Matt Murdock is one of the most iconic superheroes in all of Marvel Comics history. He is the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen, also known as Daredevil and at least a dozen other aliases. Once blinded, Matt Murdock’s other senses become super-enhanced, and he feels obligated to fight for good and defend his city from evil. At his side always is his best friend, Foggy Nelson.
Daredevil may not have a sidekick like Batman and Robin, but Foggy is as close as he gets. Even when he could turn to nobody else, Matt always knows that he has Foggy on his side. There are certain things that even Matt knows Foggy can do that he just can’t. Foggy is honestly on another level compared to other superheros' best friends and sidekicks.
10 Maintain Romantic Relationships
Over the years, Matt Murdock seems to have been in countless romantic relationships. He’s a flirtatious guy, and he just can’t help falling in love all the time. However, the longest relationship he’s able to maintain, ultimately, is his relationship with Foggy. Foggy, on the other hand, has a lot of steady, good relationships with partners.
Not only is he a loving guy who genuinely cares for those that he loves, but he’s somebody who is willing to dedicate a lot of himself to others — evident in his relationship with Matt. While his ties to Daredevil end these relationships more often than not, he still holds romances far better than Matt ever does.
9 Take Care Of Himself
Part of Matt Murdock’s problem is that he doesn’t exactly take care of himself. His Catholic guilt is deeply vexing to him, and between that, his untreated mental illness, and the extreme trauma he has experienced almost daily since his childhood, Matt Murdock has an extremely difficult time taking care of himself.
However, this is where Foggy comes in. Foggy is not only capable of taking care of his own self, but he takes care of Matt, too. Even when Matt can’t do it and feels like falling apart, Foggy is the one there to hold Matt together, every time.
8 Be A Good Lawyer
Matt and Foggy first met when they were young men, still almost children, who wanted to become lawyers that would someday do incredible things, always saving the day. Young and idealistic, the two men teamed up and opened their own law firm, Nelson & Murdock. Whereas Matt Murdock often puts their law firm on the back burner in favor of his Daredevil activities, though, Foggy Nelson gives his all to his law career.
He knows how important it is to seek justice. Matt wants to solve problems with his fists, but Foggy still believes in what they both once believed in: using the law to bring people to justice.
7 Advance His Career
Because Foggy Nelson is far more committed to his career as a lawyer than Matt Murdock has ever been, this effort is reflected in his work. He is often sighted as a potential candidate for higher positions, and even runs for, and is elected as, District Attorney more than once.
This, unfortunately, has the unhappy result of forcing Matt to look at his life without Foggy and their firm, and he never really likes what he sees, when that happens. Ultimately, Matt and Foggy never stray far from each other’s sides. Foggy advances his career and his reputation, but he will never truly leave Matt.
6 See When Somebody Is Bad For Matt
Matt Murdock has a difficult time recognizing when somebody isn’t good for him. The biggest and most obvious example of this, throughout Matt Murdock’s entire life, is the existence of Elektra Natchios. Even when they first met, while Matt and Foggy were still young men, Foggy could tell that Elektra was bad news.
He knew she was dangerous, even if Matt blew off his warnings, and yet Elektra has only proven herself to be extremely dangerous to Matt, to those he loves, and to his life, time and time again. Foggy is able to see when somebody is bad for Matt far before even Matt is able to see that.
5 Put Others First
When it comes down to it, Matt Murdock prioritizes what he thinks is the right decision above all else. Even if others come to him and tell them they think it’s wrong, or that it will affect them negatively, he adopts a single-track mindset at the best of times and has a hard time backing down.
On the other hand, Foggy Nelson is almost incapable of not putting others first. This is obvious especially in his relationship with Matt, but also throughout his life. At the detriment to himself, to his life, to his relationships, to his career, and so on and so forth, Foggy will always make the decision that will help others.
4 Help People Out Of Costume
Matt Murdock doesn’t really see the point of helping people out as Matt Murdock anymore. As time goes on, he sees less and less value in his skills as Matt and more and more value in his abilities as Daredevil. He puts more time and energy into his Daredevil activities, leaving Foggy to act in his own daily life. Foggy is the one who excels at helping people out of costume, as he has no costume to lean on.
Every day, he has no choice but to be Foggy, to help people as himself, and to face those consequences to himself as they come. Matt has the mask, but Foggy is the one putting his name and face on the front lines every day. As even Matt points out in the comics, it seems sometimes that Foggy is the true man without fear, not Matt.
3 Find It In Himself To Forgive
After such a long, difficult road, it is difficult for characters to come to terms with who Daredevil is and what his actions have cost them. Matt makes decisions for people frequently, especially if he thinks his decision is the good and right thing to do. Unfortunately, of course, this often causes casualties, and people drop out of Matt Murdock’s life more often than not. They don’t think he’s worth the trouble, but Foggy always does. Even as Matt’s guilt and shame beat him down, Foggy always finds it in himself to forgive Matt, to support him, and to love him always.
2 Be A Good Friend
Sometimes, it becomes difficult for Matt Murdock to remember who he is outside of Daredevil. He dedicates his entire self to being Daredevil, and Matt Murdock gets left behind in the process. This doesn’t just negatively affect his career and his romantic relationships, but it affects his relationships with everybody in his life, including people like Karen Page and Foggy Nelson. Even when he doesn’t prioritize his friends, they continue prioritizing him.
When Matt is at his lowest, Foggy is still there, being a good friend to Matt. When Matt can’t be a good friend, Foggy still makes sure he is, because he knows Matt deserves that always — and because he can’t find it in himself to be any other way.
1 Tell Matt’s Story
When it came time for Matt Murdock to tell his own story, he struggled to even know where to start. It was then that he turned to his best friend, Foggy Nelson. Foggy has overcome so much in his life, and, in the comics, only recently overcame Ewing’s sarcoma, a form of cancer. He nearly died, and faked his own death for a time, living with Matt undercover on the west coast, far away from their home.
When Matt can’t tell his story, it falls to Foggy to do so. Even after everything, it’s Foggy who knows Matt best, and it is Foggy who Matt trusts most to capture him in print. There will never be a closer bond than these two, as they fill in each other’s weaknesses with their own strengths.