When Daredevil’s secret identity was exposed, he was desperate to get it back, but not desperate enough to repeat Spider-Man’s biggest mistake.

One of the worst things to ever happen to Daredevil was when his secret identity was leaked to the public. This massively complicated Matt Murdock’s life, and eventually, he started looking to see if he had any options to undo it. No matter how desperate Matt got though, he admitted he’d never be desperate enough to repeat Spider-Man‘s worst mistake.

Daredevil #17 – by Charles Soule, Ron Garney, Matt Milla, and Clayton Cowles – took place after Matt Murdock proved he was Daredevil in court. Following the reveal of his secret identity, Matt tried to enjoy the celebrity that came with it. Problems began to arise, though, when criminals he beat up tried to press charges against him for assault.

With his public identity getting in the way of him saving people, Daredevil tried to look into if there was any way to get his secret identity back. When every one of his friends turned him down, he was offered a choice that he said he’d never be desperate enough to take, but Spider-Man was.

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Daredevil Was Desperate To Regain His Secret Identity – But Not Peter Parker-Level Desperate

When the Civil War storyline shook the superhero community to its core, one of the major events to come out of it was One More Day for Spider-Man. After Spider-man revealed his secret identity in support of the Superhero Registration Act, his enemies immediately tried to get revenge on him. This resulted in Aunt May being fatally shot, and despite all the magic and science in the Marvel universe, it didn’t seem possible to save her. With no other options, Peter turned to the demon Mephisto and traded his wedding to Mary Jane for Aunt May to be healed. In addition to this, Mephisto also returned Peter’s secret identity at Mary Jane’s urging.

The loss of his wedding to Mary Jane is something that continues to haunt Spider-Man’s character to this day, and it seems that Daredevil took note of it. As desperate as Matt Murdock was to have his secret identity returned to him, he wasn’t willing to make a deal with Mephisto, which at the time, seemed to be his only option. Making a deal with the devil is seldom a good idea, and Matt was wise enough to recognize this. While Matt did get his secret identity back, it happened due to events that were mostly out of his control, and didn’t cost him anything. The same can’t be said for Peter’s disastrous choice to trust the devil.

Daredevil Didn’t Even Consider Repeating Spider-Man’s Greatest Mistake

Daredevil has some questionable things throughout his history, but it seems that he will always know when something simply is not worth it. While Peter was able to get his Aunt May and secret identity back, he was never been able to repair his relationship with Mary Jane. Though it’s unclear exactly what Mephisto would’ve asked from Daredevil, it likely would have been just as devastating, given the nature of such infernal deals. No matter how desperate Matt Murdock may have gotten to return to his secret identity, even Daredevil knew not to repeat one of Spider-Man’s most maligned decisions.