Characters / Elektra

Title Character

Elektra

^{Click here to see her as Daredevil} 

Alter Ego: Elektra Natchios

Notable Aliases: Daredevil

First Appearance: Daredevil #168 (January, 1981) ^note As Elektra; Daredevil (Vol. 6) #25 (December, 2020) ^note As Daredevil

"Once upon a time... there was a beautiful princess. So the warrior princess became a ronin and a whore. A warrior for hire. She sold her talent and rage to anyone who was willing to buy it. But she found that her life ran in cycles. That the same players came in and out of her life no matter how far she ran and no matter how much she learned. Old love kept returning. And old debts left unpaid came back to haunt her. And even that final disappointment of a warrior's death brought her no peace. Because the way of the ninja is to know that life and death are nothing but energy pushed and pulled. The princess was brought back to life. Brought back from 'the Place of No Name'... to finish a fight she did not start."

—Elektra

Elektra Natchios is a Marvel Comics anti-hero created by Frank Miller. Making her debut in Daredevil #168 (January, 1981) as Matt Murdock's college love-interest-turned-assassin, Elektra is one of Daredevil's most dangerous, unpredictable enemies. Originally a college student at New York's Columbia University with her boyfriend, Matt Murdock, the Greek-born Elektra left for Japan after the accidental death of her father. Encountering Stick, leader of the secret martial arts organization known as the Chaste, Elektra's fighting skills were honed to peak human levels. Unfortunately, the hate in her heart got her expelled from the Chaste, so Elektra joined their rivals, the Hand. Corrupted by the Hand, Elektra became the organization's top assassin until breaking free from their control and returning to New York.

After the Man Without Fear saves her from mobster Eric Slaughter and his hit-men, Elektra learns Daredevil's secret identity and tries to rekindle their relationship, only to be rejected because of her killing ways. Together, the former lovers battle and defeat the Hand after the organization attempts to kill members of the Chaste. After Elektra became The Kingpin's chief assassin, Elektra and Daredevil battle continuously until she was ordered to kill Franklin "Foggy" Nelson, Matt Murdock's best friend. Unable to kill Foggy, who recognized her as "Matt's girl", Elektra was forced to battle Bullseye, the Kingpin's former chief assassin. Elektra fought hard but was defeated by Bullseye after he impaled her on her own sai. Mortally wounded, Elektra crawled to Matt's doorstep and died in his arms. Resurrected thanks to Daredevil and Stone, an associate of Stick, Elektra traveled the world as a freelance assassin/bounty hunter. After aiding S.H.I.E.L.D., Wolverine and her former lover Daredevil, Elektra was replaced by a Skrull agent named Siri prior to the Secret Invasion event. Once freed, she became more involved in the superhero community and began walking a careful line as an Anti-Hero — not evil, not good, just herself.

Starting in Daredevil (2019), she is currently acting as the new Daredevil, taking up the mantle while Matt was in jail. After he got out, they continued to share the mantle.

Jennifer Garner played the character in the 2003 Daredevil, the 2005 spinoff Elektra, and the 2024 Deadpool & Wolverine. Most recently, in the Netflix adaptation of Daredevil (2015) and The Defenders (2017), she has been portrayed by Élodie Yung. Not to be confused with Elektra Records.

