Why Daredevil Is The Best Fighter In The MCU

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is full of remarkable fighters and martial artists. Monks, spiritual legacies, super-soldiers, and others have created a variety of heroes and villains who make flips and fights look easy. And yet, it may be a blind lawyer in Hell’s Kitchen that is better than all of them. Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox), as both Daredevil and the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen, uses his enhanced senses and martial arts training to protect the people of Hell’s Kitchen and New York City. In doing so, he has faced some of the most incredible fighters.

In Daredevil Season 1, Daredevil is raw but talented, still relatively new to his crime-fighting career. When tackling Russian mobsters and human traffickers, he’s vicious and effective, but he gets hurt a lot. He’s often bruised and cut to pieces, needing medical care for broken ribs and punctured lungs.

Yet Murdock continually gets up and goes out to fight again, demonstrating a near-unrivaled determination. In Season 1, Matt fights gun-wielding gangsters with two wooden sticks, wearing only a black shirt and mask. And he’s winning. He’s capable of battling through entire corridors of men and coming out on top, even if he looks half-dead when he comes out. The first of what could be called “corridor scenes” is a one-shot fight scene between Daredevil and about a dozen Russian gangsters. He flips, punches, and kicks his way through them, revealing an unbelievable durability and savagery. 

Bruised and bloody, Daredevil always stands back up to continue the fight.

This first season also includes the first encounter with a member of the Hand. This is an extremely powerful and tough ninja by the name of Nobu (Peter Shinkoda). An unbelievably ruthless fighter, Nobu is very, very old and has killed countless warriors. And yet, Daredevil gives him a brutal confrontation, one in which the blind man emerges victorious, even if he is half-dead by the end.

Daredevil Season 1 also sees The Man Without Fear defeat Stick (Scott Glenn), the man who trained him, and his first victory over Wilson Fisk (Vincent D’Onofrio). Stick is a man who has dedicated his life to fighting, removing all forms of amenities and training for decades. Fisk is a ferocious fighter who never seems to fatigue, with an outrageous amount of strength and speed. He is no slouch, capable of battering The Punisher (Jon Bernthal) and killing a Russian gangster with his bare hands and a car door.

In Daredevil Season 2, the emergence of two major forces within New York forces the Man Without Fear to step it up a notch. The first is Frank Castle, also known as the Punisher. Castle is a former Marine, built to kill. He’s pure violence, with no qualms about the body count he leaves behind. His ruthlessness takes Daredevil by surprise and nearly kills him, but the next confrontations with Castle turn the tide in his favor.

From corridor brawls to The Defenders, Matt Murdock proves his tenacious fighting spirit.

The other inclusion is The Hand making a much more brazen play for New York. This leads to an influx of undead ninjas into the city, with Daredevil having to battle several of them alongside his ex-girlfriend, Elektra Natchios (Elodie Yung). This results in a second confrontation with Nobu, which Murdock again wins.

Daredevil Season 2 also features its own corridor fight scene, with an even more impressive demonstration of Daredevil’s unbelievable prowess. Before the fight, Daredevil had been beaten and knocked unconscious by Punisher, with a gun taped to one hand and chains wrapped around the other. So when he takes on the full force of a biker gang, he does not have full use of his arms, and is also at times carrying the unconscious body of Punisher. It shows determination and the ability to adapt to what’s going on in his body and surroundings.

It was how Daredevil was presented in The Defenders that showed him at his best, demonstrating why he’s the MCU’s best fighter. Matt Murdock had all but retired as Daredevil at the start of the series. And yet, when he is drawn to action, he displays the fact that he is among the best fighters in the world. He trades blows with a reincarnated Elektra, who has been turned into The Black Sky. This is the ultimate weapon of the Hand, with only killing in mind and a heightened sense of speed, strength, and lethality.

The team-up missions further highlight the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen’s abilities.

When Daredevil, Iron Fist (Finn Jones), Luke Cage (Mike Colter), and Jessica Jones (Krysten Ritter) come together, Stick calls Murdock one of the most naturally skilled fighters he’s ever known, and this is coming from a man who doesn’t give compliments and has trained a lot of fighters. Iron Fist complements his ability too, and Daredevil later stalemates Danny in a one-on-one fight. Danny Rand is the Iron Fist, trained as a child to be the ultimate weapon of K’un-L’un. His whole mission has been designed to destroy the hand, and he is also among the greatest fighters in the world.

