While Daredevil may not be the most obvious Marvel Comics analogue to Superman, the two exhibit the same relentless optimism from their shared powers.
There are quite a few heroes from Marvel Comics who resemble DC Comics' Superman, though Daredevil wouldn't be the most obvious choice. Unlike other characters like the Sentry, Hyperion, Wonder Man, and Ikaris, Daredevil can't fly or demonstrate flashy powers that would put him on par with the Man of Steel. As a normal human who was blinded in a childhood accident, Daredevil has a tangible, street level quality, with the exception of his superhuman senses. And it is this exact element of Daredevil's character that makes him Marvel's most subtle response to Superman.
Like Daredevil, Superman has enhanced senses, going as far as being able to smell someone baking brownies in North Dakota from space, as seen in Superman/Batman #46 by Michael Green, Mike Johnson, Shane Davis, Matt Banning, Alex Sinclair, and Rob Leigh. And while Daredevil is outmatched when it comes to the power of Clark's senses, both characters are uniquely guided by the way that they perceive the world. Because they can both hear trouble happening around them, Superman and Daredevil are constantly reminded why their cities are in need of their help. Being able to perceive the world on such a minute level pushes Superman and Daredevil to be better heroes, preventing them from getting too lost in the specifics of their personal lives.
It is hard to overstate the influence of Superman, considering that he is the very first superhero. Over time, the Superman mythos provided a blueprint for the relationship between the public and superheroes, with Clark Kent's balance between his private life and his life as a hero being a point of contention. Even when presenting as Clark Kent, Superman is unable to "turn off" the fact that he can hear people in distress at any time. Daredevil's comics build off of this same idea, but put a uniquely Marvel touch on Matt Murdock's story. Instead of being an alien with godlike powers, Matt Murdock was from the working class neighborhood of Hell's Kitchen. The grandiose scale of DC Comics' most famous hero was thus whittled down to the everyman particularities of Marvel's Silver Age comics.
Superman and Daredevil share a specific relationship to their community, because they are keenly aware of the human suffering taking place around them, due to their powers. This shapes their actions as characters, as they are often wracked by guilt for not being able to help everyone. But even with this crushing reality, both Superman and Daredevil remain optimistic about their lives and communities. Just as it is impossible for Superman to ever turn evil because of the amount of power he has, it is impossible for Daredevil to simply stop caring about the fate of Hell's Kitchen.
The parallels between Superman and Daredevil are most apparent in Daredevil #239 from Ann Nocenti, Louis Williams, Al Williamson, Geof Isherwood, and Joe Rosen. Watching over a group of kids at a skatepark, Daredevil is introduced into the issue through his sensory experience: "The voices strike chords, a concerto of tones and chills rush his spine. Their hearts rise and fall... all synchronized with collective excitement, a wondrous symphony in heartbeats... The glowing heat of small bodies moves in fluid masses. A musical dance, choreographed by an unseen hand. Wings and dove throats paint a calligraphic portrait in flutters and coos, as moving as a passage by Mozart, the brushstroke of Rubens. This is the world and vision of Daredevil. He is blind and the world he 'sees' is beautiful."
From the description of Matt Murdock's senses, it is clear that he marvels at everyday human activity around him, just like Superman. Despite the fact that his hearing would allow him to also pick up on terrible things happening somewhere off in the distance, Daredevil finds solace in the flurry of people living their lives. For Superman and Daredevil, their heightened senses keep them from becoming jaded or morally corrupt. In this sense, Daredevil is Marvel's distinct take on Superman, blending the publisher's folk hero leanings with the role of a hero who remains positive about his community, despite having the ability to perceive it negatively. Just like Superman, what makes Daredevil heroic is that he believes that people can become better versions of themselves, despite being able to perceive evidence pointing to the contrary.
In this way, Daredevil achieves his own version of Superman's aspirational impact through his specific power set that only readers are privy to. While the people of Metropolis can marvel at Superman flying across the city, the people of New York have no way of observing Daredevil's powers, because they are purely sensory. Instead, readers of Daredevil's comics take the place of an awestruck Superman audience, reading at length descriptions of Matt Murdock's rich sensory world. This suggests a complex understanding of how Superman functions as a hero, as Daredevil doesn't need to demonstrate more obvious Superman parallels in order to emulate his core elements. It also signals a development in the relationship between reader and superhero, with readers becoming immersed in the perspective of a character in a wholly new way.
Marvel Comics has built its brand on heroes that were created, not born. Daredevil's origin story as a child blinded by radioactive waste is emblematic of Marvel's Silver Age heroes, who were often victims of accidents, further explaining the differences between him and Superman, a mythic Golden Age character. By remixing elements of Superman's character, Marvel provided their own humanistic update on an already classic theme in superhero comics. A character did not need heat vision, freeze breath, or flight in order to be tackling a question of how he can best alleviate the human suffering taking place around him. In this sense, Daredevil provided Marvel with the opportunity to expand on the mythos first created by Superman, providing a new generation of comics readers with their own fiercely optimistic hero.