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• Absurdly Sharp Blade: Elektra's Sai can cut through anything.
• Abusive Parent: According to Elektra: Assassin, Elektra of Daredevil was sexually abused by her father at the age of 5, after which she was told it had never happened until she more-or-less believed it.
• Action Girl: Elektra is an Olympic-level athlete and gymnast, proficient in many martial arts and master of many different weapons.
• Affirmative-Action Legacy: When Matt voluntarily goes to prison Elektra, to atone for her many past actions, decides to don her own Daredevil costume and protect Hell's Kitchen in Matt's place.
• And Show It to You: Elektra is strong enough to rip out a man's heart with her bare hands.
  Elektra: His heart is warm and strong. I let him see it.
• Arch-Enemy: Elektra has Kirigi.
• Ax-Crazy: If you catch her on a bad day, RUN. One of her prominent scenes is taking a stroll through Times Square, luring and murdering a bunch of rapists, brutally killing them, and writing "I Love New York" in their blood for the police to find.
• Back from the Dead: After she is killed by Bullseye, 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.
• Bad Girl Comic: Elektra, created by Frank Miller in The '80s, is usually considered to be another early example of this genre, despite the occult element being low-key (some of her stories have involved dark versions of ninja mysticism, and after dying in her establishing Daredevil arc she was magically resurrected in rather sinister circumstances).
• Badasses Wear Bandanas: Elektra typically wears one.
• Barehanded Blade Block: Elektra once caught a knife out of the air before breaking the blade with her bare hands. Can also lead to Catch and Return situations.
• Blood Knight: Some writers have depicted Elektra as getting an extreme thrill from fighting and killing. One story had an antagonist who had been victimized by her condemning her to a Fate Worse than Death by making it so she could not be hired as an assassin again.
• Body Swap: Elektra can throw her mind into another person's body for as long as four months. She has also demonstrated the ability to swap other peoples' minds.
• Breakout Character: Elektra's popularity, which stretched beyond the traditional male population and drew a large female readership, would eventually ensure her own miniseries and in 1986 she would star in Elektra: Assassin. She was supposed to stay dead after her death in Daredevil, but she was resurrected because of her popularity and frequently used since, despite Marvel's initial promise to Frank Miller that the character would not be used in any other publication.
• Briefer Than They Think: After debuting in The '80s, Elektra quickly became one of Marvel's most popular and iconic Anti Heroes. The amount of time between her first appearance and her infamous death? Less than a year. It wasn't until 1994 that she was permanently resurrected and began appearing as a frequent player in the Marvel Universe.
• Came Back Strong: After being resurrected by the Hand, Elektra was granted a number of superhuman abilities that made her even more deadly. She can telepathically track people (which comes in very handy for seeking out targets), mentally communicate with others, shield her mind from others, place her mind in someone else's body and unleash a Super-Scream to deafen or kill an enemy.
• Cannibalism Superpower: In the 2014 Elektra series the first villain is a man named Bloody Lips. An Australian empowered by what he calls the Serpent, he gains the qualities and memories of whoever he eats depending on the parts he eats. This means he can stockpile the strength of multiple rhinos with the marksmanship of Bullseye, the mutant abilities of Scalphunter and all the intel of any unfortunate S.H.I.E.L.D. agents to cross his path.
• Car Fu: Elektra hit the Made of Iron Kirigi with a truck during their fight in a parking garage. Set ablaze after the truck explodes, Kirigi is finally defeated after Elektra cuts his head off.
• Censor Shadow: In Elektra Vol. 2 #3, Elektra's nudity was covered in shadow and obscured by panel borders. A reprint issue further added lingerie to her body.
• Charles Atlas Superpower: Elektra is strong enough to punch through a man's torso, topple a brick wall with a single kick, and lift a grown man above her head with one arm. She can react fast enough to block machine gun fire with her sai and Elektra is fast enough to disarm half a dozen men before they can fire a single shot. She once gutted a man from across the room before he could complete a sentence and has been shown running too fast for security cameras to record her movements.
• Chronic Villainy: The most obvious example of this was at the end of Greg Rucka's run, when Elektra suddenly backslid on all the moral progress she'd slowly and painfully made throughout the run because of... something or other. This was rumoured to be due to Status Quo Is God editorial fiat.
• Combat Pragmatist: Tactics used by Elektra include: Bulletproof Human Shield, Eye Scream, Groin Attack, In the Back, Killed Mid-Sentence, Neck Snap, and Playing Possum. In one story she held a dog hostage (albeit as a distraction from her real strategy).
• Contract on the Hitman: Three businessmen who once hired Elektra had this as official policy. They would routinely "retire" hitmen after they performed three jobs, using their replacements to do the deed. One of the three was smart enough to avoid trying this with Elektra. Too bad one of the others didn't get the memo...
• Dark and Troubled Past: Her father was murdered before her, and she joined the Chaste, only to get kicked out. So she became a professional assassin, and then she was hired to kill her former lover.
• Dating Catwoman: The Catwoman here, as she was the toxic influence to her relationship with Daredevil.
• Death Is Cheap: She has a reputation for coming Back from the Dead on par with Jean Grey.
• Death by Origin Story: Her death and resurrection is easily the most famous thing people know about the character, so in adaptations this tends to be treated as her origin story.
• Designated Girl Fight: With Catwoman in DC vs. Marvel.
• Died in Your Arms Tonight: Elektra had her first death in Daredevil. After taking a vicious curbstomping from Bullseye that ends in her throat getting slashed by a thrown card and then her getting impaled on her own sai, Elektra crawls out from the parking lot they were fighting in. She stays alive long enough to crawl to Matt's house and call out to him, before dying in his arms.
