Meet Kirsten McDuffie, Daredevil’s Legal and Romantic Partner

As a successful lawyer and prosecutor, Kirsten McDuffie led a decorated legal career where she often worked alongside Matt Murdock. However, the shadow of Daredevil's double life loomed large over her relationship with Matt as a friend, a coworker, and a romantic partner.

Although she supported Daredevil through some of his most important decisions, Kirsten only participated in the hero’s life on her own terms. Now, let’s take a closer look at Kirsten McDuffie, her career, and how she changed Daredevil’s life.

WHO IS KIRSTEN MCDUFFIE?

For a time, Daredevil's secret identity as Matt Murdock was widely rumored but remained largely unconfirmed. It was during this tumultuous period that Kirsten McDuffie entered Matt Murdock’s life in DAREDEVIL (2011) #1 by Mark Waid and Paolo Rivera. 
 
After growing up as the daughter of a wealthy book publisher, McDuffie became an assistant district attorney in New York City. She made a name for herself by successfully prosecuting the Lilac Murderer, a serial killer who put flowers on the bodies of his victims.

Shortly after Murdock returned to New York, McDuffie warned him he would have trouble winning cases because of the allegations regarding his vigilante activities. Throughout their conversation, she teased him and tried to get him to admit he was Daredevil, which became a recurring joke as their friendship bloomed.

After speaking with Foggy Nelson, Kirsten asked Matt out on a date. The two lawyers went to Coney Island, where Matt told Kirsten the story of how he and Foggy became best friends. Although a surprise visit by a disguised Spider-Man ended their date early, McDuffie and Murdock’s night out made headlines in the city’s tabloids.

EXPOSING DAREDEVIL 

In DAREDEVIL (2011) #19, a drunk Foggy confirmed to Kirsten what she had already suspected: Matt Murdock was in fact Daredevil. Although she initially tried to distance herself from Matt, she left the D.A.’s office and joined Nelson & Murdock’s law firm when Foggy stepped away for cancer treatment.

While facing a hate group called the Sons of the Serpent, Matt finally confessed his identity to Kirsten as the pair jogged. They decided to use Matt’s status to their advantage. As Daredevil made a city-wide broadcast exposing the Sons of the Serpent, McDuffie gave another speech and encouraged her fellow New Yorkers to turn away from the group’s hateful rhetoric.

When the Sons of the Serpent retaliated, they threatened to expose Matt Murdock’s secret identity unless he represented them in court. To take away the leverage they held over her legal partner, McDuffie called Murdock to the stand and had him admit to being Daredevil in court in DAREDEVIL (2011) #35.

Prior to revealing his identity as Daredevil to the world, Kirsten walked Matt through the consequences of his decision. The staggering legal implications of Matt’s admission resulted in both Murdock and Nelson getting disbarred. However, Murdock was still licensed to practice law in California from his time living there with Black Widow. On Kirsten McDuffie’s suggestion, they moved to San Francisco with Foggy.

KIRSTEN MCDUFFIE AND DAREDEVIL IN SAN FRANCISCO 

With the help of Kirsten McDuffie, Matt Murdock adjusted to life in San Francisco and learned to navigate the city in DAREDEVIL (2014) #1. While living in San Francisco together, Matt told Kirsten he loved her for the first time.  
 
As Kirsten tried to promote their new legal practice, she leaned into Matt’s public identity as Daredevil. Her father even advised Matt to embrace his Daredevil persona in the courtroom, encouraging him to wear a red suit.

Outside the courtroom, Kirsten also helped Matt with his Daredevil activities, from taking down the villainous Stunt-Master to finding the deputy mayor’s kidnapped daughter. Together, they dealt with the Shroud, an unstable vigilante who pretended to be a criminal, and the Owl, the city’s criminal kingpin.

To protect his friend, Daredevil faked Foggy’s death and Kirsten helped conceal his identity as he continued to recover from cancer. Eventually, McDuffie’s father offered Matt $8 million for his autobiography about his life as a hero. When Matt accepted the offer, Foggy began ghostwriting the book on his behalf.

