The character of Daredevil was instilled with a deep sense of compassion and nonviolence early in his youth. After the death of his father, however, he found it hard to respect his dad's wishes. By creating the Daredevil persona, Matt Murdock found a “workaround” that promise. He lived the life of dedicated lawyer by day and crime fighting vigilante by night.
Aside from being known for his commitment to justice and fighting for the wronged, Daredevil has become notorious for his beatings. Lacking the regenerative healing powers of Deadpool and Wolverine, he is just as human as everyone else. Therefore, when Daredevil takes a beating, he is usually knocked out of commission for a while.
There are tons of panels that have depicted him with a cast or sling stubbornly still trying to beat the bad guys. Over the years, those injuries have even cost him his life. However, like many other Marvel superheroes, there is usually an “out” to his death, and he goes right back to being reckless again. Oh Matt, when will you learn?
From his run-ins with arch enemies and insane ex-girlfriends to lethally blows by several prehistoric creatures (yes, you read that correctly), here are Daredevil's 15 Most Brutal Injuries, Ranked.
15. Blinded By Radioactive Waste Spilling Into His Eyes
Daredevil’s origins date back to the 1960s with the combined efforts of editor/writer Stan Lee and artist Bill Everett. Even artist/writer Jack Kirby contributed to his creation by offering the idea of Daredevil’s signature Billy club.
Premiering in Daredevil #1 in 1964, fans were introduced to a young Matt Murdock and his boxer father “Battling Jack” Murdock. The young boy was raised to live a life of nonviolence and kindness by his father, hoping he would live a better life than his own. In fact, it was this instilled compassion that led to Matt’s fated transformation.
While trying to save a blind man from being hit by a truck, Matt is doused with a radioactive liquid that leaked from that vehicle. He lost his sight in the accident but gained heightened abilities with his other remaining senses.
Blinded (Again) When His Head Was Slammed into a Brick Wall
Many versions of Daredevil’s origin story exist within the universe of Marvel Comics. While some origins take a similar path to his original life story, others delve into a darker and, frankly, depressing life of the hero.
In the Marvel Noir series, several heroes were depicted with a more pulp-fiction style background. In the case of Daredevil, the loss of his sight did not lead to gain more powers but added to his impoverished life. After killing Matt’s father, the assassin then slammed his head into a brick wall which led to his blindness.
Broke and destitute, Murdock becomes a performer under the name Daredevil. However, his desire for justice remained the same as his origin story and he later becomes a vigilante who takes revenge on murderers.
Smashed by the Hulk
When the Hulk is on a rampage, there are very few that can stop him. Usually blinded by his own rage, he becomes an unstoppable force. However, this did not stop Daredevil from trying to calmly reason with the Jade Giant.
On the hunt for the man responsible for turning him into a monster - namely, Bruce Banner - the Hulk went on the warpath through the streets. After failing to reason with him as Matt Murdock, Daredevil stripped down to his costume and confronted the Hulk. As you might imagine, chaos ensued.
In the course of their fight, Hulk threw Daredevil causing him to ricochet off the edge of one roof and crash-land on a metal roof nearby. Already covered in blood, he continued to persuade the Hulk and managed to be thrown through a windshield, thrown into alleyway garbage cans, and overall pummeled. The fight ended with Daredevil suffering from multiple broken ribs and severe cuts and bruises.
Shot By A Sniper
Over the years, Daredevil has acquired an impressive list of villains and organization he has managed to piss off. Whether in a pursuit for justice or in defense of the weaker victims, his list of enemies is quite extensive. During Daredevil vol 2, #79, Daredevil and Elektra find themselves in a vicious battle with Bullseye. Their fight eventually overflowed into the streets where they fiercely tried to overthrow him.
After taking several severe blows, Bullseye attempts to flee but is hit by a passing vehicle. With both legs broken, the villain has no means to escape. As Daredevil stops Elektra from dealing a fatal blow to their enemy, he is mysteriously shot through the chest and falls to the ground.
As it turns out, another enemy, Paladin, was hired by the FBI to take out Daredevil in exchange for having his name cleared. Luckily, Matt only received a severe (but non-fatal) wound, and the hero was able to recover thanks to the healing powers of The Hand.
