Sunday, October 9, 2022

Death Battle Predictions: Daredevil vs Hijikata Mamoru

 

“The only thing worse than being blind is having sight, but no vision.”

- Helen Keller 


Daredevil, the Guardian of Hell’s Kitchen from Marvel Comics 


Hijikata Mamoru, the Demon Swordsman of Tokyo from Until Death Do Us Part 


An eye for an eye and the world goes blind, but it doesn't always stop it from turning. Their early lives were wrought with tragedy, their parental figures killed and their sight robbed as they selflessly saved another life. But their sight was later replaced with a heightened sense of their surroundings, allowing them to see the world in a literal different light. This imbued them with a strong sense of justice, to clean up the corrupt streets with their own hands. Now under a new moniker, they are fear, fear to those who cause crime, and that fear will one day spark hope in the average citizen once again, that they will be safe. But until then, these streets need to be cleaned up, one way or another.


Prepare yourselves as these two blind street level defenders are about to collide. Will the Man Without Fear be able to claim his victory or will he fall victim to the blade of the Demon Swordsman? Take up your billy club and swords as we find out who would win in this DEATH BATTLE!  


Background Daredevil



"I’m not seeking penance for what I’ve done, Father. I’m asking forgiveness…for what I’m about to do."



Matt Murdock was raised alone in Hell’s Kitchen by his father, Jonathan “Battling Jack” Murdock, who had claimed that his mother had passed away. While a successful underground boxer, Jack hoped that his son would not follow in his footsteps and wanted a better life for him, encouraging Matt to focus more on his academics over sports and violence. Things would soon change for the Murdock family when Matt attempted to protect a blind man from a traffic accident. In the heat of the moment, a truck containing a radioactive isotope spilled its contents onto the streets, with some of it getting onto Matt’s face and blinding him. Despite the loss of his sight, he soon learned that all of his other senses have been enhanced to near-superhuman levels.



As the years went by, Jack continued to fight in order to ensure Matt would be taken care of, even if it meant doing business with unsavory characters. His later refusal to throw a rigged bout in order to retain his pride soon led to his death, which Matt did not take lightly. While revenge lingered on his mind, he remembered the vow of nonviolence he swore to uphold for his father. He soon convinced himself that he can still uphold the spirit of his promise by adopting a separate identity - one which would not be restricted by such rules and can be used to exact his revenge. With a costume forged from the remains of Jack’s old boxing robes, Matt set out to seek out those responsible; on that day, Daredevil - the Man Without Fear - was born.



Eventually, Matt obtained his law degree from Columbia and began running his own private practice within Hell’s Kitchen as a lawyer who represented those wrought by societal injustices at the hands of the corrupt and the depraved who littered the streets. When his words and legal acumen were not enough, he donned the mask of Daredevil at night to deliver retribution where the system would not enter or leave off. Having lived his life aware of the many hardships and wrongdoings many innocents were victim to, not to mention his own first-hand experiences, Daredevil has since dedicated his dual lives to prove that he can use his knowledge and power for their benefit against any odds, giving a new spin to the old adage that “justice is blind.”



  Hijikata Mamoru

“Everytime I see you guys do something bad I’ll pay you a visit. Until you never do it again.”


After a drunk driver killed his parents. Mamoru was sent to live with his grandfather, a practitioner of the Jikishinkage style of Japanese swordsmanship. Mamoru became obsessed with the ancient styles, learning everything he could from his grandfather and other masters of the blade. This obsession eventually drove him to dedicate himself to prove that the sword still had a place in modern warfare. To achieve this Mamoru joined the Elements Network, a clandestine network of vigilantes bankrolled by anonymous victims of crime and was sent to Chechnya at the peak of the fighting. He would return to Japan to continue his vigilante mission and mission to prove the viability of the sword.


In his early career as a vigilante. He saved two children who were kidnapped by a group of mercenaries; however during the rescue mission, an explosion occurred which severely damaged his eyesight permanently. But in exchange of losing his sight, his sense of hearing and touch became enhanced to superhuman levels and overtime he would hone this disability to a great degree, making him an even more formidable warrior then he already was.  


At some point, Mamoru comes into contact with a young girl named Haruka Toyama who was being sought out by many crime syndicates for her precognitive abilities to predict the future, desiring to use it for their own personal ambitions. Thus Mamoru sympathizes with Haruka’s helplessness and wishes for her to be able to live a normal life as a teenage girl without living in constant fear for her own life. The two made a pact together and Mamoru swore an oath "Until Death Do Us Part" to always protect her at all cost from any harm’s way. At first they started out as nothing more than partners who looked to work together with the same goal in mind to take down all the criminal organizations in Tokyo who had ruined many lives; however, over time they had formed a close bond to which Mamoru finally knew what it means to be “happy” and to care for someone.   


