Elektra (Marvel)

Elektra Natchios in Daredevil v7 #6.

Elektra is a female comic character who features in Marvel Comics.

Biography

Origin

Elektra Natchios was a female human born on Earth in the modern age where she was the daughter of Hugo Kostas Natchios and Christina Natchios.

She had an older brother by the name of Orestez Natchios who at first came to hate his mother as he believed she had an affair and that the child she carried was illegitimate. (Elektra Root of Evil v1 #2)

For years, she trained under a martial arts instructor and came to be his finest student. She was 12 years old when she had learnt everything she could from her sensei. He then told her about the Chaste and sent her to be trained by Stick. Seeking them out, she came upon Stick and wanted to be the eighth warrior among their ranks with her choosing the sai to be her weapon. Stick was seemingly unimpressed with her but allowed her to stay with them where she was treated as a slave who performed menial tasks for the Chaste. For months, she stayed with them where in addition to performing menial labour she also came to train. In this time, she improved as a martial artist, learnt some of their magic and heard about the Hand as well as the Beast. Despite that, Stick was still not impressed and eventually came to cast her out from the Chaste's ranks. Elektra complied with his order and never shed a tear even though she had missed Stick who had been her mentor. (Elektra v1 #1) Though abandoned, her training got the attention of the Hand who sent one of their own named Aka to recruit Elektra into their ranks and pretended to care for her in order to secure her loyalty. (Daredevil: Woman Without Fear v1 #1)

Later on, she came to be enrolled at Columbia University where she was to study political science. Elektra was getting a tour of Columbia University where she briefly met law students Matt Murdock and Foggy Nelson. Infatuated with Elektra, Matt came to woo her and wanted to date her where she agreed to go out with him. (Daredevil v1 #168)

She then jumped from the cliff and crashed through an ice sheet and into the water. He leaped to her rescue but could not find her in the water. As he emerged, he realized Elektra was fine and laughing as she sped away in her car. She and Matt started training together, falling more and more in love. One night, Stick woke Matt up and told Matt to stay away from Elektra, telling him that she was dangerous, but Matt did not listen to his old mentor. (Daredevil: The Man Without Fear v1 #3)

Sometime later, Elektra and her father were held hostage, and a masked Matt burst into the building hoping to help them. Matt managed to save Elektra, but accidentally kicked one of the terrorists through the window and one of the policemen outside started shooting, afraid they were killing hostages. To Elektra and Matt's terror, they shot her father instead. (Daredevil v1 #168)

After the funeral, she decided to return to Europe where she and Matt had to part ways. (Daredevil v1 #168) After her father's death, Elektra abandoned all her plans, deciding to leave Matt and the United States, but before moving on completely, she tracked down the man responsible for the assault. She followed him to a church and confronted him. At gunpoint, he then revealed he had hired the terrorists for someone else, however Elektra didn't care. As she prepared to end his life, she was attacked by his bodyguard. During the battle that ensued, Elektra took his eye out, stunning him long enough to complete the job against his boss. The bodyguard then retaliated, but Elektra was saved by a sai hurled from the shadows. As she looked to see who her savior was, she encountered only Stick and assumed Matt had sent him to watch over her. Impressed by the weapon, Elektra left with it and decided to adopt it in the future. Little did she know, the sai actually belonged to an agent of The Hand. (Elektra v2 #-1)

Daredevil

For years, Elektra worked as a bounty hunter and assassin for hire. Having undertaken a contract in New York City, she crossed paths with the blind adventurer Daredevil, whom she learned to be Matt Murdock. (Daredevil v1 #168)

Unwilling to part with one of its most talented operatives, the Hand attempted to resurrect Elektra and place her fully under their control through a magic ritual. Stone, a member of Stick's order, completed the process, bringing Elektra back to life after Daredevil had purified her spirit through sheer force of will. (Daredevil v1 #190)

Ultimately, Drake came to teach Elektra that he could not make her forget being a warrior but he could help her move away from the path of the murderer. This culminated in him gifting her a pair of non-lethal sai when they learnt that the Hand were seeking Elektra. Drake urged Elektra to leave whilst he confronted this foe that were led by a trio of assassins named Shadow, Pain and Thought. However, she decided to work alongside her sensei in defeating the Hand agents pursuing her. (Elektra v3 #20)

Root of Evil

Months ago, Elektra was in Osaka, Japan when she was confronted by a doppelganger of herself where the two fought in battle. After killing her opponent, she came to find her double to had been an alien shapeshifting [[Skrull]. It was then that she was ambushed by a number of other such infiltrators each of whom took the form of a person she knew. She managed to best them only to be ambushed and defeated by a Skrull warrior named Pagon who then took her form. As Elektra, this alien infiltrator was tasked with bringing chaos on Earth and in the human guise confronted the Hand who were at this point serving as warriors for Hydra. 'Elektra' confronted them at being servants to another power and challenged the Hand leader who she defeated in battle whereupon 'she' took over the cult. (Mighty Avengers v1 #16)

