Elektra (character)

Creation signing a copy of the Elektra comics series during an appearance at Midtown Comics Comics scholar P.L. Thomas points out that Elektra "presents many problems for a unified Marvel Universe because her origin and existence have been refashioned often despite her minor status." Her different appearances often present very different characterizations for her or re-work her background in fragmented ways, even in the original stories about her written by Frank Miller. Elektra was created by Miller, who based the character's appearance on Lisa Lyon, a female bodybuilder. Miller and Janson also sometimes modeled her appearance on the actress Bo Derek. Miller has said that he designed the character around Electra, a character in Greek tragedy, and the Electra complex theorized by Carl Jung. In an interview, Miller says that the character was inspired by Sand Seref, a femme fatale character in Will Eisner's series, The Spirit, and that he had adapted Sand Seref's first appearance but made it harsher. Some critics have compared the character to Catwoman, who has a similar ambivalent relationship with Batman, although Elektra is portrayed as much more dangerous and violent. Another comics scholar, Daniel Binns, compares Elektra to Wonder Woman, who also has a complex backstory that has often been revised, links to Greek mythology, and a complex gender identity that combines strongly feminine characteristics with traditionally masculine activities. 1980s Elektra first appeared in Daredevil #168 (January 1981). Miller intended this issue, which was essentially a filler story, to be Elektra's only appearance. She instead became a frequently appearing villain in Daredevil, until she was murdered by Bullseye in issue #181 (April 1982). She was resurrected shortly after, but the story contains a narrative note which indicates that Daredevil must never encounter her again. Miller collaborated with Bill Sienkiewicz on Elektra: Assassin, a surrealistic, satirical miniseries that ran from 1986 to 1987. Mary Jo Duffy, the editor who initiated the project, writes that Sienkiewicz was the chosen artist because of his skills: "the fine drafting, the loony caricatures, and the high-style infusion of sex-and-drugs-and-rock'n'roll." In the story, Elektra discovers that a US presidential candidate intends to launch a nuclear war. In opposing him, Electra enters into a complex and ambiguous relationship with John Garrett, a S.H.I.E.L.D. cyborg. The series concludes with the successful election of the candidate, but the replacement of his mind by another character whose motives are ambiguous. While the story initially had an unclear relationship to the larger Marvel canon, aspects of the story were later incorporated into mainstream continuity. The art for the story is highly experimental; as one critic, Stefan Hall, remarks, "Sienkiewicz uses collage, oil painting, mimeograph, and other artistic forms generally uncommon in comic books and graphic novels." Hall points out that the mixed-media approach draws from Robert Rauschenberg and the caricatures of main characters are indebted to Ralph Steadman. The series appeared the same year as Miller's highly influential The Dark Knight Returns, and shares tone and themes. 1990s In 1990, Elektra appeared in another Miller creation, Elektra Lives Again. This is an avant-garde story that takes place outside normal Marvel continuity. It won an Eisner Award for "Best Graphic Album: New". In the narrative, Daredevil is haunted by dreams about Elektra's past, death and potential resurrection. The story largely takes place in dreams and has been described as surreal. Aesthetically, the graphic novel also anticipates Miller's later work in Sin City. In 1993, Miller revisited the character in the miniseries Daredevil: The Man Without Fear. Taking place in the past before Matt Murdock took on the Daredevil identity, the story elaborates the relationship between Murdock and Elektra Natchios. This version of the character contrasts with the earlier depiction of their relationship in Miller's Daredevil stories of the 1980s, in which Elektra is innocent as a young woman; in The Man Without Fear, Elektra is already aggressive and unhinged even in her initial romance with Murdock. After over a decade's absence from regular continuity, she reappeared in the Daredevil "Fall from Grace" story line (#324–327, Jan.–April 1994). The art was by Scott McDaniel. Daredevil writer D. G. Chichester recounted that he and editor Ralph Macchio had discussed the character's return several times: This upset Frank Miller, who claimed that Marvel had previously promised him that the character would not be used in any publication. Chichester's story establishes that Elektra: Assassin is a hallucinatory distortion of canonical events in which Elektra took part, in the mind of the cyborg Garrett. An four-issue Elektra miniseries was published in 1995 (March–June), with the cover indicating the subtitle Root of Evil. As with the 1994 appearances in Daredevil, the miniseries was produced by the creative team of Chichester and McDaniel. It was not particularly well-received. Electra served as a supporting character in Wolverine, written by Larry Hama (in #100–106, April–November 1996). The Wolverine story arc establishes that Elektra has been re-trained and rehabilitated by Stick and is now morally good. While she remains unusually ruthless, this is the first time she takes on a heroic role. As a spin-off of this storyline, in 1996 she starred in an ongoing series that lasted nineteen issues, initially written by the same author along with Peter Milligan and illustrated by Mike Deodato Jr. The series establishes that Elektra was resurrected by the Chaste, the adversaries of the Hand. The series has a much lighter tone, sometimes including parody of romance comics, and Elektra is much more virtuous. The narrative declares, "She was once a wild-eyed assassin ... of course, she's