When the Lilac Murderer escaped captivity, he targeted Kirsten, his former prosecutor. While the Shroud ultimately saved her, he quickly sought to ruin Daredevil’s personal relationships. When Daredevil tracked down the Owl, he found the criminal hooked up to the Shroud’s massive surveillance machine. To punish Daredevil for his interference, the Shroud revealed Foggy was alive and released footage of an intimate conversation with Kirsten about her mom’s death.

KIRSTEN MCDUFFIE AND MATT MURDOCK BREAK UP

With public scrutiny higher than ever, Daredevil made a deal with the Kingpin to protect Kirsten McDuffie and Foggy Nelson. However, Wilson Fisk double-crossed him and kidnapped his friends, forcing Daredevil to team up with the Shroud and Jubula Pride, the Owl’s daughter. Together, they exposed Fisk’s criminal operations and freed Foggy and Kirsten.

After that disturbance forced Matt and Kirsten to close their practice, Typhoid Mary attacked them and burned down Daredevil’s home, causing the pair to briefly return to New York.

During their time in San Francisco, Daredevil met the Purple Children, the mind-controlling children of the Purple Man (Zebidiah Killgrave), for the first time. McDuffie found two of the Purple Children on her doorstep in DAREDEVIL (2015) #17 by Charles Soule and Ron Garney. The kids came to Daredevil when the Purple Man tried to assemble his children to power a machine that would amplify his mind-controlling abilities to a global level. 
 
After Daredevil defeated Killgrave, the Purple Children tried to thank him by using the machine to erase all public knowledge of his secret identity. As Daredevil realized when he kissed her, Kirsten had no memory of his secret identity and merely thought him to be Matt’s close ally. Although Matt restored Foggy's knowledge of his secret identity, he broke up with a confused and angry Kirsten, not wanting to expose her to the dangers of dating Daredevil.

RETURN TO HELL'S KITCHEN

After their break up, Kirsten McDuffie still tried to get back into Matt Murdock’s life. She visited him in the hospital while he recovered from being hit by a truck, but he turned down her attempt to restart their relationship.

When Daredevil accidentally killed a low-level criminal, Kirsten rushed to his defense in DAREDEVIL (2019) #22 by Chip Zdarsky and Francesco Mobili. Still unaware of Daredevil’s secret identity, Kirsten helped Foggy make his case.

Despite their legal plan, Daredevil ultimately pled guilty to second-degree manslaughter and was taken to prison. To maintain his secret identity as Daredevil, Matt and Foggy enlisted the help of Mike Murdock, his twin brother created by the Infinity Stones. While Mike posed as his brother, Kirsten did not respond positively to his flirting.

McDuffie worked with Nelson and Detective Cole North to support the incarcerated hero. She also helped Daredevil work with the F.B.I. to investigate several deaths linked to an experimental stimulant. When the entire prison was exposed to that chemical, Daredevil snuck into Kirsten’s car. She took the horned vigilante to Times Square, where he teamed up with Elektra to take down Bullseye. 

After revealing the prison’s chemical experiments to the public, Daredevil voluntarily returned to prison. However, McDuffie and Nelson got him released without parole five weeks later.

KIRSTEN MCDUFFIE IN DEVIL'S REIGN 

Throughout Daredevil’s incarceration, Wilson Fisk reigned as Mayor of New York City. When the Kingpin realized his knowledge of Daredevil’s identity had been erased, he declared war on Daredevil and other heroes by outlawing all vigilante activity in the city. Kirsten McDuffie and Foggy Nelson served as the chief legal representatives to heroes like the Invisible Woman during this period.

When Fisk uncovered Daredevil's identity once more, he decided he would kill Matt Murdock once and for all. While looking for Matt, Kirsten witnessed Fisk beating Mike Murdock to death. With the world thinking Matt Murdock dead, Kirsten gave a eulogy at her former partner’s funeral.  

As Kirsten prepared to leave the city, Daredevil watched helplessly as the train he thought she was on exploded. However, that train was empty, and Daredevil reunited with Kirsten on a train platform in DAREDEVIL (2022) #2.

In that moment, all Daredevil wanted to do was tell Kirsten he was Matt Murdock and confess his feelings for her. As Kirsten kissed him, however, he realized this was goodbye.

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