Return

Whilst in Central Park, S.H.I.E.L.D. agents attempted to take all the Skrull abductees into safekeeping but the wounded Elektra attempted to escape but was captured by them. Kept in custody, she remained under observation where her S.H.I.E.L.D. handlers were replaced by the newly created H.A.M.M.E.R. agency. Under Director Norman Osborn's orders, agents were tasked with interrogating Elektra to find out how long she was a Skrull captive though she dd not answer or cooperate with them. One day, one of the scientists sent to interrogate her was revealed to be Paladin who had infiltrated the site in order to kill her for a bounty but Elektra managed to free herself from her restraints. (Dark Reign: Elektra v1 #1)

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 in the guise of Hawkeye, who was sent by Norman Osborn to kill Elektra. (Dark Reign: Elektra v1 #3) 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 who accidentally gets the drugs on the arrow in her system in the process. 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. (Dark Reign: Elektra v1 #4) 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 Blackhawk incident. 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. (Dark Reign: Elektra v1 #5)

Afterwards, she was summoned by the Chaste when Matt Murdock had become the new leader of the Hand and urged her to join them. However, she rejected them on account of how they rejected her in the past. Later on, she was performing an assignment for the C.I.A. when they were surrounded by Hand ninja where they claimed that as she was a disgraced former leader of the Hand that they had been sent to eliminate her on behalf of Lord Daredevil. (Shadowland: Elektra v1 #1)

Later on, she was given an assignment to target Bernard Waterman when she got recruited into the Heroes for Hire. (Heroes for Hire v3 #1)

She was later recruited by the Red Hulk to join his new team that responded to threats and neutralised them before they became a danger to the world. (Thunderbolts v2 #1)

Always Bet on Red

Afterwards, she received a call for aid from Deadpool after Doctor Voodoo had discovered that the Hand had recovered the remains of Bruce Banner and intended to revive him as the Hulk to be a weapon for them. The Avengers Unity Division appeared in Japan where Elektra proceeded to aid them in hunting down the Hand. From a group of their ninjas, they came to learn that Banner's remains were at the Kai state in Hiroshima prefecture. The heroes seemingly stopped the ceremony only to learn that this was a diversion and that the real reanimation was conducted elsewhere. As a result, the Avengers were too late and the Hulk came to be revived as a member of the Hand who was sent to kill the heroes. (Uncanny Avengers v3 #15)

The Woman Without Fear

The Woman Without Fear in Daredevil v6 #29.

Elektra broke into the prison where she met with Daredevil and revealed that she remembered that he was Matt Murdock and had recovered her memories. She also revealed that she had been travelling with Stick as they had looked for a weapon to defeat the Hand who had been rebuilding their strength. Their travels led to them finding a book that spoke of a Fist that had been a counter force of light that opposed the darkness of the Hand. However, it required a king and queen to lead it with Stick stating that one had to die in the process. It was this reason Elektra had returned to Hell's Kitchen where she sought out Matt to lead the Fist as its king alongside her and that this was a greater mission than fighting street-crime. Daredevil though refused as he was not convinced that Elektra had changed and told her to prove it. She then decided to take the identity of Daredevil where she started to fight crime in the city to prove herself to Matt Murdock. (Daredevil v6 #25)

Overview

Personality and attributes

Among the Hand, she came to be known as the Beautiful Protégé. (Elektra: Glimpse and Echo v1 #3) She was also know as the Perfect Death and after turning from them she was called the Lost One. (Elektra v3 #20) After Daredevil was in prison, she decided to operate as the guardian of Hell's Kitchen where she adopted a similar costume as him and was called Lady Daredevil. (Daredevil v6 #30)

It was said that she had a voice like velvet with her using French perfume. (Daredevil v1 #168)

In her youth, she had a love for the world and wanted to change it. These views though changed after the death of her father. This resulted in her no longer believing in the concept of law. Elektra had said that she could not let the world touch her again as she was not strong enough to bear the pain again. (Daredevil v1 #168)

She had an older brother named Orestez Natchios. (Elektra Root of Evil v1 #2)

Her bodyguards often resulted in her rarely getting a chance to make friends among the other students. (Daredevil v1 #168)

When she was young, she came to seek to join the Chaste and sought out Stick. Despite his cruelty, she saw him as a noble warrior who talked in ugly words. Though he smelled awful, she thought he shined so bright that it hurt her to look at him. She had said that she loved him for letting her stay with the Chaste. (Elektra v1 #1)

After being rejected by Stick, she came to find a mentor in the form of the seemingly young master ninja assassin named Aka. (Daredevil: Woman Without Fear v1 #1)

Matt Murdock was noted for being the first love of her life with the two spending a year together that was euphoric. (Daredevil v1 #168)

Her reasons for originally joining the Hand were noble intentions of destroying them from within but she became corrupted in the process. (Shadowland: Elektra v1 #1)

Powers and abilities

The Ninja in Daredevil v5 #5.

