Daredevil: Matthew Murdock [Daredevil] (ISFP)

Matthew Murdock from Daredevil (2015) is one of the darker MCU heroes, which most people theorize to be an INFJ. However, after watching the series, we came up with a different theory. Of course, we considered INFJ for Daredevil, but ultimately found that there to be a better case for ISFP. Hopefully this makes sense.

For the record, while Matthew Murdock has been recently incorporated into the mainstream Marvel Cinematic Universe, for simplicity, we’re labelling the characters that we analyze from this show as being from “Daredevil” rather than the MCU, because they don’t have any significant roles in the mainstream movies.

Fi:

“God knows I want to, but you don’t get to destroy who I am.”

“Time isn’t gonna change who I am or what I do.”

“What about what I believe? What about what I’m gonna do about it?”

“And to be honest, I’m done apologizing to you for who I am.”

“But like I keep saying, they don’t get to tell you who you are.”

Matthew Murdock is driven by his idealism and sense of purpose. He determines early on that he wants to start up a small law office in his hometown and offer services to those in need, specifically to innocent clients only. He turns down a significant job offer, and brings Foggy along for the ride. From that point on, Matt becomes a lawyer by day, and a vigilante by night. He follows his ideals and what he believes in, no matter what the personal and practical cost.

Matt can be personable and good with people. However, he’s also rather blunt, to the point that Foggy fairly regularly feels the need to apologize for him or reframe what he said. This is one of the reasons Matt does not appear to be a Fe user, like the popular INFJ theory. In spite of his amazing senses, Matt is not very in tune with other people’s feelings, nor does he yield much to them. He follows his own feelings, as they are in the moment. His stubborn refusal to do otherwise becomes his most significant source of interpersonal conflict.

Matthew Murdock has an unwavering sense of self that he’s unwilling to compromise for anyone or anything. This surfaces in a couple of different ways. (1) Matt is only willing to work with others who agree to do things his way, which makes his options very limited. (2) Matt refuses to change who he is or let others dictate who he is. In some ways, this is a positive thing, because he stands firm against outside influences such as Stick and Wilson Fisk. However, it also becomes a major problem once his Daredevil identity starts taking priority over his personal life.

For instance, over time, Matt is unable to maintain both lifestyles, and things start falling apart around him. Eventually, albeit, at separate points in time, both Karen and Foggy learn of his secret identity. When this happens, Matt starts clashing with them constantly, because he refuses to compromise in any way or seek a better balance between his two lives. He becomes unyielding, but in a way that is detrimental to his friendships and his partnership with Foggy. Foggy even shows up to his apartment to discuss some legitimate concerns, and Matt refuses to have the conversation, acting almost like it’s a threat to his Daredevil persona.

At one point, Matt tries to put Daredevil behind him, in spite of his personal feelings. He decides to try to rebuild his life, but he struggles greatly because he sees Daredevil as his life purpose. When speaking to his priest, he admits that that’s what his soul wanted, but that his head had chosen to put Daredevil aside. Of course, he’s unable to stick with the decision, and eventually becomes Daredevil again.

Se:

“Yeah, well, do like me. Don’t think about it.”

“I don’t know. I’m making this up as I go along.”

“We’ll manage. I don’t know how, but we will.”

Matt Murdock deals with life one day at a time. Another significant flaw with the common INFJ theory is that Matt doesn’t actually think about anything in advance. When Claire asks how it works being a lawyer by day and a vigilante by night, Matt basically just shrugs his shoulders and says that he’s still trying to figure that out. When she asks what his end game is, he admits that he doesn’t have one, that he’s just trying to make the city a better place. Generally speaking, his approach in life is just to deal with the most pressing issue as it arises.

Matt expresses this day-to-day approach with Foggy and Karen as well. For instance, his law business is constantly broke, but he just shrugs it off, saying that they’ll manage somehow. In addition, when he starts working with them to take down Fisk, he gives them a rule to follow, and implies that there are other rules. When they ask what the second one is, he says, “I don’t know. I’m making this up as I go along.”

Matt appears to be the type to just sync up with the current moment, not think too far ahead, and deal with everything one step at a time. During Defenders, Matt makes a statement to Luke Cage that suggests his approach in dealing with risk is just to not think about, which is a common Se approach. As they’re approaching the elevator to head down the deep hole, Cage says, “The more I think about it, the less I like my odds.” Matt replies with, “Yeah, well, do like me. Don’t think about it.” Matt is prone to taking on unnecessary risk without giving it enough thought, such as when he keeps going out in season three before he’s fully healed.

Ni:

“Those are two very separate dots. You can’t just connect them.” – Foggy to Matt

One indication of low Ni can be the failure to strategize long term, or form a long term vision. The was mentioned briefly above. However, to be more specific, part of the reason Matt’s personal life falls apart is because he’s unable to for a long term plan for managing both lives. He can’t balance both together, and he has no actual goal that he’s working toward. As a result, his two lives frequently end up in conflict, and Matt even fails to choose which one to support. For instance, he convinces Foggy to take on the Punisher’s case, but then never prioritizes it, essentially ditching them to deal with his business decision.

Matt occasionally makes unexpected logical leaps that don’t seem concretely connected. For instance, when he hears that the Punisher had escaped prison and that the Punisher had been in the same prison block as Fisk, Matt immediately assumes that Fisk is behind it. Foggy tells him that those two pieces of data are very separate, and can’t just be connected. However, Matt insists that he’s right, saying “I’m right. Fisk made this happen.”

Te:

Matt’s inferior Te surfaces in failure to balance his idealism with practicality. For instance, Matt only wants to take on clients who are innocent. He runs off any suspicious clients, much to Foggy’s dismay. It gets to the point that their law business is falling apart because they aren’t bringing in any money. Matt for the most part shrugs it off, not placing much value in money, even though it’s necessary to keep the lights on. He also allows people to pay using alternative means, such as food rather than money. This complete lack of practicality begins to ruin their business.

Matt puts the nail in the coffin when he picks a fight with the DA over the Punisher’s case. Matt takes the case on principle, because he’s also a vigilante, but ultimately risks career suicide in the process. In the end, they very publicly lose the case, and ultimately Matt loses his partnership with Foggy.