Hit In The Head With A Bottle And Pushed Into A Canyon
The eight-issue series Marvel 1602 transported several of the popular characters from the 1960s back in time to the Elizabethan era of 1602. In this story, we find Daredevil portrayed as a blind Irish minstrel who gained heightened senses from a mysterious substance he encountered as a child.
While working under Sir Nicholas Fury, Matthew is paired up with fellow agent Black Widow. Known as the “most dangerous woman in Europe”, Natasha is actually a freelance spy and turns on her supposed ally.
After kindly asking him to sing a song as they were crossing a bridge, she hit him over the head with a bottle. As if that were not enough, she then proceeded to push him off the bridge into the canyon below. Maybe that was really due to him singing off-key?
Beaten, Strapped To A Taxi, And Pushed Off A Pier
One of the most notorious Daredevil villains in comic (and later TV and movie) history has been the crime lord Kingpin. A feared criminals in the Marvel Universe, he first premiered as an enemy of Spider-Man in The Amazing Spider-Man #50. However, over time, he became one of Daredevil’s archenemies.
Kingpin made it his mission to destroy every aspect of Daredevil’s life. Once he learned of his true identity, he carried out a plot that destroyed his legal career, smeared his name as a hero, and ruined his personal and fellow superhero relationships.
On the brink of a nervous breakdown, Daredevil made his way to see Kingpin. After beating up a gang on the subway and avoid arrest, he finally reached Kingpin only to be severely beaten. Moreover, in an attempt to finally be rid of him, Kingpin then strapped him into a taxi and pushed the car off the pier.
Nearly Drowned, Then Beaten And Electrocuted
Despite lacking any superhuman strength, Daredevil still has the ability to leave an unforgettable impression due to his determination. Even when faced with a stronger enemy, he still remains focused and goes “all-out” in his fights.
Such was the case when he went up against Namor the Sub-Mariner in Daredevil #7. After failing to convince Murdock that suing the entire human race was a good idea, Namor goes on a rampage throughout the city. As Daredevil attempts to talk him down, Namor throws him into the water and almost lets him drown. Thankfully, he questioned his actions and pulled him to safety.
However, back on land, the fight continued, with Namor laying blows on Daredevil with a broken lamp post. Daredevil managed to tie him up with the broken electrical wires and attempted to electrocute his enemy. Namor proved to be more resistant to the shock and Daredevil, instead, lands a crushing blow to himself.
Turned Into A Zombie And Impaled with an I-Beam
There is nothing like a good Marvel crossover story to bring to life plots that fans could have never imagined. One of the more unusual crossover series melded the worlds of Marvel Comics with the Evil Dead franchise. In Marvel Zombies Vs Army of Darkness, fan-favorite character Ash Williams must fight his way through hordes of zombified Marvel superheroes. Because of a virus that Magneto brought to Earth-2149, the heroes slowly become infected.
As detailed in the one-shot Marvel Zombies: Dead Days (which was a prequel to the Marvel Zombies series), Daredevil was turned by Zombie Spider-Man. Later the story, as the zombies begin to swarm Magneto, he tried his best to fight back with any weapons he could find. Incidentally, Daredevil tool a particularly nasty blow when Magneto lodged an I-Beam through his torso. Good thing he was already dead.
Set on fire by Typhoid Mary
Typhoid Mary became one of the many complicated love interests in Daredevil’s history. In an accident that was inadvertently caused by Daredevil himself, Mary became very mentally ill. After being accidentally thrown from a window by the hero, her “Typhoid Mary” persona was born.
Suffering from dissociative identity disorder, she actually shifted between three troublesome personalities beyond her one healthy one. Vowing never to let a man hurt her again, she began a romance with Daredevil with her healthy personality but constantly attempted to kill him with her more violent personas. Her obsession with Daredevil led to numerous fights between the enemies/lovers.
In one particular fight, Typhoid Mary used her powers to set Matt Murdock on fire before being stopped by his bodyguards, Luke Cage and Jessica Jones. Murdock is left severely burned, and Mary is imprisoned in The Raft.
Beaten Nearly to Death with Baseball Bat
Just as Daredevil never gives up on winning a fight, his enemies do not stop trying to end his life. Another frequent DD enemy, Bullseye, set his sights on killing Daredevil using a fighter that was just as skilled as Daredevil.
