I don't know how extensive this thread will be, but I thought it could be fun to have a thread devoted to the underlying meanings of the genres and particular stories in it.

This morning, as my mind drifted off, I sort of realized that Spider-Man and Daredevil's origins are opposites in a way -- Spider-Man is punished for not being a hero when the opportunity arose, leading to the death of his Uncle Ben and motivating him to be a superhero. On the other hand, Daredevil is punished for doing the heroic thing, leading to his blindness.

It seems to be a recurring theme in the Daredevil series -- characters are punished for taking a stand or doing something heroic. Other than DD, his father refused to throw a fight for the mob and was later gunned down. Daredevil doesn't kill Bullseye and he later kills his first love, Elektra. He doesn't kill him after that and Bullseye goes on to kill Karen Page.

If Spider-Man's theme is "With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility", what is Daredevil's theme? While his heightened senses give him some unusual power, his blindness seems to balance that out -- no great power, but he seems to feel responsible for a lot.

Thoughts?

That's interesting. It reminds me of Frank Miller's intro to the "Man Without Fear" miniseries. He says that Matt Murdock's origin is more like a villain's origin. He should have learned the lesson that doing the right thing only gets you hurt or killed. But instead he fought through it all.

I don't know how to boil that down into the theme, but I do think it's what makes Daredevil so cool.

Daredevil's theme would be: "It's not the crosses we bear, but the way we bear them that matters."

That's a good one for the kids.

In the first issue, Daredevil chases The Fixer until he drops dead of a heart attack. DD's reaction is a bemused "[That] will save the state the expense of a trial". I like that Daredevil better than the angst-ridden, immobilised jerk who "does the right thing" over and over and over, getting all of his loved ones and friends killed in the process, and never even learning anything from it.

The early Daredevil seemed to have it all pretty much together. He had risen above a handicap, established a good career, and had found a unique way to do good in the world. Like Linda, I find that sort of character much more appealing than the Miller and post-Miller versions. He's rather like Batman in that respect.

So, more of a financial planner, "a penny saved is a penny earned" angle. I like it.

Do you like him more than Spider-Man?

It'd be sort of interesting to do each character's thematic motto... every major superhero's "mission statement".

Not sure where you got that.

The original Daredevil was all about technicalities. His father made him promise to use his brains, not his fists, to accomplish things in life. First Matt Murdock steps around that promise by deciding to work out regularly "just to keep in shape". Then later he becomes Daredevil so that he can fight crime without breaking the promise that Matt Murdock would never use physical force. In DD's first adventure he kills The Fixer -- not on purpose, although he's certainly not upset that it happened. "Maybe now you'll rest easier, Dad."

DD's theme might be "the letter of the law".

I don't know how that could be reconciled with the character that Miller wrote, who followed a different theme altogether.

I was joking about the "saved the state the expense of a trial" line.

Ah.

Considering that Spidey was just starting to look like he might be around for the long run
and even appeared on the cover of DD#1, DD's theme might be
"a second chance to get in on thr ground floor".

I like this a lot, the more I think about it.

The message of Punisher: War Zone is there's no problem a Claymore Mine can't fix.

The unifying theme of the two is, you will be punished no matter what. Thanks.

I always thought that DD's theme would be "justice not vengeance" or something like that.