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Proceeds from these pages go to support the work of the ERIICA Project and
the student creators, including the publication of future editions of
The Workday Comic.
For more information, contact Dr. Travis Langley (email: langlet at hsu.edu). |
Thomas Sepe
Psychology and Comics
Dr. Langley
9 May 2008
Devil's Deal: Trading Fear for Guilt
In the night a flash of red is seen jumping from roof top to roof top. It makes those dealing drugs on the street nervous and the people asleep in their beds feel comforted. The Devil of Hell's Kitchen is out tonight. By day this masked vigilante prowls the courtroom as the blind lawyer Matt Murdock but at night he becomes the anti hero: Daredevil. He is a man consumed with guilt having lost his father to a brutal murder as well as witnessing the deaths of some of his girlfriends at the hands of his enemies. Through time he has built up the persona of a man with out fear, someone who can look death in the face and laugh. But what makes him that way? What drives him to put the mask on even in the face of such tragedy? Matt Murdock is a man of contradictions, walking on both sides of the law, amassing guilt through his upbringing and experiences and becoming the man with out fear.
Matt Murdock passed his childhood in the neighborhood of Hell's Kitchen. He was raised by his father, a down and out boxer by the name of “Battling Jack” Murdock, after his mother left. He grew up a devote roman catholic and was taught be his father to find alternate ways of solving his problems instead of using force. When he was a young man he risked his life to save a blind man from being hit by a truck. In the process he loses his own sight as a radioactive material hits him in the face after falling off the speeding vehicle. The radioactive material may have robbed him of his sight but it also heightened his other four sense to a super human level allowing him to perceive the world around him with out the aid of his eyes. This ability to sense the world around him is amplified after he studies under the care of a mysterious blind man named Stick. Matt learns how to form a radar image of his environment and to perform a variety of acrobatic feats as well as perform martial arts. Even with his new skills he maintains a passive lifestyle. After high school Matt enters college to become a lawyer. Its here at the Columbia School of Law that he meets one of his first loves, Elektra Natchios. When she and her father, a Greek diplomat, are kidnapped Matt Murdock dons a mask for the first time in order to safe them. In the effort to rescue them Elektra's father is shot by a member of swat team. During this turmoil at school Matt suffers a blow at home. Matt's father had experience a short come back in the world of boxing. But when he refused to throw a fight for the title he is killed. Matt Murdock makes a costume out of the boxing robes of his father and confronts his father's killers as the super hero: Daredevil, the man with out fear.
Life of Daredevil is marked by some key relationships, both with mask on and off. The relationships he has experienced through out his life have become some of his greatest assets as well as his Achilles heel. On constant in his life is his business partner Foggy Nelson. Foggy has been there for Matt since they were roommates in College. Foggy is Matt's confidant and advisor. He acts as a support system for Matt, when his life is coming down around him he counts on Foggy to be there to support him. For example when Daredevil's secret identity was in jeopardy Foggy stuck by his close friend even though there was a heightened level of danger for him now that Daredevil's enemies knew who he was and where he lived.
Through out his history Daredevil has had a number of romantic relationships,many of which met with an untimely demise. These losses affect daredevil greatly and deepened his sense of guilt especial since many of them died directly or indirectly because of his masked activities. One such woman who played and important role in Matt Murdock's life was Karen Page. She started out as the secretary in the law practice of Matt Murdock and Foggy Nelson and the three of them formed a love triangle. Overtime Karen page takes a turn for the worst and becomes a heroin addicted porn star. Its is then that she sells the secret identity of Daredevil to his greatest enemy, The Kingpin, for money to supply her addiction. After a long struggle she turns her life around only to be struck down by another of Daredevil's enemies, Bullseye. Karen page isn't the only one Matt Murdock would lose through the hands of Bullseye. His college sweet heart Elektra would also die because of Bulleye during a battle between she and him. Matt would lose two more girlfriends, Glorianna O'Breen was killed by a henchman of the Kingpin and Heather Glenn committed suicide. Matt would take each of these deaths personally as if he had been apart of their demise. Matt Murdock was also involved with several members of the super human crowd. He dated the Black Widow, Echo and Typhoid Mary (who later went crazy and worked for the Kingpin). Murdock even was even married, to a blind woman named Milla Donovan but like all of his relationships before his marriage also ended badly.
While some of his relationships have helped to keep Daredevil's head above water such as his friendship with Foggy Nelson or his friendship with the superheroes for hire: Luke Cage and the Iron Fist, many of the connections that Daredevil has made have only put him in difficult situations and contributed to his guilt complex. He often feels responsible for the events that happen to other people. He takes responsibility of accidents and for the consequences of his actions even if the results were unintentional.
The choices that Matt Murdock has made for himself in his professional life have created a dual nature that is sometimes in conflict with itself. By day he is a brilliant lawyer that protects the innocent and sometimes not so innocent from a flawed system. At night he is the anti-hero Daredevil, a vigilante that acts outside the law. As a lawyer he upholds the law and using the precedents and statues of the system to defend the week and convict the guilt. In the court room he is very black and white but on the roof tops he makes his own justice to the point where he threw his nemesis bullseye from a building with the intent of killing him. This dual concept of justice and morality is often discussed in daredevil unlike other comics. When Daredevil's secret identity is sold by an FBI agent to a tabloid Matt Murdock must contemplate the consequences of his past actions. As Daredevil he has compromised many trails that he has worked on as Matt Murdock. He has used strong arm tactics and assault many time to obtain information that will ensure a conviction in the court room. He experiences some guilt every time he must put the suit on to accomplish something he cannot as Matt Murdock. He made a promise to his deceased father that he would find non violent solutions to problems. Every time he puts the the mask on he breaks that promise. Eventually he becomes frustrated even with his ineffectual ability to permanently change the neighborhood he calls home and breaks down.
