Daredevil Characters

Matador

Profile written by: Kuljit Mithra

In Spain, Manuel Eloganto was a famous bull-fighter. He claimed many victories, yet he did not have many fans. His cruelty towards the bulls turned crowds against him and he would constantly hear cheers for his opponent. During one fight, Eloganto became so incensed with the crowd, that he turned his back on the bull and gestured to the audience in disgust. The massive bull used this opportunity to injure the matador. While recovering in the hospital, he blamed his injuries on everyone else and declared that he would have revenge. Eloganto disappeared from public life after his release from the hospital. He surfaced in New York City years later as the masked Matador. In this identity, he used his bull-fighting skills and costume to commit crimes, complete with hat, cape and sword. It was during a robbery of an armored truck that the Matador first encountered Daredevil. Eloganto had stood in the truck's path and caused a crash by covering the windshield with his cape. As he tried to collect the money, Daredevil intervened. He waved his cape, which seemed to disorient the hero. Escape was possible when Daredevil had to leave the fight to save a window washer in danger of falling. The Matador met Daredevil once again at a costume party where he planned to rob a safe. This time he was able to use the crowd noise and the rustling of his cape to easily outmaneuver Daredevil. He managed to get his cape over Daredevil's head and land several punches. Daredevil was humiliated by the defeat, as newspapers reported on the Matador's easy escape. Reveling in the accolades he was receiving for his daring skill, the Matador continued his crime spree. Unknown to him, Daredevil had figured out that Eloganto was the Matador by finding an old article on the bull-fighter. He was lured to Matt Murdock's office by a phony newspaper article where Murdock claimed Matador was Daredevil. At the office, a furious Matador found Daredevil instead. Without the crowd to disorient his radar senses, Daredevil was able to defeat the Matador by lunging directly at him and knocking him unconscious. The Matador tried to get his revenge later by joining the Emissaries of Evil, a collection of villains assembled by Electro to defeat Daredevil. The group did not succeed. A subsequent teaming with the Man-Bull also did not work out as planned.It appeared that Eloganto had finally given up his life of crime to take care of his sister's family. However, just recently, he had been mind-controlled by the Ringmaster, in a scheme to disrupt Daredevil's life. It remains to be seen if the Matador has hung up his cape for good.