No matter how many comic book movies have been made in the last few years, the process of bringing a superhero to the big screen is always arduous. Veteran comics scribe J.M. DeMatteis, known for stories like "Kraven’s Last Hunt," got a taste of it when he was asked to submit a screenplay for a "Daredevil" movie that was being developed in the mid-90’s. It never came to fruition, and eventually, the Ben Affleck version we all know and... acknowledge came to pass.

But the story doesn’t end there: on his blog, DeMatteis explains how he got started with the project, and where his version of The Man Without Fear might have gone.

"I learned, very quickly, that, even with a background in both comics and film, turning a superhero saga into a movie was no easy feat," he begins, "but after some false starts—and fantastic input from Carlo [Carlei], Chris [Columbus] and two exceptional members of the 1492 team, Jim Mulay and Michael Barnathan—I completed a detailed treatment that seemed to please all involved."

"I was delighted, to say the least, but delight turned to ecstasy when I came home one day to find a message from Stan Lee—one of my childhood heroes and a man I still admire beyond words—on my answering machine," he continues. "He’d read my treatment, he said (in his uniquely Stan way), and absolutely loved it. Stan ‘The Man’ rhapsodizing about my work? It took about a week for my feet to touch ground again."

What follows is a rough first third of the treatment DeMatteis was working on, written like the synopsis of a screenplay. There’s a lot to go through, but it seems like his Murdock would’ve been more overtly religious, keeping in line with the character’s Catholic roots. Not that the Affleck movie didn’t do that, but I don’t recall there being anything as blatant as Daredevil telling a bad guy to confess his sins before laying the beatdown. (I could be wrong, though -- it’s been a very, very long time since I saw the movie, because come on.) The Kingpin is there, as are Bullseye, Elektra, and plenty of references to Marvel creators of yesteryear. Who knows what might have been?

"Hollywood being Hollywood, the Fox executive in charge of the DD project wasn’t as thrilled with my treatment as Carlo, Chris, Stan and the others were," DeMatteis continues. "The rights, which were coming up for renewal, were allowed to lapse and new producers, writers and directors came along, ultimately bringing Daredevil to the screen in 2003. (I like to think that somewhere, in some alternate universe, the version I worked on made it into production and there’s a special edition DVD sitting on my shelf.)" That’s not a bad dream to have.

In other news, we reported yesterday that the "Daredevil" reboot, or whatever it is, is still a long ways away. Carry on as usual.

Thanks to Spinoff Online for pointing this out.

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