When Does Karen Find Out That Matt is Daredevil (Show and Comics)?
Only a handful of people know that Matt Murdock’s alter ego is Daredevil in the comic series and the Netflix series Daredevil. Karen Page, Matt’s secretary, friend, and eventual love interest is one of those people. But when exactly did Karen realize that Matt and Daredevil were the same person?
In the comics, Matt reveals to Karen that he is Daredevil in Daredevil #57. She finds out at her father’s funeral when she takes off Daredevil’s mask and sees that it is Matt underneath. On the show, Matt tells Karen that he is Daredevil in the season two finale, which ends before we see how Karen reacts to the news.
Who exactly is Karen Page, and why did Matt think it was necessary to reveal his identity to her? What happened once she found out? This article will explore the character of Karen Page in both the Daredevil comics and the Netflix series. It will also analyze how she reacted and whether the two stayed together once she found out.
Who is Karen Page?
Karen Page is a character who appears in both the Daredevil comics and the Netflix television series. Her character is similar in both, with her starting as a secretary at Nelson and Murdock. She eventually becomes friends with Matt and Foggy Nelson, later becoming Matt’s love interest.
The Comic Book version of Karen Page
In the Daredevil comics, Karen Page was born in Vermont. She was a brilliant and popular child and young woman. She competed in spelling bees in grade school, had straight A’s in high school, and was captain of her high school cheerleading squad.
Karen graduated summa cum laude with a 3.8 GPA from the University of Vermont. She came from a wealthy family and was set to inherit it all; however, Karen wanted to make a name for herself on her own. She moved to New York to look for a job.
She gets a job as a secretary at the law offices of Nelson and Murdock, working for Foggy Nelson and Matt Murdock. Karen was secretly in love with Matt for a while, and they eventually started a relationship. But it wasn’t easy, with Matt trying to keep his identity a secret.
Karen Page in Netflix’s Daredevil television series
Karen Page is portrayed onscreen by Deborah Ann Woll. The television version of Page is very similar to the comic book version. She also grew up in Vermont and makes her way to New York City and works at Nelson and Murdock.
However, she gets the job on the show differently than she did in the comics, and she has a lot more responsibility (and adventure) in the television series. She helps put Wilson Fisk in jail and is kidnapped quite often.
On the show, Karen is also secretly in love with Matt. Although she doesn’t know it for a while, he feels the same way. However, both have secrets that they keep from each other that prevent their romantic relationship from getting too serious.
When and how does Karen find out that Matt is Daredevil?
Karen finds out at different times and in other ways that Matt Murdock is Daredevil in the comics and on the television show. We will explore the revelations of both below.
The Comic Book revelation
Karen and Matt become a couple and are together briefly, but Matt finds it extremely difficult to keep his secret identity from her. As she gets closer and closer to finding out the truth, Matt decides the best thing to do is fake his death but continue masquerading as Daredevil.
In Daredevil comic number 57, a new villain named Death’s Head shows up. Death’s Head is also Paxton Page, who happens to be Karen’s long-lost father that everyone thought was dead. However, this time, Death’s Head dies not long after being introduced.
Matt shows up at Paxton’s funeral as Daredevil. Karen doesn’t want to be around him at first, but he tells her to take off his mask, and she sees that Matt is Daredevil.
Matt reveals himself to Karen on the television show
Karen is in love with Matt pretty much from the get-go in the Netflix series. She doesn’t tell him, and he doesn’t tell her that he is in love with her either. This goes on pretty much throughout the first and second seasons of the show.
However, at the end of the second season finale, Matt shows Karen his Daredevil mask and tells her that he is Daredevil. The season ends on a cliffhanger with fans not knowing how Page reacts to the news until the third season.
How does the revelation affect Karen and Matt’s relationship?
Since their relationships are on different levels in the comics and on the show, the news affects the couple’s relationship or lack thereof differently. Still, Karen takes the same road in both.
What happens in the Daredevil comics?
Not only is Karen dealing with the death of a father she already thought was dead, but she finds out that her romantic interest is also still alive, and he is Daredevil. That’s a lot for anyone to take in at one time, and as expected, it brings out several emotions in Karen.
They get back together, but Karen wants Matt to quit being Daredevil. He doesn’t, and this causes them to break up.
Karen goes to L.A. to become an actress and later becomes addicted to heroin and makes a couple of adult films. While on heroin, she reveals Daredevil’s true identity to one of Daredevil’s biggest enemies, Wilson Fisk.
However, she later gets clean and reconciles with Matt. They don’t resume things romantically with all their history but do remain friendly. Karen eventually decides to distance herself and her feelings from Matt, and she dies at the hands of Bullseye.
How their relationship is affected on the show
Karen and Matt definitely had feelings for each other on the show but never really got together. After he revealed he was Daredevil in season 2, fans were hopeful they might get together in season 3, but Karen had secrets of her own, and things pretty much stayed the same.
Like in the comics, Karen gets hooked on heroin and exposes Daredevil’s identity. However, after three seasons, Netflix canceled the show, so that was all we ever got to see of Karen and Matt.
Disney Plus picked up Daredevil after the show’s two-year clause that prevented it from being aired on another network or streaming service was up in 2020. While it’s unlikely that we’ll ever get more seasons of Daredevil, anything is possible.
