Concluding in 2019 with its final season, Marvel’s Daredevil remains a gold standard for Marvel television. Daredevil was a different take on superhero shows with it being darker, grittier, and more violent. The series explored what it meant to be a hero.
Throughout the three seasons, Daredevil boasted amazing characters, all with incredible depth to them. The show is also known for the sheer amount of quotes and memorable lines touching on topics such as good and evil, justice, religion, and much more.
Updated on May 21, 2022 by Scoot Allan: Marvel Studios surprised fans with the announcement that a new Daredevil series set in the MCU is in the works. Following a hyped Charlie Cox cameo in Spider-Man: No Way Home, the stage is set for the continuation of the fan-favorite Netflix series. Fans have been driven back to Disney+ to revisit the series to experience the characters and some of their best quotes before the new series arrives.
15 “I’m Not Seeking Penance For What I’ve Done, Father. I’m Asking For Forgiveness… For What I’m About To Do.” – Matt Murdock
From the first episode, Daredevil sets the tone for all that follows with this line. When Matt Murdock is introduced, his religious nature from the comics is clear. What he does as a vigilante and his religious views as a Catholic are closely tied together.
Even though he engages in violence, he believes he is a soldier of God. It is because of these views that he refuses to kill despite the fact that he very seriously injures people and most likely brings them inches away from death at some points.
14 “The Law Couldn’t Do Anything To Help That Little Girl. But I Could.” – Matt Murdock
The development of Matt Murdock’s enhanced hearing and radar sense made it almost impossible for the hero to ignore the suffering his city went through every night. He could count every siren and follow the sounds across his entire neighborhood.
When he discovered that a nearby father was abusing his daughter, he tried to call the right people to step in and help. Unfortunately, the system failed to do anything. Murdock realized that night that the law couldn’t fix all of the city’s problems. This led to his career in vigilantism as the Devil in Hell’s Kitchen.
13 “These Questions Of Good And Evil… Have No Place In A Court Of Law. Only The Facts Matter.” – Matt Murdock
Lawyer by day and vigilante by night, this quote truly shows off the former version of Matt. When tasked with defending John Healey in court by mysterious benefactors, Matt gives this speech. This scene shows his incredible ability as a lawyer and his way with words to win over the people for his client.
It is also significant because he speaks of good and evil in regards to the facts, a prominent theme throughout the show. Despite Matt’s best efforts, Healey kills himself after revealing Wilson Fisk’s name to Daredevil.
12 “It Means That I’m Not The Samaritan. That I’m Not The Priest, Or The Levite. That I Am The Ill Intent Who Set Upon The Traveler.” – Wilson Fisk
Like many good villains, Wilson Fisk believes himself to be the good guy who is helping the city. He challenges Daredevil both physically and philosophically with their debates on how best to help Hell’s Kitchen.
This line comes towards the end of the first season, during his conversation with the guards when Kingpin is arrested. Once again, religion is brought into the show and in this case, Fisk realizes that he is not the good guy. He sees that he is in fact the ill intent and evil force in the story.
11 “The Only Thing I Know Without A Doubt Is You Don’t Get To Be The Man At The Top Without Making Enemies Looking To Tear You To The Ground.” – Ben Urich
One of Ben Urich’s biggest Daily Bugle stories in the comics was his discovery of Daredevil’s secret identity as Matt Murdock. The live-action version that appeared in Netflix”s Daredevil never lived long enough to discover that secret himself. However, he still dropped a few pearls of wisdom over the course of his appearances in the first season of Daredevil.
Vondie Curtis-Hall played Urich, who was attempting to expose the truth about Wilson Fisk/The Kingpin. His comment could be directed to either Fisk or Daredevil and carry the same weight, which made it one of many memorable quotes from Urich.
10 “You Hit Them And They Get Back Up, I Hit Them And They Stay Down.” – Frank Castle
One of the most memorable things about the second season of Daredevil is the introduction of The Punisher, who received his own comics-accurate show. Similar to the Kingpin, Frank Castle posed a philosophical challenge to Daredevil in how their methods differed. He argued that the people Daredevil brought down just came back and did the same things again.
He employed a more permanent approach, killing those he felt deserved death. While The Punisher’s methods can seem extreme, Daredevil has often fought with the idea that his work is not actually stopping the criminals for good.
9 “I’m Not Trying To Be A Hero. I’m Just A Guy That Got Fed Up With Men Like You, And I Decided To Do Something About It.” – Daredevil
While Matt Murdock and Wilson Fisk worked against each other during the first season of Daredevil, the first encounter of their alter egos occurred over the radio. When Daredevil was trapped inside an abandoned building with cops waiting outside, he had a direct line to Wilson Fisk through a walkie-talkie.
