Civil War
Avengers: Covert / Instinct / Strength
Matt Murdock grew up as the son of boxer “Battlin’ Jack” Murdock in the Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood of New York City. Matt’s mother left them when he was quite young, and his father told him that she had died. As Jack aged, he was forced to take work from a local criminal known as the Fixer (Roscoe Sweeny), who eventually coerced the pugilist to work as his enforcer.
While Matt was a natural athlete, Jack sought to keep him out of his world of violence, hoping that the boy could get an education and escape Hell’s Kitchen. Jack made Matt promise him that he would study hard and never use his fists. The young Murdock’s commitment to his studies made him a target of bullies, who nicknamed him “Daredevil” when he wouldn’t fight back. Matt worked out his frustrations at the gym.
Matt’s life was changed forever when he saw an out-of-control truck speeding toward a blind old man crossing the street. Matt pushed the bystander out of the path of the vehicle, which had been carrying radioactive materials. A container fell off the vehicle and broke open, spilling a radioactive liquid into Matt’s eyes. The incident left the boy blind, but all his remaining senses were enhanced significantly. Soon after, he met Stick, a blind martial-arts master, under whose harsh tutelage Matt came to understand his newly developed senses and blossomed into a formidable fighter.