Equipment

Daredevil

Suit

The horns on Daredevil’s costume are antennae that can pick up radio waves, allowing him to tap into police scanners everywhere. Matt's current suit is also fully bulletproof, fireproof, and fully insulated from electrical attacks. In addition, his current red mask now has a built-in dampener which will help protect him and reduce the pain of his weakness against sonic/sound-based attacks and technology.

 

 

Billy Club

His signature multi-purpose weapon that has many different functions allowing for Matt to be able to utilize his billy club in a number of various situations. It is most often disguised as a blind man's cane in his civilian life. The billy club possesses a number of functions and tools that is not limited to: 

 

 

 

Hijikata Mamoru

Sunglasses

Momaru's sunglasses are special. Through ultrasound, he's capable of creating images in the glasses that link directly to his brain, which give him "sight". As such his sunglasses do him great wonders like allowing him to perform the following actions: 




Monocular Blade

Mamoru’s signature weapon. Modeled after the Shikomizue - a Japanese cane sword that can cut objects and opponents on a molecular level and weaken their molecular bonds thus allowing the wielder of the sword to cut through almost anything on the planet that is often thought to be virtually indestructible. 



Nodachi

A Japanese Greatsword once wielded by the Samurai of Feudal Japan, being used as an anti-cavalry weapon against war horses. While Mamoru does loses his Monocular Blade’s lethal molecular-cutting power in return he gains the Nodachi’s long blade and length provides him greater reach and range over his opponents in close combat scenarios.  



Bayonet Spear

A spear-like weapon with a dagger attached to the pole. Allowing for Mamoru to use it like a polearm weapon. An extremely versatile weapon in all situations as the weapon not only grants Mamoru flexible reach and range due to the length of the weapon, but to also be able to be used as an efficient slashing and thrusting weapon.   


Throwing Knives

As the name implies. A pair of throwing knives which Mamoru carries on him to use as ranged weapons, able to be used as a distraction tool in combat or kill his target from afar. 



Bulletproof Clothing

If you hadn’t guessed it already. Mamoru’s fabric clothing is bulletproof material allowing him to withstand attacks such as sharp-bladed weapons and gunfire. How? I don’t fucking know, don’t ask.


Abilities

Daredevil

Radar Sense

A form of echolocation via low radio wave projection, according to one theory; an energy wave within certain portions of the electromagnetic spectrum. The signal emanates radio waves from regions of his brain, after which it travels outward, bounces off objects around him, and returns to receiving regions of his brain. With this ability, Murdock can synthesize a very close analogue of three-dimensional three hundred and sixty degree human sight.The Radar Sense also grants Daredevil a degree of superhuman senses of hearing, smell, and touch, allowing him to achieve feats such as:



Superhuman Senses:



Superhuman Hearing:



Superhuman Smell:


Superhuman Touch:

 

Gifted Intellect

Matt Murdock is a skilled lawyer and has encyclopedic knowledge of law and New York statutes. He has a Juris Doctor (doctorate of law) from Columbia University and also possesses the equivalent of a self-taught masters of applied sciences in mechanical engineering. He is an accomplished strategist, as well as an expert in interrogation, disguise, medicine, science, and detective work. He has also demonstrated other high levels of education and acts of intelligence the following being: capable of speaking many languages including French, deducing Bruiser's true power set, designing the billy club and creating a bio-mimetic battle armor.

 

Master Martial Artist

Having been trained at a young age by Stick. Matt has mastered a number of martial arts such as Ninjutsu, Jujutsu, Boxing, Aiki-Jutsu, Savate, Taekwondo, Kung Fu, Judo, Krav Maga, Silat, Karate, Capoeira, Eskrima, Aikido and Greco-Roman Wrestling. With his disciplined training under Stick’s guidance, Matt had become one of Marvel’s top formidable fighters; being able to effortlessly take down singular opponents or even multiple opponents at once as well as contend with other skilled fighters such as Black Panther, Wolverine, Iron Fist, Taskmaster, Captain America, Psylocke, Shuri, Dominic Destine and Karnak thus earning his place as the eighth best martial artist in the Marvel Universe. In addition to being a proficient martial artist, he is exceptionally skilled in pressure points and nerve strikes allowing him to incapacitate, paralyze or kill his foes in just a few strikes.
 


