Daredevil’s secret identity is probably one of the most famous (or infamous) examples of the now-somewhat-outdated super-hero trope. While Spider-Man was exposed to Green Goblin years earlier, Norman Osborn quickly either got amnesia or “died,” whereas the Kingpin systematically destroyed Matt Murdock’s life once he received the information. Bendis’ “Out” story arc spent years exploring the ramifications of a super-hero’s identity being revealed in a high profile way. Reviewing the history of Daredevil’s secret identity just goes to show how really bad he was at keeping his secret, from deliberate revelations to careless mistakes.
This article chronicles the point when various characters learned Daredevil’s secret identity. We are specifically focusing on when people learned Matt Murdock was Daredevil. The Masked Marauder “learning” that Mike Murdock was Daredevil doesn’t count (DD #27), nor when he appeared in front of Yuriko Oyama (#198) or Captain America (#233) unmasked, as they didn’t learn his real name.
Spider-Man (Peter Parker)
Daredevil (1st series) #16, Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man (1st series) #110
After an encounter with Daredevil, Spider-Man’s spider-sense led him to the offices of Nelson & Murdock. He initially assumed Foggy Nelson was Daredevil, but soon concluded that Daredevil wasn’t pudgy like Foggy, blind like Matt or slender enough to be Karen. He apparently changed his mind and sent a telegram to Matt Murdock, claiming he knew Matt was Daredevil but promising not to reveal it. (DD #22-25) This telegram was read by Karen and Foggy, prompting Matt’s “Mike Murdock” identity to cover his tracks. Sometime later, Matt Murdock “died” in a plane crash while Daredevil remained active, prompting Spidey to assume he was mistaken (DD #54)… and promptly forget ever connecting Matt and DD, despite multiple encounters with both over the years. Eventually, after Daredevil matched Peter Parker and Spider-Man’s heartbeats during the Sin-Eater case, he revealed his identity to Peter in exchange.
Samuel "Starr" Saxon / Mister Fear II
Daredevil (1st series) #51
Saxon was hired to assassinate Daredevil using his robotic plastoids. Tracking Daredevil by scent, the plastoid attacked him at Matt Murdock’s apartment. Saxon later entered Murdock’s apartment after the attack and found Matt’s hidden cache of Daredevil materials, confirming his suspicions.
Black Panther (T'Challa)
Daredevil (1st series) #52
T’Challa overheard Starr Saxon call Daredevil “Murdock” when they were involved in the same case. He later revealed to Daredevil he knew his identity in #69.
Karen Page
Daredevil (1st series) #57
Karen Page was the first person Matt revealed his identity to deliberately. His secretive behavior and comings and goings constantly put a strain on his relationship with Karen, first as a secretary and friend, and later as a romantic partner. Karen came close to deducing Matt’s secret herself on several occasions, and Matt even invented his twin brother persona of “Mike Murdock” in part to explain Matt and Daredevil’s connection for Karen. After “killing off” Mike Murdock, Matt finally came forward and unmasked in front of Karen.
Black Widow (Natasha Romanov)
Daredevil (1st series) #84
Daredevil and the Black Widow crossed paths seemingly by chance, although it was actually part of a larger scheme by the entity known as Mr. Kline. When Natasha was framed for murder by Kline, Daredevil assured her that his friend Matt Murdock would defend her, allowing Natasha to get to know him in both identities. After her acquittal, Natasha traveled to Europe and met Kline posing as an optometrist who could cure blindness. She called Matt Murdock to meet her, and soon she and Daredevil confronted and defeated Mr. Kline and his benefactor. By this point, Matt and Natasha simply acknowledged how obvious it was that Daredevil and Matt Murdock were the same man, given the circumstances.
Ivan Petrovich
Daredevil (1st series) #85
Ivan was Natasha’s constant companion at this time, and Matt was blithely open about his secret in front of Ivan, presumably after Natasha vouched for him.
Mister Fear III (Larry Cranston)
Daredevil (1st series) #91
Larry Cranston went to law school with Matt Murdock. When both Matt and Daredevil moved to San Francisco at the same time, Cranston was astute enough to deduce they were the same man.
Moondragon (Heather Douglas)
Daredevil (1st series) #106 - 108
As a telepath, Moondragon spent extensive time in Daredevil’s head on more than one occasion during their struggle with Kerwin Broderick. By #108, Matt began appearing unmasked in front of her, making it clear she had already extracted knowledge of his double identity.
