Franklin Percy "Foggy" Nelson is a fictional character appearing in
American comic book
An American comic book is a thin periodical literature originating in the United States, commonly between 24 and 64 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publ ...
s published by
Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...
. The character has been depicted as part of the supporting cast of
Daredevil (Matt Murdock); Foggy is Matt's best friend and, for most of the series, his law partner. The character was created by
Stan Lee
Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber ; December 28, 1922 – November 12, 2018) was an American comic book author, writer, editor, publisher, and producer. He rose through the ranks of a family-run business called Timely Comics which later bec ...
and
Bill Everett
William Blake Everett (; May 18, 1917 – February 27, 1973) was an American comic book writer-artist best known for creating Namor the Sub-Mariner as well as co-creating Zombie (comics), Zombie and Daredevil (Marvel Comics character), Daredevil ...
. Initially, Foggy was portrayed as a deeply conflicted character, continuously caught between his strong vocational disagreements with Matt, their rivalry for the affections of
Karen Page, and his loyalty to his friend. Despite being a highly successful lawyer, he is also tormented by feelings of inferiority to his law partner. However, since the early 1980s he has often been reduced to
comic relief
Comic Relief is a British charity, founded in 1986 by the comedy scriptwriter Richard Curtis and comedian Sir Lenny Henry in response to the 1983–1985 famine in Ethiopia. The concept of Comic Relief was to get British comedians to make t ...
, and his down-to-earth,
everyman
The everyman is a stock character of fiction. An ordinary and humble character, the everyman is generally a protagonist whose benign conduct fosters the audience's identification with them.
Origin and history
The term ''everyman'' was used ...
lifestyle acts as a contrast to his grim superhero colleague.
For the first couple years of ''Daredevil'', Foggy's appearance greatly varied from issue to issue, though he was most commonly drawn as a trim, handsome, and neatly groomed young man. Since his first portrayal by
Gene Colan
Eugene Jules Colan (; September 1, 1926 – June 23, 2011)[Eugene Colan]
at the Social Security Death Index via ...
, in ''Daredevil'' #20, he has consistently been drawn as a short, slightly
pudgy man with a generally relaxed appearance.
Foggy was portrayed by
Jon Favreau
Jonathan Kolia Favreau ( ; born October 19, 1966) is an American actor and filmmaker. As an actor, Favreau has appeared in films such as ''Rudy (film), Rudy'' (1993), ''PCU (film), PCU'' (1994), ''Swingers (1996 film), Swingers'' (1996), ''Very ...
in the film ''
Daredevil'' (2003), and by
Elden Henson in television series of the
Marvel Cinematic Universe
The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on List of Marvel Cinematic Universe films, a series of superhero films produced by Marvel Studios. The films are based on characters that appe ...
, including ''
Daredevil'' (2015–2018), ''
The Defenders'' (2017), the
second season of ''
Jessica Jones
Jessica Campbell Jones-Cage, professionally known as Jessica Jones, is a superheroine appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Brian Michael Bendis and artist Michael Gaydos and first appea ...
'' (2018), the
second season of ''
Luke Cage
Lucas "Luke" Cage, born Carl Lucas and also known as Power Man, is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Archie Goodwin, George Tuska, Roy Thomas, and John Romita Sr. in 1972, he was the first Af ...
'' (2018), and the
first season of ''
Daredevil: Born Again'' (2025).
Publication history
Foggy Nelson first appeared in ''
Daredevil'' #1 (April 1964), and was created by
Stan Lee
Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber ; December 28, 1922 – November 12, 2018) was an American comic book author, writer, editor, publisher, and producer. He rose through the ranks of a family-run business called Timely Comics which later bec ...
and
Bill Everett
William Blake Everett (; May 18, 1917 – February 27, 1973) was an American comic book writer-artist best known for creating Namor the Sub-Mariner as well as co-creating Zombie (comics), Zombie and Daredevil (Marvel Comics character), Daredevil ...
.
Foggy Nelson received an entry in the ''
Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Update '89'' #5.
Fictional character biography
The Beginning
Foggy is
Matt Murdock's roommate while they study at
Columbia Law School
Columbia Law School (CLS) is the Law school in the United States, law school of Columbia University, a Private university, private Ivy League university in New York City.
The school was founded in 1858 as the Columbia College Law School. The un ...