Even from a young age, she was trained in the martial arts allowing her to protect herself. (Daredevil v1 #168) Her father was responsible for hiring a man to serve as her sensei and came to be his finest student when she was 12 years old. It was then that she went to train under the Chaste where she came to learn some of their ways and magic. By this point, she had learnt to catch a bird in flight, leave no footprints in the snow, never feel the snow or even have a need for sleep. She even could hear the Chaste speak to one another from mind to mind rather than through words. (Elektra v1 #1)

Through meditation, she was able to enter into a state that resulted in cellular regeneration. (Dark Reign: Elektra v1 #1)

She was unable to penetrate the thoughts of people with psychic defenses but was still able to speak to their mind without sound or language. (Wolverine v3 #29)

Elektra was capable of building a silent scream that she could unleash on foes. It was said to be a simple technique where her teeth rattled as she used it. (Elektra: Assassin v1 #2)

Her sensei Drake came to gift her a replacement set of sai that were originally made by Miyamoto Kiyagoro in the early 16th century. These were said to be real sai that were blunt weapons which were not sharpened to a point and were perfectly balanced with them being a non-lethal weapon. (Elektra v3 #20)

As a young woman, her father had hired bodyguards who were always by her side. (Daredevil v1 #168)

Notes

• Elektra was created by Frank Miller where she made her first appearance in Daredevil v1 #168 (January, 1981).
• In an interview, writer D. G. Chichester recounted a talk with editor Ralph Macchio that they, "bandied about the idea [of bringing back Elektra] in a casual fashion now and again, but neither of us wanted to do it as a gimmick. On the rare occasion I thought I had a legitimate angle to use her, Ralph was cool to the idea. But as we geared up for what would become Fall From Grace, Ralph out of the blue said, 'What about bringing back Elektra?' – and it was really the missing piece that clicked together all the loose pieces of the story in my head, and became the nexus for everything tying together as well as it did. In my mind, it's always been her to whom the title refers."
• The Comics Buyer's Guide (2011) ranked her 22nd in their '100 Sexiest Women in Comics' list.

Alternate Versions

• In Daredevil Noir v1 #1 (2009), an alternate version of the character named Eliza appeared in the Marvel Noir reality designated as Earth-90214 in the Multiverse. An innate markswomen, she came to be an assassin known as the Bullseye Killer who was Daredevil's love interest until her secret identity was revealed. Daredevil battled with her and the two fell into the sea where he was about to drown her, but was unable to due to the fact that he still loved her. Eliza was left on the docks unconscious and was taken into police custody.

In other media

Television

• In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Elektra made multiple appearances in the shared continuity setting.
  • In Daredevil, Elektra appeared in the live-action Netflix television series where she was portrayed by actress Elodie Yung.
  • In Defenders, Elektra appeared as an antagonist in the live-action Netflix television series where she was portrayed again by actress Elodie Yung.

Films

• In Daredevil, Elektra appeared in the live-action film where she was portrayed by actress Jennifer Garner.
• In Elektra, Elektra appeared as the protagonist in the live-action film where she was once again portrayed by actress Jennifer Garner. It was revealed that she was once a martial arts prodigy called the Treasure. Following her death, Stick resurrected her and trained her in Kimagure, which granted the practitioner precognition and the ability to resurrect the dead. Due to her rage and fear of seeing her mother's killer however, she was expelled from Stick's training compound and became a contract killer. Years later, she found 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.

Video games

• In Marvel: Contest of Champions, Elektra appeared as a playable character in the mobile video game.
• In Marvel: Future Fight, Elektra appeared as a playable character in the mobile video game.
• In Marvel: Strike Force, Elektra appeared as a playable character in the mobile video game.
• In Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order, Elektra appeared as a playable character where she was voiced again by actress Kathryn Cressida.

Appearances

• Daredevil: (1981)
• Elektra:
• Elektra: Root of Evil v1:
• Elektra v3:
• Mighty Avengers v1:
• Dark Reign: Elektra v1:
• Shadowland v1:
• Thunderbolts v2:
• Uncanny Avengers v3:
• Daredevil v6:
• Savage Avengers v1:
• Devil's Reign v1:
• Daredevil: Woman Without Fear v1:
• Savage Avengers v2:

External Links

• Marvel Database Entry
• Wikipedia Entry

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