How Marvel s Daredevil was Influenced by Orestes

The Influence of the Orestes in the “The Eumenides” on Marvel’s “Daredevil” Superhero

Beginning with Gilgamesh, superheroes have fascinated humankind since antiquity and this is not surprising given their seeming abilities to transcend mere mortality and achieve spectacular feats. It is also little wonder that the continuing interest in both ancient and modern superheroes has been leveraged to create enduring franchises that attract significant readership and audiences for motion picture adaptations. To gain some new insights into this phenomenon, the purpose of this paper is to discuss how the superhero “Daredevil” seems to be influenced by Orestes from The Eumenides (“The Kindly Ones”) by the ancient Greek, Aeschylus. An analysis of the laws of the time and their implications for ancient and modern superheroes is followed by a summary of the findings in the conclusion.

Review and Discussion

In “The Eumenides,” the last play in Aeschylus’ Oresteia trilogy, the son of Clytemnestra, Orestes, is charged with her murder – but he has his reasons. The subsequent trial of Orestes for matricide, conducted in Athens, represents a pivotal moment in the transition from old systems of justice based on blood vengeance to a new, civilized form of legal proceedings. In this regard, Black’s Law Dictionary defines matricide as “the murder of a mother, or one who has slain his mother” (978). For this heinous crime, Orestes is relentlessly tormented by the Furies, the ancient goddesses of vengeance, who demand that he pay the longstanding. traditional price for his capital crime of matricide, which was death. In response, Apollo, who had indirectly commanded Orestes to kill his mother through the Oracle of Delphi, appears in person to represent him at his trial as a defense attorney. Athena, the goddess of wisdom, presides over the trial and establishes a jury of Athenian citizens to judge the case.

The jury’s vote is a tie and Athena, claiming her right as the presiding judge of the trial and assuring the citizens of Athens that she had considered all of the relevant evidence in the case, casts the deciding vote in favor of Orestes thereby acquitting him and demonstrating how justice works to the Athenians. Having Apollo as his defense attorney clearly did not hurt Orestes’ case either. This verdict not only saves Orestes but also establishes the precedent for a new system of jurisprudence that is based on reason and civic participation, rather than unending cycles of vengeance. Moreover, Athena even succeeds in persuading the Furies to accept a new role as protectors of Athens, thereby transforming them into the Eumenides (e.g., “Kindly Ones”), facilitating the reconciliation of the old and new orders of justice.

In many ways, these events and the subsequent outcome appear to have influenced the fictional Marvel superhero character, Daredevil (aka Matt Murdock) created by Stan Lee and Bill Everett in 1964 for multiple reasons. Indeed, despite his blindness, Daredevil’s radar-like superpowers allow him to perceive his surroundings through enhanced senses of hearing, touch, and taste, in ways that transcend mere mortals, an attribute that serves Matt well during his courtroom appearances during the day and Daredevil’s campaign against crime at night. Like Orestes, Daredevil, the “Man without fear,” embodies the concepts of bravery, justice and even righteous retribution when necessary (Rosen). Further, Daredevil has outlived many of his superhero counterparts that have dropped out of sight over the years due in large part to his unique appeal as a crime-fighting lawyer.

The legal profession in the U.S. has been under increased scrutiny in recent years and few Americans would likely consider courtroom lawyers superheroes today (unless they successfully defended them), Murdock’s alter ego is the superhero Daredevil in this fictional series. In this regard, Rosen notes that, “Unlike all the superheroes who are government super-soldiers, benevolent aliens, crusading journalists, and perhaps most unrealistic of all, billionaire captains of industry with a social conscience, Daredevil just happens to be an attorney, one of relatively few comic book characters who leads this particular double life” (381).

Although his father was murdered by gangsters after refusing to fix a professional fight, Matt eventually became a lawyer to fight for justice through legal means. Quickly, Matt found that in some cases, the law was inadequate to actually bring criminals to justice. For instance, Rosen points out that, “The monthly Daredevil comic book series and recent streaming television show on Netflix offer unique opportunities to tell allegorical stories about a well-intentioned lawyer navigating the legal profession, acting heroically, and occasionally making major mistakes” (381). To his credit, even Daredevil’s major mistakes are based on his own sense of justice which, although subjective, is well-intention. In fact, Matt and a friend, Foggy, operate a “store front legal clinic” in New York City’s “seedy Hell’s Kitchen,” where they specialize in low-income clients and criminal defense cases (Rosen).

There are some other noteworthy parallels between the challenges that were faced by Orestes and those that are routinely encountered by Daredevil. Like Orestes, Daredevil also has his own reasons for wanting legal justice and personal vengeance. For example, although divinely mandated by Apollo, Orestes still struggled with the decision to kill his own mother even if she deserved it for murdering his father, Agamemnon. Similarly, Daredevil’s extraordinary senses, especially his radar sense, can be regarded as a modern interpretation of the divine guidance given to Orestes.

Furthermore, Daredevil’s Catholic faith mirrors the divine nature of Orestes’ struggles in reconciling the moral implications of their respective actions, with Orestes grappling with the consequences of his divinely sanctioned matricide and Daredevil’s quest for justice, even when it required breaking the law. In this regard, Rosen reports that, “Murdock is a practicing Catholic, one of few superheroes who prescribes to any organized religion, which also contributes to his strong sense of social justice” (383). The internal conflicts that ensue in Matt’s life between his quest for vigilante justice and his deep religious faith mirror those that Orestes experienced when he was faced with the moral dilemma of being ordered to murder his mother. In sum, the Furies and Apollo represent the adversarial framework that characterizes modern jurisprudence, with both protagonists being compelled to reconcile personal convictions and societal norms to achieve justice.