10 Best Daredevil Creative Teams And How They Influenced the Marvel Hero

Daredevil is one of Marvel’s premier icons, slowly catapulted to stardom over the years since his debut. While part of this had to do with adaptations such as the 2003 Daredevil movie and 2015 Daredevil show, the primary factor for the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen’s staying power is his constant stream of stellar comic runs by various creators.

Ever since the early 1980s, Daredevil has had a wide array of talented creative teams who left their impression on his mythos and the comics industry— and as a result, the world of Hell’s Kitchen has been shaped into an unforgettable Marvel staple.

10 Classic Marvel Talent Brought Daredevil Into The World

Stan Lee, Bill Everett, Wally Wood, Jack Kirby, Gene Colan, John Romita Sr.

While it would be creators who came into the picture years, if not decades, down the line that created the modern idea of Daredevil, the character still had to be conceived before he could develop. He was brought into the Marvel pantheon during a boom for the company, debuting almost immediately after icons like the Fantastic Four, Spider-Man, Hulk, the Avengers, the X-Men, and more.

It’s common knowledge that The Man Without Fear started his life as a bit of a derivative spin on some of Marvel’s established hits, yet the seeds that blossomed into a more well-rounded character were present very early on. Stan Lee and Bill Everett introduced readers to the swashbuckling lawyer Matt Murdock, with legend Jack Kirby contributing to the character’s design and some early pencils. Industry titan Wally Wood would quickly join the book as a penciler, with his major contribution being the creation of Daredevil’s iconic all-red suit.

9 D.G. Chichester Was The Face Of The Armored Suit Era

D.G. Chichester, Lee Weeks, Scott McDaniel, M.C. Wyman, Ron Garney, Alexander Jubran, Keith Pollard

The mid-nineties are not often discussed as a Daredevil era, and at a glance, this is for good reason. It’s sandwiched between two widely loved runs done by duos Nocenti/Romita and Bendis/Maleev, respectively, with a rotating assortment of creators who were content to let the character ride—but D.G. Chichester was the most consistent creative who stuck around Daredevil during this period and contributed some phenomenal stories to boot.

Working with top-tier artists like Lee Weeks and Scott McDaniel, Chichester started his run with a bang in the storyline “Last Rites.” It was a genius inversion of the “Born Again” storyline, with the Kingpin being the one suffering from a systematic disassembling of his empire across several issues. Chichester also brought Matt Murdock to a dark place during his armored suit era, having him act out more violently than usual.

8 Joe Quesada Brought The Early Days Of Marvel Knights To Life

Kevin Smith, David Mack, Joe Quesada, Jimmy Palmiotti

The late ’90s and early 2000s were full of experimentation for Marvel in an effort for the company to pull themselves out of the red. After the failure of imprints like Marvel Edge and Heroes Reborn, Marvel Knights was the company’s next best idea that debuted in 1998– and it worked. Marvel Knights was a successful imprint focused on characters that were more street-level or darker in tone, giving them a PG-13 rating, and, of course, Daredevil was a character that thrived the most under this initiative.

While it took a moment for him to find his footing, one of the architects of Marvel Knights, Joe Quesada, was the throughline of the character’s first year under the line. He drew notable stories like “Guardian Devil” and “Echo” with talents like Keven Smith and David Mack respectively writing each one, and even committed to miniseries like Daredevil: Father solo.

7 Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale Did Some Of Their Best Work For Marvel

Jeph Loeb, Tim Sale, Matt Hollingsworth, Richard Starkings, Wes Abbott

Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale‘s names are often associated with their definitive Batman work over at DC Comics, with their time on stories like The Long Halloween providing a basis for the Dark Knight’s world that creators follow even years later. However, some of their best work, done at the peak of their careers, was the Marvel color series. This line of titles sought to explore how grief affected various heroes while streamlining the early days of their careers, with the books produced being Captain America: White, Hulk: Gray, Spider-Man: Blue, and, of course, Daredevil: Yellow.

Daredevil: Yellow might have only been a miniseries, but it redefined the beginning of the hero’s career. It provided a modern look at Matt Murdock’s origins, relationship with Karen Page, and even an in-universe reason for removing the yellow from his costume— all while weaving in his feelings of guilt over her death. Sale’s art was also at its peak, his noir sensibilities suiting Hell’s Kitchen wonderfully.

6 Ed Brubaker and Micheal Lark Joined Following A Cliffhanger

Ed Brubaker, Michael Lark, Stefano Gaudiano, Matt Hollingsworth, Al Milgrom, Greg Rucka, Ande Parks, Chris Samnee

The bar was set very high with Brian Michael Bendis‘ nearly 50-issue long run with the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen, surpassing a golden standard that had been set with Frank Miller’s tenure. However, Ed Brubaker was more than up to the challenge, very well suited to write for Daredevil when considering his specialties in the genres of crime, noir, and superheroes.

Brubaker began his tenure on Daredevil with a rather unique start, having begun with a direct follow-up to the end of Bendis’ run. “The Devil in Cell-Block D” had Matt Murdock thrown into prison alongside many of the villains he had arrested in a story rife with tension and paying off continuity in a well-done way. Lark’s art heightened Brubaker’s scripts, the two working in perfect tandem in one of many collaborations.

