IN AN ACT OF HEROISM TO SAVE AN ELDERLY MAN’S LIFE, matthew murdock was blinded at the age of 9, and gained super-heightened, echolocative radar senses. matthew believed these abilities to be a revelation, meaning god was indirectly speaking to him through the prayers and cries for help he’d hear all around his city. believing he was “chosen” to act on god’s behalf, matthew assumes the identity of daredevil to save his city, and punish those deserving of his judgement. acting as the righteous fist of justice (𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘮 𝘣𝘺 𝘥𝘢𝘺 / 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘵𝘴 𝘣𝘺 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵), matthew HAS to do the things he does. it’s his duty, his divine purpose for living and a reasoning he finds that makes his accident “worthwhile.” matt is a man of rigid rules and laws, constantly oscillating between logic and faith, his distinction between right and wrong, and the difficulties he has with the “gray areas” of existence.
////////// it is important to note, though, that beyond his faith -- the greatest motivator and the moral compass behind his work is his father, jack murdock, because A BOY’S FIRST GOD IS HIS FATHER. ( ᴹᴱᵀᴬ ᵀᴮᴬ. )
matthew knows fighting violence with violence is a sin, and enjoying that violence even more damnable, but he believes himself cursed, born in sin, with the devil inside him. he was damned from the beginning, and through his tireless work, offers himself up as the sacrificial victim ( ᴹᴱᵀᴬ ᵀᴮᴬ. ), and understands that in doing what’s right, he will lose, terribly —— AND YET, HE CHARGES FORTH, UNAFRAID.
〝 ᴴᴱ 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸𝘀 𝘪𝘵𝘴 his 𝙙𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙮. 〟 ——— 𝚂𝚃𝙰𝙽 𝙻𝙴𝙴.
REDEMPTIVE SUFFERING IS THE BELIEF THAT SIN IS REPAID THROUGH PAIN. our hurt acts as the path to humanity’s collective salvation and through it, it is thought that we will all come out better people. when daredevil utilizes violence on behalf of his “god,” he is damning his name, but also essentially forcing penance on his enemies. matthew’s conflicts, internally and externally, constantly toe the line between violence as a means to an end and violence as an outlet for his rage. redemption is an important part of matthew’s character, believing that no one is too far gone to be saved from the horrible crimes they may commit (𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯, 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳). if a criminal cannot see for themselves that there is a way to be better, and do better, then what better way is there to show them, then by LITERALLY beating it into them.
〝 ᴵ ʷᵃˢ 𝙥𝙧𝙖𝙮𝙞𝙣𝙜 ᵀᴴᴬᵀ once 𝒊 ˢᵗᵃʳᵗᵉᵈ ᴮᴱᴬᵀᴵᴺᴳ 𝐲𝐨𝐮,
ᴵ’ᴰ ᴮᴱ ᴬᴮᴸᴱ ᵀᴼ 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗽. 〟 ——— 𝚆𝙰𝚁 𝚂𝙲𝚁𝙾𝙻𝙻𝚂 #𝟸 .
this entire belief is one of the essential reasonings behind his no-kill rule, which although it has been broken before ——— accidentally, or not / it is what keeps him from stepping over the line into murdering his enemies. daredevil is not interested in outright punishing criminals and destroying crime itself (𝘴𝘪𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘢𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘢𝘵𝘮𝘢𝘯’𝘴 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴, 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘮 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘭 𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘺, 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰). DAREDEVIL’S ENTIRE CHARACTER IS ABOUT REDEEMING AND SAVING PEOPLE, HIS CITY, AND THE CRIMINALS HE FACES ... albeit through vigilantism and increasing violence. beating criminals is an act of mortification, denying the body of its earthly criminal desires, and it’s an involuntary act of penance: a physical, bloody sacrament, a baptism in spilt blood, imparting grace and atonement by the literal fists of god’s own judgement. also, just watch this amaaaazing scene, thank you.
〝 ᴼᴺᴱ ᵈᵃʸ [𝙼𝚈 𝙵𝙰𝚃𝙷𝙴𝚁] ᴰᵁᴳ ᴰᴱᴱᴾ ᴬᴺᴰ 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 ᵗʰᵃᵗ ᵖᵃʳᵗ ᵒᶠ 𝘩𝘪𝘮𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 ᵗʰᵃᵗ ᵘˢᵉᵈ ᵗᵒ ᵇᵉ ᴳᴼᴼᴰ ᴬᴺᴰ ᴺᴼᴮᴸᴱ ᴬᴺᴰ uncompromised ᵇʸ ᵗʰᵉ ʷᵒʳˡᵈ. ᴴᴱ 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 his ˢᵒᵘˡ. ᴬᴺᴰ 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 ᵗʰᵃᵗ ... ᴴᴱ ˢᵃᵛᵉᵈ ᴹᴵᴺᴱ. 〟
——— 𝙳𝙰𝚁𝙴𝙳𝙴𝚅𝙸𝙻: 𝙵𝙰𝚃𝙷𝙴𝚁 #𝟼.
////////// it is also important to note that matthew’s faith is one small piece of an otherwise deeply complex and nuanced character. there is a running belief that his adaptations sometimes rely too heavily on his faith and on the darkness that he typically deals with, but his character isn’t about how hard a man falls, but how he gets back up and fights back.