Elektra (character)


Elektra Natchios is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Frank Miller, the character first appeared in Daredevil #168. She is a love interest of the superhero Daredevil, but her violent nature and mercenary lifestyle divide the two.
The character is a highly trained assassin of Greek descent who wields a pair of sai as her trademark weapons. Elektra is one of Frank Miller's best-known creations, but subsequent writers' use of her is controversial as Marvel had originally promised to refrain from reviving the character without Miller's permission. She has also appeared as a supporting character of the X-Men's Wolverine and in other series and mini-series, as well as adaptations for the screen.
In the 2003 film Daredevil and its 2005 spin-off, Elektra, the character is portrayed by Jennifer Garner. Élodie Yung portrayed the character in the second season of Marvel's Daredevil and The Defenders for the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Publication history

Created by Frank Miller, Elektra first appeared in Daredevil #168. Miller initially based the character's appearance on Lisa Lyon, a female bodybuilder. Miller originally intended this issue, which was essentially a filler story, to be Elektra's only appearance, but she instead became a frequently appearing villain in Daredevil until her death in issue #181. She was resurrected shortly after, but the story contained a narrative note which indicates that Daredevil must never encounter her again.
After over a decade's absence, she reappeared in Daredevil #324–327, and went on to a brief stint as a supporting character in Wolverine. Daredevil writer D. G. Chichester recounted that he and editor Ralph Macchio had
This upset Frank Miller, who claimed that Marvel had previously promised him that the character would not be used in any publication. She has since appeared in two eponymous ongoing series and several mini-series.
Elektra appears in the 2012 Thunderbolts series by Daniel Way and Steve Dillon.

Fictional character biography

Family and early life

Elektra was born on a Greek island near the Aegean Sea to Hugo Kostas Natchios and his wife Christina Natchios. She had an older brother named Orestez Natchios.
Two contradictory accounts of her family history have been given. In Elektra: Root of Evil #1–4, Christina is killed by assassins hired by Orestez, while in Elektra #18, she is killed by an insurrectionist during the Greek Civil War. In both accounts, she gives premature birth to Elektra just before dying.
When a nine-year-old Elektra was assaulted by kidnappers, the men were all killed by Orestez, who had grown into an accomplished martial artist after leaving home. Orestez advised his father that Elektra needed to learn self-defense. Hugo hired a sensei to teach her the martial arts.
In #1, the adult Elektra has vague memories of being raped by her father as a five-year-old. Years of counseling and medication had convinced her this was a false memory, but the doubt remained. Elektra grew up close to her father but was plagued by dark visions and voices with no known source. She occasionally reacted to them with self-harm. Her father eventually sent her away to psychotherapy to become more stable. It was uncertain whether Elektra actually became more stable or merely appeared to be.

Activities as an adult

Hugo Natchios eventually served as a Greek ambassador to the United States. Nineteen-year-old Elektra attended 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 Matt went wrong, and Hugo Natchios was gunned down. Elektra lost faith and hope. She quit Columbia and returned to China to study martial arts. Stick, a member of the benevolent organization called the Chaste, recognized the darkness in her soul and attempted to train her himself, but she ultimately sided with the Hand, a sect of mystical ninja who trained her as an assassin. She later broke away from them and became an independent agent, and in this role she again encountered Matt Murdock, who was now active as Daredevil. She defeated Daredevil in her mission to kill the criminal Alarich Wallenquist. However, she failed her assignment, and Daredevil had to save her from being killed by Eric Slaughter, revealing his secret identity to her in the process. Although the pair worked together to fight the Hand, they also came into conflict frequently.
Elektra later battled the Hand alongside Daredevil and Gladiator. She then battled Kirigi.
She soon became the chief assassin in the employ of New York City's premier crime lord, the Kingpin. She attempted to kill Daredevil after he tried to stop her from terrorizing Ben Urich. The Kingpin then assigned her to kill Matt Murdock's partner, Franklin "Foggy" Nelson. When Nelson recognized Elektra as Matt's college girlfriend, she was unable to kill him.
Elektra was fatally stabbed by Bullseye with one of her own sai in a battle over which of them would be the Kingpin's assassin. Elektra managed to crawl to Daredevil's house before dying in his arms as Bullseye watched the two, hidden among a crowd that had gathered to see what was going on. Later, members of The Hand stole her body and attempted to resurrect her. Daredevil, with the assistance of Stone, a member of Stick's order, intervened, defeating The Hand ninja. Daredevil then tried to revive Elektra himself. Although his attempt failed, it did have the effect of purifying Elektra's soul. Elektra's body subsequently disappeared, as did Stone.
Later, Stone somehow resurrected Elektra and then sent her to aid the X-Man Wolverine, at a time when he had been physically and mentally regressed to a bestial form. She helped retrain him to the point where he could think and vocalize as a human once more, and spent time with him thereafter as he returned to his normal form, including taking him with her on a return to her ancestral home.
Some time after her partnership with Wolverine ended, it was revealed that when Elektra was resurrected by Stone, Elektra's evil aspect had been physically split apart from her in its own body as a consequence of the ritual performed by Daredevil. Her darker half, calling itself Erynys, fought Elektra and was killed by her, thus returning the dark side to Elektra's soul.
She was hired by Nick Fury to assassinate Saddam Abed Dassam, the leader of Iraq who was in league with HYDRA, and retrieve the Scorpio Key from them. Fury hired her as a way to avoid accountability in global political circles. Along the way HYDRA tried to hire her, an offer she refused. They then set the Silver Samurai on to her and it appeared she killed him though he appeared alive and well in other comics. When she eventually obtained the Key, she refused to give it to Fury, believing that he could not be trusted with such a powerful weapon. She instead gave it to the police officer who had killed her father stating that he had a debt to her and he would not let her down.