Besides the paradox between his day and night jobs Daredevil also faces the conflict when his goals for a safe future for Hell's Kitchen conflict with the means he sometimes feels necessary to use to achieve those goals. During the period of his life when he questioned the efficacy of Daredevil he becomes so frustrated that losses control and becomes extremely violent. Instead of apprehending Bullseye during a confrontation he beats him to a pulp and finishes the fight by carving a target into Bullseye's forehead. Daredevil even goes as far as busting in the Kingpin's home and assaulting everyone therein. After defeating the Kingpin Daredevil declares that he is the new Kingpin, the thing he hated the most.
This split nature is further seen when Daredevil is compared to Rotter's Locus of Control Scale. The scale measures people's perceptions of how they effect the world and their environment. A low score on the scale indicates that the person has an Internal Locus of Control. This means that the individual believes that it is their actions that determine their lives and not the actions of other or an unseen force. These people tend to be more out going and assertive. On the other hand people with a high score are have an External Locus of Control and believe that something other then themselves is in control of their lives. Out of a possible 23 points Daredevil scored 10. This puts him in the lower middle of the scale. Daredevil scored more points of the political questions than he did on others. This shows his distrust of the system. Other questions he scored points on dealt with a high power. This reflects Daredevil's catholic faith that has always played a significant role in his life. Another reflection of that faith deals with the personal responsibility questions. Daredevil has a belief that he is at least partially responsible for the deaths of two of his girlfriends. This plays heavily into the Fallen Man concept prevalent in the Catholic church. Its possible that his score would vary if taken at different times in his life. In the beginning he would probably have a fairly small score with his faith in an unseen entity as the main contributor to his score but later in life, especially when his secret identity is leaked to the press, he would have a higher score. Daredevil has had a few breakdowns in his life and at these points when he feels that he no longer has control of his life are when his score would be the highest. (Rotter)
A review of Daredevil's OCEAN 5 results reveal a similar story to his Locus of Control. The OCEAN 5 refers to five major factors in personality: openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism. According to an online assessment, Daredevil scored highest in conscientiousness with a score of 64%. This shows that he is well organized and reliable. This is probably a reflection of his strict training as well as a need he shares with other blind individuals to have an orderly home. He also received a high percentage on nueroticism, a 60%. People who score high in this trait tend to be high strung and worry a lot. It is not surprising that Daredevil did well in this category considering the devotion and high level of emotional energy Daredevil puts into both sides of his effort to clean up the streets of Hell's Kitchen. He shows consistent preoccupation with his clients and the people that he serves while wearing his mask.(John)
The other three factor measured daredevil scored considerably lower. The highest of the three was Extraversion, which measures a persons social nature. Daredevil scored only about a 22% on the factor, which would indicate that he is introverted and quiet and reserved. This could be due to the fact that he spends so much of his time behind a mask and not is normal social situations with others. Its difficult for a masked superhero to be fun-loving and sociable when he is dangling a thug from the top of a thirty story building. Daredevil next scored the lowest on Openness with only a 12%. Openness expresses how an individual deals with new situations, do they express creativity or are they more conventional. Daredevil's low score suggest that he is more down to earth and that he may prefer traditional and familiar experiences. Daredevil scored the lowest in his agreeableness with a extremely low score of only 3%. This is a pretty accurate assessment of Daredevil's personality. He is very callous and can be quite harsh. This element of his life is intensified with the lack of efficacy he feels toward his ability to make an impact in the neighbor hood in which he works and lives. (John)
After analyzing some of his character and personality traits some conclusions can be drawn. Daredevil doesn't manifest any complete disorders or mental illnesses but he does demonstrate several of the characteristics of some disorders. One such disorder is Antisocial Personality disorder.
Antisocial Personality Disorder has a number of qualifying factors not all of which are present with Daredevil. He shows a “failure to conform to social norms with respect to lawful behaviors as indicated by repeatedly performing acts that are grounds for arrest.” This is evident not only in the fact that he wears a mask and acts as a vigilante but in the manor in which he violently apprehends criminals. He also makes use of an alias but unlike others how are diagnosed with the disorder he does not use it for personal profit unless he is driven by success in the courtroom. He also demonstrates “impulsivity” and “aggressiveness, as indicated by repeated physical fights.” Another element that he demonstrates is a lack of regard for self. The difference between Daredevil's disregard and that of some one with Antisocial Personality Disorder is that someone with the disorder also feels a disregard for the safety of others as well. While Daredevil does match several of these criteria and his behavior is self destructive his concern for the welfare of others precludes him from this disorder.
Daredevil gained his super human senses through a nuclear accident that robbed him of his sight but it was the experience in his life that made him the man without fear. Through training with his master, Stick, and having to navigate the city with out the aid of his eyes has harden him to the point where does not fear the physical world. He can confront the largest enemy and feel no fear in fighting him. But Daredevil is not with out fear. While he is immune to physical threats he is weak when it comes to threats of his personal identity and threats against those he cares for. Yet while he worries about such thing he never stops putting on the mask even when the whole world heard his secret he persisted in his duty. The weight that he bares from guilt is large and is growing. But he continues to carry on, filling his life with regret and greif so that he can wear the mantle of the man with out fear.
Works Cited
John, Oliver D. “The Big Five Personality Traits.” Atof Inc. 200-2003. http://www.outofservice.com/bigfive/
Miller, Frank and John Romita jr. and Brian Micheal Bendis and Kevin Smith and David Mack “Daredevil: The Man Without Fear.” Volume 1- 60. 1989-2004. Marvel Entertainment,Inc
“Rotter's Locus of Control Scale.” University of Ballarat. June 3, 2003.
http://www.ballarat.edu.au/ard/bssh/psych/rot.htm
