Marvel Comics' Daredevil: The Man Without Fear made his first appearance in 1964 at the height of the comic universe's "silver age." It was during a period that also saw the origins of other Marvel stalwarts such as The Fantastic Four, The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man, The Mighty Thor, The X-Men and Spider-Man. Since then, Daredevil has become one of the most popular comic book heroes of all time.

Daredevil was part of a world of characters created in an era fraught with tension and uncertainty. The ever-present threat and fear of nuclear warfare prompted Marvel writers and artist Bill Everett to come up with a race of superheroes whose powers are derived from atomic energy or radioactive experiments gone awry. At the same time, Marvel made these superheroes real people, with real problems that the young comic book-reading audience could relate to. In this real-life Atomic Age, more than ever, people were looking for heroes.

"All the characters I came up with had handicaps," Stan Lee notes about the legendary collection of superheroes he created in a whirlwind three-year period. In 1964, as Lee and Everett were thinking about their next creation, it occurred to the legendary comic creators that nobody had yet created a blind superhero. Running with this idea, Lee carried out extensive research and learned that when people lose their eyesight, other senses take over and compensate. "I wondered, what if those senses could take over to a much greater degree than would be normal," Lee recalls.

And thus Daredevil was born. Unlike other Marvel characters experiencing radiological accidents that drastically altered their appearance or biological makeup, Daredevil remained human. A freak accident gives Daredevil his signature "radar sense," but does not alter him in any other significant ways. Following the tragic mishap, Matt embarks on a training regimen to build his body, mind and senses. He learns that he can "see" by the vibrations made by sound - he can even hear a man's heart beating - and he possesses extraordinary senses of touch and smell.

In the words of famed Daredevil comic writer / artist Frank Miller: "Matt Murdock is forever inundated by the bio-rhythms of blood racing through beating hearts and coursing through even the smallest of veins. What the sighted fail to realise is that every heartbeat is a signature - a fingerprint that can be used to identify one individual in a sea of millions." Those heartbeats become Matt Murdock's constant companion. Spurred on by his father's murder, Matt devotes his life to justice and becomes Daredevil to bring street-style justice to Hell's Kitchen. This dichotomy of good vs. evil, justice vs. vigilantism, defines the moral struggle Matt faces every day.

Daredevil remained a popular comic book throughout the 1960s and 1970s. But when Frank Miller took the reins of the comic in 1980, Daredevil became one of Marvel's most important and best-selling comics. Miller imbued the characters with a dark, gritty and realistic tone new to the comics world. Over the next few years Miller introduced important characters into the Daredevil universe, such as Elektra, Matt's love interest and future adversary.

Daredevil was adapted and directed by Mark Steven Johnson, who made his directorial debut in 1998 with "Simon Birch," which he also scripted. Born in Hastings, Minnesota, Johnson studied journalism at Winona State University, before transferring to California State University Long Beach where he received his Bachelor of Arts degree. His first job was as an assistant for a television attorney at Orion Pictures. He found his inspiration for Daredevil in Miller's Daredevil work from the early  1980s. In the introduction to Daredevil: The Man without Fear, a graphic novel that celebrated Daredevil's thirtieth anniversary, Miller noted some of the complex personal traits that make Daredevil a compelling character: "He's got all the makings of a villain. He's a natural born rascal, a mischief-maker, and a scrapper. He's a liar, who wears a mask to betray the solemn oath he made his father a thousand times. He's a dangerous adept, gifted with a nearly superhuman talent for violence. He's a loner, a sinner, a lawyer who breaks the law. But Matt Murdock is no villain, and no victim. There's something strong inside him, passed from unknown mother and doomed father to son. Something tested by tragedy. Tempered by conscience. Honed by discipline. Something that holds back the bloodthirsty beast within and forces it to serve the cause of justice. Most of the time, anyway."

In 1998, Kevin Smith, the renowned writer / director of "Clerks," "Chasing Amy" and "Dogma" - and a comic book aficionado - wrote another volume of Daredevil stories. Emphasising themes of religion and morality, Smith's mission was to present, "a Daredevil you've never seen before: a hero who is about to learn that a man without fear is a man without faith … and a man without faith is easily unmade."

Ben Affleck, a frequent Smith collaborator and lifelong Daredevil fan, penned the introduction to the graphic novel Daredevil Visionaries, a collection of eight comic books written by Smith.