. Matt protects Foggy against bullies and helps him study. When Matt begins dating
Elektra Natchios, Foggy disapproves, because he thinks she is dangerous. After Elektra leaves the university, Matt and Foggy transfer to
Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School (HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, Harvard Law School is the oldest law school in continuous operation in the United ...
. After graduating, Matt and Foggy open up a private law practice. They hire a secretary,
Karen Page, with whom both Matt and Foggy fall in love. Foggy soon realizes that Karen is in love with Matt, and sees him as only a friend, dealing a heavy wound to his ego. He is approached by Abner Jonas to be a third-party candidate for
district attorney
In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, county prosecutor, state attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or solicitor is the chief prosecutor or chief law enforcement officer represen ...
, and in a party given by Jonas, Foggy meets an old high-school classmate, Deborah Harris. He is smitten with her, and she returns his romantic interest. However, Daredevil uncovers that Jonas is secretly the criminal mastermind The Organizer, that Debbie is Jonas's lover, and that her flirtation with Foggy was solely a means to get him under their control. Foggy helps foil the Organizer's plans, and Debbie is taken to jail. Nelson is heartbroken and again turns his attentions to Karen Page.
Foggy, unaware of his partner's double life as a superhero, is suspicious about Matt's sudden and unexplained absences, and his frequent bruises. To avoid those suspicions, Murdock resorts to creating his "twin brother" Mike Murdock (Matt himself in disguise), faking his death, or asking someone else to wear the costume. To Foggy's dismay, Karen becomes as enamored of Mike Murdock as she is of his "brother" Matt. To further his frustration with Matt, despite Foggy's repeated protests that his preference is for corporate law, his partner favors taking on costumed supervillains as clients, occasionally even leaving Foggy no choice but to represent the supervillain at trial.
District attorney
Nelson is again approached to be a candidate for district attorney, this time without hidden agendas: he is very fond of the idea of being able to do something to fight crime actively, and sets himself to work with enthusiasm. Shortly after, Debbie Harris's jail term expires, and she immediately gets in touch with Foggy. She and Foggy start to date again, despite Foggy's fears that it would be bad for his campaign to date an ex-convict, as well as his doubts as to the motives for Debbie's interest in him. While dating her publicly for the first time since her incarceration, Debbie is ransomed to the Time Continuum by the Unholy trio, led by
the Exterminator. Foggy and Daredevil investigate, each on his own side. Foggy is made a prisoner by the Exterminator and Daredevil comes to the rescue. A fight ensues and there is an explosion, after which Foggy finds some rags of the DD uniform: it is then assumed that "Mike Murdock" has died. Debbie returns from the Time Continuum and she and Foggy resume their happy relationship.
There is a schism between Matt and Foggy, as due to Matt's troubled relationship with Karen, and his own troubles as Daredevil, he does not help Foggy in his campaign. Foggy feels abandoned and Matt is not able to explain without revealing his secret. However, Foggy wins the election, the two reconcile and Foggy offers Matt an opportunity to become assistant to the DA.
Later, Foggy is blackmailed by the mysterious Mr. Kline, and is forced by him to prosecute
Black Widow, who is defended by Matt. This again severs their longtime friendship and Matt leaves for
San Francisco
San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
with the Widow. They again reconcile when Foggy is badly wounded while investigating a criminal conspiracy by
Black Spectre, and Matt comes back to New York to help him in his fight against crime.
The Storefront
After losing the re-election for District Attorney to
Blake Tower (and a slurring campaign against him by
Jester
A jester, also known as joker, court jester, or fool, was a member of the household of a nobleman or a monarch kept to entertain guests at the royal court. Jesters were also travelling performers who entertained common folk at fairs and town ma ...
, who had earlier failed to coerce Foggy into ending his campaign for district attorney), Foggy resumes his career as counselor, again with Matt, in a free clinic called "The Storefront". Becky Blake, a law student, is later hired to work as the firm's secretary.
Foggy proposes to Debbie, and they are married.
Elektra is hired by the
Kingpin to assassinate Foggy. However, upon confronting Foggy, he recognizes her as "Matt's girl". Unable to kill Foggy after this, Elektra abandons her assignment, which leads to her death at the hands of
Bullseye.
