DAREDEVIL

ALTERNATE VERSIONS

In Earth X, Daredevil and Elektra reunited and planned to retire from public scrutiny. They came up with a revenge scheme that also faked his death. Using a soul transference technique taught by the Chaste, Matt swapped bodies with Bullseye. The public saw the assassins Bullseye and Elektra team up to murder Daredevil, but in truth it was Bullseye who died and Matt and Elektra escaped to the Mediterranean together. Foggy Nelson finally brought down the Kingpin using evidence assembled from the “late” Murdock’s files.

Years later, Matt Murdock was approached by Mar-Vell in the Realm of the Dead. He wanted to forge a new Heaven for those who died, and recruited Matt for his angelic Host along with Captain America, Iron Man, Giant-Man, Black Bolt, Phoenix and Doom. Shards of the Cosmic Cube allowed the dead to ascend into their own idealized visions of Heaven. However, the Realm of the Dead continued to exist for those not yet ready to accept Heaven. Frank Castle was unwilling to leave his family in the Realm and Wilson Fisk hoped to seize power and revenge with minions like Jigsaw, Jackal and Bullseye. The angelic Murdock descended from Heaven to address Fisk’s vain attempt to hold on to terrestrial power and reunited with Elektra so she could ascend with him.

In 1602, the Irish bard Matthew Murdoch was secretly a spy employed by Sir Niccolo Fury, of Her Majesty’s Intelligence. After wandering into a cave as a child, Matthew drank some tainted cave water and lost his sight but gained heightened senses. He traveled from England to continental Europe to protect the treasure of the Templars, secretly the disguised hammer of Thor. However, he was betrayed by his partner Natasha to Count Otto von Doom. Matthew escaped Latveria’s dungeons with the Four from the Fantastick and returned to his nocturnal smuggling, while warning the newly crowned King James to keep his paws off of Ireland.

In the MC2 universe, Daredevil finally managed to gather enough evidence to bring down the Kingpin. He confronted Fisk and his current assassin Kaine at Fisk Tower, gloating about his success. Still, when Kingpin ordered his men to fire through Kaine in order to hit Daredevil, Murdock wouldn’t let that happen. Daredevil pushed Kaine to safety and died to a hail of gunfire. A guilt-ridden Kaine brought Murdock’s body back to his lair and attempted a demon ritual to summon Zarathos. Kaine offered his own soul if Zarathos would restore Daredevil, but the demon refused.

Instead, Zarathos intended to possess the body of Kaine’s “nephew,” later known as Reilly Tyne. The natural son of Spider-Man’s clone Ben Reilly, the thirteen-year-old boy inherited clone degeneration and was preserved inside Kaine’s resuscitation tube. Zarathos possessed and altered Reilly Tyne’s body with his demon essence, but the pure spirit of Matt Murdock emerged from Daredevil’s body to combat the demon and save the boy’s soul. After a spiritual battle on the astral plane, Zarathos was expunged from Tyne’s body and Murdock’s soul began to cohabit with the boy, shielding him from further intrusion. Reilly Tyne emerged from stasis with the spider-powers of his biological power, hellfire-based gifts from Zarathos and Matt Murdock’s instinctive knowledge of the law, fighting style and justice. He would go on to fight crime as the supernatural legacy hero known as Darkdevil.

Daredevil: End of Days began with Matt Murdock’s final fight, murdered in the street in his last match with Bullseye. Ben Urich’s investigation into Daredevil’s death uncovered much of what Matt Murdock had been doing the past few years. Unwilling to accept that his crusade would end with him, Murdock apparently went around ensuring his legacy. It was implied that he conceived children with Natasha Romanov, Elektra Natchios, Mary Walker, Milla Donovan, and possibly others. However, it was Timmy Urich, son of Leapfrog and adopted son of Ben, whom he officially trained as the next Daredevil. After Matt passed, Timmy had a chance encounter with Mapone Romanov, Matt’s naturally blind daughter nicknamed “Stick,” who became his sensei as the next Daredevil.

The Ultimate Daredevil was largely identical to classic Matt Murdock. His origin was implied to be virtually the same, with the exception of specifically tying Wilson Fisk to the execution of Jack Murdock. At Columbia, Matt and Elektra Natchios dated. Elektra’s father was not assassinated, but she and Matt fell apart when her friend was raped. The trust fund kid responsible for the assault went after the Natchios family’s dry-cleaning business as well when Elektra stood up to him. Matt stopped her from killing the boy, and their relationship never recovered.