"Matt Murdock lost Elektra to Bullseye when I was just twelve years old," Affleck writes. "That saga (now known famously to those in the comics world as the 'Frank Miller Daredevils') touched and moved me in ways I was then and still now am reluctant to admit, even to myself. I was fascinated by this man, this red-suited saint, who always seemed to end up a martyr. It was my own personal introduction into the world of personal ambiguity. It was a dark corner, a place where my sympathies were uncertain. It was a strange and wonderful place where true love was always tragic, heroes had a dark side, villains were roguishly likeable and the best one could hope for was some sliver of redemption."

Years later, Affleck would don Daredevil's red cowl for the first motion picture based on the comics he loved.

Another of the film's principals, writer / director Mark Steven Johnson, shared Affleck's deep appreciation for the character and comics. As a ten-year-old boy growing up in a small town in Minnesota, Johnson could often be found waiting outside the store that sold his favourite comic books. "I read them all," Johnson recalls. "Captain America, Spider-Man, Daredevil, Hulk, and The Silver Surfer were my mythology growing up."

However, Johnson responded most to Daredevil. "I think it was because he was the only one who had a handicap, that made him unique to me," he explains. "What also sets Daredevil apart from other comic icons is that he's a real guy with real problems. He doesn't have the strength or web-spinning powers of Spider-Man, the brawn of The Hulk, or the healing powers of Wolverine. Daredevil is just a guy in a suit. If you shoot him he dies. His very humanity and flaws are the source of his moral dilemma. I'm reminded of the Nietzsche quote, 'He who fights monsters might take care lest he become a monster.' That's what is happening to Matt Murdock. He's realising that he's starting to become the thing that he's sworn himself to protect against."

Gary Foster, the producer of such successful, critically acclaimed films as "Sleepless in Seattle," "Tin Cup" and "The Score," is partnered with Johnson in their Horseshoe Bay Productions company. Foster recalls that six years ago Johnson dropped several Daredevil comic books on his desk, insisting that Foster, who was not a comics reader, consider them as the basis for a major motion picture.

Foster read the Daredevil books, finding them compelling and relatable, even for a non-enthusiast like himself. "This character has a lot of conflict in his life - obviously his handicap, but also his moral dilemma, his divided side," notes Foster.

Also serving as producer is Avi Arad, who is well known throughout the comic book world as a veritable walking encyclopaedia of the Marvel Comics universe. Arad and Marvel Studios serve as producers on "Spider-Man," "X-Men," "Blade" and "The Hulk."  For Arad, Daredevil is an almost Shakespearean story. "It's one of the most amazing sagas we have in the Marvel Universe about a non-superhero," he explains.

A top priority of the filmmakers was casting the role of The Man without Fear. The character is like none other in the comics canon.  Given the character's formidable look and talents, casting the role seemed a daunting if not impossible task. But Johnson, having read Ben Affleck's forward to the Kevin Smith graphic novel, knew that the actor was born to play the masked vigilante. "Not only is Ben a talented and physically gifted actor, he's as big a comic book geek as I am," Johnson laughs. "A bonus was that, at six-three, he's physically imposing.  This story is about believability, so it was important to have an actor who looks like he could play someone who puts his body on the line every night."

"Ben has the acting chops, physical ability, emotional sensitivity and awareness necessary to play Matt Murdock and Daredevil," says Gary Foster. "You also totally believe him as a romantic lead. And being a fan since he was a kid, Ben really understands the world of Daredevil."

Affleck was thrilled to see this important part of his childhood come to life. "The character and comics had this magical kind of mythical appeal to me," he says. "Daredevil is dark and tough, but also sort of sexy and romantic. It's a challenge to take the two-dimensional medium of comics and create a live-action world, making it believable and compelling, all without betraying the original concept."

The world's top martial arts choreographers, action specialists, trainers - even a fictional Samurai warrior - came together on Daredevil to devise and execute some of the most impressive action set pieces ever put on celluloid.

Three months prior to filming, Ben Affleck began a regimen of fight and fitness training to prepare for the role of Daredevil. Working under stunt coordinator Jeff Imada and veteran British fight trainer Dave Lea, Affleck trained in a variety of fighting styles, every day before and during production.

