Daredevil Message Board

rgj · Posted: Mon Feb 11, 2008 7:40 pm Post subject: Take it off.

Lately, we have threads analyzing Matt Murdock. (which is fine that's why we have a board).

You read all kinds of questions and answers. How is he precieved? Is he a loner? A womanizer? What kind of guy is he? Is he just a hypocirtie, lawyer and vigilante, and all that? Why do we like him? Is he really noble? Or just flawed? Is he a jerk? Is he less of a person because he "fakes needing a blind man's walking cane." Heck, Matt is also apparently anti-blind in some circles.

I think all these questions are put forth just to examin why we love this character. What story, or line or whatever hooked you to this guy?

Well, let me tell you why I love this charcater. From Frank Miller's Born Again:

Matt (beaten and battered and sick): "Take it off."

That's what a down and out and weak Matt tells Turk when he stole the Santa suit. No matter how f****d up his life, no matter the situation, no matter how close to the edge, or end for that matter, Matt never loses his sense of justice. He champions the weak even when he is one of them. He tells Turk that because DD isn't the hero. It's the guy behind the mask.

I just love that scene. That panel by Mazz as Matt glares at an injustice. Could be that to others this scene doesn't mean anything. But, I just love that scene and line. And, to anyone who wants to know what kind of man Matt Murdock is, I'll just tell them to read that panel.

rgj

Darediva · Posted: Mon Feb 11, 2008 11:39 pm Post subject:

Yeah! That is one classic panel and statement. I'm with you. I love it.
_________________
Alice

Those who throw dirt merely lose ground.

Solid Snake PAC · Posted: Mon Feb 11, 2008 11:51 pm Post subject:

Same here.

jumonji · Posted: Tue Feb 12, 2008 4:40 am Post subject: Re: Take it off.

Really great post rgj and thanks for sharing that panel from Born Again. I think that entire arc is full of reason to love this character and when I read it the first time I was just blown away.

Francesco · Underboss Joined: 08 Jun 2006 Posts: 1307

james castle · Posted: Tue Feb 12, 2008 5:58 pm Post subject:

rgj · Posted: Tue Feb 12, 2008 6:32 pm Post subject:

Yep. He was definitlely not in his right mind, what with walking aimlessly, although I think the height of Matt's madness was the days before and when he attacked Kingpin (what with the major paranoia and talking to the time and temp. recording on the phone).

But, it's like in Nocenti's Blind Boxer Saga. Matt loses his memory, but there is something inate in him, that moral compass that is his own, which gives him his sense of justice.

That undercurrent of "good" is there in Matt Murdock. A fighter for good. In Mazz's panel, a shade over Matt's face. Darkness engulfing him. And, the haggard, unkempt look is also there. He is lost. But, his eye. There is lucidity. There is an injustice and no matter how lost or sick or in how much pain he is, there is something reactionary in him that makes him want to stop the injustice. Doesn't matter if he's sane or nuts, or doesn't even remeber who he is, Matt Murdock is a good man. No one said a "perfect" man. Just a good man.

And, that's what I dig about this charcter. He's better than me. I don't care about his walking cane. I don't care about his girlfriends. I don't care about his lawyer/vigilante dichotomy. That's all on the surface. But, that noble, undercurrent of good (and fight) inside him, that neither mental status or amnesia can take away. His name is Matt Murdock. He lives in Hell's Kitchen and does the best to keep it clean. That's all you need to know. That's all that matters.

rgj

jumonji · Posted: Tue Feb 12, 2008 6:49 pm Post subject:

Francesco · Underboss Joined: 08 Jun 2006 Posts: 1307

Matt is batsh*t crazy all the time.

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