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Quote1 I've warned you not to go prancing around town alone the way you do, Matt! I know how you like to be independent -- and I respect you for it -- but you can overdo that lone wolf bit! Quote2
Foggy Nelson[src]

Franklin "Foggy" Nelson' is a Lawyer turned District Attorney, particularly known for his close friendship with Matt Murdock, also known as Daredevil. Foggy and Matt met during their college years at Columbia University, where he gained his nickname "Foggy" and they formed a strong bond that would last a lifetime. After completing their law degrees, Foggy and Matt decided to establish their own law firm, Nelson and Murdock, in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of New York City. Together, they tackled various legal cases with a shared passion for justice, often representing the underprivileged and innocent individuals who couldn't afford high-priced attorneys. One notable client they represented was Karen Page, who later joined them as the secretary.

Throughout their partnership, Foggy remained fiercely loyal to Matt, supporting him both in and out of the courtroom. However, their friendship faced challenges when Foggy discovered Matt's secret identity as Daredevil. While initially shocked by the revelation, Foggy continued to stand by Matt, albeit with growing frustration as Daredevil's activities increasingly interfered with their legal work. Despite the strains caused by Matt's double life, Foggy's friendship endured, demonstrating his unwavering loyalty and commitment to their partnership. Their dynamic relationship is characterized by trust, mutual respect, and shared experiences, making Foggy an integral part of Daredevil's life.

Outside of his friendship with Matt, Foggy has had his own share of challenges, including becoming District Attorney for New York City, navigating failed relationships and battling cancer. However, through it all, he has remained a resilient and determined individual, using his legal skills and unwavering moral compass to make a difference in the world.

History

Early Life[]

Foggy was born in New York City, the son of Rosalind "Razor" Sharpe, a formidable attorney known for her sharp intellect and unyielding determination. However, his familial beginnings were marked by turbulence as his mother deserted his father, Edward Nelson, when Foggy was still young, leaving behind a fractured family dynamic. Raised primarily by his father Edward and stepmother Anna Nelson, Foggy found solace and stability in the love and care provided by his stepmother. Anna embraced Foggy as her own son, filling the void left by his biological mother's absence with unwavering affection and support. Despite the absence of Rosalind, Foggy's upbringing was imbued with warmth and familial bonds, as Edward and Anna nurtured him along with his half-sister Candace through their formative years.[8]

Throughout his youth, Foggy's interactions with his biological mother remained sporadic and distant, the occasional presence of Rosalind serving as a reminder of the fractured past that shaped his early life. It was during his time in high school that Foggy encountered Debbie Harris, igniting a youthful romance that flickered briefly before fading with the transition into adulthood. Despite the bittersweet end of their relationship upon graduation.[9]

Columbia University[]

Franklin Nelson (Earth-616) and Matthew Murdock (Earth-616) from Daredevil Vol 3 12 0001

"Human Foghorn"

Foggy excelled in school being accepted in to Columbia Law School. He became roommates with Matt Murdock. Matt protected Foggy against bullies and helped him study. For the first six months of their rooming together Foggy snored very loudly, with Matt comparing him to a human foghorn. It was from then the nickname stuck.[10] When Matt began dating Elektra Natchios, Foggy disapproved, because he thought she was dangerous (which turned out to be extremely true). After Elektra left the university, Matt and Foggy transferred to Harvard Law School.[citation needed]

Nelson and Murdock[]

After graduating, Matt and Foggy opened up a private law practice Nelson and Murdock. They hired a secretary named Karen Page who Foggy developed a crush on. Unbeknownst to Foggy Matt decided to avenge his father by taken up the costumed identity of "Daredevil." He worried about his friend during this tough time.[11] One of their earliest clients was the Fantastic Four, Foggy helped regarding the lease on the Baxter Building.[12] Leland Owlsley was taken to court over tax fraud, and so he hired Nelson & Murdock to represent him. But after some investigation they learn of his true nature and had him arrested.[13] Their next client was Zebediah Killgrave who kidnapped Karen.[14] Foggy and his friends went to a wax museum to see the new Daredevil exhibit. But they notice Ox and the Eel he tried to investigate but was injured in a fight between Daredevil and the villains. In hospital Matt protected his friend from the Fellowship. He avenged Foggy, just in time to witness him come to.[15] Another client was Namor who came for legal aid to stop the surface world from harming the sea.[16] Foggy next client was Wilbur Day, a former employee of Kaxton Laboratories, where he invented hydraulic lifts which his boss Carl Kaxton had stolen the patents.[17] Foggy met with a former exchange student from their post-secondary days named Klaus Kruger who is the Duke of Lichtenbad. Who recommended an Eye clinic in his own country to Matt, to which he visited, but was revealed to be a trap. Foggy never found out what happened and assumed that Matt chickened out at the last moment.[18]