The two held a tense conversation that allowed them to get a feel for each other. When Fisk questioned Daredevil’s attempt at being a hero, Murdock clarified his motivations for Fisk. His quote not only revealed that he would stop at nothing to stop Fisk, but also that the Kingpin wasn’t anyone in special in Daredevil’s eyes.
8 “Guilt Can Be A Good Thing. It’s The Soul’s Call To Action… The Guilt Means Your Work Is Not Yet Finished.” – Father Lantom
Throughout the series, Paul Lantom serves as a moral compass to Matt and is someone he confides in about his work as Daredevil. Oftentimes when he is struggling with a certain decision, he goes to Father Lantom.
This line is said when Matt feels guilt for not doing more to protect those killed by The Punisher. With this, Paul Lantom assures him that he should not question whether he did enough previously, but rather focus on what he will do moving forward, using his guilt as a guiding tool guide.
7 “I’m Daredevil. Not Even God Can Stop That Now.” – Matt Murdock
Following the aftermath of the Defenders, Daredevil seemingly gives his life as a building collapsed on him. Closely resembling the Born Again story, season three showed a broken Matt who was rescued by the church and his mother Maggie Grace.
Initially, Matt loses his faith, and while he is more confident than ever in his role as Daredevil, he no longer sees himself as a soldier of God. With this, he becomes more ruthless in his resolve, even letting Karen and Foggy Nelson believe he is dead for a time.
6 “What Is It, To Be A Hero? Look In The Mirror And You’ll Know. Look Into Your Own Eyes And Tell Me That You Are Not Heroic.” – Karen Page
This speech from Karen Page is easily one of the most quoted in the series with how widely applicable it is. In the season two finale, Daredevil took down the Hand with some help from the Punisher. However, it ultimately ended in Elektra’s apparent death, which was one of the worst things to happen to Daredevil.
After revealing to Karen that he is Daredevil, Matt continues on without a purpose. This speech is dedicated to not only Daredevil and The Punisher, but also to each and every citizen. Karen captures the essence of heroism and hones in on the hero inside of all of us.
5 “When Someone In Need Tries To Push You Away… You Have To Find The Strength To Hold On Tighter.” – Sister Maggie Grace
In the final season, it was revealed that Maggie Grace, the Sister that has been closely tending to Matt’s wounds, is his mother. She says this in a conversation with Karen when opening up about how Matt asked for help with his nightmares and one night, no one came to help him.
From that point, he shut everyone out and would do so for much of his life. This season deals with him once again pushing those he loves away, but despite it, Karen and Foggy still stood by his side.
4 “How Do You Know The Angel And The Devil Inside Me Aren’t The Same Thing?” – Matt Murdock
As a devout Catholic, Matt Murdock constantly questioned his role as the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen. The violence he was forced to sue every night against the criminals he brought down contradicted the values he had learned from the church.
Murdock sought advice from Father Lantom on more than one occasion. Unfortunately, he wasn’t always able to use the advice he was given. His doubts about the motivations inside him that drove him to be Daredevil continued to eat away at him as he was forced to go further and further as Daredevil.
3 “The Only Thing Powerful Enough To Take Down Scumbags Like Him Is The Law.” – Foggy Nelson
As his closest friend and partner, Foggy Nelson proves loyal to Matt, though this relationship is strained with the revelation that Matt is Daredevil. Throughout Foggy’s journey, he believes in the law and stands by it, whereas Matt continually questions its effectiveness and initially decides to kill Fisk in the last season.
As his fellow avocado-at-law (a name Foggy endearingly gave them in their college days), Foggy attempted to convince Matt not to kill. He later used the law and the posthumous help of Ray Nadeem against Fisk.
2 “I Play The Long Game. When I’m Finally Let Out Of This Cage, It Won’t Be To Wage War. It Will Be To Win One.” – Wilson Fisk
After Wilson Fisk’s criminal activities were exposed by Nelson & Murdock, he was arrested and sent to jail. However, the Kingpin’s power only grew while he was behind bars, and he continued plotting his schemes for his release date.
His brilliant mind allowed him to use his time incarcerated to prepare for his inevitable return as the Kingpin of New York City. His determination was also evident, as he made it clear that any fight he started when he got out of prison would be one that he knew he would win.
1 “You Don’t Get To Destroy Who I Am… This City Rejected You. It Beat You. I Beat You!”– Matt Murdock
While they do use the law to defeat Fisk, the finale sees a confrontation between Benjamin Poindexter (Bullseye), Matt Murdock, and Wilson Fisk. The epic fight concludes in Matt defeating the Kingpin who prods him to kill him.
Despite coming close, Matt refuses, stating that Fisk does not get to destroy who he is. The whole season dealt with Daredevil’s secret identity including the fear that he could become the monster. With this decision, he definitively decides against darkness and sticks to his code, thus solidifying his place as a hero.
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