Master Marksman

He is a very skilled marksman, which makes him capable of throwing his billy clubs with great accuracy. Murdock is also skilled with most projectile-like weaponry such as throwing knives, shurikens, and darts, as well as archery, and has been shown utilizing military-grade weaponry such as sniper rifles in extreme situations.

 

Weapons Proficiency

Matt is highly proficient in wielding various martial art weapons through his ninjutsu training, such as swords, sai, chain weapons, stick and staff weapons, combat knives of all types, both ancient and modern military style, and projectiles such as shurikens, throwing knives, bows and even firearms.

 

Resistances

 

Hijikata Mamoru

Echolocation Senses

 

Perhaps one of Mamoru’s greatest gifts ever bestowed upon him after losing his sight was his Echolocation Senses which allows him to identify and sense every incoming threat whether it is by mere sound or touch. Because of that this grants him a degree of precognition allowing him to predict the opponent’s next move or detect incoming dangers when sensing their “killing intent”.   

 

 

Battle Genius


Mamoru was bred to be a warrior at a young age making an expert genius in the art of war and battle. Often employing unconventional strategies and tactics even when in the midst of battle, allowing him to always remain many steps ahead of his opponent such as when he incorporates elements of various sword techniques from other schools such as the Makabe-Ryu, Mugai-Ryu, Ittou-Ryu, Nen-Ryu and Shingen-Ryu sword styles and mixed them together with his grandfather’s signature Jikishinkage-Ryu sword style which he also modifies said techniques with his own spin on them, making his unique style of combat difficult to predict and counter. His genius in the art of war and battle was in fact so gifted that he was able to use his own understanding of physiques and techniques to predict how his opponent would move and fight. Because of this he is more than perfectly capable of outspeeding a much faster opponent.



Military Tactics

Having been trained in the modern military arts. Mamoru is quite proficient in the use of stealth, espionage, sabotage, reconnaissance, demolition, guerilla tactics and psychological warfare.


  

Swordsmanship

Having been rigorously trained by his grandfather and many swordmasters at such a young age. By the time he had reached his 20’s, he had become one of the most gifted and talented swordsmen of the modern age. His mastery of Kenjutsu (Japanese swordsmanship) is perfectly demonstrated when he can attack his enemies with surgical precision to either cut their tendons to incapacitate them or slice their throat to omit them from their ability to speak without killing them.    


Hand to Hand Combat

Even without a sword. Mamoru proves to still be quite a dangerous adversary as he is quite adept in hand to hand combat and even regularly employs physical strikes in his swordsmanship, making his fighting style all the more deadly and unpredictable. 


Marksmanship

Having been trained in the military. Mamoru had actually become quite skilled at the use of ranged weapons such as firearms and throwing weapons, and shooting/throwing them with perfect pinpoint accuracy. However he much often prefers close-quarters combat and bladed weapons, but should the situation require it, he is more than willing to adopt ranged weapons for combat situations.  

  

Feats

Daredevil

Overall

  • Became a self-taught boxer at a young age from watching his father fight

  • Taught by Stick on how to master his powers and fighting skills

  • Began his career as Daredevil as early as the age of 14 

  • Single-handedly took down the Fixer’s whole criminal empire who were responsible for his father’s death 

  • His fearsome reputation amongst his enemies gained him the moniker name/title “The Man Without Fear” 

  • Considered one of the greatest fighters of the Marvel Universe next to the likes of Captain America, Wolverine, Black Panther, Shang-Chi, Iron Fist and Elektra

  • Defeated the deadliest of enemies such as Kingpin, Bullseye, The Hand, Purple Man, Gladiator, The Owl, Stlt-Man, Mr. Fear, Lady Bullseye, Ikari, Electro, Mysterio and Ulysses Klaw

  • Once a leader of the Hand ninja clan due to being possessed by the Beast during the storyline of Shadowland, but managed to expel its influence 

  • Became a member of the New Avengers 

  • Leader of the street level Defenders

  • Lived through hell on Ryker’s Island where every criminal and supervillain there tries to kill him due to his identity as Daredevil becoming public knowledge in the Civil War event  

  • Had his whole life systematically destroyed by Kingpin, but through his trials and tribulations; Matt still rises up from the lowest point in his career and keeps on fighting eventually putting a stop to him in the story of Born Again

  • Once systematically destroyed Kingpin's entire criminal empire, reputation, and worldly possessions in the Last Rites and Devil's Reign storylines respectively 

  • Despite his often grim attitude, he occasionally displays a charming charisma and snarky sense of humor

  • Is quite the lady killer


Strength

Speed


Durability

  


Hijikata Mamoru

Overall 



Power

Speed


Durability

 


Weakness

Daredevil

Daredevil’s movements and fighting style define his supposed handicap, but although he is no longer as susceptible to anything that could blind him (for obvious reasons), his other senses do come with caveats. Extremely loud sounds or strong odors could be used to overwhelm the Radar Sense and mess with his ability to detect others around him. Other than that, he also lacks traditional superpowers in the same way other street-level superheroes do.