Nelson and Murdock Law Office from Daredevil Vol 1 1 001

Nelson and Murdock

District Attorney[]

Foggy was recruited by Abner Jonas into his newly formed reform party as a candidate for the district attorney. During one of their fundraising events, he was reintroduced to his high school sweetheart Debbie Harris.[19] He quit the reform party when Daredevil revealed it to be a plot by the Organizer, Abner Jonas' alter ego.[20] After that Matt closed the practice to travel the world.[21] Karen is worried about Matt, and so she visited Foggy at the D.A.'s office to find out if he's heard anything, they receive a call saying Matt has been lost at sea.[22] However he returned alive and well.[23] The Masked Marauder tricked Spider-Man into fighting a fake Daredevil. Tracking the real Daredevil to his office he see Foggy as the only viable candidate and attacked him.[24] However they stop him and convince him he is not Daredevil. But still tried to convince Karen he was Daredevil.[25] Foggy Nelson tried to keep Karen believing he was Daredevil, he even tried to have a costume made by Melvin Potter. Melvin offered to help him win Karen by pretending to be a villain. However he attacked him for real and was forced to be saved by the real Daredevil.[26] After more confusion and death threats Foggy told Karen the truth.[27] Foggy and Karen learn that Matt had gone missing.[28] But when Matt was found, the Marauder and Gladiator kidnapped Foggy and Karen.[29] The pair were rescued by Daredevil.[30] It was at this time that Spider-Man sent a message to Foggy telling him that he knew Matt was Daredevil much to his surprise.[31] Foggy was tricked by Matt that his "twin brother" Mike is really Daredevil. Leap Frog asked Nelson & Murdock to represent him in court. [32] Foggy agreed to represent the criminal, but he escaped from court.[33] Stilt-Man attacked Foggy and Karen with sleeping gas pellets. However Daredevil saved same from an escaping helicopter.[34] Foggy took Karen on a date, which was interrupted by "Mike".[35] Foggy was attacked by the Masked Marauders gang looking for revenge.[36] Foggy helped "Mike" deal with Cobra, Mister Hyde.[37] Foggy, "Mike" and Karen go to the 1967 World's Fair in Montreal, Canada. [38] Foggy helped his friend battle the Beetle.[39] The Trapster came to the office for legal services.[40] Foggy prepared to run for district attorney, and as he celebrated he received a call from Debbie who was out of prison and wants to see him again.[41] Foggy was about to meet with Debbie but was knocked away by Daredevil (who switched bodies with Doctor Doom). He was angry his friend would treat her that way.[42]

Foggy confronted Matt about his treatment of Debbie. Matt suggested that Foggy's real problem was that he's afraid of what the public will think of a candidate for the district attorney's position dating a former criminal. Matt then convinced Foggy to setup a double date between them and Karen and Debbie. The Exterminator plotted to use the Time Displacement Blaster to blackmail Foggy. Foggy was attacked by the Unholy Three in a nightclub. Identifying Debbie Harris, the Executioner orders the Unholy Three to use the T-Ray on her. Believing Debbie to be dead, Foggy begged for help but using his radar sense he learned Debbie was not dead, but in another dimension.[43] Foggy decided to take matter into his own hands and researched the criminals he then made a media appearances to bid for the District Attorney position.[44] However Foggy is able to reverse the effect of the ray saving Debbie but believing Daredevil was dead.[45] Mayoral candidate Richard Raleigh decided that he doesn't want a D.A. that he can't control and so hired the Jester to attack Foggy, but was saved by Daredevil.[46] Karen leaves the law firm.[47] Matt is injured during a fight with a Jester and told Foggy he was mugged.[48][49] As Foggy entered the final race for the District Attorney's office, Karen returned. During the election race, Stilt-Man has been hired to attack Foggy but was saved by Daredevil. Foggy is elected D.A., leaving Matt to wonder what to do with his law career now that his partner is the new D.A.[50] Foggy began to realize how working for the first time without Matt was a lonely experience.[51] Foggy asked Black Panther for assistance in administering an antidote to Daredevil who is at the risk of death due to a medical treatment reacting badly with the radioactive particles in his blood.[52] Foggy and Karen grieved over Matt after he faked his death.[53] Daredevil asked Foggy for information on Zoltan Drago.[54]

He eventually hired Matt Murdock as his "Assistant District Attorney". Karen Page also worked for some time as a secretary to Nelson. Page eventually left for Los Angeles to pursue an acting career. Murdock left as well to relocate to San Francisco with his paramour Natasha Romanova.[55]

Shortly after Murdock returned to New York City, Foggy Nelson was defeated for re-election by Blake Tower. Nelson and Murdock became law partners again, first operating the "Storefront Legal Clinic"[56] and eventually moving back to a more traditional law practice again as Nelson and Murdock.[57]

