Daredevil: The Man Without Fear (Graphic Novel Review)

Have you ever wondered how the Marvel comic character of Daredevil got his start? It's a pretty common theme with these characters for someone to go back and write an origin story where we learn how superheroes got their powers, and Frank Miller did just that with Daredevil: The Man without Fear. After reading this graphic novel, you will have a much better appreciation for Daredevil. Elektra makes a cameo here, too.

Matt Murdock was a good kid. He got picked on by the occasional bully and that was to be expected from time to time. His father was also a good man, or at least used to be before he wound up working for a local mobster. When his father got tired of roughing up innocent people, he confronted his boss and was killed for it. What's sad is that shortly thereafter, Matt found himself the victim of a freak accident that blinded him. What made him special was that even though his eyesight was taken, all of Matt's other senses were heightened to a superpower-like awareness so strong that vision was almost unnecessary.

When a stranger steps in to help Matt, things start to improve. This stranger has a background that you might liken to Yoda, and he teaches Matt how to harness his other senses. Eventually, Matt is able to overcome his blindness in a way that left him more powerful than he could possibly imagine. With his newfound abilities, he then sets out to right the wrongs done to his family, and his main targets are the people who killed his father and anyone else associated with those mobster wannabes.

This story is begins and ends with action. In fact, the last fifth of it is almost nothing but action. This was originally issued as a comic book series in five issues. I really like how Frank Miller took his time to flesh out the character of Matt Murdock and make the reader understand his motivations, plus how he learned to overcome his blindness. A lot of it concerns him having to relearn everything in a world made for people who can see, and these parts were quite interesting.

Since this is an origin story, you won't get the usual Daredevil stuff that you find in other comics. This book is about Matt Murdock becoming Daredevil. It isn't until the last page that you see him in costume or even get the official name. It's kind of weird seeing this character walking around in plain clothes and beating up bad guys, but it all works. The character of Elektra is also shown in how she meets Murdock for the first time, and she also is without her usual costume.

I was never that much into Daredevil until I read this book, and now I have a newfound appreciation for the character. Frank Miller did an amazing job of building him up and giving him a proper introduction, so you should definitely check out Daredevil: The Man without Fear if you want to know more about how Daredevil got his start.