In the modern era, Daredevil frequently crossed paths with Spider-Man. He initially had little use for the teenager, constantly telling him he would get killed playing in the adult world of organized crime. They fought the Punisher together, and Daredevil revealed to Spider-Man that his friend on the NYPD Jean DeWolff was actually on the take for the Kingpin. Daredevil later gathered a group of vigilante knights including Spider-Man, Iron Fist, Moon Knight, Shang-Chi and Doctor Strange to take down the Kingpin. Iron Fist betrayed them after Fisk threatened his daughter, and he told the Kingpin that Matt Murdock was Daredevil. Thinking his life was over, Daredevil entered Fisk Tower and threatened to kill Kingpin’s comatose wife Vanessa, until Spider-Man stopped him. Daredevil later died during the Ultimatum Wave which flooded New York, thanks to Magneto.

Earth-65, the home of Spider-Gwen, had events unfold very differently for Matt Murdock. His mother stayed with the family, only to die in the truck accident that gave Matt his powers. After Battlin' Jack refused to throw the fight for Silvermane, the mobster had him killed and would have killed Matt as well if Stick hadn't rescued him. Stick then died shortly into Matt's training when fighting the Hand, and Matt Murdock was inducted into the ninja clan against his will to face torture and conditioning.

As "the Western Sun of the Hand", Murdock returned to New York and passed the bar, becoming attorney and private assassin for Wilson Fisk. After Fisk was finally sent to prison by George Stacy's task force, Murdock continued to run Wilson's criminal empire for him as the "acting" Kingpin of Crime. Matt became addicted to the corrupting appeal of power, but deep down he knew how far he had strayed from what his parents taught him. Murdock was on the verge of suicide when the heroine Spider-Woman caught his attention. In his twisted mind, Matt refused to be the only one that power corrupted, and he made it his mission in life to make "Spider-Gwen" his puppet until she abused her power and (in doing so) justified his own failures. Matt "Murderock" learned Gwen's identity, bribed her with more power when her abilities failed her, and had her father beaten into a coma, all to push her over the edge. Murdock overplayed his hand, though, and Gwen remained true to herself while the Hand excommunicated him, leaving Matthew on the run from his own former allies.

In the Age of Apocalypse, Keeper Murdock was a flatscan granted privileges under the command of the Horseman, Mikhail Rasputin. Parallel circumstances cost Matthew his sight in this reality too, when he saved the life of another worker in the Toxic Disposal Corps at Apocalypse Island. This accident granted him his radar sense and enhanced perceptions. Because it happened under the watch of Mikhail’s Upscale Programs, however, the Horseman was able to claim credit for giving Murdock his powers and assert control over his access to them. Matthew became Mikhail's loyal servant in the role of Keeper Murdock, watching over Mikhail’s pet Empath who manipulated the emotions of the flatscans in Europe to his ends. When Empath connected with his jailer, though, Murdock struck him dead under the onslaught of borrowed emotion. Upon removing the grafted visor on his face, Murdock realized the truth of his powers as well.

Even so, Keeper Murdock remained loyal to the mutant regime. Years later, he led the Hounds against the X-Terminated and their Human Resistance. When the Age of Apocalypse was reformed on Battleworld, a version of Keeper Murdock existed in the Horsemen’s labs there, too.

In Mutant X, Matt Murdock appeared as the Brute’s attorney when the member of the Six was accused of murdering the Man-Spider. He seemed like a traditional version of the character except that his costume was based on the Golden Age hero called Daredevil from a defunct publisher prior to the Silver Age creation of Marvel’s Daredevil. He appeared alongside the Lethal Legion in the final battle with the Beyonder, and seemingly perished.

A version of Daredevil served as a member of the Timebreaker’s Weapon X team. Unlike the heroic Matt Murdock, this Daredevil was apparently a partner and assassin for the Kingpin. His missions with Weapon X are unknown, as is the alleged reason the Timebroker cited for him being “unstuck in time.” The Timebreakers’ algorithm eventually told them to remove Murdock from the team, so he was “sent home” and replaced by the Spider. In fact, he was brought to the Crystal Palace and held in stasis until the Exiles took over the Panoptichron, sending Daredevil and the other trapped operative home, for real.