Wolverine: Enemy of the State

Elektra worked with S.H.I.E.L.D.
HYDRA and The Hand joined forces, killing off various heroes and resurrecting them into their possessed warriors, including the X-Man Wolverine, who became their killing machine. Based on her relationship with Logan and her ties to the Hand, Nick Fury hired Elektra to lead the mission, paying her in excess of $200,000, more money in one day than the yearly salary of the President of the United States. She worked to stop Wolverine from killing others as well as to try to turn him back to his normal self. During a fight with The Hand, Elektra was killed and resurrected as a Hand warrior, eventually becoming their leader. Along with the X-Man Northstar and other superhumans killed and resurrected by the Hand, Elektra attacked Nick Fury, injuring him badly and causing the destruction of a S.H.I.E.L.D. helicarrier.
Thanks to S.H.I.E.L.D., Wolverine eventually came to his senses and wanted revenge. During a fight with Elektra, she mentally spoke to him, using new abilities given to her by the Hand. She explained that being killed by The Hand was all part of a plan she had from the beginning. She explained that she had been resurrected by The Hand and infiltrated the organization, making them believe they had been successful in resurrecting her as a brainwashed warrior. She told him that they would take The Hand and HYDRA down together. They fought off many ninja and were victorious. Gorgon, however, attacked Elektra and threw off her mental blocks, enabling him to read her thoughts and see where Fury was being treated for his injuries. Gorgon teleported, with Elektra, to kill Fury. When they arrived, Elektra ordered the S.H.I.E.L.D. soldiers to attack. Gorgon used his power on her neck and she collapsed. Wolverine eventually used Gorgon's own powers against him, defeating him.
In an email to Kitty Pryde, Nick Fury told her that Elektra had survived, but was missing and was probably in Eastern Europe, creating her own militia group, which she intended to be her own version of The Hand. He also told Kitty that Elektra was no threat... so far. It was unknown where Elektra really was or what her plans were, but it was during the time following the destruction of the helicarrier that she was abducted by Skrulls and replaced with an imposter.

Daredevil and the Kingpin

She resurfaced to help Daredevil with a situation with the Kingpin. The crime lord, in exchange for his freedom, offered the FBI irrefutable evidence that Matt Murdock was Daredevil.
It was revealed that Elektra actually helped Kingpin gain all the needed information back when she was Daredevil's enemy, and she returned because she felt an obligation to help Matt out of the trouble for which she felt responsible. It was also revealed by the Black Widow that Elektra is now the leader of The Hand.
Daredevil meets up with Elektra, the Black Widow, and the new White Tiger in front of the building that holds the "Murdock Papers". They intended to retrieve the papers before the FBI could get there, but were suddenly attacked by Bullseye. Daredevil and Elektra fought the villain and, after a lengthy and bloody battle, won. However, Daredevil was suddenly shot by Paladin and was left bleeding profusely in Elektra's arms. Elektra then takes Matt to the Night Nurse, but insists that The Hand should cure him. Black Widow appears and objects. While Elektra and Black Widow fight, The Hand heals Matt Murdock.
Outside the Night Nurse's medical office, reporters and police gather. Elektra then jumps out the side window, along with The Hand to drive off the police and FBI. She gets in a quarrel with Luke Cage, and quickly exits the scene at Matt's request.
It was later revealed that this Elektra was actually a Skrull and not the real Elektra.