Blind actor and personality Tom Sullivan, whose inspirational life story provided the basis for the television movie "If You Could See What I Hear," served as a sight consultant to both Ben Affleck and Scott Terra (who plays the young Matt Murdock.) "My job was to teach Ben to be the best blind person on Earth," Sullivan says. Sullivan worked closely with Affleck and director Mark Steven Johnson to carefully find a balance between Matt Murdock as a lawyer and Matt as Daredevil. "We tried to set up a situation where Matt always has the capacity to be Daredevil, only he has to hide that from the world at large. As Matt, he has to remember to be 'more blind' than he is." Sullivan, a lifelong athlete who won the U.S. Nationals as a wrestler, also worked closely with Affleck and his trainer in the techniques of close quarter combat.

Renowned martial arts specialist Cheung Yan Yuen choreographed two of the film's major action set pieces: a playful sparring match between Matt and Elektra in a Hell's Kitchen playground, and a climactic battle between Daredevil and Bullseye set in a cathedral.
Yuen, a film legend in his native Hong Kong best known for his work on the feature film "Charlie's Angels," hails from a dynasty of martial arts experts. "With the Chinese Wu Shu style of martial arts and the wire work, we typically need two to three months to train the actors," Yuen points out.

Other action set pieces - including car and motorcycle chases and shootouts - fell under the purview of stunt co-ordinator Jeff Imada, a veteran stuntman and stunt coordinator who has lent his talents to nearly 100 films, including "Blade," "Fight Club" and "Blade Runner."
"Jeff's style of fighting incorporated smash-mouth and street fighting with kung fu and karate, and the most pronounced aspect of that is that it was a lot of extra work," notes Ben Affleck. "When you see it all put together - the wirework, the different fighting styles - it should look spectacular."

With all this elaborate martial arts choreography and acrobatics, the filmmakers were determined to keep all the action grounded in reality. Matt and Elektra are human beings, not superheroes, and their athletic skills had to be believable. "We tried to make sure that gravity applies to all of our characters," says Gary Foster. "Daredevil has a more brutal, physical style than some of his comic book counterparts. It was spectacular to see Spider-Man swing through the valleys of Manhattan. But Daredevil doesn't do that. Daredevil is a guy that if he were to jump off a building, he'd hit three fire escapes to slow himself down. He'd break his leg when he hit the ground, but he'd still get up and keep running."

Before cameras could capture the action, production designer Barry Chusid and his team of set designers, concept illustrators, set decorators and storyboard artists had to create Daredevil's physical world. In designing the sets, Chusid had to consider the character's blindness, the vibrant colors of the costumes, and making Los Angeles look like Hell's Kitchen in New York.

To create the film's stylized and gritty vision of nighttime New York, director of photography Ericson Core used a film processing technique known as bleach bypassing, which has been featured in films such as "Fight Club," "Seven," "Three Kings" and "Minority Report." The process desaturates colors, making Daredevil's shadowy world even darker and more dangerous looking.

Much of the visual effects department's work centered on Daredevil's unique "Shadow-World," which works somewhat like sonar, taking it a step further. Like sonar, Daredevil's hyper-acute hearing defines shapes by the way sound waves bounce off of them. But his abilities go far beyond conventional sonar - details of shapes are more "visible" to Daredevil than they are to our naked eye. To render this realistic and three-dimensional Shadow World, sound waves are shown and defined by shadow, not shot by light. Another key task for the visual effects team, aided by effects house Rhythm and Hues, was creating a computer generated Daredevil and Bullseye. Used sparingly for some of the film's more dangerous action, the CG characters are more sophisticated and realistic versions of the technology employed for the digital Spider-Man seen in the 2002 film.  The visual effects work in tandem with intricate and dynamic sound effects mix, which is designed to immerse audiences in Daredevil's shadowy/ hyper-acute soundspace. 

As the filmmakers put the finishing touches on the film, they took time to reflect on their hopes for  the film and its characters. "The movie should be both exciting in terms of the action, as well as emotionally-charged by the relationship between Daredevil and Elektra," notes Gary Foster. "I hope audiences feel emotionally committed to the cause that Daredevil represents and what he's fighting for. Overall, it should be sexy. It should be full of action. And when you walk out of the theater you should be buzzed."

"Mark Steven Johnson drove me crazy, with his pursuit of the directing assignment on Daredevil," says Arad with a laugh. "But I am excited by the movie he made. He kept our vision and made an exciting picture with a new kind of hero."