Mandrill (Jalome Beechman)
Daredevil (1st series) #110
The next of Daredevil’s rogue’s gallery to learn his identity, the Mandrill used his domination over women to make Black Widow join his organization, Black Spectre. He compelled her to provide him with everything she knew about Daredevil, including his real name. It’s possible he shared the information with Nekra and other members of his group, but Mandrill rarely resurfaced and showed no personal interest in assaulting Matt Murdock’s life after this.
Heather Glenn
Daredevil (1st series) #151
Matt was dating Heather and intended to reveal his identity after her father was wrongly arrested. He was waiting in her apartment for her to come home with his mask off, until the phone rang regarding her father’s suicide in his cell. Heather happened to walk in on the unmasked Daredevil as he repeated aloud that her father was dead, for ultimate drama.
Purple Man (Zebediah Killgrave)
Daredevil (1st series) #154
Similar to Mandrill above, Killgrave took control of Heather Glenn to find out why Daredevil was so interested in his former pawn and her father, Maxwell Glenn. Heather confessed Matt’s identity to the Purple Man under his influence.
Death-Stalker (Philip Sterling)
Daredevil (1st series) #155
Death-Stalker discovered his foe’s identity merely by stalking him. Death-Stalker's dimensional phase effect and the concussion Murdock was dealing with at the time likely made it easier for him to go undetected.
Ben Urich
Daredevil (1st series) #164
Investigative reporter Ben Urich had one of the most famous cases of finding out a super-hero’s identity by sheer deduction.
Elektra Natchios
Daredevil (1st series) #168
When he first met Elektra as an assassin, Daredevil used the same cue to attack he gave her during the hostage crisis at Columbia, instantly alerting her to his identity.
Stick
Daredevil (1st series) #177
Although he hadn’t seen Stick since childhood, Daredevil approached his old sensei as an adult and was open from the beginning about his second life.
Bullseye (Lester)
Daredevil (1st series) #181
Bullseye started to get suspicious about the connection between Murdock and Daredevil after he killed Elektra. Murdock jumped like he recognized Bullseye’s voice when the assassin spoke at the morgue. Bullseye silently threw a knife at the attorney in the dark, and Murdock deftly parried it. Bullseye even told Kingpin his theory, but Fisk dismissed it. Matt managed to trick Bullseye into rejecting the idea by using a body double for Matt Murdock when the assassin tried to attack him in his home.
Doctor Strange
Defenders (1st series) #106
Daredevil approached Doctor Strange about a memory gap he suffered while as Matt Murdock, indicating Strange already knew his secret or Matt was comfortable with him learning it while psychically probing his mind.
Chaste / Hand
Daredevil (1st series) #187
Stick showed no regard for Murdock’s secret identity when he and the Chaste recruited Daredevil for the war with the Hand. Stone and the other members who died in the initial arc all witnessed Matt as Daredevil without his mask on. When Stone recruited new initiates for the Chaste in Daredevil #296 and Daredevil: Ninja #1-3, they also interacted with Murdock in both identities. It was clear that knowledge of Daredevil’s secret identity was just presumed to be shared among their order.
Tarkington Brown
Daredevil (1st series) #195
A falling-down drunk, Heather Glenn blurted out Matt’s secret to Brown when he was escorting her home from a party.
Elizabeth Sterling
Daredevil (1st series) #208
Sterling was the mother of Death-Stalker and used her son’s knowledge of Daredevil’s identity to assault him as both Murdock and Daredevil.
Johnny Squarejohn
Daredevil (1st series) #209
Johnny was a childhood friend of Matt’s who once saw the blind Murdock fend off some guys in the street. When he saw Daredevil fighting in a similar manner, Johnny put two and two together.
Micah Synn
Daredevil (1st series) #212
Micah Synn of the Kingorge had exceptional senses, and he recognized the scent of Matt Murdock and Daredevil were the same after comparing the two.
Beyonder
Daredevil (1st series) #223
He’s from Beyond, y’know.
Kingpin (Wilson Fisk)
Daredevil (1st series) #227
Karen Page had an extended fall from grace in Hollywood, from actress, to porn actress, to drug addict. She finally reached her lowest point when she sold Matt Murdock’s secret identity to a dealer for another hit of heroin. The information made it through the criminal underworld until it reached the Kingpin. After testing the information, Fisk had everyone who touched the info murdered so he and he alone could have power over Daredevil.
Sister Maggie (Margaret Murdock)
Daredevil (1st series) #230
After Matt reconnected with his mother as an adult, he never really made any effort to hide his enhanced senses or identity from her. Like Maggie being his mother, it was just one of those things they both knew but didn’t talk about aloud.
