It feels weird actually updating for someone that isn't many things, and I don't know what I mean by that exactly.
Regardless, I really think this is going to be very fun and I hope to have one of these up, in order, for the next 30 days. Barring special circumstances, I will do just that. This is my 85th post now and I have some ideas for my fast-approaching 100th post, but I haven't decided yet.
Anyway, let the games begin! As Alex from Comicana would say (Seriously, if you're in there longer than an hour, he'll come out with it).
The Mast's 30 Days of Comicdom (Day 1): Who Is Your Favourite Character?
If you don't know by now, you are a stoopit! My favourite character is, of course...
Daredevil.
I did a whole post/month dedicated to this guy and why he has a very special place in the comic-inked section of my heart, namely the #1 spot. Still, it can't hurt to tell anyone again.
I was drawn in at Daredevil #187, I was 6 and that's how this whole comic thing began.
Never before had I seen such a simplistically drawn character with such inimitable grace. He wasn't as colourful or awkward as Peter Parker, even Spider-Man, but he moved with the majesty of someone much greater. The way he fought, the way he looked, it was just like watching ballet on a page to me. Then, I find out the dude is BLIND?! John Romita Jr. pretty much nailed it when HE described why he loves Daredevil so much.
So deep is my attachment to this character that I refer to him on first name purposes as much as I call him Daredevil. To me, he's Matt Murdock. A Frank Miller showed, Matt Murdock is the undeniable hero. Daredevil is who he is when he puts on the suit, but Matt Murdock is the hero. The outfit dresses up the hero, that's all.
No matter what befalls him, he never gives up on anything or anyone. He is just like his dad. He is his father's son in that respect, at the very least. I don't go into comics to relate to anything, but Daredevil forced me to. Seeing someone as void of fear and apprehension as Daredevil/Matt Murdock gives you something to aspire to. Seeing this stonewall, morally and emotionally strong guy brought to his knees by the love of a woman or the loss of one, however, is something that I defy anyone to nod their head and feel for.
It doesn't matter how many punches he can take from The Kingpin, because when Karen Page was murdered or when Elektra first re-appeared as an assassin and he knew it was her from the smell of her, he might as well have been in a wheelchair. It's his totally human weaknesses that we all have, in contradiction with his otherwise fearless nature, that make him as admirable as he is.
The fact that he does what he does while being able to disarmed by some of the same things we are, it's what I love. Spider-Man is the same in many ways, totally self-less. It doesn't matter if he dies, because he sees his role as a responsibility, and the same goes for Matt Murdock and Daredevil. He's come back from being destitute and from emotional wreckage. He's dealt with moral uncertainty and lives with the knowledge that he and his most implaccable foe, The Kingpin, know each other's identities, causing a perpetual stalemate of nail-biting proportions. He has overcome loss, psychological turmoil and back-breaking guilt that would've caused a lesser man to crumble.
Despite deadly enemies, trials and tribulations, he does this because he is a hero, however flawed. He does all this for the sake of innocent people, his friends, his loved ones and most notably, Hell's Kitchen. That's his neighbourhood. He's there if heroes need him, but he doesn't try to do more than he can, he does what is sensible. He protects the one neighbourhood and helps elsewhere when he can.
The contradiction of him being a lawyer by day and law-disregarding vigilante (Because what these heroes do strictly isn't legal, or wasn't until Captain Rogers got at the helm of S.H.I.E.L.D.) at night is one that nobody else really embodies. These elements, coupled with the fact that he is a wavering Catholic who dresses as a devil, make my love for him what it is. It makes for amazing stories in the right hands and, truly, I recommend him to everybody.
He has gone from a B-grade character and the poor man's Spider-Man with potential, to someone who has become an amazing character in his own right, even if he's not an A-lister. Marvel have embarked upon a marketing campaign that said there will be a new character becoming The Man without Fear post-Shadowland, as I've said. This makes me nervous, but even if it's bad, I stick by him through thick and thin. One can only hope he pulls himself out of the darkest hole he's ever been in, before it pulls him in for good.
He is my absolute favourite overall character of all time, consistently. While Deadpool is always hot on his heels, Matt Murdock/Daredevil is always there ahead of everyone else. It's for the reasons I've stated that I've named him my favourite character.
He should be popping up in some of the other 29 days, but how? Wait and see!
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Thanks to everyone for reading this, I really appreciate it.
If you want to know more about Daredevil, browse through my posts to find my posts on Daredevil and all things related that I did during Daredevil Month. That or toss me a comment with your questions.
Take care and tune in to my blog every day from today, for the next 30 days, for a new installment!
Until next time, peace.
-The Mast
