Daredevil Fact — November 6, 2026

Today's Fact

Plenty of lawyers defend former opponents. Almost none defend a man whose wrist-mounted saw blades once tried to take their head off.

MATT MURDOCK DEFENDED THE GLADIATOR IN COURT — AND CLEARED THE SAW-BLADED VILLAIN HE USED TO FIGHT AS DAREDEVIL!

The Featured Fact

Years after the Gladiator first whirled his wrist-blades at Daredevil, Melvin Potter was trying to go straight — and instead stood accused of a string of brutal attacks he swore he did not commit. The lawyer who took his case in Frank Miller's Daredevil run was Matt Murdock: the same man who, in costume, had put Potter away more than once.

Matt believed him, and belief was not enough. With paralegal Becky Blake beside him he won a delay to keep a poisoned jury pool from deciding the case early, then worked the streets as Daredevil hunting the real assailant — a hunt that ended with a queasy discovery: the attacker was a dead ringer for Potter, close enough in build and face to frame him in the dark.

Potter was cleared, and the strangest beat is the quiet one in the middle: Matt found his client at the museum, staring at his stored Gladiator costume, and talked him out of putting it back on. The defense that saved Melvin Potter was argued twice — once before a judge, and once in front of the armor that had ruined his life.

Why It's Obscure

Daredevil stories love a courtroom twist, but this one inverts the whole formula: the hero's faith in a villain's innocence becomes the case.

The client

A reformed buzzsaw — Potter had been struggling toward rehabilitation when the accusations landed; even the witnesses who hated him described a man fighting his own worst impulses.

The delay

Buying a fair jury — Matt argued his own recent notoriety would taint jury selection and won time — time he spent in the red suit, gathering what a courtroom could not.

The double

A dead ringer did it — The real attacker's resemblance to Potter was the key that unlocked the frame; Daredevil's senses did the detective work Matt's briefcase never could.

The costume

Talked down from the armor — Before the acquittal, Matt found Melvin at the museum where the Gladiator gear was stored and persuaded him to walk away from it and trust the process.

Gallery

The client, the counsel, and the costume: Melvin Potter in his prime menace, and the blind lawyer in both his working clothes.

Classic comic splash page of the Gladiator Melvin Potter in blue armor with spinning wrist blades — **The client in his armor**Melvin Potter as the Gladiator, twin wrist-blades whirling — the identity Matt Murdock had to convince a court his client had left behind.

Comic art of Daredevil in his red suit crouched on a rooftop — **Counsel after hours**Daredevil on the rooftops of Hell's Kitchen, running down the evidence his client's freedom depended on.

Comic panel artwork of Daredevil in action — **The other argument**Every hour Matt spent in this suit during the Potter case was an hour spent proving an old enemy deserved to walk free.

Sources

Every fact on this page was checked against at least two independent sources before publication.

Bullpen Bulletins

Daredevil #173 synopsis — Marvel Masterworks The issue-by-issue synopsis records Matt Murdock's defense of Melvin Potter, the jury delay, the museum confrontation and Potter being cleared.
Gladiator (Melvin Potter) — character history An independent character history of Potter covering his Daredevil history and the Miller-era rehabilitation arc behind the trial storyline.