The Man Without Fear has always been more of a solo act, but there came a time when even Daredevil had to assemble alongside the Avengers. The Earth’s Mightiest Heroes invited Matt Murdock to their ranks on more than one occasion, though Daredevil always had his reasons for turning them down. But when he proved himself invaluable during the events of Fear Itself by Matt Fraction and Stuart Immonen, the Avengers wouldn’t take “no” for an answer.
When the New Avengers first formed at the start of Brian Michael Bendis’ New Avengers series, Daredevil was actually there by happenstance. Though he would decline Captain America’s official invitation to join the reformed team, he was still instrumental in helping them quell the prison break at the Raft that brought the heroes together in the first place. But while Matt may have been able to turn down Captain America, he had no such luck with Luke Cage and Jessica Jones.
Daredevil finally assembles alongside Earth’s Mightiest in New Avengers #16 by Bendis and Mike Deodato as the HYDRA forces and the Red Skull’s daughter, Sin, march on the streets of New York. Though Matt is unaware of the circumstances surrounding the conflict, he hears giant, mechanized Nazis terrorizing innocent people and leaps into action. As Daredevil is facing off with one of Sin’s armored enforcers, he hears Avengers Tower fall just before hearing a group of soldiers’ plan to gather around Avengers Mansion. Matt makes his way to the Mansion, only to find it surrounded by Luke and Jessica’s baby, Danielle Cage, along with her nanny, Squirrel Girl, trapped inside.
Protecting the baby, Squirrel Girl stays hidden until she hears a polite knock on the door followed by a voice asking if she’s okay. Having used one of Sin’s armored suits to take out the forces surrounding the Mansion, Matt makes his way inside to check on the two endangered occupants before stashing them inside the Avengers’ underground bunker. Weeks later, Matt senses visitors on the roof of his office at Nelson & Murdock, and heads up top to find Luke Cage with Jessica Jones and their daughter waiting for him with an Avengers I.D. card as a thanks for what he’d done. Murdock is hesitant, but in the end, he can’t turn down two of his fellow street-level heroes.
Daredevil may have turned down Avengers membership before, but that was Captain America asking. Both Luke Cage and Jessica Jones are close friends of Matt, and he knew there was no way of getting out of the offer they’d extended. Matt himself even said that he, “can’t say no to a friend,” so it’s no surprise that Luke and Jessica were the ones who got him to cave. Although he’s returned to his street-level roots in recent years, Matt Murdock’s time with the Avengers was one of the high points of his career as a superhero. Not only was he able to protect Danielle Cage from the forces of HYDRA, but he would later help the team take on Norman Osborn and his newly reformed Dark Avengers squad, and he’d fight alongside them during Avengers vs X-Men.
Matt Murdock is typically known as the Man Without Fear. But his membership in the Avengers proves that he’s never been a man without friends, no matter what persona he tries to portray. He may not be as comfortable working in teams, but Daredevil is an Avenger, and there are few heroes more worthy of the title.