a completely different person now." However, she struggles with a tendency to relapse into her earlier, more indiscriminately violent, tendencies. Elektra briefly resumes her relationship with Daredevil in this series, although he is unfaithful to his primary girlfriend at that time, Karen Page. 2000s Elektra appeared in a second self-titled ongoing series that lasted 22 issues, from 2001 to 2003. While initially written by Brian Michael Bendis, the series was primarily written (after issue #6) by Greg Rucka. This series ignores the events of the previous series written by Milligan, and Elektra returns to her earlier morally-ambiguous, tormented characterization. In 2002, Rucka also wrote a novella featuring the character along with Wolverine, titled Elektra and Wolverine: The Redeemer. While this is a prose narrative rather than a graphic novel, it includes extensive illustrations by Yoshitaka Amano. The status of the story with Marvel mainstream canon is unclear; the characters do not appear to have met before, and do not make reference to earlier stories in the Hama and Milligan series in which they interact. In an interview concerning his approach to these characters, Rucka comments on Elektra's allure as tied to her mysterious and enigmatic nature, and states that for this reason she is very difficult to write or to identify with. He describes it as a compelling emotional detachment, and contrasts this to Wolverine's demeanor, which he sees as warmer. Beginning in Ultimate Spider-Man #51 (February 2004), an alternate version of Elektra serves as a recurring adversary in Brian Michael Bendis's acclaimed re-interpretation of Spider-Man in the Ultimate Marvel timeline. In October of the same year, this alternate version of the character featured in her own five-issue miniseries written by Mike Carey and illustrated by Salvador Larroca, with Daredevil as a supporting character. Also in 2004, Elektra appears as a prominent leading character in Mark Millar's Wolverine storyline "Enemy of the State," with art by John Romita Jr. (who previously drew Elektra in the Man without Fear miniseries a decade earlier). In this storyline, she works with SHIELD to help Wolverine fight the Hand. In the course of events, she appears to be re-brainwashed by the Hand, although this is revealed to be a ruse on her part. However, in order to maintain the deception, she kills a number of SHIELD agents in cold blood. In the mainstream Marvel universe, Elektra encounters Matt Murdock again in Daredevil vol. 2 #77 through #81 (November 2005 - March 2006), written by Bendis and illustrated by Alex Maleev. In this storyline, she arrives to warn Murdock about Kingpin's public revelation and confirmation of his secret identity. In 2007, in the Secret Invasion storyline also written by Bendis, Elektra is kidnapped and replaced by a Skrull, an alien being who can shapeshift to impersonate others. This Skrull is then killed, and the true Elektra is restored to Earth. In 2009, Elektra re-appears after her kidnapping by the Skrulls in the miniseries Dark Reign: Elektra by Zeb Wells. 2010s In the Shadowland series of 2010, written by Andy Diggle, Elektra fights Daredevil, who has now himself been corrupted by the Hand. In 2013, Wells returned to the character in a sequel to Dark Reign, in which Elektra again teams up with Wolverine, this time against Kingpin. This occurs in a story arc of Savage Wolverine. The same year, Elektra appeared as a member of the Thunderbolts in a new series. Elektra featured in a third ongoing series from 2014 to 2015, written by Haden Blackman. This was illustrated in a more surreal, psychedelic style reminiscent of Bill Sienkiewicz's depiction of the character in the 1980s. The primary artist, Mike del Mundo, affirms that his approach is an homage to Elektra: Assassin. Leah Bernstein, a comic-book critic, acclaims this as the best of the Elektra series. Blackman affirms that the character is difficult to write, because it is hard to avoid what he describes as "the stigma of being 'Daredevil's dead girlfriend.'" Nonetheless he concludes that upon completion this was the story and character he is "most proud of writing." She appeared in a self-titled five-issue miniseries in 2017. In 2019, Elektra featured as part of the Savage Avengers, along with Wolverine, Punisher, Venom, Brother Voodoo, and Conan the Barbarian. Elektra again encounters Daredevil in a long story arc written by Chip Zdarsky, beginning with Daredevil (2019) #10 (July 2019). As a result of the spell cast to maintain Daredevil's secret identity, Elektra has separated her memories of Matt Murdock and Daredevil and thinks of them as two separate men. 2020s Elektra continues to feature in Chip Zdarsky's run of Daredevil. While Daredevil is incarcerated, Elektra decides that she needs to impress him with her commitment to protecting innocent people in Hell's Kitchen. In order to do this, she becomes a new Daredevil, making a new costume for herself that modifies the original. She later joins forces with the original Daredevil and they work together as a team up to the conclusion of Zdarsky's Daredevil series with issue #36 in February 2022. In her new persona, Elektra is also the main protagonist of Zdarsky's three-issue miniseries Daredevil: Woman without Fear, the first issue of which appeared in March 2022. In this story, she fights Kraven the Hunter. Elektra and Daredevil co-star in the ''Devil's Reign'' miniseries and Marvel event, which concluded in May 2022. Subsequently, they are the leading protagonists in Zdarsky's new Daredevil series, which concluded in April 2023. In 2021, Elektra also appeared in a new mini-series titled Elektra: Black, White and Blood. Largely outside of mainstream continuity, each issue features a different writer and generally in the horror comics genre. Authors include Charles Soule, Peter David, Ann Nocenti, Peach Momoko, and Kevin Eastman. ==Personality and characteristics==

