#Adventures in Continuity

[daresplaining]

Hi! Had a kinda weird question, but is it ever mentioned how Matt paid for his education or any student loans?

Hi! This has been touched on a few times, yes. One good source of information is Daredevil volume 3 #12, in which Matt tells a story from his early days rooming with Foggy at Columbia.

Matt: "[Being the teacher's pet] wasn't enough to float me out of a hell of student-grant bureaucracy. Unlike Foggy, I was eternally one step ahead of the bursar's office." Daredevil vol. 3 #12 by Mark Waid, Chris Samnee, Javier Rodriguez, and Joe Caramagna

This story takes place in law school and doesn't mention Matt's undergrad experience, but we learn that he was receiving financial aid (which seems believable for a high-achieving disabled student from a single-parent, low-income household; the Battlin' Jack Murdock mini-series also mentions that Matt was on a scholarship, implied to be tied to his disabled status), but was still struggling to pay (also unsurprising; Jack was still alive at this point, but it's hard to say how much money he was making). By the end of the story, Matt reveals that Foggy's well-to-do family stepped in at a certain point and helped keep him afloat until graduation (also unsurprising; Foggy's parents also financed the first Nelson & Murdock office).

Another thing to keep in mind about Matt's college experience is that the continuity changed in the early 80s. He wasn't always a Columbia grad; originally, he and Foggy attended the vaguely-named State College in upstate New York, and one of the reasons Matt picked that school was because it was affordable.

Daredevil vol. 1 #-1 by Joe Kelly, Gene Colan, Christie Scheele, Matt Ryan, and Richard Starkings

At this point, the only concrete thing we know about Matt's financial situation is that the money was coming from his father. The main reason Jack kept boxing past his prime, and the main reason he settled for signing on with the corrupt manager who eventually murdered him, was to afford Matt's college education.

Daredevil vol. 1 #1 by Stan Lee, Bill Everett, and Sam Rosen

With the shift to a much more prestigious and expensive alma mater, with the cost of college having skyrocketed since 1964, and with the sliding timescale to take into account, it has definitely become harder to believe that Jack's boxing earnings would have been enough to pay for more than a semester-or-two. It wouldn't surprise me at all if some future retelling of Matt's origin at least put him in a work study program of some kind to make some extra cash.

As far as loans are concerned, I think a lot of people tend to forget that Nelson & Murdock were/are a very well-known and successful law firm. They've had their low points, sure, but there are plenty of key periods in their careers when they were making a ton of money. The Bendis/Maleev run (in which Matt is a high-profile public figure and goes to court wearing $2,000 suits) is an easy example, but we can look much earlier than that too. Matt is referred to as "one of the finest trial lawyers in the nation" as early as Daredevil volume 1 #20, and check out his swanky, tricked-out Sutton Place brownstone:

Daredevil vol. 1 #167 by David Michelinie, Frank Miller, Klaus Janson, Glynis Wein, and Joe Rosen

Given this, I tend to think that Matt hasn't had too much trouble paying off his loans.

Thanks for the great question!

[bookoftheironfist]

Iron Fist: The Living Weapon #7 by Kaare Andrews and Joe Caramagna

Power Man and Iron Fist vol. 1 #93 by Kurt Busiek, Denys Cowan, Bob Sharen, Ricardo Villamonte, and Janice Chiang

The Forbidden Kick.

[mellosdrawings]

"He grumbles just as much too."

[critter-of-habit]

He is innocent!

[an-established-butt-dent]

Dorian Pavus, present age

Over a period of 10 years I imagine Dorian to have collected quite the library.

[meandtheyeehaws]

they got the quievies after this

[theotherendcomics]

[jeonseoguu]

PILOT JOSEPH !!!!!! (he stole the plane)

the homing pigeon is there so that he can send for help when the inevitable crash happens

[chloesimaginationthings]

Do you see what Hayato doesn’t?..

