How old is Daredevil? Marvel character’s age in MCU and comics explained

Daredevil in Marvel Comics and the MCUMarvel Comics/Marvel Studios

Most Marvel heroes don’t have a lot you can base their age around, but you can get closer to how old Daredevil might be when you consider his legal education.

We’re nearly a decade passt the debut of Netflix’s Daredevil, a series which fans have been eagerly awaiting the return of. 

Much like his comic counterpart, time moves differently for the MCU’s Daredevil. Though the actors age in real-time, an actual age is rarely given for the characters themselves. It’s an effort to keep the stories timeless and the characters relatable as fans of all ages come in and out of the stories. 

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While they may never be given specific ages, though, some fuzzy math and paying attention to the back story of a character can give us an approximation of a character’s age. 

What is Daredevil’s age in Marvel Comics?

Daredevil appears to be in his mid-to-late 30s, despite having debuted in 1964. This is because of Marvel’s sliding timescale, which is designed to keep stories current but ensure characters don’t outright age out of their stories. 

Daredevil in his first appearanceMarvel Comics
Daredevil #1 establishes Matt as a fully-fledged lawyer, somewhat older than other teen heroes like Spider-Man or the X-Men.

Thanks to the time scale, Marvel characters who debuted in the ‘60s have only aged a handful of years. It also means events are sometimes retconned or changed, like Reed Richards and Ben Grimm’s history as World War II veterans being retconned to veterans of a non-descript war.

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In his first appearance, Matt Murdock appears to be slightly older than heroes in their mid-to-late 20s like Spider-Man. There’s also Matt’s law background, which means he’s undergone extensive schooling prior to his Daredevil years. Mid-to-late 30s lines Matt up with most other Marvel heroes and makes the most sense considering his background. 

Daredevil’s age in the MCU explained

Current MCU Daredevil actor Charlie Cox is currently 41, and presumably, his Matt Murdock is meant to be around that age, if not slightly younger. The Netflix series never actually confirms his age, but Cox first portrayed the character when he was 33. 

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charlie-cox-daredevilMarvel
Daredevil star Charlie Cox will be 41 when he returns in Echo.

This would put him just a hair older than the previous Daredevil, Ben Affleck. When he played the role in 2003’s Daredevil, Affleck was 30 years old. 

Ironically, the oldest Daredevil is also the original. Rex Smith was 34 when he played Matt Murdock in Trial of the Incredible Hulk, a television movie intended to serve as a backdoor pilot for a Daredevil series that never made it to production. 

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