Although Stick admitted Murdock might help him later in life, he never told him of the Chaste, Izo, or anything else regarding his past. Stick intended for the boy to integrate his new senses into his everyday life, but Matt, whose father was killed by gangsters, soon took to anonymously harassing criminals, wearing a mask to hide his identity. When Murdock inadvertently almost killed a young prostitute, Stick deemed him too undisciplined to serve the Chaste and departed.
At college, Matt fell in love with Elektra Natchios, herself an accomplished martial artist in whom Stick saw the same potential he had initially seen in Murdock. He also saw the possibility for great evil, however, and he warned Murdock to stay away from her. Murdock ignored Stick’s advice, but the relationship ended anyway when Elektra’s father, ambassador Hugo Natchios, died while being held hostage, and she broke up with Matt. While tracking those responsible for her father’s death, she was approached by Stick, who warned her the path of vengeance and hate might destroy her. She ignored Stick, and tracked the man who hired her father’s abductors to a church where she killed him, but his henchman overpowered her and almost killed her before a Hand assassin killed him instead.
Following Elektra’s departure, Stick confronted the Hand agent, who disintegrated before him. Now aware the Hand also realized Elektra’s potential, a troubled Stick returned to the Chaste retreat. Months later, Elektra, still rebuilding her life, climbed the Chaste’s mountain in an effort to reach the retreat, a typical test of a would-be acolyte’s drive. She faltered near the top but was assisted by Stick, who, despite his misgivings, allowed her to study with the group.
A year later, Stick concluded that, despite both his and Elektra’s best efforts, she remained too driven by anger, and he sent her away. Thinking to prove herself, Elektra joined the Hand, intending to use their secrets against them, but the ninjas corrupted her, and she served them for years before becoming a freelance assassin. Stick returned to New York, where Murdock, now a lawyer, had formed a firm with classmate Franklin “Foggy” Nelson. Stick warned Matt against complacency, reminding him he had failed to meet his mentor’s standards.
Following a Hand-planted explosion meant for Foggy, Matt temporarily lost his radar sense. He found Stick back in New York, eking out a living as a pool hustler. Forcing Daredevil to face his own insecurities via apparent telepathic projections, Stick guided him in redeveloping his radar sense. Stick, realizing a showdown between Chaste and Hand was imminent, remained in New York to prepare.