Daredevil: Matt Murdock’s Best Quotes In The Netflix Series

Netflix’s critically praised Daredevil series brought the Man Without Fear under the mainstream spotlight, and Charlie Cox’s portrayal of the superhero gave fans plenty of memorable moments. Matt Murdock is a layered and complex character, having several internal conflicts grappling over control of his mental state.

The writing for the show and Cox’s performance did well to highlight the turmoil of the hero and delivered some iconic dialogue in the process. Some quotes show Daredevil’s conflicts of faith, while others demonstrated his satisfying road to redemption. Several other characters and their respective actors also helped bring these qualities out of Murdock on screen, like with Vincent D’Onofrio’s menacing Kingpin and Jon Bernthal’s feral Punisher.

Matt’s Shaking Morality (Season 1)

“I’m Not Seeking Penance For What I’ve Done, Father. I’m Asking Forgiveness… For What I’m About To Do.”

The first episode of season one started in a tense, atmospheric way. After showing audiences Matt’s tragic accident, it jumps back to the present with an adult Murdock in confession with Father Paul Lantom. Though a difference in the MCU’s Daredevil and the comics was that Lantom wasn’t associated with him in the latter, the Netflix series did an excellent job at writing the priest as Matt’s moral, emotional, and spiritual anchor.

However, Matt’s desperation is already inching toward its peak in the first episode, with this quote highlighting the dangerous road that the proto-Daredevil is veering dangerously close to. Matt Murdock being a devout Catholic is a core pillar to his character. This makes his day job as a lawyer fighting through the legal system and his nocturnal job as a vigilante, reaching in the dark corners the law can’t (or refuses to) is key to portraying Daredevil’s inner conflicts.

Doing The Best He Can With The Hand He Was Dealt (Season 1)

“We Don’t Live In A World That’s Fair. We Live In This One. And I’m Doing Everything I Can To Make It A Better Place.”

Despite teetering close to the edge at times, Matt has a strong moral center that he strives to abide by. That is a challenge in and of itself, but quotes like these are what show that he ultimately has his heart in the right place. He grew up in the Irish slums of Hell’s Kitchen, knowing what it was like to survive with extremely little by way of financial security and stable home life.

Matt’s accident, his father’s murder, and his mother abandoning him are some of the worst things to happen to Daredevil in the Netflix series. However — and without revealing his double life to his loved ones — he still stands firm in that he understands the inherently broken nature of the legal system. At the end of the day, Matt Murdock is a man trying to good in his corner of the world with the hand he was dealt at birth. Sometimes it’s not enough, and it’s unfair, but his relentlessness is an undoubtedly redeeming trait.

The Famous Courtroom Speech (Season 1)

“… Right And Wrong, Good And Evil. Sometimes The Delineation Between The Two Is A Sharp Line, Sometimes It’s A Blur.”

Even amid Daredevil‘s gritty crime-noir drama, some of the series’ best scenes are the more subdued moments with Matt flexing his legal muscles in court. While he’s defending a client — that was staged for Matt and Foggy’s defense to fail — Murdock delivers a composed yet compelling and profound speech to the jury on what the law is at its core — and how it works. This excerpt from the overall speech is one that especially jumps out at the audience, as it’s essentially a concise summary of the overarching theme of the show itself.

In the court of law, the laws simply exist as they are, but “questions of morality” are far more nuanced and don’t have as much of a place there as one might think. Morality, like many aspects of life, operates on a spectrum rather than simple blacks and whites. They aren’t binary, and Matt as Daredevil can often find himself doing things that, while not evil, do not always fit exactly into what’s “right” or “good.”

Daredevil & The Punisher’s Conflicting Philosophies (Season 2)

“To Try Again, Frank. To Try. And If You Don’t Get That, There’s Something Broken In You You Can’t Fix, And You Really Are A Nutjob.”

While it stands on the shoulders of giants, season two was a solid sophomore effort that took some tasteful influence from Daredevil comics. However, one key comic book it drew from was Punisher’s The Choice. It was the linchpin of Daredevil and the Punisher’s stark ideological divide and debate in the early episodes of the season, and one of the most enthralling scenes of the whole series. The Punisher took a period of personal tragedy and — though, not becoming a villain — turned into a grim antihero who comes uncomfortably close to crossing that line.

Frank Castle sees the vitriol of Hell’s Kitchen’s criminals and believes them to be lost causes. Nothing but a disease that needs to be permanently snuffed out if true, positive change is to wash over the city. But Matt’s core values are anchored by the belief in redemption. This quote might be harsh, but the simplicity of Daredevil emphatically believing people deserve the chance to try again is a resonant summary of what the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen fights for every night.

Daredevil’s Dark Evolution (Season 3)

“I’m Daredevil. Not Even God Can Stop That Now.”

By the beginning of season three, Matt Murdock had been put through the physical and psychological wringer. He lost loved ones — Elektra and Stick — and was in the midst of a crisis of faith and identity. Matt struggles to grapple with the thought that he might not be physically or mentally capable of being Daredevil and discovers that after being “raised from the dead,” his worst nemesis was loose again.

Wilson Fisk/Kingpin’s deep, corruptive roots and criminal intelligence let him snake his way out of prison and sought to reclaim his status. This serves as a breaking point for Matt, becoming a warped and dark evolution of Daredevil. One that is no longer the same symbol he worked to position as a beacon of hope. This bleak line emphasizes how low he’d mentally fallen, and that his aforementioned moral pillar — his faith — has crumbled. The Daredevil that was prowling the streets had then become a dangerous wild card hellbent on revenge.

Daredevil Born Again (Season 3)

“You Don’t Get To Destroy Who I Am… This City Rejected You. It Beat You. I Beat You!”

Season three of Daredevil was based on Frank Miller’s Born Again; one of the darkest Daredevil comic books. It presents Matt Murdock’s life at one of the lowest points it’s ever been, and that’s where fans see him in the show’s last season. In addition to Kingpin being effectively freed, Ben Poindexter/Bullseye was impersonating Daredevil and framing him for murder.

Fisk was the dark puppet master orchestrating Daredevil’s shattering life, but the series finale brought one of the most cathartic scenes and lines of the show. After Fisk realizes that he’d finally lost, he attempts a parting shot by goading Daredevil to kill him. To bring Matt down to his level and ruin his character as a “last laugh.” But after a tense moment of temptation, Daredevil is triumphantly born again by denying the villainous mastermind any kind of satisfaction from beyond the grave.

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