Daredevil and Orestes

The character of Orestes in Aeschylus's Eumenides can be seen as having some influence on the Marvel superhero Daredevil if the two are compared in a thematic way. Both have narrative arcs that parallel one another as they include themes of justice and vengeance. The characters themselves must deal with unique legal and moral dilemmas. Aeschylus presents Orestes in a struggle for moral justification, as he faces judgment for the murder of his mother, Clytemnestra. This ancient myth might seem far from the modern story of a superhero named Daredevil, but the two are closer in spirit than one might think. Daredevils story is actually somewhat similar as he wrestles with his role as both a lawyer and a vigilante in Hell's Kitchen, where he tries to instill justice in a flawed world where justice seems all but missing. One big difference between the two is that Orestes is ultimately bound by the decision of the godshe is acquitted by the gods, but he is still bound by them; Daredevil, however, exists as a vigilante outside of the system of justice; he is somewhat like a god or like the Furies in that he answers to no one and haunts the guilty in his own way. This difference perhaps indicates a cultural shift in terms of how moderns view justice compared to the ancients. Nonetheless, the ancients influence on the modern is still apparent to a degree when Orestes and Daredevil are compared.

In The Eumenides, Orestes is haunted by the Furies, spirits of vengeance, who pursue him for killing his motherwhich he did only because she killed his father. Orestes's vengeance was in fact divinely sanctioned by Apolloyet he is not free from punishment: the Furies haunt him, and he cannot find peace. His life reflects a kind of internal conflict between moral duty and the law. Apollo justifies the matricide as necessary for upholding justice. Still, and in spite of this divine endorsement, Orestes experiences terrifying anguish from the unrelenting torture of the Furies, who alone are permitted vengeance of the type that Orestes dealt to his mother. The conflict...

Orestes represents the moral ambiguity at the heart of ancient Greeces justice. This ambiguity is not resolved until he is eventually granted sanctuary and a trial in Athens. Here, Athenas creation of a court to judge his actions could be seen as symbolicas the beginning of a legal system that probes intent, motive, context, and what can be permitted??.

Daredevil (real name Matt Murdock) is a character who also has an inner struggle centered on a conflict between law and vengeance. Murdock is a lawyer by day and vigilante (Daredevil) by night. He knows the limitations of the legal system, and he feels compelled by honor, duty, integrity, and justice to act outside the legal...

…creates, Daredevil represents an attempt to restore balance and order in a way that is fairer and more just and more compassionate to the victims than what the existing legal system can accomplish. Both characters exist in narratives where there is a shift from one concept of justice towards another: For Orestes, the shift is from ancient to modern; for Daredevil, the shift is from modern to ancient. Nonetheless, both characters stories show that there is some tension within the idea that true justice requires reconciling justice with mercy, punishment with rehabilitation. Both raise the question: who shouldwho candispense justice fairly?

Overall, the character of Orestes surely casts a shadow on the story of Daredevil. Daredevils radar sense is a kind of reflection of Orestess divine mandate. Daredevils Catholic faith reflects the moral and spiritual dilemmas faced by Orestes in his quest for purification and redemption. The internal conflicts Matt Murdock endures between his vigilante justice and religious principles mirror the moral dilemma of Orestes, as he dealt with the consequences of his actions, mandated as they were yet still deserving of punishment in the eyes of the Furies. Ultimately, both characters reflect a struggle of knowing right and wrong, exercising the letter and the spirit of the law. Athenas trial for Orestes and Daredevils dual life both represent the need for this balance. Both suggest that true justice requires a deeper, fuller, higher, more spiritual, and at times more violent exercise of…