I just finished my copy of Marvel Essential Daredevil volume one and thought I'd do a quick type of each of the major characters (in order of their appearance) while the book was fresh in my memory. As we can expect from a sixties-era Marvel book - which covers the years from 1964 to 1967 - many of the characters can be typed as xNTJs - either INTJ or ENTJ. Other than that, we can find one or two surprises.
I usually find reading Silver Age books a chore, and was surprised that I enjoyed this volume as much as I did. What makes it stand out is the great artwork by Wally Wood, John Romita Sr and Gene Colan, who do the pencils for most of the stories here.
Daredevil / Matt Murdock: ISTP
Taylor has typed Daredevil here. Without question, Daredevil belongs to the Sensor category, the Introvert category and the Thinking category. But why should Daredevil be considered a Introverted Thinking Ti-dominant type? The answer is that throughout the early stories he is shown continually calculating, and attempting to understand the inner processes of things and people (that is, how they work, how they function), and this is what a typical Ti-dominant comic character does.
Besides which, Matt Murdock fits the profile of the Introverted Thinker in Jung's Psychological Types (1921): both are individualistic, both distance themselves from other people and the outer world (the 'object', as Jung calls it) and both are given to fixed ideas. Jung's profile of the Introverted Thinker describes a type, a character, temperament, and Matt Murdock matches that temperament.
Foggy Nelson and Karen Page: ISFJ and ESFJ
Faithful, loyal, considerate and somewhat ignored and overlooked by others, Foggy strikes us as a typical ISFJ stock type. Si Introverted Sensing types tend to convey comfort and homeliness, and that sums up Foggy to a tee. On the negative side, Foggy, like so many ISFJ characters, is often ignored, overlooked, put down upon, taken for granted - and is regarded as weak and (to use a Yiddish slang word) schlub by others, even by his closest friends. Unscrupulous adventuresses take advantage of him.
ESFJ characters, especially female ones, always appear maternal, and from the outset Karen is very maternal - she wants to scoop up her employer Matt Murdock in her arms and mother him.
ESFJ characters show a controlling streak, too. In story after story, Karen nags Matt Murdock incessantly, trying to get him to submit an eye operation by a specialist she knows. He doesn't want the operation, of course, because he'd lose his superpowers; but he can't tell her that. Even though he's madly in love with Karen - from a distance - he begins to think that she's smothering him (which she is). Karen, on the other hand, thinks she's doing him a good turn by not only helping him fix his vision but also by hauling him out of his natural ISTP isolation. Here we see a clash of Extraverted Feeling Fe and Introverted Thinking Ti.
The Owl: INTJ
Manipulative financier and crimelord the Owl reminds me a lot of Walter White, the INTJ's INTJ. You can tell the Owl is an introvert from his choice of hideout, the Aerie, which is a dark, scary and strange place in an isolated location. The Owl's Introverted Intuition Ni - his dominant function - shows itself through his constant planning and preparation, which is the mark of all INTJ superheroes and villains; Ni allows you to see into the future and plan accordingly, and, when you're a supervillain, helps you anticipate your opponents' moves.
Purple Man: INTJ
The purple-skinned Killgrave has the power to control others' minds and make them do whatever he wants. Taylor has written extensively on the manipulative nature of INTJ characters, particularly INTJ villains, and Killgrave seems typical of the INTJs in this regard. What's more, he emanates a creepiness and unpleasantness which is the mark of a true INTJ villain; he lacks the nobility and regal bearing of an ENTJ character.
The Matador: ESTP
The most-maligned and mocked of all of Daredevil's foes - mocked and maligned by the fans, that is - flamboyant bullfighter Manuel Eloganto turns to a life of crime after a humiliation in the ring, and using his athletic prowess, his sword and his bullfighter's blanket nearly bests Daredevil (and becomes a hero to Manhattan's children). Definitely a Sensor, and an Extraverted Sensor at that, his Introverted Thinking - his secondary function - lends him a sort of low cunning, and also toughness and rigidity. He also exhibits one of the qualities most commonly associated with ESTP characters: aesthetic style. It can't be denied that the image-conscious Matador dresses flashily and carries himself with real panache.
