Daredevilis back in the spotlight thanks to his new series on Disney+, so it feels like the perfect time to bringElektraback in a big way. Fans currently enjoying theDaredevil: Born Againseries should absolutely check out Elektra’s best story from the comics, a series that forever cemented her as one of Marvel’s top anti-heroes.
Coming from the creative team of Frank Miller and Bill Sienkievicz,Elektra: Assassinwas an eight-issue miniseries from Epic Comics, Marvel’s imprintof boutique comics aimed at mature readers.
Putting the spotlight on Matt Murdock’s lost love,Elektra: Assassinsees the title character waging war against the Hand, attempting to prevent the deadly ninja clan from winning the U.S. Presidential election through a puppet candidate, thus plunging the world into nuclear annihilation.
Elektra: AssassinCharted a Bold, New Path for Comics in the 1980s
The Perfect Comic forDaredevil: Born AgainFans
Elektra first appeared inDaredevil#168, the first issue written and drawn by her creator, Miller.Miller’s run onDaredevilhelped to change the face of the American comics market, and his beautiful-but-deadly ninja assassin was a big part of the reason why. Elektra hadn’t appeared much after her death inDaredevil#181, and she could have been destined to be remembered solely for her death. But Miller retained a fondness for his first Marvel character and wanted to return to Elektra in her own series.
Superstar artist Amanda Conner was Bill Sienkievicz’s assistant during the making ofElektra: Assassin, and served as Sienkievicz’s model for the title character.
Amazingly,Elektra: Assassinwas released at the same time that Miller was working onThe Dark Knight Returnsand writing the“Born Again” storyline inDaredevil. Joining Miller forElektra: Assassinwas artist Sienkievicz, the avant-garde wunderkind who had established himself as a major talent onNew Mutants. Sienkievicz first made waves with his work onMoon Knight, but he began stretching his style to include paintings, collage and other mixed-media approaches.Elektra: Assassinwas his first fully-painted interior comics work, acting as the apotheosis of his alternative approach and ensuring it would look like no other comic book.
Elektra’s Out to Kill a Possessed Presidential Candidate inElektra: Assassin
Two Superstar Creators at Their Best
Readers meet Elektra in a South American mental institution, wherethe assassin struggles to piece together her memories. Elektra eventually remembers her discovery of theBeast, the demonic presence worshipped by the Hand, who has secretly been influencing world events behind the scenes to wipe out humanity. Presidential hopeful Ken Wind is revealed to be under the control of the Beast, who plans to deliver the opposite of his “Peace and Love” campaign if elected, launching nuclear weapons at the Soviet Union and wiping humanity off the planet in a nuclear genocide.
Netflix’s Elektra MCU Return Chances Addressed By Marvel After Jennifer Garner Brought Back The Character In Deadpool & Wolverine
One of Marvel Studios' executives addresses what the chances are of seeing Daredevil’s Elektra make her return in the MCU’s future releases.
Setting out to stop the Beast at any cost, Elektra recruitsSHIELD agent John Garrettvia psychic manipulation techniques that she learned during her training with the Hand. Garrett is ultimately revealed to be a cyborg agent from the SHIELD subdivision ExTechOp, which had been recruiting criminals as field agents and giving them cybernetic enhancements. Elektra and Garrett proceed to wage an all-out war on SHIELD, the Hand, and anyone else unlucky enough to get caught in their way, as they attempt to assassinate Wind before he is elected President and can enact the will of the Beast.
Elektra: Assassin’s Twisting Narrative Takes a Satirical Look at the 1980s
Miller Once Again Skewers “Current Events”
What makesElektra: Assassinspecial is the overall transgressive approach.Sienkievicz’s painted artworkwas akin to introducing color to a world of black-and-white, a massive sea-change in the types of comics that were available in the mainstream American market. Sienkievicz’s art exists at the nexus of Gustav Klimt, Jack Kirby, and Chuck Jones, every bit as experimental and intricate as it is wildly exaggerated and over-the-top. The art style perfectly complements the story being told, such as Sienkievicz’s use of the same, smiling Photostat as the face of candidate Ken Wind whenever he appears on-panel.
Elektra has been portrayed by Jennifer Garner inDaredevil(2003),Elektra(2005) and last year’sDeadpool & Wolverine, and by Élodie Yung in the previousDaredevilTV series andThe Defenders. John Garrett also appeared inAgents of SHIELD, where he was played by the late Bill Paxton.
Miller and Sienkievicz takea shotgun-blast approach with their satire, leaving no “sacred cows” untouched as they gleefully carve a path through just about everything. It is basically an elongated episode ofLooney Tunes, but there is a deeper meaning lying beneath all the explosions and beheadings. The true enemy ofElektra: Assassinis bureaucracy, as time and again the characters find themselves subject to the whims of failing institutions. As an example, Nick Fury doesn’t even know that the ExTechOps division of SHIELD has been secretly recruiting violent, dangerous criminals to become field agents.
Now ThatDaredevil: Born AgainIs A Streaming Success, IsElektra: AssassinNext?
Marvel Needs to Adapt This Story for the Screen
Given the number of times that Elektra has already appeared on-screen, it’s surprising that none of them took inspiration fromElektra: Assassin. Now thatDaredevil: Born Againhas proven to be a success, a version of Miller and Sienkievicz’s iconic story should be next, starring either Jennifer Garner or Élodie Yung. It’s hard to imagine how any adaptation could capture the raw power of Sienkievicz’s imagery in live-action, but it would be fun to see Disney try. Whatever the case,Daredevil: Born Againfans will always have theElektra: Assassincomic to enjoy.
Daredevil: Born Again
Cast
Daredevil: Born Again follows blind lawyer Matt Murdock, who uses his heightened abilities to pursue justice in New York. As he manages a bustling law firm, former mob boss Wilson Fisk navigates political ambitions, leading both men toward a confrontation as their pasts resurface.
Elektra
Elektra is a 2005 film featuring Jennifer Garner as the titular character who survives a near-death experience and becomes an assassin-for-hire. The film follows Elektra as she attempts to protect a single father and his young daughter from a group of supernatural assassins.
