40 Years Ago Today, Daredevil’s Most Important Origin Detail Was Confirmed After 230 Issues

Daredevil had one of his most important storylines 40 years ago, and it added an important detail to his origin story that hadn’t been revealed before. Daredevil made his debut in 1964 in his own series, created by the team of Stan Lee and Bill Everett. For most of his early existence, he was a New York City vigilante who protected the citizens while also working as an attorney, as Matt Murdock. His main base of operations was Hell’s Kitchen, and soon, Daredevil became the defender of that area of New York City. However, it wasn’t until 230 issues were published before fans found out why.

On January 28, 1986, the Daredevil issue titled “Born Again” was released, the middle chapter of this iconic storyline. This was the storyline where fans learned for the first time that Matt Murdock grew up in Hell’s Kitchen, and this was his home.

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Daredevil Reveals His Home for the First Time

“Born Again” is arguably the greatest Daredevil storyline ever told, which is likely why the Disney+ MCU reboot of the series used it as a subtitle. However, the story on the streaming series is not the one told in the comics. Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli created this story about Kingpin learning that Matt Murdock was Daredevil by paying off Matt’s old girlfriend Karen Page and then ruining Matt’s life.

When Daredevil was at his lowest, he returned to the place that meant the most for him. In Daredevil #330, the middle book in the series, he went back to Hell’s Kitchen, and this was the first time that Marvel revealed that was where Matt grew up as a child. His father’s gym was in Hell’s Kitchen. Matt also met his mother for the first time, as she was a nun who helped him after his injury, although she denied her identity when he asked. Hell’s Kitchen raised Matt, and this was the issue that revealed that.

This was also an extremely important issue in the storyline, as “Born Again” had Matt stand up and decide it was time to fight again. Matt had hit rock bottom, and when he finally found Karen Page, and she admitted what she did, they worked together to become whole. Of course, things didn’t work out too well for Karen in the long run, but this issue in the storyline helped start to get Daredevil back on his feet, and it took his connection to Hell’s Kitchen to make that happen.

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