In What If...? (1st series) #8, Electro inadvertently learned Daredevil was blind in their first encounter, spreading word of the sightless swashbuckler’s handicap. As a consequence, the Owl reasoned Daredevil must have other, enhanced senses and devised weapons to overcome his adversary. On the other hand, learning Daredevil was also blind enabled Karen Page to quickly put together the connection between Matt Murdock and Daredevil. Matt was therefore in a position to be more honest with Karen about his concerns over Doctor van Eyck’s cure for blindness. With Karen along for the trip to Europe, events unfolded differently as Doctor van Eyck survived, Matt regained his sight and did in fact lose his hyper-senses. After considering for a time whether he could continue as Daredevil, Matt Murdock instead revealed his identity to the public and started a campaign to become District Attorney of New York.

In What If...? (1st series) #28, Matt Murdock’s life immediately after the accident changed dramatically. In this reality, Tony Stark was following behind the truck carrying radioactive materials and came upon the scene of the accident. Using the flying car he had built for S.H.I.E.L.D., Stark brought the injured teenager to the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier for treatment. S.H.I.E.L.D. scientists diagnosed his advanced senses, and Matt Murdock quickly began trained to use his new senses and hone his acrobatic talents. Hydra kidnapped his father, so Matt worked with Nick Fury to raid the Hydra base, rescue Battling Jack Murdock, and prove his worth as a new agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.

What If...? (1st series) #35 told a tale where Bullseye was killed trying to escape from prison. As a result, he wasn’t there to kill Elektra and she survived. The Kingpin called out Eric Slaughter’s men to assassinate his disobedient enforcer when she let Foggy Nelson live. Elektra survived the gauntlet, injured but still fighting. She sought out Matt and they found sanctuary together, fleeing their lives of hardship for a new start somewhere far away. This tale was given to Matt Murdock at Elektra’s gravesite by the Watcher himself, a curiously personal touch by Uatu to let Murdock know that, in at least one reality, they found love and peace.

“Born Again” was a major story arc for Daredevil, revisited on several occasions. In What If…? (2nd series) #2, Murdock brought a gun to his confrontation with the Kingpin and shot Fisk in the head. Instead of relief, killing the Kingpin caused the already spiraling Murdock to suffer a full delusional breakdown. After hallucinating a court scene where he was condemned to life with his guilt, Murdock sought out the Kingpin’s son, Richard Fisk, for judgment. The gang war that erupted after Kingpin’s death had already claimed the life of Richard’s mother as well, and he considered murdering Murdock. When the Hobgoblin and Hammerhead’s goons came to kill Fisk’s heir apparent, however, Matt and Richard fought together against the criminals. Murdock sacrificed his life to defeat the Hobgoblin, and his death inspired Richard Fisk to become the new Daredevil. In What If...? (2nd series) #48, Daredevil brought Nuke to the hospital instead of the Daily Bugle, saving his life. In his quest to prevent Nuke from testifying against him, Kingpin had Bullseye kidnap Karen Page. Nuke helped Daredevil rescue Karen, but died anyway when he was gunned down by Fisk. This led to more serious charges against the Kingpin than happened in the original reality.

In What If...? Daredevil vs. Elektra, Matt Murdock died trying to rescue Elektra’s father from the terrorists at Columbia University. Elektra Natchios honored his ideas of justice by eventually joining S.H.I.E.L.D. as one of Nick Fury’s top agents. However, the Hand found use for Murdock and resurrected him as an assassin loyal to the clan known as the Advocate. Unrestrained by Matt Murdock’s sense of morality, the Advocate assumed control of the Hand and killed many potential foes like Stick, Kingpin and Bullseye. Elektra assembled her own version of the Chaste and eventually killed the Advocate.

Matt Murdock also joined the Hand in What If...? (2nd series) #83. In this reality, Stephen Strange submitted to the Chaste instead of the Ancient One after his accident. He became Matt Murdock’s sensei after the boy went blind instead of Stick. However, Strange failed to properly harness Murdock’s rage over his accident and his father’s death. Matt Murdock left the pupilage of Strange and the Chaste to join the Hand. Nevertheless, he still fell madly in love with Strange’s next student, Elektra Natchios. Elektra loved him back, and would meet with Murdock in secret as lovers, but she refused to leave Strange for him entirely. Eventually, Murdock realized the Hand was not his destiny, and so he and Elektra arranged to wipe out the Hand with Strange’s help. Afterwards, Matt and Elektra excused themselves from further war between the Hand and the Chaste, with Strange’s blessing.