|
|
| One of the things that makes Daredevil such a wonderful magazine to read is the incredibly rich supporting cast. I've always argued that ANY good story (TV, book, etc.) requires an interesting cast with stories of their own. Daredevil provides this with plenty to spare. Below is a brief list (& some comments) by a few long time fans of DD. One interesting thing I saw was that often people considered villains, other superheroes, etc. to be supporting cast, and within the framework of the individual stories & arcs, they were. Just another sign of how well the writers can weave a beautiful character tapestry drawing on players from all over the Marvel Universe within the pages of DD. |
| Bill's Picks | Kuljit's Picks | Jack's Picks | Kevin's Picks | |
| 1 | Foggy Nelson | Hell's Kitchen | Foggy Nelson | Foggy Nelson |
| 2 | Karen Page | Foggy Nelson | Black Widow | Hell's Kitchen |
| 3 | Sister Maggie | Grotto/Turk/Josie/The bar | Turk | Ben Urich |
| 4 | Natasha (Black Widow) | Ben Urich | Karen Page | Turk |
| 5 | Elektra | Kathy Malper | Gladiator (I) | Karen Page |
| 6 | Ben Urich | Karen Page | Rosalind "Razor" Sharpe | Fatboys |
| 7 | Willie Lincoln | Rosalind "Razor" Sharpe | Ben Urich | Sister Maggie |
| 8 | Ivan Petrovich | Glorianna O'Breen | Heather Glenn | Stick |
| 9 | The Chaste | Sunny Sitka | Kingpin | Willie Lincoln |
| 10 | Candace Nelson | Sister Maggie | Glorianna O'Breen | Chaste |
 |
|
| Also mentioned: Turk, Heather Glenn |
|
|
|
|
| Kuljit, who does have his own DD page to manage, sadly didn't have time to include any comments with this particular top ten list. I'm hoping when he has time he can send me some, and I'll insert them in. |
|
|
|
|
|
1. Foggy Nelson: He's the teammate, the bestfriend, the Bro to the single child.
Matt is good by himself, he's unbeatable with Foggy. Foggy keeps him grounded
in life, lets him see the other side of life that Matt doesn't always get to
see.
2. Natasha (Black Widow): She's the one that I've always loved with Matt. The did well together, and some of Matt's best adventures was with her by his side. 3. Turk: Always a good guy to beat up on. He was the snitches snitch. He was the baddest of the bad...except for when the Devil came and made a call. 8-) 4. Karen Page: Without Karen, who would make Matt's life "hell"? She's the damsel in distress, the bad girl trying to do right. I think it's time for her to move on...but she definately rates in the top 5. 5. Gladiator I (Melvin): yep...you may say he's a villain. He's a bad guy, DD beats him up. In the start he was a villain, one of my favorites, but in the end he did co-star in a few issues as a "good" guy. We've seen this guy go from bad to good. You just gotta love it. 6. Razor: Foggy's Mom and Matt's "normal" nemesis. We were treated to Rose in the Kelly/Kesel years, and it was just a sweet joy. Wouldn't have missed it in the world. 7. Ben Urich: Ben has always been in the book it seems like. He's the man that gives us those great editorials on the Devil. Plus you gotta like a guy who gives up the best story in his career to help out another. 8. Heather: She took Matt through the ringer, and no matter what he did he couldn't save her. How true to life. You can't save them all. 9. Kingpin: Enemy or Closely watched Ally? It seems DD's relationship with this guy was always going back and forth. All in all, an enemy that caused DD to "compromise" some beliefs to get the job done. 10. Glorianna: Glorianna I liked, and her passing came too soon. Honorary Mention: Elektra, she's honorary, because I didn't care for her in the DD series, but loved her and Matt's interaction in other series. I hated her when she first came out, but the last years worth of writing, let me see the difference a writer can do in a relationship of two characters. |
|
|
|
|
|
1. Foggy Nelson Supporting cast just doesn't get any better or stronger than this.
Almost like a brother, Foggy has been best friend, comedy relief, partner, competitor, sidekick,
and just about anything else DD/Matt has ever needed. Foggy's probably had as many appearances
in other titles as almost any other character with the exception of some folks like J. Jonah Jameson.
Foggy's own personality and the numerous subplots over the years concerning his law practice, crime fighting,
occasional tangle with super villains, love stories & heartbreaks are almost worthy of their own comic.
2. Hell's Kitchen While it is not a "cast member" per se, Hell's Kitchen is such a part of Matt/DD's life, it begs to be included on this list. The only other characters I can think of with such strong ties to a "place" are Doom and the Sub-Mariner. 3. Ben Urich Ben is a wonderful supporting cast member. His relationship to Doris, his hopes/aspirations/dreams & fears, his work at the bugle have all provided great material for stories withing the DD title. 4. Turk It seems like almost all the 70s cop shows had a snitch. Besides being one of DD's main information sources, Turk and his buddies (Grotto, Pike, etc.) enrich the whole Hell's Kitchen atmosphere. And Josie's Bar (their hangout) has become a comfortable (if somewhat seedy & disreputable) place to go back & visit from time to time within the title. 5. Karen Page I must admit, I have grown tired of Karen over the years, but she has played a VERY large part in Matt's life. I think she was at her best in the early Lee soap opera days, although Miller also utilized her fairly well when she sold Matt out to the Kingpin. 6. Fatboys I REALLY miss these guys. While not a big fan of Nocenti's work, I'm really sorry no one has brought these characters back. They were a lot of fun, and they made a lot of sense within the world DD lives in. I've always wondered why kids didn't figure into more superhero stories. Kids are everywhere, especially in large urban areas. They really should be more a part of the story. And Nocenti wrote them extremely well. 7. Sister Maggie A mom, a nun, a friend, a spiritual advisor...there's a LOT more stories still waiting to be told here. 8. Stick Most good stories have some sort of mentor. Stick makes a good cross between Yoda and the irreverant Chiun of Destroyer book & movie fame. Somehow the teacher smacking the student upside the head when he gets too cocky or whiney seems to appeal to all of us. Especially when we suspect that the teacher also loves this student a great deal. 9. Willie Lincoln Willie's only appeared in a few issues, but I'd love to see him more. 10. Chaste Who couldn't help but like these "white ninjas". Especially with their nicknames after the weapon they specialize in & their semi-mystical abilities. Lots of fun!! Makes you want to stay up late on Saturday night & find old 70s ninja movies! Other notables: Rosalind "Razor" Sharpe, Kathy Malper |
|
|
|
|