Failed Relationships[]

Foggy had married Debbie Harris and around this time Elektra was hired by the Kingpin to assassinate Foggy. However, upon confronting Foggy, he recognized her as "Matt's girl". Unable to kill Foggy after this, Elektra abandoned her assignment, which led to her (temporary) death at the hands of Bullseye.[58]

Franklin Nelson (Earth-616) from Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Update '89 Vol 1 5 001

Foggy Nelson

Despite this and many other tragedies in Matt's life, Foggy has been a loyal and true friend, even after when his relationship with Debbie fell apart resulting in their divorce. He later was in a relationship with Liz Allan, but the villain Mysterio manipulated Foggy into having an affair with another woman and then killing her when she appeared to be a monster. This led Liz to break up with him.[59]

"Death" and Return[]

Matt was outed as Daredevil by the media and was eventually arrested. After Foggy went to visit Matt in prison with private investigator Dakota North, he was stabbed and seriously injured by several inmates. Matt heard his friend's heartbeat slowly cease, and Foggy was declared dead sometime after the ambulance took him away. Murdock later attended Foggy's funeral only for Foggy's grieving mother Rosalind Sharpe to blame him for what happened to her son.[60]

Later it was revealed that Foggy Nelson had not actually died at all, but was rather placed in the FBI's witness protection program where he was recovering from his wounds and beginning to assume a new identity. He attempted to escape in an effort to reunite with Matt, only to be captured by the mafia, who in turn were slaughtered by ninjas of the Hand under order from their current mistress Elektra. They returned him to his former captors, after informing him that they would be watching him.[61]

After Vanessa Fisk's role in this was revealed Foggy was released and reunited with Matt, where they agreed to move their law offices to a new location where they would take referrals only to avoid drawing attention from Daredevil's enemies with Becky Blake joining them as a law partner.[62]

Foggy then had to deal with stress including, Mr. Fear poisoning Matt's wife Milla with a psychedelic drug that put her in a mental institution, having to deal with Milla's parents and Matt's growing erratic behavior. The final straw was the return of the Kingpin and when Matt accepted the Kingpin's offer, Foggy angrily fired him for all the bad things that were going down lately. When Foggy regretted his decision because he only made it worse for Matt, he learned that Matt had become the leader of The Hand.[citation needed]

Shadowland[]

Later, the Kingpin used a judge on his payroll to have Foggy disbarred. When the judge overturned a jury's verdict of not punishing the surviving victims from the protest against Oscorp, Foggy stood up in protest since they were the only surviving protesters who were not killed when Bullseye had destroyed their building. Working with Dakota North, who had recently lost her private investigators license, he discovered that the Kingpin was trying to frame Norman Osborn to get to Matt and manipulate his actions with the Hand.[citation needed]

Daredevil Vol 4 16 Textless

Fight Against Cancer[]

Years later, Foggy was diagnosed with Ewing's sarcoma,[63] a type of cancer which formed in his hip. Matt sought help of Hank Pym to combat the disease by shrinking down and going inside Foggy's body to combat stray tumor cells. While the treatment wasn't successful and only helped stop the spread, Matt intended for it to lift Foggy's spirits. After Matt Murdock revealed his identity of Daredevil to the world, he determined that Foggy's life would be in danger, and tried to convince him to fake his own death. When a new Leap-Frog tried to capture Foggy, Matt took advantage of the villain deciding to self-destruct his armor to fake Foggy's death. Matt convinced him to jump into the armor and leap as high up as possible before it set off. The armor exploded, but Foggy was rescued by Pym shrinking him down. After successfully having his death faked, Foggy moved to San Francisco to accompany Matt's own relocation, but lived under the radar.[64] When Matt got a deal to write an autobiography for Kirsten McDuffie's father Wendell, Foggy agreed to ghostwrite the book for him.[65]

Foggy's survival became public not long afterwards when the deranged vigilante the Shroud broadcast malefic footage of Matt's personal and professional life.[66] Later on, Daredevil rescued the Purple Children from their father, the Purple Man, who attempted to use them to power a machine capable of taking his mind-controlling abilities to a global scale. After the Purple Man's defeat, the Purple Children decided to repay Daredevil by using the machine to erase from the mind of everybody in the world the knowledge that Daredevil was Matt Murdock. Foggy was also affected by the Purple Children's actions, but he quickly re-learned Matt's secret and became his only confidant. Despite the fact that the Purple Children acted without Matt's permission, Foggy became aggrieved and distanced himself from Matt.[67]