 

Hijikata Mamoru 

Even though he has been heavily trained in using his other senses, the fact of the matter is that Mamoru is still blind, and that can be used to an enemy's advantage if skilled enough. In addition his Echolocation Senses can be nullified by sound suppressors and disoriented by EMPs, leaving him vulnerable. However even then he has been shown to be completely competent in handling himself without his Echolocation Senses. 


Summary


Daredevil

“You can suffocate evil. Starve it. Lock it behind bars. But it will find a way to come back, even stronger. There’s only one true way to end evil. To finish it for good. Let the Devil out.”


Advantages:

  • Takes the stat trinity in spades

  • Far more experienced 

  • Arguably the more skilled fighter

  • His Radar Sense is vastly superior to Mamoru’s Echolocation Senses

  • Billy Club gives him a number of options for combat and traversal

  • The suit provides him the additional armored layered protection 

  • Charlie Cox & Brian Bloom

  • The hallways would make him too OP to beat

  • His Netflix show is absolute peak MCU content, seriously go watch it


Disadvantages: 

  • Limited arsenal

  • His willingness to not kill could potentially hold him back against Mamoru

  • Billy Club is not as deadly of a weapon as the Monocular Blade 

  • Has no answer to the Monocular Blade’s molecular-cutting ability

  • Shares the same weakness as Mamoru that his senses can become disoriented by abundance of sound and EMPs

  • 2003 Ben Affleck Daredevil



 Hijikata Mamoru

“In the end it’s your own life to live. You must make the choice yourself to live, unfettered by the potential futures!” 


Advantages: 

  • Far more ruthless and willing to kill

  • Arguably better trained

  • Could match Matt in fighting skills  

  • Has a more varied arsenal of weapons 

  • Mamoru’s Monocular Blade is much deadlier than Matt’s Billy Club 

  • The Monocular Blade can bypass through Matt’s durability due its molecular-cutting nature

  • Could potentially figure out how to counter Matt’s fighting style and deduce how his powers work

  • His Echolocation Senses allows him to sense Matt’s movements and action

  • His manga series “Until Death Do Us Part” is a fun time, go read it

  • Owned by the mighty Square Enix 

 

Disadvantage: 

  • At a physical disadvantage

  • Less experienced 

  • Mamoru’s Echolocation Senses is not nearly as potent as Matt’s Radar Sense

  • His Echolocation Senses can be nullified by abundance of sound and EMPs 

  • Sadly no anime adaptation of his series yet



Verdict



Artwork by DekHead

Stats


You wouldn’t be able to tell if this fight was close or not without first discussing the stats which we will discuss in this section.  


At a glance. These two blind street level defenders seems to be in a similar ballpark as both could pull off similar feats of shattering the toughest of objects with their bare hands, taking a massive amounts of punishments that no regular human can or being incredibly fast. 


However the moment you look into the numbers of their stats. Unfortunately Mamoru falls short, sure he can level down grinders and be fast enough to cut down bullets or blitz his enemies faster than the eye could see, buttt Daredevil can also replicate the same feats and do them even better. The Man Without Fear could trade blows with the likes of superhumans like Captain America, Wolverine and Deadpool who are more than durable enough to tank attacks that are the equivalent of a nuke as well as dodge lightning, lasers/light and react down to a nanosecond. The foes that the Demon Swordsman has fought and the feats he’s done? Doesn’t even compare.  


So yeah this shouldn’t even be a contest on who would take the stat trinity as Matt being able to regularly fight superhumans and do extraordinary feats that are beyond what Mamoru has done which is grounded in comparison, puts the Man Without Fear far above the Demon Swordsman in this category. 


Arsenal and Abilities  


Now in this category this is where the discussions begin to become interesting as Daredevil and Mamoru cancel each other out from here. 


The Devil of Hell’s Kitchen’s Billy Club provides him a number of options for both combat and traversal to use against the Demon Swordsman. The Billy Club’s ability to switch between a baton, bo-staff, nunchucks and grappling hook allows for Matt to keep Mamoru on his toes on which type of weapon style he would go for or if he plans grapple from above to get the jump on him and throw his other useful functions of the Billy Club like its hidden blade and gas pellets, he has a number of ways to throw Mamoru off his game. 


