Daredevil’s Yellow Suit, Explained: Origin & History

Daredevil is one of the most recognizable superheroes in Marvel history, partially due to his unique power and disability and in part due to his “devilish” persona despite being a devoted Christian. Often clad in red, Daredevil is unmistakable no matter which point of comic history we’re analyzing, but his looks weren’t always so on-point. The first version of Daredevil’s costume was, in fact, yellow, and today we’re going to talk about it’s history. 

Daredevil got his yellow costume by modifying his father’s old boxing gear. He did this in part to honor his father’s legacy and in part to honor the promise he made to his father that he would keep his identity hidden. His red suit debuted in ‘Daredevil’ #7, released in 1965, and he’s been easily recognizable by it ever since.  

This is just a short history of Daredevil’s suit, but considering that there have been quite a few of them over the years, if you’re interested in learning more, stay with us and keep reading! 

What happened to Dardevil’s father anyway? 

The story of Daredevil’s yellow Suit begins with Daredevil’s father, Jonathan “Jack” Murdock. Jonathan Murdock was also locally known as Kid Murdock and was an amateur boxer. If you’re wondering why doesn’t Daredevil’s dad have a respectable career, it’s mostly the fact that Daredevil actually grew up in a dump called Hell’s Kitchen.

This is what largely inspired him to become a lawyer and fight crime and corruption. It’s also the biggest reason for him becoming a street-level superhero and oftentimes a vigilante who takes justice into his own hands when corrupted courts fail. 

But before all of this, young Matt was interested in boxing, just like his father. He trained in the local gym behind his father’s back, especially after he got his powers and figured out that he could do anything better. Nevertheless, even though Daredevil now had a natural affinity for martial arts, his dad always pushed him to get an education, and Matt did exactly that. Over the years, however, Jack started considering Matt weak and soft, unable to defend himself. 

One night, Daredevil was there to defend his father from street thugs, and the next day, Jack figured out that it was his son all along, judging by the size of the black eye that Matt was sporting. Jack realizes and stresses the importance of keeping his identity secret to Daredevil. 

As fate would have it, soon after that incident, Matt’s father was killed, and Daredevil wasn’t there to stop it. 

Why did Daredevil choose the yellow suit? 

You see, Matt’s father was a boxer, an amateur one, and at one point, his career actually lifted off, and he was in it to become the heavyweight champion of the world. What a lot of people didn’t realize at that point is that most of the previous matches were actually fixed. 

John’s final match was also fixed, and he was supposed to lose that night. Foggy and Daredevil were in the crowd, and Daredevil could sense the moment that Fixer warned John that he needed to lose something that was unacceptable to John. He wanted to make his son proud just as his son made him proud. After that night, Jack wanted to leave boxing behind even though he was involved with a dangerous man. He gave his yellow robe to Daredevil, and the last thing he ever said to Daredevil was, “a man should leave a party while it’s roaring.”

Not long after that, a man hired by the Fixer, shot him dead. Matt knew what happened to his dad, and he brought Fixer and his men to court, but the corrupted judge and overpriced lawyers were a force to be reckoned with, and the case was dismissed. Daredevil accused the judge of being bribed, and the judge threatened Matt in return. 

This was a breaking point for Daredevil. He decided to take justice into his own hands. Daredevil returned to his father’s old place and located his old boxing gloves and his yellow robe. He sewed the whole night until he had a functional superhero suit, the one that would keep his father’s legacy alive and keep his identity secret. 

At around the same time, Daredevil modified his walking stick into a billy club and adopted the nickname Daredevil. And the legend was born. 

Daredevil had one “make-shift” suit before the yellow costume 

Daredevil’s origin story was told back in the sixties, and it was with time revised several times. In ‘Daredevil: The Man Without Fear’ #4, released in 1993, it was revealed that Daredevil’s first costume wasn’t his father’s boxing gear but rather an assortment of clothing he found inconspicuous enough to protect his identity. 

Daredevil returned from college to Hell’s Kitchen and saw that things had drastically changed for the worse while he was away. On his first night in New York, he was cornered by a gang of street thugs who noticed that he was wearing a $300 suit. He promptly beat them up but noticed many more victims and that Kingpin was on the rise, slowly taking control of New York. 

Daredevil knew that he would have to fight off bullies through street justice rather than through law. He put on a black sweatshirt, sweatpants, and a black bandana. Instead of his walking stick, he used a police baton. One of his first “masked” missions was saving a girl named Mickey and the rest of the kids that Kingpin kidnapped. It was only later on that he created his yellow suit. 

But even his yellow suit was changed several times. Notably, eventually, the second letter “D,” was added to his chest. This design element remained even on his new all-red suit, which was eventually adopted in ‘Daredevil’ #7, released in 1965.

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