The decline and fall of Nelson and Murdock
Foggy's marriage begins to go sour, as he is an easy going fellow whom his wife wants, unsuccessfully, to transform into a high socialite. The jaded Debbie begins having an affair with Micah Synn, chieftain of a savage tribe, and she coerces Foggy to lie in Synn's favor. An abusive brute, Synn later takes Debbie prisoner. After escaping, she immediately returns to Foggy, and he publicly admits his lies to denounce Synn's crimes. Despite this, their marriage is badly damaged and they eventually divorce.
In addition, Foggy's behavior in the Synn case damages the Nelson and Murdock firm's reputation, and Murdock loses interest in his work and devotes more time to his costumed career. Foggy cannot fight alone against the lack of clients and the cascading of bills, and the Nelson & Murdock premises are closed down.
[''Daredevil'' #225] Foggy is so depressed that he considers suicide, but after he is caught in a fight between the
Vulture
A vulture is a bird of prey that scavenges on carrion. There are 23 extant species of vulture (including condors). Old World vultures include 16 living species native to Europe, Africa, and Asia; New World vultures are restricted to Nort ...
and Daredevil, the immediacy of death makes him realize that he much prefers to be alive.
Following a bad breakup with Matt and a robbery of her apartment, Glorianna O'Breen turns to Foggy for comfort; he reassures her but rejects her romantic advances out of loyalty to Matt. At the same time, Matt is accused of paying a witness to perjure himself, and Foggy acts as his attorney. Despite a
frameup by the Kingpin himself, Foggy gets Matt released without jail time. After the trial, Matt disappears and the Kingpin, impressed by Foggy's performance at the trial, has him hired through one of his firms, Kelco. With Matt gone, Foggy begins dating Glorianna while working on an appeal to have Murdock's law license reinstated. As Kelco's attorney, Nelson defends the company against charges from a boy who was blinded by toxic waste they deposited in rivers. Glorianna is disillusioned with and eventually leaves him. Foggy quits his job with Kelco when he learns that the company is owned by the Kingpin. He and Matt are later reunited, and he helps Matt win back his law license.
When Daredevil's identity is outed to the press by an assistant of
Ben Urich
Benjamin "Ben" Urich () is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, usually as a supporting character in stories featuring Daredevil (Marvel Comics character), Daredevil and Spider-Man.
Urich is a invest ...
, Murdock fakes his death. Karen and Foggy later find Matt still alive, in a state of stupor, in his yellow Daredevil uniform but without the mask. Foggy finally realizes Matt's secret identity. They reconcile and become law partners again.
"Sharpe, Nelson & Murdock"
Rosalind Sharpe, a famous and controversial Boston attorney, offers for Nelson and Murdock to become her associates. It is later revealed that Rosalind Sharpe is Nelson's biological mother: she divorced her husband and abandoned her son in order to be able to pursue her career as a lawyer. It was Sharpe's career that enticed her son to become a lawyer.
Foggy starts dating
Liz Allan, remaining with her through such moments as the 'resurrection' of her father-in-law
Norman Osborn
Norman Virgil Osborn is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, he first appeared in ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' #14 (July 1964) as the first and best-known incarnation of th ...
. Later, the villain
Mysterio manipulates him into having an affair with another woman, and then makes it appear Nelson murdered the woman after the affair (which Foggy cannot remember clearly as he was drugged by Mysterio). Liz visits Foggy in prison, where he Foggy confesses to cheating on her, and she leaves him. After the machinations by Mysterio are disclosed, Foggy is set free, but he feels bad about having failed Liz, and does not attempt to resume the relationship.
[''Daredevil'' (vol. 2) #8]
Sharpe fires Foggy, as she does not want the murder affair to bring bad publicity to the firm. When Matt Murdock starts preparing Foggy's defense, she orders him to stand down, resulting in Matt quitting the firm out of disgust.
Foggy personally counsels superheroes on diverse occasions, such as when he takes the case of the superhero
Vance Astrovik, who killed his abusive father in a fit of rage. Foggy loses the case, as his opposition convinces the jury that Vance could have stopped his father without killing him. Other clients he personally represents are
Carol Danvers
Carol Susan Jane Danvers is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Roy Thomas and artist Gene Colan, the character first appeared as an officer in the United States Air Force and a colleagu ...
and the
Fantastic Four
The Fantastic Four, often abbreviated as FF, is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The team debuted in '' The Fantastic Four'' #1 ( cover-dated November 1961), helping usher in a new level of realism i ...
