Daredevil - A Moviegoer's Guide

You think you know the "Man Without Fear"?  Here are some things you won't see in the movie Daredevil.  

Daredevil comic-book mythos:
1. Nickname "Daredevil" was given to Matt Murdock by bullies, which he later adopted.  
2. Matt's father's boxing name is "Battlin'" Jack Murdock.
3. Jack Murdock's murderers are not connected to the Kingpin.
4. Matt lost his sight after rescuing an old man from an oncoming truck carrying radioactive waste.  Some of the truck's contents spilled into his eyes.  
5. Contrary to the movie, Matt does not need to read in Braille.  His sense of touch is heightened to a level where he can read ink prints off a newspaper.
6. Daredevil's first costume is yellow and brown-red.  The official all-red version appeared in Daredevil #7 (April, 1965).
7. He does not kill his opponents.
8. Self-appointed protector of HeII's Kitchen.

Bullseye comic-book mythos:
1. Bullseye's first appearance was in Daredevil #131 (March, 1976).
2. Bullseye never misses, except for two: Daredevil and Batman.  In the Marvel vs. DC crossover ('96), Batman dodged a batarang Bullseye was throwing at him, allowing the Dark Knight to take him out with one right uppercut.  Bullseye's last words were "You hit harder than Daredevil."
3. Has blond hair and blue eyes, does not have a beard (or a goatee), and is supposedly of Irish ethnic.
4. Contrary to biker gang outfit in the movie, Bullseye's costume is dark blue with a bullseye target on the forehead of his face mask.
5. He kills Elektra, as it had occurred in Daredevil #181 (April, 1982).
6. The only main character in the movie that does not know Daredevil's secret identity.

Kingpin comic-book mythos:
1. The Kingpin first appeared as a Spider-Man villain in Amazing Spider-Man #50 (July, 1967).  He later became Daredevil's (and Matt Murdock's) arch-nemesis.
2. Among his martial arts repertoire, he is an accomplished sumo wrestler.
3. He tips the scale at 500lbs of solid muscle.
4. In the movie, the Kingpin leaves the rose as his signature after a hit has been carried out.  His son Richard became a criminal mastermind in his own right under the name "The Rose", and used a rose as his signature.
5. Daredevil has never beaten the Kingpin in one-on-one combat.
6. Though not depicted in the movie, the Kingpin's walking cane contains a laser beam that shoots 300 watts.  He also carries a diamond stickpin that can fire sleeping gas.

Elektra comic-book mythos:
1. Elektra's first appearance was in Daredevil #168 (January, 1981).
2. In the classical Daredevil series, she is of Greek nationality.  Her father was a Greek ambassador.
3. Also in the classical Daredevil series, she was a political science major at Columbia University when she met Matt Murdock, and later dropped out after her father was killed.
4. Has black hair and blue-black eyes.
5. Both her and Daredevil share the same martial arts instructor - a blind man with 'radar' senses (like Daredevil) named Stick.
6. She is a ruthless bounty hunter and assassin.
7. Was resurrected in Daredevil #190 (November, 1983).
8. Her outfit is all-red, like Daredevil's.

Daredevil creator Stan Lee cameos as the old man about to cross the street before young Matt Murdock stopped him from doing so.

Daredevil writer Frank Miller cameos as the dead employee with pencils impaled onto his neck.  One of Jack Murdock's opponents is also named Miller.

Michael Clarke Duncan is the second African-American actor to play the Kingpin.  The first is Roscoe Lee Browne, who provided the voice of the feared crime lord in the 1994 Spider-Man animated series.

Jack Murdock's last opponent is John Romita, named after the illustrious comic book artist John Romita, Sr.

Father Everett is named after Bill Everett who, along with Stan Lee, is the creator of Daredevil.

The lab attendant speaking to Ben Ulrich, named Kirby after Marvel Comics artist jack Kirby, is played by Daredevil artist Kevin Smith.

Speaking of Kevin Smith, his film Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back - which stars Ben Affleck - has a scene in which a movie named Daredevil was being filmed on a Miramax set.  The director for that movie was Mark Stephen Johnson.