Falcon, Black Cat, Sgt. Tork and Melvin Potter
Amazing Spider-Man (1st series) #287-288
As mentioned in the Bio, there seemed to be some confusion about the new status quo when he guest-starred in Amazing Spider-Man. Matt appeared unmasked in front of these figures and as Daredevil, but Melvin Potter at least didn’t show signs of knowing Matt’s secret identity in later appearances.
Mambo & Nameless One
Daredevil (1st series) #243
Through that Voodoo that you know so well.
Typhoid Mary (Mary Walker)
Daredevil (1st series) #254
The Kingpin casually revealed the connection between Matt Murdock and Daredevil to Typhoid when he hired her to destroy the man.
Nick Fury & S.H.I.E.L.D.
Daredevil (1st series) #298
When asked how he knew Matt’s secret, Nick Fury would only reply that he wasn’t an idiot.
First newspaper reveal
Daredevil #324
An intern named Sara Harrington went snooping through Ben Urich’s files at the Daily Bugle, and discovered his long buried notes about Matt Murdock’s double life. She decided to get famous quickly by selling the story to another publication. Urich was in the process of trying to discredit Harrington and sow doubt about the story when Matt decided to fake his own death. Circumstances led the entity called Hellspawn to change into an exact double of Matt Murdock before dying. Matt let the public believe that Matt Murdock and the original Daredevil died, and he was now the “new Daredevil” replacing his late predecessor. However, when Matt revealed he was alive in #353, the Daredevil allegations weren’t brought up again.
Foggy Nelson
Daredevil (1st series) #347
Foggy had a complicated history with Daredevil’s identity. When Spider-Man first tracked Daredevil to the offices of Nelson & Murdock (DD #16-17), Foggy impulsively started trying to win Karen’s affections by hinting he was really Daredevil. This set off a chain reaction of events which led to Matt inventing a twin brother Mike Murdock to explain Daredevil’s involvement in their lives. Foggy therefore “knew” that Mike was Daredevil until his “death” (DD #25-41). Shortly before Matt faked his death during the “About Face” virus scenario, Foggy started to hint to both Matt and Karen that he knew the truth but respected Matt’s secrets (#319-323).
Mastermind III (Martinique Jason)
Daredevil (1st series) #352
Like Moondragon before her, Martinique Jason simply entered Daredevil’s mind and discovered his secret identity.
Mysterio (Quentin Beck)
Daredevil (2nd series) #7
When he was on the verge of death, Mysterio decided his final curtain call would be the dramatic destruction of a hero, and he chose Daredevil. Word on the street was that Wilson Fisk knew Daredevil’s secrets, and Mysterio paid Fisk for his information.
Echo (Maya Lopez)
Daredevil (2nd series) #14
Just before Matt Murdock and Maya Lopez met, a witness was killed in his office by a sniper, and Matt was struck by shrapnel. The stitches on his face left a blood pattern in the shape of a question mark. While Echo and Daredevil fought in the streets, the stitches popped again under his mask and gauze, causing the same pattern to appear in front of Maya’s eyes.
Kate Vinokur
Daredevil (2nd series) #24
When Matt Murdock was caught in the complicated position of suing Daredevil for a client, he hired attorney Kate Vinokur to represent Daredevil. Kate arranged for her client to have a burner phone so she could call him when necessary, even though he kept his identity a secret from her. When “Daredevil” was late for court against Nelson & Murdock, Kate called the number and immediately saw Matt Murdock’s phone go off. Several men arrived in court after that, posing as the real Daredevil, and so Kate never fully confirmed her suspicions.
Kingpin’s mob
Daredevil (2nd series) #30
At some point, in a weak moment, Wilson Fisk told his son Richard who Daredevil was behind the mask. As the Schemer, the Rose and the Blood Rose, Richard tried and failed many times to overthrow his father, eventually becoming a beaten drunk haunting the Fisk mob. Richard regularly told other gangsters who Murdock was, but they all remained too scared of the Kingpin to let on that they knew, or act on the information. When Sammy Silke visited from Chicago, his outsider perspective galvanized Kingpin’s people into realizing how ridiculous Fisk’s “hands off” policy towards Murdock was.
Everybody
Daredevil (2nd series) #32 - #93
After the tabloid report came out, Matt was more casual about his secret in the super-hero community. He made no attempt to continue hiding his dual identity from comrades like Luke Cage, Iron Fist, (Daredevil (2nd series) #38), Reed Richards (#56) or Captain America (#65), even while he publicly denounced the connection. His staff and colleagues at Nelson & Murdock, like Becky Blake and Dakota North, also shared the truth. Matt’s secret identity was restored in theory after his lawsuit against the Daily Globe settled, and Vanessa Fisk arranged for the FBI director’s “suicide,” complete with a note and details of how he “framed” Murdock for being Daredevil. Still, Matt often made little effort to correct various parties from police officers to villains who continued to assume Matt Murdock and Daredevil were the same.