Known as Ikari (Japanese for “fury”), he made his first appearance in Daredevil vol 3 issue #25 in 2013. Wearing a costume that resembled the colors of Murdock’s first uniform and horns on his mask, he viscously fought the hero throughout the city. Daredevil endured numerous deep cuts, being choked, and, eventually, a severe beating with a baseball bat until he was a bloody mess in the street.
Almost on the brink of death, Ikari stopped and left Murdock with a warning that he would be the one to end his life. That is one hell of a warning!
Killed When An Atom Truck Spilled A Radioactive Substance In His Face
On Earth-9591, the heroes of the Marvel Universe suffered the hardships of a dystopian world. The grim series Ruins was created by Warren Ellis as a parody to the main universe and depicted some dismal futures of some of our favorite heroes.
The start of Daredevil’s tale in this world began very similarly to his origin story. As a child, Murdock suffered the same accident that led to his blindness and gaining new abilities. However, in this twisted tale, he does not survive the accident and the radioactive chemicals actually kill him. His story is revealed in the headlines of a newspaper in one of the panels.
Although the story does provide a more realistic depiction of his injuries, it is still very depressing to know this world will never know the greatness of Daredevil.
Beaten by hired thugs and then thrown off A Bridge
She’s back! Not surprisingly, Typhoid Mary has managed to log yet another entry in this list with another brutal attack. This time, she decided not to get directly involved in the fight and, instead, enlisted the help of the Wildboys, Bullet, Bushwacker, and Ammo.
Bullet was the first to attack and began a vicious fight with Daredevil that spilled out into the street. After defeating the villain, Bushwacker is next firing flames and, eventually, a bomb at Murdock. Caught in the blast of the bomb, Daredevil walks away severely banged up. Ammo then showed up to continue the job and endlessly punched him until he started hallucinating images of his deceased father. In the middle of his hallucinations, the Wildboys arrived and beat Daredevil to within an inch of his life. Finally, Typhoid Mary appeared to deliver the final blow and dropped him off a bridge.
Choked to Death
The character of Nighthawk has gone through numerous versions during his years in Marvel Comics. Throughout his career in the comic books, a total of 6 different versions of the character have been created living on Earth-616 and other universes. The supervillain-turned-hero starred in his own comic Nightwing in 1998 with Daredevil as his first advisory. Depicted as a vigilante, Nighthawk is tricked by Mephisto to take on Daredevil.
Nighthawk eventually overpowered Daredevil and choked him… to death. Yikes. However, this death was only temporary. After both men were transported to Hell by Mephisto, Nighthawk set his intentions on saving Daredevil’s soul. After defeating the demons of Hell, he was able to revive Daredevil and return to Earth. Granted, not the best start for his solo series but, hey, nobody’s perfect.
Eaten Alive By Raptors
Serving as the basis for some of the material used in the movie Logan, the Old Man Logan character was an aged version of Wolverine surviving the trials and tribulations of a world where supervillains ruled. Although the overall plot lines depicted a grim future for Earth-807128 as a whole, Daredevil met with a unique death during the series.
In the comic Wolverine vol 3, issue #68, the readers are shown Daredevil and Punisher (not the original versions) chained to a pole. They are actually set in the middle of a stadium filled with people in Salt Lake City. As Daredevil inquired of the location of Spider-Man’s granddaughter, their capture, the local kingpin, ignored his questions and sentenced them to their death: being eaten by raptors. Suffice it to say, they did not bounce back from this attack.
Bullseye Beat Him And Jammed His Billy Club Into His Brain
Daredevil: End of Days depicted the last few days of Daredevil’s life. Published in 2013 over eight comic books, we see the hero finally seek “justice” over the many heinous crimes of Kingpin. Once the villain returned to the city, he confronted him and eventually killed him out in public. He then went into hiding for many years and, eventually, trained Tim Urich to serve as the new Daredevil.
Once Daredevil heard that Bullseye has also returned, he came out of hiding to confront him and put an end to his long-time enemy. However, the fight turned to Bullseye’s favor, and he senselessly beat and pulverized Daredevil in the middle of the street. In one last fatal blow, Bullseye shoved Murdock’s Billy club into his brain and killed him once and for all.
---
Can you think of any Daredevil injuries that should be on the list? Let us know in the comments!