Item 1 - The Origin:

Taking a look at the first issue of Daredevil, the first sign that should have pointed out that maybe -- just maybe -- that this whole Daredevil idea was sort of rushed to the presses, and perhaps -- just perhaps -- they were pushing a little too hard to come up with another success like Spider-Man, is the fact that said spider-themed super hero is mentioned both on the cover and on the first page of the book.

For no other reason to say "Hey, look, we created Spider-Man and he's pretty popular! Here's another guy just like him but only differenter!"

But what you get is essentially a similar story: Main character is awkward teenager who gets made fun of by his peers, has father figure they look up too for everything, gets in some kind of accident that gives them fantastic powers, father figure is killed/murdered by a crook, main character develops a costume, captures crook, feels a need to battle injustice and decides to become a costumed crime fighter while juggling it between his normal life, where he is a bland unnoticed person working a boring day job and is in love with a girl they figure is out of their league.

Sound familiar?

But let's back up a bit and tell the story how it is.. See in the first issue of Daredevil, after a bit of an action sequence where Daredevil beats up a bunch of thugs looking

for the guy who killed his father, reflects back on the events that led to him become the super-hero in an ugly yellow and black costume...

Daredevil is really Matt Murdock, the son of old time boxer Battling Murdock. Of course, he's a boxer past his prime, and a widower and is the only source of parental guidance that young Matt has. Battling Murdock tells his son that he wants him to study and get an education instead of being an uneducated pug like his old man. Something that Matt agrees to do for his old man.

Of course, for some reason this involved not participating in anything that might be seen as somewhat athletic. Matt doesn't play football, or even rough house with any of the neighborhood kids. Like what did Battling Murdock do for Matt at school pin a note to his shirt for the gym teacher to read? "Dear Mr. Teacher, my son is too delicate to be involved in any sports on the account of the fact that I want him to grow up smart." You can see why Battling Murdock was worried about his son becoming an idiot, Murdock Sr. doesn't sound like too bright a guy if this is his solution to the situation.

At any rate, the kids at school start making fun of Matt's lack of athleticism and start calling him "Daredevil", which is the origins of his crime fighting name. What the hell kind of bully makes fun of somebody by calling them Daredevil? Also, why would you, when becoming a super-hero, name yourself after a school yard taunt? Could you imagine if Matt Murdock was a high school student today and used that as inspiration for his name? There'd be a super-hero called "Fag" swinging around and saving the day.

Of course this eventual name calling gets Matt all upset and he decides that he's secretly going to exercise while his dad is off trying to find work. Yeah, that'll teach those name callers, I'm going to go and exercise in secret! I guess in the days before porno and the internet, the most secretive thing you could do when you're parents were out for the day was go and use their rowing machine.

Stopping to comment on the art work for a moment, I know it was a more innocent time and all, but there's something wrong about having your artist draw a

series of pictures of a pubescent boy using exercise machines in a pair of short-shorts. While Matt's dad figures his son is studying, he has no other choice but to get work with a shady boxing manager named the Fixer.

One day Matt's out walking around... or something... He spots an old man crossing a busy street by himself who is about to be hit by a truck owned by the Ajax Atomic Laboratory. Matt of course darts out and saves the blind man from behind hit and is struck by the truck himself. Some of the radioactive isotope gets out and gets him in the eyes, blinding him but increasing all of his other senses.

Now his powers are all fine and dandy, I'm not faulting them for coming up with something (at least for the time) was unique or new, but what

makes this all the more cumbersome to read is the fact that they have to explain themselves every time that Daredevil uses his power. Literally everything he does has to be explained in some form of narrative. Remember, this is the time where not only the concept of a super-hero with fantastic powers was somewhat a new concept, but the founding principals of Daredevil's abilities were hard for people to swallow. Also, try explaining the concept of sonar to the people who for the most part weren't familiar with the concept because back then it was a relatively new technology.

However, the choice execution of explaining these powers usually involve Daredevil either thinking or saying something out loud explaining how his heightened senses made it possible for him to do whatever it is he's doing. Which makes for some cumbersome reading. And since Daredevil is the kind of character that kept his blindness a secret not only to protect his identity but to get an edge on his opponents, shouting out the fact that you were able to dodge something because you felt the air pressure change or heard the firing pin click kind of negates the point of keeping your powers a secret.

Anyway, getting back to DD's origins here, his old man is asked by his crooked boss, known as the Fixer, to throw his next fight. The plan was that since most people would be betting for Battling Murdock because of his big come back, if Murdock threw the fight the Fixer would stand to win a lot of money because he bet against his own boxer.

Battlin' Murdock being the man of pride that he is refuses to do so and wins the match, and as thanks gets murdered by the Fixers good, prompting his son Matt to become Daredevil and avenge his father murder. Which takes us back to where the story started.

So Daredevil tracks down the Fixer and is about to bring him in when the Fixer dies of a heart attack when trying to get away.

And that my friends is the origin of Daredevil, at least how it was originally