, to whom he recommends not to accept a buy offer for the FF estate by the Gideon Corporation (although Reed Richards ultimately decides to sell).
Nelson & Murdock ride again
In the aftermath of Karen Page's murder, Foggy and Matt find themselves without their women and without their jobs. Murdock finds out that he is the sole beneficiary of Karen's wealth. He proposes to Nelson to resume their partnership, using the money to build the new premises where Matt's old house — blown up by the Kingpin — had once been. Nelson responds with enthusiasm.
Rosalind Sharpe tries to contact Foggy to offer him work again, without success.
Matt is revealed to the world as Daredevil and eventually arrested. After Foggy goes to visit Matt in prison with private investigator
Dakota North, he is stabbed and seriously injured by several inmates. Foggy is placed in the
witness protection program
Witness protection is security provided to a threatened person providing testimonial evidence to the justice system, including defendants and other clients, before, during, and after trials, usually by police. While witnesses may only require p ...
, and officially declared dead sometime after the ambulance takes him away. Foggy recovers from his wounds and assumes a new identity. He attempts to escape in an effort to reunite with Matt, only to be captured by the
Mafia
"Mafia", as an informal or general term, is often used to describe criminal organizations that bear a strong similarity to the Sicilian Mafia, original Mafia in Sicily, to the Italian-American Mafia, or to other Organized crime in Italy, organiz ...
, who in turn are slaughtered by
ninja
A , or was a spy and infiltrator in pre-modern Japan. The functions of a ninja included siege and infiltration, ambush, reconnaissance, espionage, deception, and later bodyguarding.Kawakami, pp. 21–22 Antecedents may have existed as ear ...
s. They return him to his former captors, after informing him that they would be watching.
Foggy, fleeing from his life in protected custody, reaches Matt's home and they are reunited. Along with Becky Blake, Foggy successfully clears all of Matt's troubles with the Law and the
Bar. Murdock and Nelson ask Becky to join their firm as a new partner and move to new quarters, taking only referrals to avoid being easily located by Daredevil stalkers.
Nelson, Blake and Murdock
Foggy finds out that Matt made a deal with the Kingpin. Hurt that Matt would not even talk to him before making a deal with a man who has made both their lives miserable, he fires him from the law firm, effectively cutting Matt off from his normal life and making it easier for him to join The Hand. Foggy blames himself for Matt's going over the edge.
Foggy is later
disbarred due to
contempt of court
Contempt of court, often referred to simply as "contempt", is the crime of being disobedient to or disrespectful toward a court of law and its officers in the form of behavior that opposes or defies the authority, justice, and dignity of the co ...
. Foggy goes to visit the judge with Dakota, and they use a compromising photograph to force him to tell the truth about his and Dakota's recent misfortunes, and learn that the judge is on the Kingpin's payroll. Recognizing these actions were intended to get at Matt, Dakota decides the two of them need to locate Matt. Foggy Nelson arrives at the gates of the
Shadowland Fortress and tries to reach Matt verbally, but is ignored. Foggy scales the walls to reach Matt, where he is intercepted by
White Tiger
The white tiger (ashy tiger) is a leucistic morph of the tiger, typically the Bengal tiger. It is occasionally reported in the Indian wilderness. It has the typical black stripes of a tiger, but its coat is otherwise white or near-white, and ...
. She leads him to Daredevil. Matt decides to kill Foggy,
[''Daredevil'' #511] but he is "purged" of the demon controlling him by
Iron Fist.
[''Daredevil'' #512]
Foggy is reinstated as an attorney and moves his office to a new location since his previous office was burned down during the riots.
He has to run his business by himself after Becky Blake resigns.
Foggy helps
Black Panther
A black panther is the Melanism, melanistic colour variant of the leopard (''Panthera pardus'') and the jaguar (''Panthera onca''). Black panthers of both species have excess black pigments, but their typical Rosette (zoology), rosettes are al ...
, Matt's temporary replacement in
Hell's Kitchen
Hell's Kitchen, also known as Clinton, or Midtown West on real estate listings, is a neighborhood on the West Side of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, New York. It is considered to be bordered by 34th Street (or 41st Street) to the south, ...
, to establish a new identity for himself by providing him with false immigration papers. Matt returns to Hell's Kitchen and assures Foggy that he has found a new place to establish ''Nelson and Murdock'' and that he should be able fix his problems and get his law license back.