Mr Fear and his Fellowship of Fear
Like Batman's foe the Scarecrow, Mr Fear uses chemicals to induce terror in his foes and control them, and like the Scarecrow, Fear is a typical INTJ villain. His underlings - the sullen, dim-witted Ox and the slippery, cunning Eel - present a study in contrasts: the Ox is a Sensor, the Eel an Intuitive, the Ox a Feeler, the Eel a Thinker. In fact, both bear to the other what Socionics calls a Dual relationship: the Ox is an ISFJ, the Eel an ENTP.
Introverted Sensing Si characters usually tend to be super-strong and super-resilient, and the Ox is no exception. Because of his introversion - as evidenced by his incommunicativeness - I would place his Si as his dominant function. This, in combination with his being more of a Feeler than a Thinker, makes him an ISFJ (and as we shall see from a story later in the volume, he's easily exploited and manipulated - a typical trait in an ISFJ hero or villain).
The weaselly, talkative Eel exhibits a rat-like con-man's cunning, which makes him a typical Introverted Thinking villain, and unlike the Ox, he's no brawler, meaning he's an Intuitive. In fact, I put him in the same category as the Joker, the Riddler and other Intuitive supervillains.
We can deduce all that about the Eel even though he gets minimal screen time in this story, and that's a testament to the abilities of Stan Lee and Wally Wood, both of whom had the ability to convey much about a character in only a few panels.
Stiltman: ISFJ?
Another much-maligned, much mocked-character, the Stiltman wears a suit of armour with stilts which make him massively tall. Marvel fans thinks that this makes Stiltman a rather lame character. But visually - and comic books are a visual medium - the Stiltman looks impressive and has given us some great covers over the years.
Stiltman, from the moment he first appears, seems a megalomaniacal, Te-dominant type - maybe an ESTJ or ENTJ. At first we are led to believe that he may be the bullying businessman and inventor Carl Kaxton, but SPOILER ALERT! he's really the meek, unassuming, downtrodden Wilbur Day, who like many ISFJ characters is bullied and exploited and treated like a doormat.
As the story unfolds, we find out that Day's persona is an imposture. The question is - and we can only know this from further appearances - is Day an ISFJ, an ENTJ, what?
Klaus Kruger: ENTJ
Kruger only appears once in the Daredevil series (and also in one issue of What If?) and isn't a character of great significance in the Marvel universe, but I thought I'd write about him anyway. The ruler of the tiny Latveria-like Principality of Lichtenbad, he dresses in medieval garb - a knight's armour - and like the ruler of Latveria, Doctor Doom, he runs the country with an iron fist and with the aid of a vast army of killer robots. He aims at kidnapping the best minds of the world and using them to build an even larger army of robots, with which he shall conquer the world. Definitely an Extravert, and an Extraverted Thinker: 'None can defeat Klaus Kruger! I was born to rule... Destined to command! Today I am monarch of Lichtenbad! Tomorrow... The unsuspecting world shall fall to my arms, and my robot legions!'. I would classify him as an ENTJ, not an ESTJ, as the ENTJ's Introverted Thinking Ni lends itself to forward planning - and grandiose visions.
The Organizer: ENTJ
A mysterious hooded gangster who assembles a bunch of criminals called the Ani-Men and embarks upon a scheme to have a candidate from the Reform Party (no relation to Ross Perot's Reform Party) elected through trickery. A control freak and an Extraverted Thinking Te-dominant type for certain. Given that his peculiar talents don't lend themselves to brawling, I would type him as an ENTJ, not an ESTJ.
The Ani-Man turn up again and again in the Marvel universe, and should be typed, but I must confess that typing the four of them - Frog-Man, Cat-Man, Ape-Man and Bird-Man - is beyond my powers.
Ka-Zar: ESFP
Yes, Ka-Zar first appears in the X-Men, but I thought I'd type him here. An aggressive and temperamental character who usually fights superheroes when he first meets them, and an Extravert who beats his chest like Tarzan and proclaims himself to be king of the jungle, Ka-Zar reminds me a lot of the Hulk. In his early appearances in the X-Men, Daredevil and other books, Ka-Zar talks like the Hulk as well. It should be noted that Socionics defines Extraverted Sensing as aggression, hierarchy and territoriality. Ka-Zar emanates all the qualities we associate with Se. He also possesses a strong moral code, which tends to go with Fi (Introverted Feeling).
