Daredevil # 1 - The Origin of Daredevil
is a comic book published by Marvel Publishing & released on 4 / / 1964User Rating - 2 votes, 3.8 avg.
Plot Summary
The action begins at Fogwell's gym where a group of lowlifes are interrupted by a strangely dressed figure in yellow and red who attacks them and demands to know where their boss, the 'Fixer' is. At the end of the fight, which the masked man easily wins, we learn that this is Daredevil and the story flashes back to introduce Matt Murdock, as an eight year old boy, living with his father, 'Battling' Murdock, a down on his luck boxer.
Matt is thrilled about his dad being a boxer. However, Battling Murdock tells him that he has promised his mother that he won't let Matt follow the same path that he has and urges Matt, instead, to study. Matt reluctantly does so. Staying in studying alone earns him the ironic nickname 'Daredevil' by the local street kids who play outside his window.
Murdock is struggling to make ends meet and so approaches the Fixer to see if he can set up some fights for him. The Fixer agrees. Murdock strides home, proud, unaware that his son has had an accident. Matt has noticed an old man struggling to cross a road about to be knocked down by a lorry. Pushing him out of the way, Matt unfortunately is knocked over and falls into a spillage of radioactive waste on board the lorry.
In hospital, Matt begins his recovery, though he is now unable to see. He remains upbeat, however, telling his father that he will continue his studies in braille. Once out of hospital, Matt soon realizes that, whilst he is now blind, his other senses are heightened to incredible degrees. As well as studies, Matt throws himself into working in the gym, developing athleticism.
As the years go by, Matt continues to do well at school. Matt graduates college top of his class in law and his college buddy, Foggy Nelson, has offered to set up a law partnership with him. Foggy then employs Karen Page as their secretary.
Meanwhile Murdock has continued to do well in boxing tournaments, until the Fixer reveals to him that his bouts have been set ups. The Fixer tells Murdock that he must take a fall at his next fight. However, at the fight, aware that his son is present, Murdock ignores the Fixer's demands, and instead knocks out his opponent. The Fixer then has Murdock shot dead.
Matt wants revenge and so makes a costume for himself to confront those he believes killed his father - thus taking the story back to its prologue. At the gym, the Fixer turns up and Daredevil begins to battle him and his cohort Slade (who had pulled the trigger when Matt's father was killed). The Fixer and Slade, however, escape and make their way to an underground station. There Daredevil catches up with them and knocks Slade to the floor.
Daredevil then pursues the Fixer. He is about to catch him when the Fixer has a heart attack and dies. Slade, however, craftily manipulated by Daredevil, confesses to killing Battling Murdock.
Matt is thrilled about his dad being a boxer. However, Battling Murdock tells him that he has promised his mother that he won't let Matt follow the same path that he has and urges Matt, instead, to study. Matt reluctantly does so. Staying in studying alone earns him the ironic nickname 'Daredevil' by the local street kids who play outside his window.
Murdock is struggling to make ends meet and so approaches the Fixer to see if he can set up some fights for him. The Fixer agrees. Murdock strides home, proud, unaware that his son has had an accident. Matt has noticed an old man struggling to cross a road about to be knocked down by a lorry. Pushing him out of the way, Matt unfortunately is knocked over and falls into a spillage of radioactive waste on board the lorry.
In hospital, Matt begins his recovery, though he is now unable to see. He remains upbeat, however, telling his father that he will continue his studies in braille. Once out of hospital, Matt soon realizes that, whilst he is now blind, his other senses are heightened to incredible degrees. As well as studies, Matt throws himself into working in the gym, developing athleticism.
As the years go by, Matt continues to do well at school. Matt graduates college top of his class in law and his college buddy, Foggy Nelson, has offered to set up a law partnership with him. Foggy then employs Karen Page as their secretary.
Meanwhile Murdock has continued to do well in boxing tournaments, until the Fixer reveals to him that his bouts have been set ups. The Fixer tells Murdock that he must take a fall at his next fight. However, at the fight, aware that his son is present, Murdock ignores the Fixer's demands, and instead knocks out his opponent. The Fixer then has Murdock shot dead.