Replacement by Skrulls

Elektra seemingly reappears, appearing to be corrupted by the Hand. She kills, resurrects, and imprisons the vigilante Maya Lopez, intending to use her as a weapon. The New Avengers rescue Lopez and she ends up stabbing Elektra to death. However, upon her death it is revealed that "Elektra" is actually a Skrull in disguise; its death indicates that the Skrulls have become undetectable to even the heightened senses of New Avengers members Spider-Man, Wolverine, and Doctor Strange. The corpse is given to Iron Man by Spider-Woman.
Mighty Avengers #16 reveals that Elektra was selected to be replaced by a Skrull imposter named Siri. She was targeted by several Skrull impostors while staying in Japan, however, Elektra fought and killed most of these Skrulls, before being blindsided and severely beaten by a Super Skrull manifesting Invisible Woman's invisibility and Colossus' organic steel armor. A Skrull named Pagon took Elektra's place since Siri was killed by Elektra. Pagon's death was planned all along, being their major "reveal" of their intent to take over the world's superheroes.
The real Elektra was revealed to be alive upon one of the Skrull Ships and was released during the final battle between the heroes and the Skrulls. Iron Man immediately orders her held in protective custody at S.H.I.E.L.D.

Dark Reign

Being the only Skrull captive showing signs of experimentation and torture, Elektra finds herself weakened by multiple injuries. Norman Osborn orders her studied and monitored to obtain information as to why this was the case.
Paladin breaks into H.A.M.M.E.R. headquarters intending to kill Elektra for $82 million. She overpowers Paladin and chokes him by spitting her broken tooth down his throat. She forces him to surrender the keys to her to escape. Before leaving the cell, she murders the interrogator who was torturing her for info. She finally makes her escape after taking down several H.A.M.M.E.R. operatives and manages to reach Matt Murdock's office to raid his stash of first aid supplies. After being confronted by Foggy Nelson, she collapses from extensive blood loss due to her injuries.
Elektra wakes up handcuffed to a hospital bed in the Night Nurse's clinic. The nurse explains that she bound Elektra for her own safety, although the ninja easily frees herself. Their conversation is interrupted when a hit woman named Nico breaks in and attempts to kill both of them. Elektra sends Nico flying out the window then arms herself with the ninja's weapons while telling the Night Nurse to escape. Elektra jumps into the alley and battles Nico, only to find that another hit man named Carmine is also attempting to kill her with a sniper rifle from a rooftop. She manages to defeat Nico while evading Carmine's shots and obtains some clues from Nico as to why she was being targeted for assassination. On the rooftop, Carmine is murdered by Bullseye, who was sent by Norman Osborn to kill Elektra.
Elektra climbs to the top of the building to confront the third assassin, only to be taken aback when she discovers that he is Bullseye. Although initially hesitant, she stands her ground and faces her killer. The two begin to fight when Nico manages to reach the rooftop to check on Carmine. Bullseye attempts to kill her with a drug laced arrow, but she is saved by Elektra. Bullseye then kicks the seemingly sedated Elektra off the building, but she manages to land safely. Bullseye follows and confronts her on the street, attempting to kill her with her own sai, much like their first encounter. However, this time Elektra outmaneuvers him and stabs him through the back with one of his own arrows. Nico once more interrupts the fight, attempting to shoot a fleeing Bullseye, then confronting a heavily drugged, helpless Elektra. H.A.M.M.E.R. agents enter the fray and shoot Nico, but are ambushed and killed by Wolverine before they can finish Elektra off.
After escaping H.A.M.M.E.R., Wolverine reveals to Elektra where Nico ran, and Elektra tries to confront the problem head on and peaceably end the conflict. Arriving at the Blackhawk crash site, she discovers that Agent Brothers, a former S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, was the one who put a price on her head. Brothers claims that she was responsible for killing hundreds of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents during the. Elektra, having no memory of the incident, denies the accusations and urges both Brothers and Nico to go in peace, stating that it was her Skrull impostor who was responsible for the incident. However, Norman Osborn then appears, and reveals that Elektra was in fact abducted after the Helicarrier attack, although she has no memory of this because she had used a mind trick to "forget" her resurrections and the incidents surrounding them to prevent the Skrulls from accessing them during her abduction. Norman taunts Elektra to undo this mind trick, and Elektra obliges. It is then revealed that Elektra is actually guilty of the accusations. She then proceeds to kill both Nico and Brothers.