Kirsten McDuffie
Daredevil (3rd series) #34
A.D.A. Kirsten McDuffie often teased Murdock about being Daredevil, though he always denied it even while they were dating. Foggy Nelson actually got drunk and confirmed the truth for Kirsten, even though she already knew. Eventually, Matt came forward himself and admitted his second identity to Kirsten as a sign of trust.
Everybody (again)
Daredevil (3rd series) #36 – Daredevil (5th series) #1
In an encounter with the Purple Man, Killgrave had created a Psycho-Prism to harness his powers and those of the Purple Children to touch every mind on the planet. When Killgrave was beaten by Daredevil, the Purple Children decided to give him a reward. They used the Psycho-Prism themselves to wipe all knowledge of Daredevil’s secret identity from the world. Shortly after realizing what happened, Daredevil revealed his identity to Foggy Nelson again. Outside of Foggy, though, only Killgrave and the Purple Children still knew Matt Murdock and Daredevil were one and the same.
Father Jordan
Daredevil (5th series) #16
When he started turning towards the Catholic Church again, Matt began regular confessions to Father Jordan. Feeling guilty over manipulating people’s minds (even by proxy) and how he handled Kirsten, Matt confessed he was Daredevil to Father Jordan in order to give him the full perspective.
Blindspot
Daredevil (5th series) #27
When Daredevil was captured by the Hand in China, he was unmasked and Sam Chung learned his super-hero mentor and his former boss were one and the same. It seems unlikely that the Purple Children’s effect ever touched the mind of the Beast of the Hand, but after this story it was clear the Beast and his ninjas also knew Matt Murdock’s secret going forward.
Iron Fist, Luke Cage, Jessica Jones
Defenders (5th series) #8
Once this quartet began working together regularly as the Defenders, the gaps and contradictions in their memories began to pile up. Matt ultimately came clean with his friends and partners, unmasking in front of Luke, Jessica and Danny.
Joey Carraro
Daredevil (6th series) #10
Matt Murdock put on a mask and demonstrated his skills in front of his parolee, Joey. Technically, he could’ve been anybody, but this was apparently enough to alert Joey that Murdock was Daredevil.
Mrs. Carraro
Daredevil (6th series) #16
Joey told his ma.
Benjamin Hochberg
Daredevil (6th series) #21
When Foggy Nelson proposed to prosecute Daredevil for the death of Leo Carraro in his costumed identity, D.A. Ben Hochberg only agreed not to challenge the maneuver if he himself learned Daredevil’s identity. Matt Murdock was forced to unmask in front of his former boss.
Elektra Natchios
Daredevil (6th series) #16,24-25
Elektra died briefly while recovering the Book of the Fist, and Stick used Chaste techniques to restore her to life. The process lifted the veil from her memories and brought back her knowledge of Matthew’s connection to Daredevil. This knowledge was first hinted at in issue #16 before she revealed she knew the truth in #24, and a full explanation came in #25. (In Defenders (5th series) #7, Elektra addressed Daredevil as if she knew his secret identity, but this was an error.)
Kingpin (Wilson Fisk)
Devil’s Reign #4
In Daredevil (6th series) #36, Wilson Fisk found an old file labeled Daredevil Identity, which seemingly contained gibberish. He felt the gaps in his memory and realized Daredevil had tampered with his mind. After tapping the power of Purple Man’s mental influence, he forced himself to remember the truth.
Spider-Man (Peter Parker)
Daredevil (7th series) #1
Before leaving New York to gather the Fist, Daredevil unmasked for Spider-Man and revealed his identity. Because of the conditions of the Purple Children’s orders, Spidey not only learned Matt was Daredevil, he regained his full memories of the past as well.
Stick
Daredevil (7th series) #1
Stick acknowledged he knew Matt Murdock and Daredevil were the same man. It was generally understood that the Hand and the Chaste weren’t bound by the Purple Children’s mind control, so this passed without incident. Only later was it suggested this was more significant than it seemed, as this Stick was a puppet of the Hand, killed and resurrected through the Lunate Talisman.
Robert Goldman
Daredevil (7th series) #1
Goldy claimed to be Matt’s guardian angel, on a mission from God to covertly support his career as Daredevil from the beginning. Later it was implied that Goldman’s knowledge and power actually came from the Wild, the demon sister of the Beast of the Hand, manipulating Daredevil against her brother.