Jackson-Daredevil

     Throughout the extended Marvel Universe (by which I mean comics, movies, video games, etc.), there is one character who frequently stands out to me, especially because of his incredible Netflix and Disney+ shows (which I highly recommend), and that character is Matt Murdock, better known as Daredevil. Daredevil is a superhero who lost his sight at an early age, but as a result, gained enhancements to his other four senses, so much so that he can “see” by hearing the way sounds reflect off objects, like sonar. Using those abilities, Murdock fights crime as a vigilante at night (during the day, he works as a lawyer) and protects his home borough of Hell’s Kitchen, New York, from both petty and organized crime, often putting him into conflict with several mob-associated characters like the Kingpin and Maggia crime families. 

While Matt’s superpowers are very cool, that is not the aspect I wanted to focus on in this blog post. Instead, I want to focus on the fact that he chose the moniker and imagery of the Devil himself (his costume is often depicted as bright red with devil horns on the mask), despite the fact that Matt is a devout Catholic. Throughout the show and comics, Matt frequently prays to God for forgiveness, preaches to other vigilantes about not killing people, and is depicted as having a close, almost father-son dynamic with a priest, while at the same time beating the crap out of people as “The Devil of Hell’s Kitchen.” I find this contrast incredibly interesting, as the Devil is often depicted as the antithesis of everything Matt believes in; however, he seems to have fully embraced this identity, something that most Catholics would be greatly opposed to. 

Overall, I really enjoy this character and his two seemingly opposing identities, especially because the two frequently come into conflict.