Code Red

Elektra was involved in an incident with the Red Hulk, X-Force, a new villain called the Red She-Hulk and a few other well known mercenaries such as Deadpool and the Punisher.

Shadowland

In Shadowland storyline, Stick tries to convince Elektra to help stop the Hand from corrupting Matt. However she refuses, because she wanted him to be cold-hearted just like her out of spite for him. She reconsiders when she witnessed the broadcast of Daredevil killing Bullseye. She joins the Hand so she can gain intel on the Shadowland fortress to help the super heroes infiltrate it. Later upon rejoining the Hand, Elektra visits Daredevil and Typhoid Mary at Bullseye's grave intending to resurrect him. She then helps sneak the super heroes into the building, to stop Daredevil from resurrecting Bullseye. A fight erupts and just when Elektra tried to reach out to Matt, the Demon of the Hand finally possesses him. Once he defeats all of the super heroes, Iron Fist used his chi energy on the demon to help heal Matt's soul. While that was happening, Elektra entered Matt's mind to encourage him fight the evil presence of the demon. Matt killed himself to stop the demon from causing any more chaos. Elektra later resurrected him.
As part of the 2012 Marvel NOW! branding, Elektra becomes a member of Red Hulk's Thunderbolts.
During the storyline, Elektra was incarcerated for some unknown reason in Pleasant Hill, a gated community established by S.H.I.E.L.D. S.H.I.E.L.D. used the powers of Kobik to turn her into Sheriff Eva. During this time, she was in love with Absorbing Man's altered human form of an ice cream vendor named Henry. After Baron Helmut Zemo and Fixer started using a machine to turn all the inmates back to normal, Elektra was among those restored. She talked Absorbing Man out to harming the innocent lives at Pleasant Hill.
During the Civil War II storyline, Elektra applied to join S.H.I.E.L.D. in order to free her conscience of the deaths of the passengers of the crashed Black Hawk. She took the position of field director when Phil Coulson left the group. When Coulson was trying to interfere with Captain Marvel's plans to use Ulysses Cain's abilities to stop crime before it happens, Elektra discovered that Leo Fitz was Coulson's mole in her group which Maria Hill was alerted to. At the same time, she also reinstated Grant Ward into S.H.I.E.L.D. and placed an explosive collar on his neck to ensure his loyalty.

Powers and abilities

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. She is also highly skilled with the katana, daggers, three-section staff, and shuriken. She is a master of many Japanese combat forms including Ninjutsu, Aikido and Karate. Elektra is an Olympic-level athlete, strong in gymnastics and swimming, with a high level in athleticism, human strength, speed, stamina, agility, dexterity, reflexes and reactions, coordination, balance, and endurance. She is resistant to pain and extreme heat and cold. She is also able to keep to the shadows and move with such speed that she can remain unseen even in daylight.
Elektra has the ability to others, and as such make them see illusions or other phenomena.
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. It saw extensive use during , in which she was heavily reliant on only her ninja powers.
Elektra has demonstrated low-level telepathy. She can communicate telepathically with individuals possessing similar levels of mental discipline, such as the Chaste. Elektra mastered this ability during training with The Hand, which mentally links her to The Beast, the demigod of The Hand.

Reception

Elektra was ranked 22nd in Comics Buyer's Guide's '100 Sexiest Women in Comics' list.

Other versions

What If?

In the story "What If Elektra Had Lived?", penned by Frank Miller, Elektra's murder at the hands of Bullseye does not occur as Bullseye is cut down and killed while trying to escape from prison. Elektra spares Franklin Nelson's life, irritating the Kingpin, who swiftly orders her execution. After fighting off several assassination attempts, Elektra flees to Matt Murdock's brownstone home. Murdock initially wants to take Elektra into custody, but she warns him that with the Kingpin putting a bounty on her head, she will die at the hands of his agents if she is sent to prison. Murdock decides to flee New York with Elektra, putting up his home for sale and cutting off contact with Nelson. The couple are last seen enjoying a quiet sunset on a beach, far removed from society and seemingly happy.

