and nearly racked his list of "number of Daredevil's girlfriends I've killed" up to 3.
- Mr. Fear decided to use her in his revenge scheme against Matt, driving her slowly insane with his gas. Turns out, he never had a cure.
- Tragically Disabled Love Interest: Is blind and this contributes to her being a target of Revenge by Proxy.
- Trauma Conga Line: During Brubaker's run, had to deal with Matt being in prison, then him being a fugitive, then his fling from his time as a fugitive who has the scent of Karen Page comes back into their lives, then Mr. Fear causes her to kill someone, then she's kept on drugs in a barely aware state, and is eventually driven insane because what Mr. Fear used on her never had a cure, even though Matt promised he'd get her better.
Misty Knight
Misty Knight
Alter Ego: Mercedes "Misty" Knight
Notable Aliases: Maya Corday, Control
First Appearance: Marvel Premiere #21 (March 1975)
Moon Knight
Moon Knight
Alter Ego: Marc Spector
Notable Aliases: Steven Grant, Jake Lockley, Fist of Khonshu, Mr. Knight
First Appearance: Werewolf by Night #32 (August 1975)
See Moon Knight
Nyla Skin
Nyla Skin
First Appearance: Daredevil #285 (October, 1990)
Nyla Skin is a homeless girl who befriended Matt Murdock.
- Ambiguously Bi: The ending of Serpent's Crown implies she swings both ways based on the way she interacts with a couple of casino hostesses.
- The Bus Came Back: After not being seen in over 20 years, she returns as Conan the Barbarian's partner during the Serpent's Crown.
- Handicapped Badass: Because she listened too much Rock 'n' Roll, Nyla's hearing ability was significantly decreased. She remains a very capable thief.
- Odd Friendship: With Conan the Barbarian.
Punisher
The Punisher
Alter Ego: Frank G. Castle (born Francis Castiglione)
Notable Aliases: Mr. Smith, Charles Fort, Frank Rook, Johnny Tower, Franken-Castle, War Machine
First Appearance: The Amazing Spider-Man #129
See The Punisher
Spider-Man
Spider-Man
Alter Ego: Peter Benjamin Parker
Notable Aliases: Bombastic Bag-Man, Ricochet, Dusk, Prodigy, Hornet, Ben Reilly, Scarlet Spider, Captain Universe, Liar
First Appearance: Amazing Fantasy #15 (Aug. 1962)
See Spider-Man
White Tiger