Elektra is an unusually ruthless antihero and femme fatale. Scholar Paul Young defines some of her defining initial characteristics as including her succinct speech patterns, her "athletic, eroticized body," her father complex, and her lethal weapons and fighting prowess. He notes that another critic, Larry Rodman, memorably compared her to a "psychotic swimsuit model." Young points out that Elektra combines the femme fatale of film noir with chopsocky martial arts films. The character is also associated with hypersexuality, particularly in the 1993 Man without Fear miniseries. She shows few compunctions about killing her adversaries, and in some stories even kills innocent people. However, she maintains a strong affection for Matt Murdock and, later, other people she admires. She is often morally conflicted and attempts to use her skills for good. Miller says that Elektra's violent disposition originates from the trauma of the loss of her father, and that he meant the character to illustrate Jung's Electra complex: "She was a young woman who had her sexual interest centered on her father, and just as she was transferring this to another man, her father is killed." Miller argues that this initial anger led to corruption by other forces (the Hand and the Kingpin). In his view she is not essentially good, but rather "one of the villains who's got a weak streak in them." but in subsequent stories her moral character continues to vacillate. == Fictional character biography ==

Commentators indicate that Elektra's backstory and biography is often presented inconsistently. Elektra was born in Greece to Hugo Natchios and his wife Christina. She had an older brother named Orestez. Elektra's mother, Christina, is murdered by terrorists, but she gives premature birth to Elektra just before dying. In one version of events, Orestez hires assassins to kill their mother; in another, she is killed during the Greek Civil War. Hugo then hired a sensei to teach her the martial arts. She became a black belt in karate at age 12. One story suggests that Elektra has memories of experiencing childhood sexual abuse by her father. Hugo Natchios eventually serves as a Greek ambassador to the United States. Nineteen-year-old Elektra attends Columbia University in New York City. There, Elektra began dating classmate Matt Murdock. A year later, Elektra and her father were kidnapped by terrorists. A rescue attempt by Murdock went wrong, and Hugo was gunned down. Elektra lost faith and hope. She quit Columbia and fled to China to study martial arts. Stick, a member of the benevolent Chaste organization, attempted to train her himself. Elektra then assembles a team to fight the Snakeroot, an offshoot of the Hand. After defeating them, she visits her father's grave. Elektra reverts to her earlier profession as an assassin. Eventually, she is hired by S.H.I.E.L.D. when Wolverine is brainwashed by the Hand. Elektra is initially recruited to defeat Wolverine; she feigns an alliance with the Hand and crashes a S.H.I.E.L.D. helicarrier, killing many agents. Elektra eventually joins forces with Wolverine and teaches him to reject his conditioning and fight back against the Hand, as she had learned to do. Elektra is then attacked by a double, seemingly identical to her. This was a Skrull, a member of an alien species of shape-shifters; they capture her and replaced her with a double, who again joined the Hand. The Skrulls torture Elektra and perform experiments on her to try to learn how she had risen from the dead. Elektra eventually escaped, and her double was killed; she is then briefly incarcerated by Norman Osborn. Daredevil becomes corrupted by the Hand, and constructed a fortress called Shadowland. Pretending to join him, Elektra infiltrates Shadowland. Elektra is eventually able to help Murdock to redeem himself and extricate himself from the control of the Hand's demon. S.H.I.E.L.D. agents seeking revenge try to hunt Elektra down, but she escapes them. She joins a team assembled by Thunderbolt Ross, the Thunderbolts. She works together with Flash Thompson, the Punisher, and Deadpool. She begins a romantic relationship with the Punisher. She discovers that her brother Orestez, who she had believed was dead, had become a terrorist leader; the Punisher eventually executes him, after Elektra is unable to do so. Elektra works together with Rogue and the Avengers to stop the Hulk when he is also brainwashed by the Hand. She also joins a new team, the Savage Avengers, which includes Wolverine, the Punisher, Brother Voodoo, Conan the Barbarian, and Venom, who continue to fight a new manifestation of the Hand. The Purple Children apply magic to erase the knowledge of Daredevil's secret identity from the world, so Elektra comes to believe that Daredevil and Matt Murdock are two separate former lovers of hers. She enters into a new alliance with him. == Abilities and equipment ==