Exiles

In one of the universes visited by the Exiles, Elektra was one of the few remaining survivors in a world ravaged by HYDRA and their leader, Sue Storm. Elektra is shown to be the lover of Reed Richards, and is a key player in the revival of the inhabitants of that earth. Her abilities are identical to that of her mainstream version.

House of M

Elektra appears as one of the assassins of the Kingpin and is later hired by John Proudstar to bring down Luke Cage's "Avengers".

Marvel Mangaverse

In the Marvel Mangaverse, Elektra is evil and works for the Hand. When she is first introduced she encounters Daredevil who at first refuses to believe that she was working for the enemy. After a tearful reunion they kiss and she says to him "You tried to save my soul once. Unfortunately there was nothing there worth saving" and then proceeds to cut him in half. Later, during her fight with Carol Danvers, she shows remorse for having killed him. Elektra thanks Carol when Carol cuts her in half with her own blades.

Marvel Zombies

In the Ultimate Fantastic Four arc "Crossover", Elektra is seen among the zombie hordes preparing to attack Magneto, Mr. Fantastic, and the few living humans they are protecting. She is also among the zombies that attack Frank Castle. The infected Wolverine from this incident travels to another Earth where he kills the human Elektra with his claws, impaling her through the stomach in the manner of Bullseye.

MC2

In the MC2 Universe, Elektra married Wolverine and the two had a daughter named Rina Logan, a.k.a. Wild Thing. Very little is said about the future of Elektra, although we do see that she is actively involved in parenting Rina. Additionally, it is shown that she is wealthy enough to have an "extra-dimensional" credit rating.
Elektra also has a cameo in Spider-Girl where she is hired by the Black Tarantula to be Spider-Girl's martial arts instructor. Though not knowing Spider-Girl's true identity, Elektra quickly surmises that she is the daughter of Spider-Man based on how she talks, fights and carries herself.

Mutant X

In the Mutant X Universe – an alternate world which was visited by the Earth-616 Havok – Elektra, while still equally trained as a martial artist and assassin, is the nanny and bodyguard of Scotty Summers. Scotty is the son of that reality's Alex Summers and Madelyne Pryor. Elektra stays close to Scotty, protecting him from repeated assaults by his mother, the Goblin Queen, and her brainwashed allies. Following the disappearance of the Goblin Queen, she indulges in an affair with Havok. She seemingly dies near the end of the series, though Scotty reassures Alex that she will come back.

Ultimate Marvel

In the Ultimate Marvel universe, Elektra Natchios is a student at Columbia University who has a knack for martial arts and is a great fan of Bruce Lee. Her mother died of breast cancer when she was 6, and her father is trying to make money with a laundromat.
In this universe, she starts out as a sweet, innocent girl who cares deeply for her loved ones – so deeply that she is willing to go over dead bodies to help them. This trait starts her descent into becoming one of the most deadly assassins in the world.
There is a gap between the Elektra featured in Ultimate Daredevil and Elektra and Ultimate Elektra and the one shown in Ultimate Spider-Man. In the first two arcs, she is a normal college student, but in the last arc – which is set a few years later – she has become the Kingpin's right hand and is a villainess. She is hired by an unknown person to kill a Latverian terrorist, but Spider-Man prevented her from doing it. She is shown in this universe as a highly dangerous and skilled killer, and was able to take down the likes of Hammerhead, Black Cat, Moon Knight, and Spider-Man easily. She was later put into a coma when Moon Knight threw one of his crescent blades at her, hitting her in the head when she was about to kill Black Cat.

PunisherMax

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 in order 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. Elektra eventually has a final confrontation with the Punisher in order to save Vanessa. She manages to seriously wound the Punisher, but is shot several times and left permanently incapacitated. Later, a representative from the Hand has one of his men finish her with a sword.

Secret Wars (2015)

During the Secret Wars storyline, there are two different Elektras that exist in Battleworld:
In addition to her signature appearances in Daredevil, Elektra starred in three series produced by her creator, Frank Miller:
Elektra has also headlined the following series:
An alternate version of Elektra starred in the following series set in the fictional Ultimate Marvel Universe:
TitleMaterial CollectedISBNPublication Date
Ultimate Daredevil & ElektraUltimate Daredevil & Elektra #1–4November 30, 1999
Ultimate Elektra: Devil's DueUltimate Elektra #1–5January 5, 2005

Intercompany crossovers

Elektra has been featured in crossovers with characters from other publishing companies:

Television