5 Zdarsky and Checchetto Were A Recent Phenomenon

Chip Zdarsky, Marco Checchetto, Jorge Fornes, Francesco Mobili, Rafael de Latorre

Chip Zdarsky and Marco Checchetto made waves during their time on Daredevil, propelling them to such heights that they’re now working on larger titles like Batman and Ultimate Spider-Man. Fans welcomed their tenure after the controversial changes and resets made during the previous Soule run, especially as the up-and-coming creative team delivered hit after hit in terms of stories.

The series was rife with many relevant themes, focusing on the prison-industrial complex and the corrupt status quo of the legal justice system, which had a key focus in many of the run’s essential beats. The series didn’t neglect Matt Murdock’s supporting cast either, interrogating his destructive relationships with those like Elektra and the Kingpin. It also delivered one of the best Daredevil— and arguably Marvel overall— events, Devil’s Reign, which may have elements adapted in the upcoming show Daredevil: Born Again.

4 Ann Nocenti and John Romita Jr. Have One Of The Most Underrated Runs

Ann Nocenti, John Romita Jr., Lee Weeks, Gregory Wright

Ann Nocenti is a woefully underrated writer in Marvel’s stable of talent. John Romita Jr. is an artist who gets a bit of flack for his recent, more stylized work— yet the two came together to create a truly generational run on Daredevil. It may only be getting an omnibus for the first time in 2025, nearly 40 years after it began, but it’s a fan-favorite interpretation of the character.

The duo had the monumental task of following up on the events of the iconic “Born Again” storyline— but delivered on it all the same. They eased readers into a vision of Hell’s Kitchen that felt rotten from the inside out, festering with a sense of madness that could be let loose at any moment. This was a key theme for the run, exemplified in characters like Typhoid Mary, Bullseye, and even Mephisto himself. Romita Jr.’s art was also at its peak during this time, balancing dynamics with a surreal energy that lent itself well to the run’s grander or more mystical elements.

3 Mark Waid and Chris Samnee Brought Together Daredevil’s Best Eras

Mark Waid, Chris Samnee, Pablo Rivera, Marcos Martin, Karl Kesel, Matteo Scalera

While Daredevil started off as a somewhat lighthearted swashbuckler, his maturation over the years disregarded many of these adventures. Yet Mark Waid and Chris Samnee’s run, one of a few major creative teams for the character that survived a wider relaunch, leaned into the lighter tone of early Daredevil to bring readers a run that appeared more colorful on the surface.

However, despite the sleek retro style, crossovers, and adventurous personality for a seemingly happier Matt Murdock, it dived deep into his mental state and the front he was putting up to the world. He struggled to keep himself together, something that villains from his past were excited to exploit at any given opportunity. Waid’s sensibilities lent themselves perfectly to the story of the run, with Samnee and other artists bringing it to life.

2 Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev Brought Marvel Knights’ Daredevil To New Heights

Brian Michael Bendis, Alex Maleev, Matt Hollingsworth, David Mack, Bill Sienkiewicz, Greg Horn, David Finch

While Joe Quesada spearheaded the early days of Marvel Knights, Bendis and Maleev’s names became synonymous with the Daredevil run under the imprint. Marvel Knights’ stories embraced a level of grit and maturity that previously had only existed with Vertigo regarding the mainstream “Big Two” publishers. Still, Bendis redefined what that meant with incredibly layered writing.

Matt Murdock’s rocky relationship with both the law and the people in his life have always been staples of his character— at least since the Miller days— but Bendis grounded Murdock in ways only he could, with tense situations including Murdock’s strained marriage, defending fellow vigilantes in court, and keeping his secret identity from leaking to the public. Maleev’s art was also firing on all cylinders for the run, as he rendered almost fifty issues back to back in an evocatively grungy style that commanded shadow with expert skill.

1 Frank Miller Worked With Several Fantastic Artists

Frank Miller, Klaus Janson, Bill Sienkiewicz, John Romita Jr., David Mazzucchelli, Lynn Varley

Whenever fans discuss Daredevil’s best comics, the work of Frank Miller is never left out of the conversation. Not only did he rescue the character from cancelation, but his work on the titlewas part of mainstream superhero comics’ pivot towards darker subject matters. Complex stories populated Daredevil: tragic tales about crime, heartache, guilt, and painfully real violence.

While he wrote and penciled most of his work on Daredevil, several notable artists heavily supported Frank Miller’s work over the years. Klaus Janson is the one often brought into the limelight as a collaborator, having inked a majority of Miller’s Daredevil before taking over the pencils entirely— but artists like Bill Sienkiewicz, John Romita Jr., and David Mazzucchelli were also instrumental to the success of his work. Lynn Varley was another underrated talent and frequent collaborator of Miller, bringing life to incredibly profound work like the “Roulette” story of Daredevil #191 or Elektra Lives Again— even collaborating with Miller on The Dark Knight Returns.