The Plunderer: ENTJ
When we first meet him, the Plunderer commands a pirate ship which looks like an 18th-century vessel but which is powered by modern technology and can turn into a submarine; in turn, his Introverted Intuition Ni powers his grandiose, convoluted schemes. The Plunderer exhibits the megalomania typical of the ENTJ character: on donning a new costume, he declares that it is 'A fitting costume!! A costume suitable for the one who is about to become monarch of mankind! A costume for... The Plunderer!'. According to Comics Vine, after his first appearance in Daredevil, the Plunderer goes on to appear in over 70 issues, and why not? You can't find a more generic ENTJ Marvel villain.
Masked Marauder: INTJ
The Masked Marauder turns up in quite a few Daredevil and Spiderman stories. A criminal mastermind who dwells in darkness, plans his crimes meticulously, manipulates those around him and who can emit blasts which induce blindness - damaging the optic nerves - from a strange visor, the Marauder gives another example of the stock INTJ bad guy.
Which raises the question, what is it that distinguishes the INTJs from the ENTJs? Part of the answer lies in the difference extraversion and introversion. ENTJ characters want to be known and try and get as much attention as possible; INTJs, on the other hand, do want to rule the world, like the INTJs, but instinctually prefer to conceal themselves - behind masks and in dark, enclosed spaces. (Yes, the Organizer, an ENTJ, wears a hood and covers up his identity, but we need to keep in mind that his persona was conceived as a front for the politician behind the hood, who was an Extravert). Moreover, the INTJ character is often disliked and would much prefer to be feared than loved; the ENTJ character can, on the other hand, command the respect of his underlings and can even be admired by them.
The Masked Marauder fits this pattern. In many ways, the Masked Marauder reminds me of Walter White. Both are regarded by their underlings as brilliant scientists but both are neither liked nor admired.
Gladiator: ISTJ
Melvin Potter, who owns a 'strange, East Side costume shop' - and it is strange, and creepy - strikes us a unpleasant and anti-social person in the opening pages of his first appearance (which makes him an Introvert); he's also extremely strong and resilient, and a skilled hand to hand combatant (which makes him a Sensor). One of the notable things about him is that he is motivated by a deep sense of injustice: 'Costumed super-heroes! I hate them all! They're nothing overrated, conceited, swaggering braggarts! All their glamor... All their appeal... Lies within their colorful costumes! But take away those costumes, and they're no better than I am!'. ISTJ comic book characters, even the supervillain ones, almost always see themselves as righters of wrongs, men who have been entrusted with a mission of meting out justice. Potter, being a typical ISTJ, comes across as embittered and resentful all throughout the Daredevil series and someone who wants to cut down the bigshots - whether they be Daredevil or the Masked Marauder - down to size. And cut he does, using the buzz-saws strapped to his forearms.
Leap-Frog: ENTP
Another much-disdained character (perhaps he, the Stilt Man and the Matador could form a League of Third-Rate Supervillains), the Leap-Frog first appears at an airport, bouncing up and around using springs on the soles of his shoes, attracting attention and causing chaos. Policeman 1: 'Somebody stop that guy! He's been leaping all over the place! None of the planes have been able to take off!'. Policeman 2: 'Holy Cow! Look at that jump! He's practically a human frog!'. If that doesn't scream Extraverted Intuition Ne, I don't know what does. We learn later that the Leap-Frog possesses some real mechanical ability: 'All my life, I've invented items for toy companies! But finally I decided to invent something for myself - something to make me invincible - like my super-springs!'. So he makes himself a zany costume - a frog costume - and then embarks on a burglary spree. Wackiness (Ne) mixed with an undertone of menace - and technical skill (Ti) - gives us another ENTP villain of the Joker or Riddler type.
Matt Murdock's alter ego, 'twin brother' Mike Murdock
ENFP.
Mark Hootsen, signing off.
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