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One of Daredevil’s most infamous stories isn’t just brutal, it has the most unexpected plot twist in Marvel history. Over the years, Matt Murdock’s work as the Man Without Fear has shown him the darkness lurking within humanity. But one story ended with a twist far more bleak than any other Daredevil comic.
From 2004 to 2006, Marvel Comics released the limited series Daredevil: Father under the more experimental Marvel Knights imprint. The story centers around Matt Murdock taking the case of a woman fighting cancer while a serial killer stalks Hell’s Kitchen. This story takes Daredevil to some serious depths and ends with a twist that puts a shocking new look at his iconic origin.
The following article discusses sensitive content such as murder and sexual assault.
The Man Daredevil Saved as a Boy Was a Complete Monster
A Shocking Daredevil Story Leads to a Shocking Ending
In Daredevil: Father by Joe Quesada, Danny Miki, Richard Isanove, and Chris Eliopoulos, a woman named Maggie Farrell comes seeking Matt’s legal counsel. Maggie has cancer, brought on by New Jersey Power and Light illegally dumping chemicals near her home, and Sean, Maggie’s cantankerous husband, wants to sue. Matt and Foggy Nelson take the case, but Daredevil is perturbed by Sean’s verbal abuse towards Maggie. Meanwhile, a serial killer dubbed ‘Johnny Sockets’ is killing people throughout Hell’s Kitchen and mutilating their eyes as a sick calling card.
…a serial killer dubbed ‘Johnny Sockets’ is killing people throughout Hell’s Kitchen and mutilating their eyes…
After noting suspicious behavior by Maggie and Sean, Daredevil comes to believe that the latter is Johnny Sockets and starts to investigate him. After several more murders, Matt confronts Sean in his home, where Daredevil not only discovers that Maggie has been obsessed with him for years, but that she’s actually Johnny Sockets. Daredevil is able to stop Maggie from killing Foggy, but not before she blames him for all the pain she’s suffered in her life. Maggie is fatally shot by the police, and with her final breath, makes one last confession to Daredevil.
Daredevil ventures to a small apartment, where he finds Maggie Farrell’s father, an old blind man, sitting in the dark alone. Daredevil tells the father that Maggie is dead and that Daredevil knows that the old man molested Maggie when she was just a girl. This accusation infuriates the old man, who asks Daredevil what gives him the right to judge anyone. Daredevil reveals that he’s Matt Murdock, and it’s revealed that Maggie’s father is actually the blind man that Daredevil saved when he was a boy, right before Matt was blinded.
Marvel Comics Changed Daredevil’s Origin Forever with This Unexpected Reveal
Matt Murdock’s Biggest Sacrifice Kept Evil in the World
Daredevil: Father is an incredibly haunting story that not everyone is a fan of. But for better or worse, it really does hit readers with such a gut punch ending. The story is very much like a giallo film like The New York Ripper or Deep Red by borrowing elements such as showing murders from the killer’s point of view and having Maggie use black gloves and knives. And like most giallo endings, even after the killer is revealed, it hits the audience with an unexpected, and usually jaw-dropping, twist.
What makes this story so wild is that it isn’t a What If…?-style story or something under the MAX imprint. Marvel Knights’ stories are set on Earth-616, which means that Matt canonically saved a man who went on to sexually assault his own daughter for years, a torment that led her to becoming a serial killer. Matt lost his vision saving the blind man from being hit by a truck, and for years, he thought his last act with sight at least did some good. Instead, Daredevil unintentionally perpetuated evil rather than stopping it.
Of course, Daredevil isn’t responsible for what Maggie’s father did. But Matt often carries guilt over things like this and knowing the incident that led him to becoming Daredevil also kept Maggie’s suffering going is something that no doubt weighs heavily on him. It’s hard to believe Marvel Comics would have ever allowed such a horrifying twist to Daredevil’s origin, but it does make for an ending that leaves fans stunned.
Marvel Comics is Never Going to Have a More Shocking Twist
Chances are Marvel Won’t Risk Something Like That Again
Fans can be very reticent about changing elements of a hero’s origin. Daredevil: Father is a pretty controversial story that many fans look back on and wonder how such a bleak ending was ever allowed. But Marvel Knights thrived on trying new things and experimenting with characters, even if they don’t always pan out. Given the reception of this story, Marvel Comics is almost certainly never going have a story ending that comes anywhere close to the dark nature of Daredevil: Father’s conclusion.
“}]] One Daredevil ending no one saw coming. Read More