[daresplaining]

do you think matt murdock finds catharsis in violence? in the context of comics btwi'm of the opinion that he isnt a sadist and doesnt necessarily enjoy violence but i also cant think of any comic pages that would support my interpretation, was wondering if u could help w that?

I certainly think he does, at times. One thing that tends to happen when Matt reaches his lowest points, generally in darker runs (I'm about to post a whole bunch of Brubaker/Lark...), is that he will lash out physically. The Daredevil identity serves as an escape for him in a variety of ways: it frees him, it empowers him, and when his mental health is suffering, yes, it gives him an excuse to hit people. He doesn't always give in to that urge, of course, but it is there. This internal rant he goes on during a moment of frustration in Bendis's run comes immediately to mind:

"There is this overwhelming desire I’m filled with to punch someone in the face!!! Anyone will do at this point. But I know that isn’t right. And it certainly isn’t what my sensei taught me, but I can’t help it. I want to punch someone really, really badly." 

Grief can make Matt impulsive and careless. He starts a bar fight while in civvies immediately following Milla's hospitalization.

Dakota: "This is just what we need...a blind man who half the city knows is really Daredevil...getting in a bar fight. I manage to extricate him without too much injury...and get us out of there before anyone takes his picture. He tells me with his special senses he overheard those two guys planning a robbery. So he decided to scare them out of it. After hearing that, I know Matt's judgment is impaired. And not just because of a few drinks." Daredevil vol. 2 #106 by Ed Brubaker, Paul Azaceta, Matt Hollingsworth, and Chris Eliopoulos

In the very next issue, he loses his temper and punches Luke Cage (and hurts his hand, because he's Luke Cage).

Daredevil vol. 2 #107 by Ed Brubaker, Greg Rucka, Michael Lark, Stefano Gaudiano, Matt Hollingsworth, and Chris Eliopoulos

In "The Devil in Cell Block D", Matt becomes so violent in prison following Foggy's apparent death that Frank Castle decides he needs to swoop in and rescue him from doing something he might regret. Here's Ben Urich in court after Matt has been denied special protection in prison, noticing the same thing (like the Dakota scene above, it's neat to see this side of Matt from the perspective of outside observers):

Ben: "As they're carting him away, though, I see something that chills me to the bone. Matt smiles. Just a little. Just enough so that I know my worst fears have come to pass...that they're sending him exactly where he WANTS to be..." Daredevil vol. 2 #83 by Ed Brubaker, Michael Lark, Stefano Gaudiano, Frank D'Armata, and Cory Petit

(As I said: lots of Brubaker/Lark.) Nocenti, too, was deeply interested in exploring the violence inherent in superhero stories, and approached Matt's relationship to it in a variety of ways in her run, including in this memorable scene where he shares some of his darkest urges:

Daredevil vol. 1 #267 by Ann Nocenti, John Romita Jr., Gregory Wright, Al Williamson, and Joe Rosen

And heck, we can also look at Matt's various murder attempts: his near-murder of Bullseye following Elektra's death, and then actual murder of Bullseye that kicked off the "Shadowland" story arc:

Shadowland #1 by Andy Diggle, Billy Tan, Christina Strain, Joe Caramagna, et al.

And of course, his various attempts to kill the Kingpin, most recently following Mike's death in Devil's Reign:

Devil's Reign #6 by Chip Zdarsky, Marco Checchetto, Marcio Menyz, and Clayton Cowles

On the subject of Mike: I would argue (and did, at length, in this post) that Matt's dream of his brother shooting Bullseye in the "Death of Daredevil" story arc was its own form of violent catharsis.

A key early issue that delved into this side of Matt's character for what I'd say was the first time is Daredevil volume 1 #140, written by Bill Mantlo. In this issue, what begins as a seemingly standard fight between Matt, Gladiator, and the Beetle becomes a violent, brutal beatdown as civilian lives are put on the line and Matt becomes increasingly angry.

