Through Matt Murdock’s Eyes: Daredevil’s Complex Morality and Its Real-World Parallels
By Jay Brown
When the very system meant to protect us becomes the one that betrays us, what choices remain?
In ‘Daredevil’, blind lawyer Matt Murdock takes to the streets to fight crime, but the real battle isn't just against villains—it's against the moral decay of a city, and a society, that can no longer distinguish right from wrong. Is justice something we can trust, or is it something we must take into our own hands?
Police corruption, a spike in crime statistics, and a convicted felon sworn into public office sounds like an over-the-top dark storyline from a comic book, and in fact, it is. However, reality is seemingly imitating fiction. In the 2017 Daredevil Story "Mayor Fisk," the head of the criminal empire, Wilson Fisk, runs for mayor and buys and cheats his way into winning the mayoral election. Sound familiar? We were all shocked when Donald Trump won the 2024 election. Parallels to Trump go even further in Daredevil Born Again when Mayor Fisk sets up his own authoritarian anti-vigilante task force to patrol the streets of New York. Almost a year after the show came out, Trump set up ICE.
Daredevil is more than just a superhero story; it's a mirror reflecting the complexities of real-world society. Matt Murdock's battle against corruption, injustice, and moral ambiguity resonates deeply with the struggles we face today, where systems of power often fail the very people, they are meant to protect. The tension between law and vigilantism echoes real-world frustrations with a justice system that too usually leaves the vulnerable unprotected. Like many who feel disillusioned with societal structures, Daredevil's fight challenges whether true justice can be found within the confines of a flawed system or if it requires individuals to take matters into their own hands. His story highlights the blurred lines between right and wrong, urging us to question how we define justice in a world where power, corruption, and inequality shape our daily lives.
Matthew Murdock is one of the few characters in pop culture whose religion is a big part of his character and dictates his actions or inactions. Matt is a devout Catholic; however, his lifestyle conflicts with his religious beliefs. Catholicism teaches forgiveness, love, and mercy; brutally beating criminals conflicts with this and creates a direct contradiction between the core tenets of his faith. His morality is further challenged when he encounters Frank Castle, the Punisher, a former Catholic who abandoned his faith after traumatic events pushed him toward a brutal, unforgiving path of crime-fighting. Although The Punisher takes the lives of criminals to ensure they will never have the capability to hurt anyone else ever again, a notion Daredevil wrestles with. When Daredevil sends someone to prison, there is a high likelihood that they will be released and re-offend. Yet, the broken real-world justice system makes his dilemma even more complex. Criminals often slip through the cracks, getting released to re-offend, and the system's failures force Matt to question whether his faith in the law is enough. His frustration mirrors a real-world reality: when justice systems are corrupt or inefficient, individuals must confront whether the law alone can protect society, or if more extreme measures are needed. Matt's struggle highlights how real-world systems of justice often fall short, leaving people to question the morality of the very institutions meant to keep order.
Matt's crusade against crime is complicated by corruption within law enforcement in Hell's Kitchen, where officers often turn a blind eye to criminal activity. This mirrors real-world issues of police corruption and misconduct, where officers abuse power or fail to investigate crimes properly. High-profile cases like the killing of George Floyd and the lack of convictions directly tied to Breonna Taylor’s death have eroded public trust in law enforcement. Like Matt, who faces systemic failures and turns to vigilantism, real-world citizens are forced to question whether the justice system can protect them when law enforcement is compromised.
The world of Daredevil mirrors our own, shedding light on corrupt justice systems, flawed law enforcement, and moral dilemmas. Matt Murdock's struggle to balance his belief in the law with a broken system speaks to the frustrations many feel facing real-world injustices. Matt, as a character, is just a vessel for us to reflect and think about the shortcomings in the real world. Just as Daredevil fights a corrupt framework, society grapples with systemic failures in our justice systems—especially when law enforcement fails to protect those in need. Matt's internal conflict between upholding his morals and taking extreme actions parallels the ethical decisions people make when confronting societal corruption. Daredevil challenges us to ask: when justice systems fail, what does it take to make things right?