Matt wants revenge and so makes a costume for himself to confront those he believes killed his father - thus taking the story back to its prologue. At the gym, the Fixer turns up and Daredevil begins to battle him and his cohort Slade (who had pulled the trigger when Matt's father was killed). The Fixer and Slade, however, escape and make their way to an underground station. There Daredevil catches up with them and knocks Slade to the floor.
Daredevil then pursues the Fixer. He is about to catch him when the Fixer has a heart attack and dies. Slade, however, craftily manipulated by Daredevil, confesses to killing Battling Murdock.
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User Reviews
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Daredevil No1
Reviewed by dmstarz on July 31, 2008. dmstarz has written 360 reviews. His/her last review was for Unmasked!. 2 out of 2 users recommend his reviews. |
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So, the origin of Daredevil in its original form! This is really a triumph of economic storytelling. I mean, so much is introduced here that is intrinsic to the entire DD canon over its next 40 plus years, which is great work from Stan Lee, in particular. Not only do we get the origin, but we meet Battling Murdock, Foggy Nelson and Karen Page, plus get a very nice precis of the first 20 or so years of Matt Murdock's life. There's so much in this one issue.
The artist here is Bill Everett and I think this is the only issue he did on Daredevil, which is a damn shame as he is fantastic here. I particularly loved the grotesque visage that he gives the Fixer. Also, check out Battling Jack's peacock strut on page eight when he has learned of employment from the Fixer. Awesome.
Like the origin of Spider-man, there's no big spectacular supervillian on show here. The human drama's far more important and the story benefits from this. Strangely, the down and dirty nature of the Fixer and his crew is a nice predictor of Frank Miller's run on the book, being very similar in tone. At the end of the story, DD doesn't beat up or apprehend the bad guy. Instead the Fixer has a heart attack and this kind of low key event seems in perfect keeping with what we have come to know of as typical Daredevil.
It's interesting as well that the story begins with Daredevil fighting some low lifes in a gym. Whilst, we are now reading this over 40 years on, of course, the reader to begin wtih did not know that the superhero was blind and that must have been quite a knock out punch for the reader at the time.
Some idiosyncracies that I liked in this issue. One, early on it is revealed that Matt is eight years of age in 1950. So that makes him, what, 66 today. Say, he's looking good for a pensioner. Secondly, on page 21, Karen Page is referred to in the narration as the lawyers' office "most decorative accessory". Heh, for all the cheesecake artwork in comics today, I cannot imagine a writer getting away with referring to a female character as a decorative accessory. How times change.
The artist here is Bill Everett and I think this is the only issue he did on Daredevil, which is a damn shame as he is fantastic here. I particularly loved the grotesque visage that he gives the Fixer. Also, check out Battling Jack's peacock strut on page eight when he has learned of employment from the Fixer. Awesome.
Like the origin of Spider-man, there's no big spectacular supervillian on show here. The human drama's far more important and the story benefits from this. Strangely, the down and dirty nature of the Fixer and his crew is a nice predictor of Frank Miller's run on the book, being very similar in tone. At the end of the story, DD doesn't beat up or apprehend the bad guy. Instead the Fixer has a heart attack and this kind of low key event seems in perfect keeping with what we have come to know of as typical Daredevil.
It's interesting as well that the story begins with Daredevil fighting some low lifes in a gym. Whilst, we are now reading this over 40 years on, of course, the reader to begin wtih did not know that the superhero was blind and that must have been quite a knock out punch for the reader at the time.
Some idiosyncracies that I liked in this issue. One, early on it is revealed that Matt is eight years of age in 1950. So that makes him, what, 66 today. Say, he's looking good for a pensioner. Secondly, on page 21, Karen Page is referred to in the narration as the lawyers' office "most decorative accessory". Heh, for all the cheesecake artwork in comics today, I cannot imagine a writer getting away with referring to a female character as a decorative accessory. How times change.
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| Date Added: | June 6, 2008 |
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