Elektra (character)

Elektra Natchios (UK: /ˈnætʃiɒs/, US: /-oʊs/) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. She was initially created as a supporting character for the superhero Matt Murdock / Daredevil, to whom Elektra has functioned as a villainous adversary, love interest, and later, a heroic ally. Created by Frank Miller, the character first appeared in Daredevil #168 (Jan. 1981). Her violent nature and mercenary lifestyle has served as a divisive point of conflict between her and Daredevil, which, in 2020, culminated in her becoming the second Daredevil.

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, and appeared in two miniseries he authored, Elektra: Assassin and Daredevil: The Man Without Fear, as well as a graphic novel, Elektra Lives Again, subsequent to her initial appearances in his run of Daredevil. Later, she appeared in numerous contemporary storylines by different writers, even though Marvel had promised not to revive the character without Miller's permission. She is the title character of three ongoing series: The first, written by Peter Milligan and Larry Hama and drawn by Mike Deodato Jr., from 1996 to 1997; the second, primarily written by Greg Rucka, from 2001 to 2003; and the third, written by Haden Blackman, from 2014 to 2015. She has also appeared as a supporting character of Wolverine and in other series and mini-series.

Jennifer Garner portrayed Elektra in the films Daredevil (2003), Elektra (2005), and Deadpool & Wolverine (2024). Élodie Yung portrayed the character in the MCU television series Daredevil (2016) and The Defenders (2017).

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 he was inspired by Sand Seref, a femme fatale character in Will Eisner's series, The Spirit; he says that he re-wrote the first appearance of Sand Seref, making it more harsh. 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.

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, with an unclear relation to mainstream continuity. 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 comes into conflict with S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, cyborgs and monsters. The series concludes with the successful election of the candidate, but the replacement of his mind by another character whose motives are ambiguous. The later Daredevil "Fall from Grace" storyline by D.G. Chichester establishes that Elektra: Assassin is a hallucinatory distortion of canonical events in which Elektra took part, in the mind of a delusional S.H.I.E.L.D. cyborg named John Garret (who is the main point-of-view character of the story).

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.