Daredevil vol. 1 #140 by Bill Mantlo, Sal Buscema, Klaus Janson, and Karen Mantlo

I don't like to overemphasize this aspect of Matt's character-- not because I don't find it interesting (I do!) but because a lot of modern takes on Daredevil (notably, the live action adaptations) have leaned into this idea of him as a violent, brooding, bone-breaking bruiser, which is an oversimplification and also plainly not true about a lot of his stories. However, this is a side of Matt that does undeniably exist. He gets unpleasant when his life falls apart, and this can be a part of that deterioration.

I will also say that it's not just Matt. Here is my dear friend Danny Rand, who (at least in his modern comics) is waaay more well-adjusted and emotionally controlled than Matt, succumbing to this very same urge:

Power Man and Iron Fist vol. 2 #4 by Fred Van Lente, Wellinton Alves, Bruno Hang, Nelson Pereira, and Joe Caramagna

(He goes and beats up some white supremacists, as you do.)

All I'm saying is that it happens to the best of them.

[bookoftheironfist]

Is comics Coleen a ginger white woman or an asian woman with ginger hair, because the art sometimes really confuses me in the way they draw and color her, she sometimes look asian and sometimes a blue eyed white lady. Part of the confusion (to me specificaly) comes from the fact Netflix Coleen is asian.

That's a great question, and I can confirm: Colleen Wing is, and has always been, an Asian woman with ginger hair (except for the issue of Marvel Premiere where she randomly had black hair). Her mother was Japanese and her father's ethnicity has never been directly stated, but he was definitely Asian as well.

Unfortunately, there have been a number of artists who have drawn Colleen over the years who were either unaware of this, or were simply unable to draw Asian characters. It's one of the frustrations of being a Colleen fan, though she is certainly not the only Asian character who has been subjected to this sort of thing. Related, there's also this baffling line from Misty from the otherwise excellent Immortal Iron Fist that somehow made it through a two-person writing team AND the entire editorial process without anyone going "Hey, wait a minute...":

Misty: "I love that crazy white girl so much I could holler." Immortal Iron Fist #6 by Ed Brubaker, Matt Fraction, David Aja, Russ Heath, and Matt Hollingsworth

So in short, I understand the confusion, and I'm glad you asked.

[ir-dr]

Day 3712 - 19 January 2025

🌸

.//projectTiGER

[vivitalks]

i'm sure this post has been made before but the "the list of people i trust and things i believe is down to no one and nothing" to "i trust angus mcdonald entirely" journey that taako takes in the span of roughly one in-fiction hour during lunar interlude reunion tour is so important to me. adventuring partners and friends who have saved his bacon more times than he can count? nah fuck em. organization that has protected him and given him a purpose and fresh start? new stone of farspeech who dis. this nerdy ass boy detective? "angus i trust you implicitly and here's the 100% exact truth as we understand it"

[an-established-butt-dent]

What always intrigued me about the storyline with a romanced Solas is that Lavellan was so close to finding out the truth.

She must have had some suspicions before, but she never pushed him for the truth. She gave him time to open up on his own terms, to share when he was ready, which we know he almost did in Crestwood.

I wonder about the demons he fought in his head, the times duty came before love, while at the same time she made him question everything.

Such a tragic lovestory and no I’m still not over it it. :(

[scourgeofmyownbrain]

Only one guy on here has two eyes, and even then, they're fake eyes. It's big-tits-McGee, Mr. logic man extraordinaire, Geneva Suggestion Believer himself: Shockwave! Yep, all 12 of him, a reasonable amount of alternates to have, unlike some people... Shockwave Height Chart, everyone, fuckin wee.

Edit: I didn't like the old scaling I had so I changed it. The old chart is at the end of this post.

Quick Disclaimer, if any of the images look weird, it's because I had to stitch a few separate images together to create a full body shot of the character.

Here are links to my Bumblebee Chart, my Optimus Chart, my Megatron Chart, and my Soundwave Chart. !!NEW!! -> Ratchet & Ironhide. Please go gawk at how many Optimus designs there are, sweet fuck, there are so many. For future reference, all these charts will be filed under my "Transformers Height Charts" tag and my "aka the adventures of a..." tag.