Without Daredevil, and after having beaten cancer, Foggy managed to rebuild his life. However, Matt pulled Foggy back into his life not long afterwards, seeking his help to take a case to the Supreme Court. Despite Foggy's initial reluctance, they worked together and even started patching up their friendship.[68] Soon after Matt accepted the position of deputy mayor of New York under Wilson Fisk's administration,[69] the city fell victim to a siege from The Hand, and Fisk was fatally injured.[70] Matt became the mayor for the duration of the crisis and until Fisk recovered. During his brief tenure, Matt appointed Foggy as chief of staff. After stepping down from the role, Matt quit working for Fisk altogether.[71]

The Fist[]

Foggy began assisting both Daredevil and Elekra in fighting the Hand as part of The Fist,[72] and having several villains join their group in order to redeem them.[73] However, unbeknownst to the Fist, Foggy and Stick had been dead but were brought back to life by The Hand to act as spies. After Stick helped destroy The Hand's Lunate Talisman which allowed them to resurrect the deceased, both him and Foggy returned to death.[6]

Attributes

Power Grid[77]
:Category:Power Grid/Fighting Skills/Normal:Category:Power Grid/Energy Projection/None:Category:Power Grid/Durability/Normal:Category:Power Grid/Speed/Normal:Category:Power Grid/Strength/Normal:Category:Power Grid/Intelligence/Learned

Abilities

  • Legal knowledge: Foggy possesses a comprehensive legal knowledge base, rooted in his expertise across multiple domains of law. As a Colombia University educated lawyer he is proficient in criminal law, civil litigation, and contract law, he navigates legal intricacies with finesse. Nelson's adept understanding of constitutional principles enhances his legal arguments and strategies. His strong research skills enable him to delve into case law and interpret statutes accurately. Furthermore, Foggy's commitment to ethical standards ensures integrity in his practice. Whether addressing regulatory compliance or administrative law matters, Nelson's proficiency and dedication make him a formidable legal advocate.

Weaknesses

  • Ewing's Sarcoma: was diagnosed with Ewing's sarcoma,[63] a type of cancer which formed in his hip. As chemotherapy was extremely expensive and painful, with the help of Hank Pym and his Pym Particles, Foggy began treating his tumor more directly.[64]

Notes

  • Franklin's middle initial was shown to be "W.".[74] It is now established that his middle initial is "P."[citation needed]

Trivia

See Also

Links and References

References

  1. Daredevil #603
  2. Daredevil #185
  3. Daredevil (Vol. 2) #88
  4. Daredevil (Vol. 2) #93
  5. Daredevil (Vol. 2) #56
  6. 6.0 6.1 Daredevil (Vol. 7) #9
  7. Daredevil (Vol. 7) #13
  8. Daredevil #360
  9. Daredevil #10
  10. Daredevil (Vol. 3) #12
  11. Daredevil #1
  12. Daredevil #2
  13. Daredevil #3
  14. Daredevil #45
  15. Daredevil #6
  16. Daredevil #7
  17. Daredevil #8
  18. Daredevil #9
  19. Daredevil #10
  20. Daredevil #11
  21. Daredevil #12
  22. Daredevil #13
  23. Daredevil #1415
  24. Daredevil #16
  25. Daredevil #17
  26. Daredevil #18
  27. Daredevil #19
  28. Daredevil #20
  29. Daredevil #22
  30. Daredevil #23
  31. Daredevil #24
  32. Daredevil #25
  33. Daredevil #26
  34. Daredevil #27
  35. Daredevil #28
  36. Daredevil #2930
  37. Daredevil #3132
  38. Daredevil #33
  39. Daredevil #34
  40. Daredevil #35
  41. Daredevil #36
  42. Daredevil #38
  43. Daredevil #39
  44. Daredevil #40
  45. Daredevil #41
  46. Daredevil #42
  47. Daredevil #4344
  48. Daredevil #4546
  49. Daredevil #47
  50. Daredevil #48
  51. Daredevil #5051
  52. Daredevil #52
  53. Daredevil #54
  54. Daredevil #55
  55. Daredevil #87
  56. Daredevil #130
  57. Daredevil #178
  58. Daredevil #181
  59. Daredevil (Vol. 2) #8
  60. Daredevil (Vol. 2) #8283
  61. Daredevil (Vol. 2) #8788
  62. Daredevil (Vol. 2) #9293
  63. 63.0 63.1 Daredevil (Vol. 3) #22
  64. 64.0 64.1 Daredevil (Vol. 4) #5
  65. Daredevil (Vol. 4) #11
  66. Daredevil (Vol. 4) #15
  67. Daredevil (Vol. 5) #20
  68. Daredevil (Vol. 5) #24
  69. Daredevil #597
  70. Daredevil #600
  71. Daredevil #602
  72. Daredevil (Vol. 7) #4
  73. Daredevil (Vol. 7) #56
  74. Daredevil #83
  75. Daredevil #222
  76. Daredevil: The Man Without Fear #2
  77. Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Daredevil 2004 Vol 1 1
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