Elektra's primary abilities are a strong knowledge of martial arts and weaponry. Elektra learned ancient martial arts of China, Siam, and Japan. She is a master combatant with the Okinawan sai, her usual weapon of choice. Elektra is an Olympic-level athlete, Elektra also has the ability to "throw" her mind into those of others. For instance, she was able to track down her enemy, Ken Wind, by temporarily "borrowing" people's minds and acting through them while she hunted around for her prey. This temporary mind control enables her to metaphorically sniff out the psyche, or intent, of her targets. She can see glimpses of future events across precognitive visions. Elektra's signature weapon is her sai, a three-pointed melee weapon. As Miller describes: == Themes and motifs ==

Elektra stories tend to emphasize her characteristics as a sex symbol and femme fatale. For example, in the 1996 ongoing series she speaks of the "fevered desires" and "dark, sensual fantasies" she inspires in men. The Frank Miller stories in particular also explore madness, sadism, death, and mourning. The Elektra: Assassin miniseries is a satire on American culture and politics, in which idealistic justifications for US policy have hidden, obscene motives of dominance, lust, and self-destruction. Comics scholar Stefan Hall compares the work to Frank Miller's other major work of the same year, The Dark Knight Returns, pointing out that both works emphasize the violence of the Cold War. Elektra: Assassin depicts violence to a hyperbolic degree; Hall says it recalls Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange. == Supporting characters==

Elektra was initially a supporting character for Daredevil, as an early girlfriend and an antagonist. He often appears in stories in which she is the main protagonist. She has a continuing on-again, off-again romantic relationship with him. She also commonly appears in a stories featuring Wolverine, who at one point refers to her as a "kindred spirit." She also sometimes works together with Nick Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D. She also had a brief relationship with the Punisher. She has been a member of two teams, the Thunderbolts and the Savage Avengers. Her primary antagonists and enemies include the Hand and Bullseye, who at one time succeeded in murdering her (although she was resurrected). == Cultural impact and legacy ==

J. Andrew Deman describes Elektra as "an iconic Marvel warrior woman." Following her example, the popular character Psylocke of the X-Men adopted a similar costume and fighting style, in 1989. As with Elektra, the Hand trains and shapes Psylocke into a ninja assassin. Elektra was one of the primary inspirations for the Bad girl art trend of the 1990s in American comics. Doug Petrie, a writer for Buffy the Vampire Slayer, credits Elektra as the inspiration for the character of Faith. In his view, "In a different, teen, punkier context, Faith is so much like Elektra." == Other versions ==

There are a variety of alternate versions of Elektra in the Marvel Universe. In the story "What If Elektra Had Lived?", Frank Miller imagines what would have happened if she had not been killed by Bullseye; the story concludes with Elektra and Daredevil running away together. An alternate version of Elektra features in the Ultimate Marvel universe, particularly the titles Ultimate Daredevil and Elektra, Ultimate Elektra, and Ultimate Spider-Man. A more "realistic" version of Elektra appears in the PunisherMAX series, from Marvel's MAX imprint. This version of the character is Japanese: the Hand lends her services as a bodyguard to the Kingpin, especially to protect him from the Punisher. She also becomes the Kingpin's lover. It is revealed that Elektra was secretly hired by Kingpin's ex-wife Vanessa to assassinate him for failing to prevent the murder of their son Richard. It is also revealed that she is in a lesbian relationship with her. The character is eventually killed by the Hand. == In other media ==