Regarding fighting other heroes, Daredevil is very close to getting into a fistfight with Cage, a man with unbreakable skin and super strength. There’s no evidence of what would happen if that bout actually erupted, but it’s an example of Daredevil’s faith in his own abilities.

This season also brought in multiple leaders of the Hand, five in total. These are all centuries-old warriors, all of whom are meticulous and ruthless assassins. They have been alive for longer than cities have existed. For context, one of them was Nobu’s leader, surpassing even him, who was already one of Daredevil’s fiercest foes. Not one of the Defenders had tackled more than one before. Daredevil can spar with members of the Five Fingers.

Season 3 of the Netflix series showed a changed fighter.

But one of his finest feats comes towards the end of the show. In a parking lot just before the final battle, Daredevil, Luke Cage, and Jessica Jones are faced with Madame Gao (Wai Ching Ho), Bakuto (Ramón Rodríguez), and Murakami (Yutaka Takeuchi), the three surviving leaders of the Hand. And while Luke and Jessica try to deal with the telekinetic powers of Madame Gao, Daredevil is left to tangle with the other two on his own. It was that precise moment that inspired this article, because it highlights the fact that he can tangle with more than one of the most elite fighters on the planet and comfortably survive.

In Daredevil Season 3, Matt’s ability to fight hit a snag due to how The Defenders ended. Murdock narrowly survived being crushed by a collapsing building, but was still left with severe injuries. This forced a long recovery process and a change in how he fought due to the damage to his back. His first forays back into action were rough and often left him broken and bloodied, and his near-death experience plays a huge role in that.

Still, Daredevil was able to defeat both Bullseye (Wilson Bethel) and Kingpin. The former is an extremely talented FBI agent with near-perfect aim. Anything is a weapon in his hands. So for Daredevil to both dodge his projectiles and beat in a fight is a huge display of his powers and athleticism, even post-injury.

Daredevil stands tall against some of the MCU’s most noteworthy heroes.

The third season also includes what might be the most impressive corridor scene of the lot. Daredevil enters a prison as Matt Murdock, intending to interview an inmate. But it’s also a trap laid for him by Kingpin. He is injected with some form of sedative or anesthetic and trapped in a cell block with the prisoners. And despite the dulled senses and resisting the urge to pass out, he is still capable of battling multiple prisoners and staying alive.

In the aftermath of the Netflix shows ending and Daredevil joining the Disney+ era of Marvel Television, there are still many examples of why his fighting abilities are second to none. For one, before Daredevil: Born Again even returned, he was tangling with the extremely powerful She-Hulk and keeping her at bay. And in Season 2 of Daredevil: Born Again, Hornhead’s return sees his vicious fighting style evolve but remain magnificent. He’s a ferocious fighter who leaves bones snapped, bouncing between multiple enemies with devastating fury.

Many fighters within the MCU could also be considered the greatest. Characters such as Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) and Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan). Captain America has demonstrated his ability and fighting prowess alongside the Winter Soldier, taking on some incredibly tough individuals. Cap has traded blows with Loki, Iron Man, and more, holding his own. Winter Soldier has tackled even more, with so many assassination missions.

With no super soldier serum or otherworldly powers, Daredevil relies on training. 

However, a caveat to that is the super soldier serums that run through their veins. Their bravery and courage were instinctive, but so much of what made Steve and Bucky so effective came from what was done to them. Captain America’s elevator fight against several HYDRA agents is his most recognizable. However, Daredevil has multiple iterations of that, with many more limitations and less strength.

Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman) is also a contender. T’Challa’s athleticism made him a dazzling fighter to watch, whether one-on-one against Killmonger, stealthily taking on human traffickers, or as part of the huge armies of Thanos. And even without the herb that granted him his powers, T’Challa was still incredibly skilled. However, tragically, there aren’t enough examples of Black Panther to surpass Daredevil’s litany of feats.

Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), U.S. Agent (Wyatt Russell), and Spider-Man (Tom Holland) are all major contenders. Clint Barton is a S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent John Walker was a decorated soldier before even picking up the shield, and Spider-Man is superhumanly fast and strong. But Daredevil could easily handle two of them, with Spider-Man having the super-powered advantage. 