Master Post

Explanations and Sources below the cut.

Unicron Trilogy Energon - ~14 feet 3 inches (No actual source, and Energon doesn't have any listed heights anywhere. For the uneducated, the Unicron Trilogy has given each of its 3 seasons separate names and 3 separate art styles. This is the design used in Energon (S2) though he only shows up in Energon. I was able to compare him to Optimus, and using Cybertron's listed heights, I got this number. I am in physical pain, it does not get better from here. Hilarious side note, his Japanese name is Laserwave, which contains the missing "wave" of Shockwave in this iteration's name.)

Earth Spark - ~15 feet (No actual source for ES, but using a barn door to get Bumblebee's height, then Optimus's, then Megatron's height, I was able to make a guess at Shockwave's. Shockwave comes up to about Megatron's chin; I lost the screenshot I used. It's so convoluted, I know, but it's all I have, also, tiny universe, everyone is so small)

TFA Longarm/V1 - 15 feet 2 inches (Animated has no actual numbers, but the lovely @phoenix-inanis has provided a frankly astounding resource with their own calculations for the heights of all the TFA characters. Go look at it, it's wonderful -> https://phoenix-inanis.notion.site/TFA-Height-Chart-f6ad2960ca8c4c5b859ee4958723aaa4?pvs=4)

Gen 1 - ~18 feet (TFWiki, uuuuh I've got nothing to add)

Netflix Cybertron Trilogy - ~18 feet (I have no source for this, other than assuming that because this design is identical to Gen 1, they are the same height. That's it, really)

Knight/Capel-Verse - ~18 feet (No source, and he never stands next to anyone I can measure him against, but because the TFOne director has said that this movie is both canon to the LA movies and its own separate canon, I am assuming the height I figured out for TFOne applies to this universe as well. Until proven otherwise. Capel directed the ROTB movie if you're wondering why his name is there)

One - ~18 feet (No source, I got this number by comparing him to Optimus. Now, I am aware of the TFO heights listed on the wiki, but I reject those numbers on principal. A: Those numbers are sourced from the Walmart Promotional AR Experience that came out before the movie. B: There are three decimal points, and that number does not convert into a whole number in meters (which is originally what I thought was weird about it). C: The director has said that this movie is both canon to the LA movies and its own separate canon, so I have elected to use the few given heights we have from KCV and worked from there. My Optimus post has slightly more context if you want it)

Cyberverse - 20 feet (This comes from a screenshot of this video which has the Cyberverse height chart everyone uses, though the quality of the screenshot is iffy.)

Aligned Cont. WF/FOC/TFP - 26 feet 2 inches (This number comes from Fandom and I completely believe it, even if they don't list their source, because the entirety of this universe is freakishly tall. Go look at my other charts, all the ALC designs are monstrous compared to the others)

TFA V2 - 29 feet 11 inches (Once again, phoenix-inanis did a fuck ton of work, go look at it, it's wonderful -> https://phoenix-inanis.notion.site/TFA-Height-Chart-f6ad2960ca8c4c5b859ee4958723aaa4?pvs=4)

Bayverse - ~30 feet (Ok, so I don't have a source for this one. There used to be one, BV Shockwave used to be listed as 40 feet tall bc of an article done to promote the movie, but that is no longer listed for reasons not known to me, and making some comparisons to Optimus, I have found them to be kinda close in height. It's very hard to actually validate any of this. Shockwave never stands normally next to anything I can use as a ruler at any point in the movie. He's always at a dramatic angle or partially covered by something in the shot. It's so violently frustrating. I am confident he is around this height though, I just can't figure out how much taller than Optimus he is)

And that's it. I didn't have to leave any designs out, all of them are included here (hopefully). It was so nice to work with a character where I wasn't drowning in 20+ designs across every goddamn universe.

Edit: Here are the different layers separated.

vvv Old scale vvv

[soothedcerberus]

A shame we never got to see more of these two and their bratty-imp- sometimes-demonlord partner. 😞