Television as Elektra as she appears in Daredevil (2015–2018) Elektra appears in Marvel's Netflix television series, portrayed by Élodie Yung as an adult. Lily Chee portrays a younger Elektra in flashbacks. • First appearing in the second season of Daredevil (2016), this version was trained by Stick from childhood until the Chaste deemed her too dangerous and he had her adopted by Hugo and Christina Natchios to keep her safe. While in college, she met and dated Matt Murdock. In the present, Stick sends her back to New York City to make him return to his side and help defeat the Hand. Though she falls in love with him, they break up after she fails to make Murdock kill Roscoe Sweeney for killing his father years prior. Murdock attempts to reconcile with her by convincing her to leave Stick and become her own person, but she seeks revenge on Stick after one of his assassins attacks her. When Stick gets kidnapped by the Hand, Elektra and Murdock work together to find him, discovering she was destined to become the Hand's leader "Black Sky" in the process, though he helps her choose her own path. • Elektra appears in The Defenders. Revived and now working for the Hand as a brainwashed assassin, she is tasked with killing Chaste members and anyone who can threaten their plans, running afoul of Danny Rand, Colleen Wing, and Jessica Jones in the process. When Murdock, Rand, Jones, and Luke Cage join forces to form the Defenders and combat the Hand, Elektra is sent to attack them, but is defeated by Rand. Following this, she slowly regains her memories, but kills Stick, kidnaps Rand, kills the Hand's leader Alexandra Reid to assume control of the group, and manipulates Rand into helping her unearth ancient caverns filled with dragon skeletons said to contain the secret to eternal life. After the Defenders rescue Rand and set explosives in the Hand's headquarters, Murdock stays behind to reach Elektra before they share a kiss and disappear in the explosion. While Murdock survives, Elektra's fate is left ambiguous. Film as Elektra as she appears in Daredevil (2003) • Elektra appears in the 20th Century Fox film Daredevil (2003), portrayed by Jennifer Garner. This version is the daughter of billionaire Nikolas Natchios, who had her trained in martial arts after she witnessed her mother's death at a young age. In the present, she encounters and falls in love with Matt Murdock before witnessing Nikolas' death. Initially assuming Daredevil was the culprit, she attacks him, only to learn he is Murdock. Realizing Bullseye is her father's killer, she confronts him, but is fatally stabbed, left for dead, and dies in Murdock's arms. • Elektra appears in a self-titled spin-off film (2005), portrayed again by Jennifer Garner. In this film, it is revealed that she was once a martial arts prodigy called the "Treasure". Following her death, Stick resurrected her and trained her in Kimagure, which grants the practitioner precognition and the ability to resurrect the dead. Due to her rage and fear of seeing her mother's killer however, she is expelled from Stick's training compound and becomes a contract killer. Years later, she finds herself protecting a target she was meant to kill but became acquainted with, Mark Miller, and his daughter Abby Miller, the current "Treasure", from the Hand. • Following her previous film appearances, Elektra's film rights reverted to Marvel Studios in 2014 and became available for use in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Garner would eventually reprise her role as Elektra in the MCU film Deadpool & Wolverine (2024). After being banished by the Time Variance Authority (TVA) to the Void, she joins a group called the "Resistance" in rebelling against its ruler Cassandra Nova. Video games • Elektra makes a cameo appearance in Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter as one of Apocalypse's prisoners. • Elektra appears as a boss in the Daredevil (2003) tie-in game as a brainwashed servant of the Kingpin until Daredevil eventually frees her. • Elektra appears in a self-titled mobile game. • Elektra appears as a playable character in Marvel Nemesis: Rise of the Imperfects, voiced by Jani Jakovac. • Elektra appears as a playable character in Marvel: Ultimate Alliance, voiced by Gabrielle Carteris. • Elektra appears as a boss, later unlockable character in Marvel Avengers Alliance. • Elektra appears as a playable character in Lego Marvel Super Heroes, voiced by Laura Bailey. This version works for the Kingpin. • Elektra appears as a playable character in Marvel Heroes, voiced by Kathryn Cressida. • Elektra appears as a playable character in Marvel: Future Fight. • A Marvel Noir-inspired incarnation of Elektra named Eliza appears as a playable character in Lego Marvel Super Heroes 2. • Elektra appears as a playable character in Marvel Strike Force. • Elektra appears as a playable character in Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order, voiced again by Kathryn Cressida. • Elektra appears in Marvel Snap. Miscellaneous • Elektra appears in the Marvel Comics Super Heroes collection of commemorative postage-stamps. • Elektra appears in a Marvel-licensed slot machine. Collected editions Ultimate Marvel Intercompany crossovers Elektra has been featured in crossovers with characters from other publishing companies: • Elektra/Cyblade one-shot (Marvel Comics / Top Cow Productions, 1997) • Witchblade/Elektra one-shot (Top Cow Productions / Marvel Comics, 1997) == See also ==