Who is Daredevil?

[guardiandevil]

If you're from the Marvel Universe and you call NYC your home, chances are you've at least heard of Daredevil, if not crossed his path before.  He's been patrolling the Manhattan neighborhood of Hell's Kitchen for  well over a decade, allying himself with other "street level" vigilantes such as Power Man and Iron Fist, Spider-Man, and his on-again/off-again former lover/partner, Black Widow.  Daredevil has widespread connections throughout the superhuman community.  He's teamed up with the Avengers and the Fantastic Four on multiple occasions, and more rarely with the X-Men.  He tends to work alone mostly, his partnership with Black Widow is of note because of the length of time spent by her side, and the frequency with which they continually re-team.  Daredevil's enemies include The Owl, Purple Man, Mr. Fear, and various other lame-ass wannabes, along with a couple of big timers, namely the Kingpin and Bullseye.  Then there's also the tricky case of Elektra, the assassin who is in turns his ally, lover, and most dangerous enemy.  Daredevil frequently squares off against The Hand, an ancient ninja cult with plans of world domination.  Which is always fun.  Lucky for ol' Hornhead, he's rumored to be a ninja himself and is widely considered to be one of the greatest stick fighters alive today.

tl;dr: DD's a guy in a red leather devil costume who karate chops ninjas and bludgeons mafia goons with his billy clubs while scoring with beautiful and very dangerous ladies.  Manhattanites surely know of him at the very least, and Avenger-types probably have worked with him at some point in their careers.

Matt Murdock is the flip side of this coin.  Matt is a prominent New York attorney specializing in criminal law, currently a partner in the firm Nelson, Blake, and Murdock.  He's a Columbia law school graduate--top of his class, with two degrees!  And what's even more impressive is he's totally blind.  That would be due to an accident that occurred in his childhood.  Matt was raised by his single father, a pro boxer named Jack Murdock.  He was murdered by mafia goons while Matt was in college.  Matt's had a rough life, facing setback followed by tragedy followed by bout with depression.  

A couple years back, a tabloid outed Matt Murdock as Daredevil.  He denied the claims and filed suit against the publishers, a suit which he won.  However rumors continued to swirl, and he was arrested by the FBI and charged with obstructing justice.  Turns out you can't be a vigilante and a lawyer.  Who knew?  Anyway, long and VERY complicated story short, the FBI dropped their charges and issued a public apology to Matt for his arrest and imprisonment, clearing the way for him to rebuild his life, and sue the government!  Yay perjury! 

So, just FYI: Matt Murdock is Daredevil.  No matter what he says, he is Daredevil now and has been since Daredevil first started bouncing around Hell's Kitchen.  But not everyone knows this.

I know what you're thinking: "But Ali!!!  He was outed by the press!  Surely this is common knowledge now!"  Well, no, actually.  It isn't common knowledge.  Matt won the libel lawsuit against the paper that published his name.  And he received an apology from the government for claiming that he was Daredevil.  Some citizens might still be convinced that he is Daredevil, but the majority of people seem to perceive Matt Murdock in a sympathetic light, as the victim of relentless government persecution, and most do not believe he is Daredevil.  A few years ago, if asked they may have said that he is Daredevil, but public opinion has shifted, and it is on Matt's side.

So who knows for sure Matt is Daredevil?  Let me give you a short list:

Foggy Nelson
Milla Donovan
Natasha Romanov
Elektra Natchios
Steve Rogers
Stephen Strange
Peter Parker
Ben Urich
Luke Cage
Jessica Jones
Danny Rand
The Fantastic Four
White Tiger
Black Tarantula
Frank Castle
Misty & Colleen
Shang-Chi
The Hand
The Kingpin
Bullseye
Typhoid Mary
Nick Fury
Night Nurse
Sister Maggie
Some members of the Avengers
Some members of SHIELD
Various lame/recurring villains (due to tabloid)
Various deceased individuals

So, yeah.  That's a basic list.  I am probably forgetting someone really important, but bah.  Basic rule of thumb though, if you aren't on this list, you might have heard the rumors, but you wouldn't know for sure if Matt is Daredevil.  You could know who each of them is, but you wouldn't have any proof that they are the same person.  Please keep that in mind!  Rumors =/= evidence!  But wait, there's more!  If you think you ought to be on this list, please comment and I shall add you.  Or if you can think of someone who knows but isn't on the list, comment also!

I hope this has given you a basic idea of who Matt is, who DD is, and what his deal is!