In another, he attempts to suppress feelings for his first love and deadly assassin, Elektra Natchios, to bring her to justice. In one issue he must work with a villain and mob boss, Kingpin, to achieve a greater good. Just a few examples include the fact that Murdock, a devout Catholic, must decide if he should let his enemies live, even though they may continue to kill innocent people. Miller’s version of Hell’s Kitchen (the city Daredevil protects) is full of these “contradictions and paradoxes” that created internal turmoil for Murdock.

Rather, he was exploring the internal makeup of the superhero genre, poking around for contradictions and paradoxes, with the similarly stylized “realist” genre of crime fiction as his probe. Miller was not making superheroes more realistic in the way that, say, Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons confronted vigilantism with real-world physics, politics, media, and sexuality.

In Frank Miller’s Daredevil and the Ends of Heroism, Paul Young described Miller’s work as unique for its time: Over the entirety of Miller’s Daredevil run, Murdock’s faith would consistently shape his identity as a vigilante whose moral code is consistently tested by an ever-present evil.įrank Miller pointed out the paradox of the men in tights who live as if they are above the law. Miller’s version of the hero was pushed to the brink of introspection, trying to solve moral dilemmas and bring an end to crime while upholding the law and living out his Catholic faith. Nevertheless, it was writer Frank Miller who first shed light on many of Murdock’s personal conflicts. The image foreshadows the tumultuous journey Murdock would face as both a man of the law and a man who bends the law to stop crime.

I kinda hope you’re resting easier now.” The silhouette of Murdock’s shadow on the wall outlines his horn-headed, crime-fighting alter-ego, Daredevil.

Above Murdock’s head is a thought bubble that reads, “Dad, wherever you are. The first published Daredevil comic ends with a sketch of Matt Murdock - a blind man with heightened physical senses, a lawyer by day, and a vigilante by night - looking out the window of a city skyscraper while thinking of his deceased father.

Daredevil comic frank miller