The new Nelson and Murdock
While Foggy and Matt start up their private business again, problems arise when the previous allegations of Matt Murdock being Daredevil are brought up during the first case. As a result, they begin training their clients on how they can represent themselves in court. However, Matt is eventually forced to leave New York for good when a case requires him to officially confirm his identity as Daredevil.
Post-''Secret Wars''
After the
reconstruction of reality, Matt assists the Purple Children – the children of his old foe the
Purple Man, who have inherited their father's powers – and in return, they erase all public knowledge that Matt Murdock is Daredevil. The only person Matt re-reveals his identity to is Foggy, who occasionally resents the pressure this puts him under.
Reception
In 2022, ''
CBR.com'' ranked Franklin Nelson 6th in their "10 Most Powerful Lawyers In Marvel Comics" list.
Other versions
1872
A
Wild West
The American frontier, also known as the Old West, and popularly known as the Wild West, encompasses the geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of American expansion in mainland North America that bega ...
-themed alternate universe variant of Foggy Nelson from the
Battleworld domain of the Valley of Doom makes a minor appearance in the ''
Secret Wars
''Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars'', commonly known as ''Secret Wars'', is a 12-issue American comic book Fictional crossover, crossover limited series published from May 1984 to April 1985 by Marvel Comics. The series was written by Jim Shooter ...
'' tie-in miniseries ''1872''. This version is a judge for the town of Timely.
''Marvel 1602''
An alternate universe variant of Foggy Nelson from Earth-311 makes minor appearances in ''
Marvel 1602
''Marvel 1602'', or simply ''1602'', is an eight-issue comic book limited series published in 2003 by Marvel Comics. The limited series was written by Neil Gaiman, penciled by Andy Kubert, and digitally painted by Richard Isanove; Scott McKowe ...
''. This version is a ship captain.
MC2
A possible future variant of Foggy Nelson from Earth-982 appears in
Marvel Comics 2
Marvel Comics 2 was an imprint from Marvel Comics whose comic books depict an alternative future timeline for the Marvel Universe. The imprint was spun off from the events of '' What If?'' #105 (February 1998), which was the first appearance of t ...
. By this time, this version married
Liz Allan and became a step-father to
Normie Osborn after Matt Murdock was murdered.
Ultimate Marvel
An alternate universe variant of Foggy Nelson from Earth-1610 appears in series set in the
Ultimate Marvel
Ultimate Marvel, later known as Ultimate Comics, was an imprint of comic books published by Marvel Comics, featuring reimagined and modernized versions of the company's superhero characters from the Ultimate Marvel Universe, later known as the ...
imprint. This version was Matthew Murdock's college roommate.
In other media
* Foggy Nelson appears in the film ''
Daredevil'' (2003), portrayed by
Jon Favreau
Jonathan Kolia Favreau ( ; born October 19, 1966) is an American actor and filmmaker. As an actor, Favreau has appeared in films such as ''Rudy (film), Rudy'' (1993), ''PCU (film), PCU'' (1994), ''Swingers (1996 film), Swingers'' (1996), ''Very ...
.
*
Foggy Nelson appears in television series set in the
Marvel Cinematic Universe
The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on List of Marvel Cinematic Universe films, a series of superhero films produced by Marvel Studios. The films are based on characters that appe ...
, portrayed by
Elden Henson. First appearing in ''
Daredevil'' (2015–2018), he makes subsequent appearances in ''
The Defenders'' (2017), the ''
Jessica Jones
Jessica Campbell Jones-Cage, professionally known as Jessica Jones, is a superheroine appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Brian Michael Bendis and artist Michael Gaydos and first appea ...
'' episode "AKA Sole Survivor" (2018), the ''
Luke Cage
Lucas "Luke" Cage, born Carl Lucas and also known as Power Man, is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Archie Goodwin, George Tuska, Roy Thomas, and John Romita Sr. in 1972, he was the first Af ...
'' episode "All Souled Out" (2018),
and the ''
Daredevil: Born Again'' episode "Heaven's Half Hour" (2025).
References
External links
Foggy Nelsonat Marvel.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nelson, Foggy
Characters created by Bill Everett
Characters created by Stan Lee
Comics characters introduced in 1964
Daredevil (Marvel Comics) characters
Fictional American lawyers
Fictional defense attorneys
Fictional district attorneys
Marvel Comics male characters
Marvel Comics sidekicks