Marvel Reveals the First Daredevil Was a Mutant | Screen Rant
Warning: spoilers for Avengers #39!
The current run of Avengers is exploring the very first heroes of the Marvel universe - dubbed the Avengers of 1,000,000 BC - and while it's fascinating to see a young Odin as a hammer-wielding warrior, the first Iron Fist learning to channel her chi, and the first Ghost Rider atop a flaming mammoth, Avengers #39 shared some less prominent Prehistoric heroes, one of whom looks an awful lot like Earth's first Daredevil.
Avengers #39 follows the origin story of Earth's first Phoenix - a telepathic mutant with flame-red hair who discovers the Highwalker, a Prehistoric version of Charles Xavier. Inspired by his inability to save her in her youth, Highwalker reveals he has gathered and raised a whole tribe of mutants. When the humans attack, the Phoenix host accidentally distracts the Highwalker, removing the tribe's protection and leaving them vulnerable to the lethal mob of humans.
Fittingly, it's a baptism of fire, with the mutants dying out and Phoenix gaining the power and resolve to become Earth's first Avenger. However, before they die, several of the mutants in the tribe bear a striking resemblance to famous Marvel heroes, Daredevil chief among them.
While the character's devilish appearance is the obvious reference, it's actually the tribe's name - the Tribe Without Fear - that's the major giveaway. While Matt Murdock is known as both the Devil of Hell's Kitchen and Hornhead, his primary Marvel nickname is the Man Without Fear.
If the link feels tenuous, it's worth keeping in mind the surrounding context. Aaron's run has coincided with Jonathan Hickman's tenure as Head of X to reveal that most superpowers are the result of a Celestial dying on Earth, and that rather than being a modern phenomenon, there have always been tribes of mutants around the Earth. In the Avengers of 1,000,000 BC, Aaron has slowly revealed that the majority of Marvel's modern-day heroes have equivalents stretching back to the dawn of time; not just the coincidental champions of the modern day, but heroic archetypes echoing forward and back through history.
In his time with Ghost Rider and Thor, Aaron charted enduring histories and legacies for the characters, and this is a theme he's continued with his time on Avengers. 'The Tribe Without Fear' isn't a reference a writer like Aaron would make without intent, and the presence of a devilish mutant with horns, red skin, and a tail makes it clear that along with the stretchy Mr. Fantastic-alike and the Atlantean-esque blue mutant, Aaron is hinting at - or even planting the seeds for an exploration of - the origins of Marvel's most famous heroes at the very beginning of human history.
Aaron has been using breaks between his modern-day Avengers stories to explore the origins of the Avengers of 1,000,000 BC, and Avengers #39 is the most revealing yet. As the team gathers and more of their stories are revealed, hopefully Aaron will continue to expand on the concept of Marvel's heroic roles and how they've been passed down through time, perhaps even revisiting another ancient version of Daredevil who can add another link to a chain that began in prehistory and stretches at least into the future of Marvel 2099.