However in spite of all that. Matt’s signature weapon is ultimately non-lethal and not intended to kill which is where Mamoru shines as he possesses a more varied arsenal of weapons unlike Matt who only possesses a singular weapon. Mamore has access to weapons such as a Nodachi (Great Sword), Throwing Knives, Bayonet Spear and most of all his iconic Monocular Blade which can slice through atoms on a molecular which would allow him to bypass through Matt’s durably tough body if given the chance which he has no counter to.


Both of their martial skills and proficiency in weapons should be relatively on par as both have shown that they had the skills to take on some of the greatest fighters of their respective universes. Captain America, Black Panther, Wolverine and Iron Fist for Daredevil and Tate Karito, Jesus, Teppei Genda and Zashid Turus respectively. With Daredevil slightly edging out as he fought other highly skilled martial artists of note like Taskmaster, Elektra and Psylocke to add under his belt plus his extensive use and knowledge of pressure points and nerve strikes give him a number of ways to end the fight. 


Now for the main course event which is their powers. Both Matt and Mamoru’s respective Radar Sense and Echolocation Senses can be used to sense and counter each other, so neither would be able to get the jump on the other so easily. However in many ways the Man Without Fear’s Radar Sense massively eclipses the Modern Samurai’s Echolocation Senses whether its because Matt could sense Mamoru through the smell of his sweat, the hearing of his heart beating and blood pressure rising, feeling the breeze of the air to know which direction will his opponent's attack come from or the fact it provides him precognitive senses to predict his next course of actions, making it nearly impossible for Mamoru to tag Matt. In addition because of the fact that Daredevil’s Radar Sense can detect molecules in the air therefore there is a very good chance he will know what Mamoru's sword is made out of thus would take precautions with fighting him and be a step ahead, making it even more less likely for the Modern Samurai to be able to hit him. 


So in this category Daredevil has the slight edge in fighting skills and overall superior senses whereas Mamoru takes the category of having a more varied arsenal and overall deadlier weapon.          


Cosmetics (Intellect, Experience, etc.)

Experience wise both had begun their careers as vigilantes as teenagers. So these two men were bred to be ready to defend their city against all sorts of threats in Hell’s Kitchen and Tokyo, but looking into their resumes. Daredevil has fought a far greater variety of foes that Mamoru has, not just fighting the same ones that he did (which are far greater), but also aliens, cyborgs, supernatural creatures and superhumans which would give the Man Without Fear the leg up in experience.  


Although it can still be argued that Mamoru is better trained then Matt as he not only trained in martial arts far longer with his grandfather and many sensei's across Japan along with that Mamoru received additional training during his time in the military forces which further transformed him into a seasoned killer and perfecting his skills as a hardened warrior as opposed to Matt who was most entirely self-taught from studying how his father fights and only had about one year of training with Stick yet it didn't stop him from ever being considered one of the most naturally gifted and talented fighters that Stick had ever took under his wing, so its not a detriment.


When it comes to intelligence both blind warriors are relatively resourceful and cunning, able to analyze and adapt to a number of situations to escape unharmed and defeat the mightiest of foes. Mamoru’s geniuses in battle could possibly allow him to figure out a countermeasure tactic against Matt’s fighting style and even deduce how his Radar Sense works. But he may not get to have such a luxury due to the fact that Matt is better than him everywhere else where it matters most.     



Conclusion

So in conclusion, where does this lead us to? It's the fact that while Hijikata Mamoru proves himself to be a skilled warrior of valor, he ultimately does not have what it takes to take down the Man Without Fear himself - Matt Murdock. They operate in two completely different worlds as Mamoru’s universe, despite all the flash and heightened reality, it is ultimately grounded to reality. Daredevil despite being presented as a relatively grounded street level hero, his world is filled with super-powered individuals and alien entities which he regularly is able to hold his own against like it is nobody’s business.


In the end, Daredevil’s superior stats, greater experience, brilliant fighting skills and Radar Senses is going to be what will allow him to come out on top against the Demon Swordsman. Even if there was ever a hypothetical scenario where their stats are relatively even, Matt would still likely come out on top against Mamoru thanks to his experience, raw martial prowess and more potent superhuman senses.       





Thanks for reading! Hopefully you enjoyed all of the hard work I put into this first matchup prediction blog of mines : )





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Character Analysis: Hijikata Mamoru

  Background After a drunk driver killed his parents. Mamoru was sent to live with his grandfather, a practitioner of the Jikishinkage style...