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I've been watching Netflix's 'Daredevil' series (and it's amazing) but in my watching of the show I essentially act as though Daredevil can see because his lack of sight hardly seems like any impediment to him. He even appears to be able to keep eye contact, not to mention his eyes look pretty 'normal'.

Also, in episode 5 it turns out that

Matt has 'radar vision' which lets him see the world as though it is 'on fire'

So other than the missing out on the obvious aesthetic pleasures of sight, does Daredevil experience any (severe) disadvantages on account of him being blind?

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    Yes. He can't see.
    – Wad Cheber
    Commented Jun 25, 2015 at 0:48
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    @WadCheber, Glad that comment's out of the way sooner rather than later. :p. The fact that he can't see doesn't really seem to affect him in any noticeable way though.
    – Gridley Quayle
    Commented Jun 25, 2015 at 0:51
  • @GridleyQuayle What do you mean by "affect him?" He's always saying how he would love to see the sky again.
    – Arm0geddon
    Commented Jun 25, 2015 at 15:29
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    TBH, most blind people - at least, anyone who's been blind a long time - get along remarkably well without sight. A lot of the time you won't even know a person is blind until you're bonked upside the head with it.
    – Omegacron
    Commented Dec 8, 2015 at 20:50

2 Answers 2

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You mean besides enjoying photography, reading billboard advertising, using telescopes, effectively using cameras, enjoying playing Fruit Ninja on his smartphone, driving (in his secret identity) and the myriad of other things blind people have to contend with? He is no more disadvantaged than any other blind person who manages to enjoy a life without the benefits of sight. People do it every day.

  • While Daredevil's enhanced senses give him certain types of awareness not available to the sighted person including, 360 degree awareness, extremely precise touch, taste, smell and hearing, his primary sense (and for all humans who CAN see, it IS our primary sense) being gone, is still a handicap even for all of his powers.

  • Yes, he can read newsprint with his fingers and can even detect the heat of LEDs on the screen, but the easy use of most modern technology sighted people take for granted, Matt Murdock can only use at the very periphery IF a second sense can be forced into doing tasks it's ill-suited for.

  • If this is the quality of his sight, then he is still EFFECTIVELY blind... So much image quality is still lost.

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Does Daredevil experience life with the same issues normal blind people experience since he has superior senses?

  • Yes. And then his avocation adds to that problem in that he has to pretend to be blind which hinders his mobility, especially if he needs to track someone. Being a blind man can be a great cover but can also limit places he might end up without a very good explanation.

  • During investigations, he cannot process visual clues that would be easily noticed by someone who could see, so his detective work is hampered.

  • On the upside, with his other senses he is the equivalent of a walking crime lab using his hearing, sense of touch, sense of smell and sense of taste to discern information in the moment that might require hours to utilize if he were forced to use technology.

enter image description here

  • Daredevil has also had the misfortune of finding himself actually blinded when his radar sense was disabled due to exposure to chemicals, extreme fatigue or environmental conditions.

enter image description here

  • His other senses can be blinded by loud perfume, multiple assailants, heavy rain, or even technology designed to interrupt his senses like sonic weaponry or chaff (which affects his radar sense).

enter image description here

See Also: How true to the comics are Matt Murdock's powers in the 2015 Daredevil TV show?

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    You forgot to mention that he doesn't know what boobs look like.
    – Wad Cheber
    Commented Jun 25, 2015 at 1:00
  • Thinking about it, he also wouldn't be able to read anything from far right?
    – Gridley Quayle
    Commented Jun 25, 2015 at 1:02
  • “enjoying playing Fruit Ninja on his smartphone” — ahem.
    – Paul D. Waite
    Commented Jun 25, 2015 at 8:32
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    @wadCheber - In the earlier serials he became blind. He most certainly would know what boobs look like.
    – Valorum
    Commented Jun 25, 2015 at 15:47
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    On the plus side, he'll never have to see how bad the Daredevil film was.
    – Valorum
    Commented Jun 26, 2015 at 6:01
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If you are willing to ignore the obvious -- that he doesn't get to enjoy seeing what things look like -- and focus only on his ability to be a crime fighter, then no, so far on show, there hasn't been many instances where his blindness really handicapped him.

However, in the comics, it does come up every so often. Usually by accident, one of Daredevil's enemies will put him in a position where his other heightened senses become useless (for example, by flooding his ears with noises). Since Matt relies heavily on his other senses to compensate for his lack of sight, if any of those are nullified, it's like he is losing two senses.

A good example of this is the Marvel Knight mini-series, where Daredevil is pulled into an semi-illusory reality by an out-of-control Cloak. He is suddenly unable to sense anything around him. Even worse, because Matt's never really been as handicapped by his blindness as he seems, he hasn't had the need to learn to navigate the way a non-super-powered blind person would. He starts to act "obviously blind" -- he ends up needing Black Widow to guide him everywhere.

Daredevil really blind

Still really blind

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