The following contains major spoilers for Daredevil #13, on sale now from Marvel Comics.
Over the past months, Matt Murdock’s war against the forces of evil has reached both stellar new heights and impossible lows, with the latter leaving him wading through the literal bowels of Hell in search of victory. As astonishing as all this is, it is completely ordinary as far as most Marvel superheroes are concerned, even Daredevil. As surprising as that might seem to any casual observer, what stands out as nearly unfathomable is the fact that Matt Murdock has managed to keep his otherwise ordinary faith throughout all of it.
Daredevil #13 (by Chip Zdarsky, Marco Checchetto, Matthew Wilson, and VC’s Clayton Cowles) finds the titular hero walking through the depths of the Hell that the Beast calls home, adorned in the blazing white costume granted to him upon his death at the hands of the woman he loves. As molten rock pours down around him from the mouths of grotesque landmarks etched into this realm’s rocky facade, Matt is comforted by the spirit of his father walking alongside him. Though that might seem like the most potent sign of hope that Matt could possibly ask for under these undeniably horrifying circumstances, it’s his faith in God that keeps him moving forward more so than any friendly voice or familiar face. As much as that might make sense for a character whose beliefs have long guided their actions, it’s still astonishing to think that Daredevil’s faith would be so clear-cut after everything he has seen in his career as a superhero.
Why Daredevil’s Catholic Faith is So Important to Him
While Daredevil has been iconic from the moment he set foot in the Marvel Universe, so too has the story of how he came into his own as a hero. Although his origin story played out for readers when the character was introduced, the details surrounding his journey from a tragically orphaned young boy to the Man Without Fear were slower to come. Once they did, however, they imparted a picture of someone whose life hadn’t just been shaped by murder and mayhem, but by the solace he found in the church — or at least, in those who showed him the same kind of faith as he put into them.
As revealed in 1993’s Daredevil: The Man Without Fear #1 by Frank Miller and John Romita Jr., it was none other than Matt’s own mother who first graced him with the kind of care and understanding that he would come to revere as an indelible part of his Catholic faith. Though Matt didn’t know it at the time, the same Sister Maggie who he confided in about his newfound abilities was in fact Margaret Murdock, his mother who ran from home out of fear of what the postpartum depression she suffered from might drive her toward. Upon learning of what had happened to her son, Maggie offered the thought that maybe the powers he developed were a literal blessing, one which would make up for the sight he lost and serve as a sign of what kind of life the Lord had in store for him.
In the time since then, Daredevil’s faith and relationship with the church has only grown, even if he is careful to keep the more unsavory aspects of his life a safe distance from it. Whether through the kind words and actions of the clergy members who have become his allies or through late, mournful stints alone atop steeples, Daredevil has long been synonymous with Catholicism simply because of how openly he embraces it. While that does make him something of an inspirational figure to those who share his beliefs or might be questioning their own, it also makes readers wonder how Matt so consistently maintains his faith in the face of the aliens, demons, and literal gods he has fought both alongside and against as Daredevil.
How Matt Murdock Keeps His Faith – Even as Daredevil
There is certainly something to be said about beings like the Beast or Mephisto reinforcing what Matt already believed as a God-fearing Catholic. However, so many other aspects of his superhero career would seem to be anathema to everything he holds to be true. On top of alternate timelines, parallel dimensions, and realms such as Asgard replete with deities of their own, Daredevil has seen his world and its history remade and rewritten by all manner of villains hailing from as close as the other side of the globe to as far as the other side of reality itself. With all of those experiences in mind, it’s almost impossible to imagine how Daredevil could possibly hold on to the faith he has in his God. Then again, the fact his faith is even more blind than he is goes a long way toward explaining his convictions.
For all the otherworldly adventures and reality warping crises that Daredevil has lived through, the immutable truth that the universe is bigger and stranger than he could ever fathom has been made readily apparent. At the same time, that wasn’t a lesson that he necessarily needed to learn in the first place. Everything that had happened to him leading up to becoming Daredevil was already a stark indicator of that truth. Losing his sight only to have it replaced by superhuman additions to his other sense could have just as easily stood as a literal miracle to Matt, even if he hadn’t embarked on a superheroic lifestyle because of it.
Just the same, all the world-shaking events that might otherwise call Matt Murdock’s faith into question would have still taken place without Daredevil there to take part in them. The world he lives in as a whole is a place where the supernatural and superpowered are constantly giving people of any religion plenty of reasons to question their beliefs. At the same time, the sheer strength of their faith in those beliefs continues to hold them firmly in place despite whatever the universe throws their way. It may seem counterintuitive, but so is leaping off of rooftops without being able to see what the ground looks like below, and so far, Daredevil has succeeded in doing just that without any hesitation.