Is Daredevil Closer to a "costumed hero" or a "superhero"

[sonak]

Daredevil is usually not considered a non-superpowered "costumed hero" because he was given "powers" in the form of heightened senses and a radar sense after the accident where he lost his vision. But to me, he's always been closer to a Batman/Green Arrow type of hero than a superhero, because his "powers" are pretty low on the scale of superpowers. He doesn't have energy-projection abilities, super-strength or anything like that. Power-level wise he's still an average but well-trained guy. Non-powered villains go toe-to-toe with him, which isn't the case with someone like Wolverine or Green Lantern.

A lot of his skill comes from things that an average person can train to do, like ninja skills, hand-to-hand combat, etc. I suppose one could even train to hone their senses to a strong degree, though not to the point of "radar" sense, obviously.

Even though he's not a non-powered hero, I've always considered him closer to them.

 

[bbjeg]

I'd say his radar sense makes him a super-hero.

 

[Alidar Jarok]

A. Radar sense does make him a superhero.

B. I'm not really sure I agree with the distinction anyway - I'd consider Batman a superhero.

 

[kirk55555]

Non powered heroes are still superheroes. Batman, Green Arrow, Hawkeye, etc are usually out there not just fighting muggers but a bunch of supervillains, the same as the heroes with powers. I really don't think you can put them in a separate category just because they lack powers. Trying to separate characters into "superhero" and "costumed hero" categories is kind of pointless.

 

[Hound of UIster]

Depends on the interpretation and writer. A run emphasizing his powers and how they work and how he interacts with the world through his senses would be more superheroic than something like Millar's or Bendis's runs that emphasized the street level stuff.

 

[bbjeg]

I always considered superhuman powers (something that puts a person over the average human) in any form counts as a "super" title. Humans don't have radar sense.

 

[Timelord79 (he/him)]

Well, his ability is super for sure.
Question is, would he still do his thing if he didn't have his radar and still be just as effective?

 

[FPAlpha]

I'd also not put Wolverine and Green Lantern in the same league.

I always categorized Superheroes in street level (Daredevil, Luke Cage, Spiderman etc) with various degrees between up to the heavy hitters (Thor, Iron Man, Prof. X) and those on the cosmic scale (Green Lantern, Superman, The Sentry, Thanos etc).

Since anything should be considered "super" that a normal human body can not achieve naturally (Batman is not super, he's "just" extremely well trained and intelligent) so Daredevils Radar Sense falls into the superhero category.

 

[Fist McStrongpunch]

Well, his ability is super for sure.
Question is, would he still do his thing if he didn't have his radar and still be just as effective?

Well, no, because he'd be blind.

 

[Timelord79 (he/him)]

Well, his ability is super for sure.
Question is, would he still do his thing if he didn't have his radar and still be just as effective?

Well, no, because he'd be blind.

Ok, let me turn left there at the beginning. If the accident hadn't happened and neither radar nor blindness had effected him. Would he still don the red suit, because Daredevil ist just part of who he is, and would he be just as good or at least good at the job?

 

[Nerys Myk]

Well, his ability is super for sure.
Question is, would he still do his thing if he didn't have his radar and still be just as effective?

Well, no, because he'd be blind.

Ok, let me turn left there at the beginning. If the accident hadn't happened and neither radar nor blindness had effected him. Would he still don the red suit, because Daredevil ist just part of who he is, and would he be just as good or at least good at the job?

Hard to say. Would he still be lawyer? Would he have been a boxer like his dad if he had his sight? Would he have gotten out of Hell's Kitchen?

 

[J.T.B.]

This kind of came up with the Lone Ranger. Batman and the Green Hornet don't have preternatural powers, but do have advanced technology that puts them on a somewhat different level than the society they live in. While the Lone Ranger is just a regular guy who wears a disguise for reasons of his own.

 

[Trekker4747]

You can be a superhero without being super-powered. To be a superhero you simply have to be a hero who goes above and beyond what is heroic. That said, I'm not sure Daredevil completely qualifies but I'm not too greatly familiar with the character beyond the Ben Affleck movie.

Batman is a superhero because he doesn't just fight crime by being a good-Samaritan or stepping in when called for he puts his life on the line to protect the civilians of Gotham and to stop violent crime, as well as stopping complete evil-doers.

Now, being super-human is another matter altogether which Batman and Daredevil are not since they're both, by and large, ordinary humans.

 

[sonak]

Well, his ability is super for sure.
Question is, would he still do his thing if he didn't have his radar and still be just as effective?

Well, no, because he'd be blind.