Of all the MCU heroes, characters like Shang-Chi and Deadpool come closest to outshining him.

Shang-Chi (Simu Liu) is the hardest to argue against, mastering almost every form of martial arts. He does not need the Ten Rings to enter consideration of this argument. But like Black Panther, even more so, the one movie isn’t enough to fully get a barometer of what he can do.

Daredevil has shown how well he can fight, both at his best and at his worst. And personally, the Ten Rings enhance the abilities of Shang-Chi but take away from the true martial arts nature of what the character was created for. Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds), technically part of the MCU now, also deserves a mention. His acrobatics and his sword mastery are terrific. He’s also an unpredictable battler, using anything to hand and making it so you can never really know what he’s going to do.

Anyone from K’un-L’un is automatically put into consideration for being the best fighter in the MCU. Danny Rand is their champion and the Iron Fist. He’s almost as perfect a fighter as they can make, with his glowing fist the icing on the cake. It’s that extra power that might place him above Matt Murdock. But the fact that Daredevil matched Danny physically highlights just how good the Man Without Fear is.

The Widows – Natasha and Yelena – also prove formidable opponents. 

The likes of Davos (Sacha Dhawan), Bakuto, and Murakami are all very capable fighters, too. Davos was Danny’s best friend, and if Rand hadn’t become the Iron Fist, he would probably have received the gift himself. And Bakuto trained generations of Hand soldiers. Luke Cage is unbelievably strong and tough, but he’s a brawler and a grappler. Not many people can survive a single punch from him, but he relies on his strength rather than his skill.

The women within the MCU have just as many, if not more, serious contenders to the throne of the best fighters. The first thought is of both Widows, Natasha (Scarlett Johansson) and Yelena (Florence Pugh). Both were raised from a very young age as nothing more than assassins.

They existed to fight and to kill. They’re fearless, intelligent, and precise. Natasha has been at the forefront of everything the Avengers have done and the people they’ve battled, including Crossbones, Loki, countless Hydra agents, the Chitauri, Ultron drones, and more. She’s fought Black Panther, Bucky, and Hawkeye, and Yelena has proven to be equal to her sister’s ability.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is packed with all sorts of ferocious fighters and brave warriors.

Elsewhere, Asgardians such as Sif (Jaimie Alexander) and Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson) are true warriors and have battled across the Ten Realms. But again, like with the Super Soldiers, there does feel like an unfair comparison. Okoye and any member of the Dora Milaje (Danai Gurira) are also impeccable warriors. Either in Black Panther or in Falcon and the Winter Soldier, the squadron has proven themselves alongside and against superhumans and aliens. Okoye has even demonstrated being the greatest fighter in all of Wakanda, even surpassing the king himself.

Out in space, Gamora (Zoe Saldana) has the title of the deadliest woman in the galaxy. She’s been raised by Thanos and crafted into a weapon. Even on Earth, some regular humans warrant mentions, too.

Colleen Wing (Jessica Henwick) was raised as part of the Hand and is an excellent hand-to-hand fighter and an even better swordswoman. Bobbi Morse (Adrianne Palicki) and Melinda May (Ming-Na Wen) from Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. may have been lost in history with the rest of the show, but they are superb at hand-to-hand combat and physicality.

Despite the breadth of talent, it’s Daredevil’s blend of mastery that stands out.

Elektra may be the one who is truly equal to Daredevil. Raised by the same man, Elektra is a much more violent version of what Matt was supposed to be. She can do everything he can, fight alongside and against him, and is more likely to finish the fight with a fatal blow.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is known for its amazing characters and their fight scenes. But there are so many reasons why Daredevil comes across as the best fighter among them all. There are just so many examples of him facing impossible odds and enemies that he shouldn’t stand a chance against. He goes out and fights even with broken bones and severe injuries.

And especially in Daredevil and the Defenders, the stunt coordinators make him look better. That fusion of Irish boxing with street fighting, Muay Thai, Kung Fu, and various other styles makes the combat exhilarating. And the various other figures within the Marvel Universe appear to respect, revere, and even fear his abilities. And perhaps there will be more examples to come if he faces more dangerous foes.

All seasons of Daredevil, The Defenders, and Daredevil: Born Again are available on Disney+.