Ok, let me turn left there at the beginning. If the accident hadn't happened and neither radar nor blindness had effected him. Would he still don the red suit, because Daredevil ist just part of who he is, and would he be just as good or at least good at the job?

yeah, that's a good way of putting it. What Daredevil does and who he fights is more on par with Batman and GA, so even if he had been a regular guy with sight, had he gotten extensive training, he'd go out there with his weapon and costume and fight.

That's not the case with most "superheroes," where losing their ability would kind of change who they are.

 

[sonak]

I'd also not put Wolverine and Green Lantern in the same league.

I always categorized Superheroes in street level (Daredevil, Luke Cage, Spiderman etc) with various degrees between up to the heavy hitters (Thor, Iron Man, Prof. X) and those on the cosmic scale (Green Lantern, Superman, The Sentry, Thanos etc).

Since anything should be considered "super" that a normal human body can not achieve naturally (Batman is not super, he's "just" extremely well trained and intelligent) so Daredevils Radar Sense falls into the superhero category.

er, Wolverine fought Thanos in the Infinity Gauntlet series.(He lost badly obviously because Thanos could turn his skeleton into rubber) but Wolverine goes against much higher-caliber opponents than DD would.

 

[Christopher]

Dictionaries and Wikipedia tend to define a superhero as someone with "extraordinary or superhuman abilities." So one doesn't have to be superhuman, just extraordinarily gifted in some way or another -- and, I would add, employing extraordinary methods as a hero rather than just becoming a cop or a firefighter, say. Batman has extraordinary physical prowess and mental acuity, Green Arrow and Hawkeye have extraordinary marksmanship, that sort of thing. Daredevil, of course, has his superhuman radar sense, but aside from that he also has extraordinary athletic, acrobatic, and martial-arts skills.

I think it's also a cultural thing, to some extent. Superheroes, in a universe like DC or Marvel, are a community or subculture of their own, or at least a distinct job category, so to speak. They do things in a certain way that sets them apart as a class, and they associate and cooperate with one another. So I think some costumed crimefighters sort of acquire a "superhero" label by association, by their membership in the larger community of superheroes and adoption of their methods and conventions. Would, for instance, Black Widow be considered a superhero if she hadn't become associated with the Avengers? For that matter, would the Hulk? (He's got the "super" part in spades, but there it's the "hero" part that's questionable.)

Consider the start of Whedon's Astonishing X-Men run, where Cyclops decided that, to improve their image and win the public's trust, the X-Men needed to give up the leather-jacket look and go back to wearing more stylized spandex costumes and engaging actively in crimefighting and protecting the public -- in short, to adopt the persona of superheroes. Because "superhero" is a specific cultural role with expectations attached to it, certain coded behaviors and aspects of appearance and dress.

 

[Sto-Vo-Kory]

Depends on the interpretation and writer. A run emphasizing his powers and how they work and how he interacts with the world through his senses would be more superheroic than something like Millar's or Bendis's runs that emphasized the street level stuff.

This.

Frank Miller's DD ignores the "radar sense" aspect and focuses on his training with Stick to be the source of his abilities. It's strongly suggested in his Man Without Fear miniseries that DD doesn't possess any superhuman senses at all -- he just uses his remaining senses more effectively than the rest of us.

Mark Waid's DD is a radar-sense ninja and explores his superpowers to their fullest. No question that Waid's DD is a Superhero, with a capital "S."

 

[The Old Mixer]

I'm not really sure I agree with the distinction anyway - I'd consider Batman a superhero.

This.

Non powered heroes are still superheroes. Batman, Green Arrow, Hawkeye, etc are usually out there not just fighting muggers but a bunch of supervillains, the same as the heroes with powers. I really don't think you can put them in a separate category just because they lack powers. Trying to separate characters into "superhero" and "costumed hero" categories is kind of pointless.

And this.

Trying to draw a distinction with the non-powered/street-level superheroes reminds me of when a friend of mine insisted that Batman wasn't a superhero, he was a detective who happened to wear a costume.

Superheroes are a genre of larger-than-life characters who do extraordinary things for the greater good, usually with costumes and often with secret identities. Anyone who thinks that a character like Batman is an an "ordinary person" needs a reality check.

 

[iguana_tonante]

Batman is super-crazy. That is his power.

 

[stj]

Costumes are irrelevant. If they rescue people or capture or hurt villains when ordinary people can't, they're superheroes. Batman, Daredevil, the "Arrow" on CW, are all superheroes. Their powers are what makes them able to be superheroes as opposed to a random bystander or even a first responder. All superheroes have a power, even if it's only the ability to avoid being shot!