• Dodge the Bullet: Handguns... machine guns... sniper rifles... no problem.
• The Dragon: To Kingpin in Frank Miller era and in Punisher Max.
• The Dreaded: Elektra's reputation and talents as the world's deadliest assassin have put her well into this category. Wolverine admitted that she is one of the only people he actually fears. SHIELD agents are usually given protocols in the event that they encounter a hero or villain going on a rampage. In the event that they encounter Elektra their instructions are to immediately cease whatever assignment they are on, get the hell out of there, and pray she doesn't decide to go after them.
• Dual Wielding: Two sai, usually, though she'll break out two swords every now and then.
• Effortless Amazonian Lift: Heroic Seductress Elektra does this to a dude, and manages to look hot doing it.
• Fanservice: Of the Clothing Damage, Lingerie Scene, Most Common Superpower, Stripperiffic, Vapor Wear variety. Yeah, she's hot and her clothes show it.
  • In Punisher MAX, Kingpin was attracted to her/
• Femme Fatale: Elektra is not above using her looks to get to a mark.
• Fighting for a Homeland: In the Elektra trade, The Scorpio Key, HYDRA apparently hopes to find a permanent home in Iraq under the auspices of sympathetic dictator Saddam Abed Dasam (a Captain Ersatz of Saddam Hussein).
• Foil: To Black Widow. Both are assassins and love interests to Matt Murdock. Both were also ballerinas. However, Black Widow is The Atoner while Elektra flips between being a hero and a villain depending on what she wants. Black Widow relies on conventional weaponry and spy gadgets while Elektra relies on ancient weaponry such as sais and katanas, and her Supernatural Martial Arts. Even their looks are a contrast; Elektra has black hair and wears a red Leotard of Power while Natasha has red hair and wears a black Spy Catsuit.
• Gorgeous Greek: A Greek beauty with typical Mediterranean features such as dark hair and olive skin, she is also a seductive and very sexualized Love Interest to Daredevil.
• Guard Stations Terminally Unattended: Elektra does this in her own series, reproducing a scene from The Movie.
• Guns vs. Swords: Subverted. She is a master of both and will use either. She normally relies on bladed weapons, but that doesn't means she isn't going to pull out an Uzi.
• Hand-or-Object Underwear: Disguising herself as a stripper, Elektra's assets were hidden by her arms and, later, feathers.
• Heel–Face Revolving Door: Depending on the story, Elektra can be a villain or hero or something in between.
• Heroic Rematch: 28 years (in real time) after her death at Bullseye's hands, Elektra has a rematch with the sadistic hitman in Dark Reign: Elektra #4. Despite Bullseye's confidence he will again, even trying to kill her the same way he originally did, Elektra walks away the victor.
• Heroic Second Wind: Elektra gets one during her rematch with Bullseye.
• Hitman with a Heart: She is an assassin by trade and many times in her career, traumatic events (and in some cases, sorcery) have "purified" her soul. It does turn dark again sometimes and makes her a loose cannon for heroes and villains alike.
• Iconic Sequel Character: Elektra is one of Daredevil's most well-known supporting characters and antagonists but she didn't appear in the books until Frank Miller's run in the 1980s, two decades after Daredevil's debut.
• Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: By Bullseye in her famous death.
• Improbable Use of a Weapon: There's an issue of Elektra where an old martial artist she's staying with mocks her for using sharp-tipped sai instead of ones with blunt tips.
• Improvised Weapon: Gardening shears, shards of ice, her waist sash, her own teeth... yes, she's very good at improvising weapons.
• Improbable Weapon User: Taking a cue from Bullseye, Elektra once spit one of her own teeth into the mouth of Paladin, choking him long enough for her to break free from her bonds.
• Karma Houdini: Elektra is one, despite the fact that the fanbase loves her. She murdered loads of innocents (for example SHIELD agents). Of course she kills mostly Redshirts that are armed with some weapons, which seems to be justified by the fact that as they are armed she is allowed to fight them. Of course, as a ninja she could use non-lethal methods, but doesn't care. When she is confronted about this, she murders the rogue agent who hunts Elektra to avenge her friends that Elektra murdered. Despite all this the heroes of Marvel Universe have little to no problem hanging out with her - the same people who can not stand being anywhere near Punisher, who didn't even kill HAMMER troops even though they couldn't be considered Mooks - he still considered them federal agents, even though their agency made Face–Heel Turn. Elektra did not give that much care.
• Killed to Uphold the Masquerade: Elektra's latest turn to villainy involves her killing a heck of a lot of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. It turns out she was on the side of good all along...she just had to kill flunkies to maintain cover.
• Kung-Fu Wizard: Elektra is one of Marvel's greatest martial artists and all of her superpowers are Ki Attacks.
• Lady in Red: Elektra wears a red Leotard of Power and is as known as a devilish temptress as she is for her deadly fighting skills.
• Lady of War: Elektra is as graceful on the battle field as she is deadly.
• Leotard of Power: Her iconic costume of red color. She also a white variant after her resurrection.
• Literal Split Personality: Elektra was split into good and evil aspects after being resurrected by Stone. Calling itself Erynys, the entity was defeated by Elektra, returning the evil to Elektra's soul.
• Made of Iron: The amount of damage that she's shaken off or gotten up from that would have killed or crippled anyone else is truly jaw-dropping even by MU standards.
• Magic Knight: Has some minor Ki Attacks and magical abilities, most of which are used to enhance her battle prowess, as well as some low-level Psychic Powers. Most of these come from training with the mystical evil ninja sect The Hand.
• Male Gaze: Elektra's body is prominently featured during fight scenes. When she dodges, artists usually draw her from behind to emphasize her ass. Flying kicks are drawn from the front, effectively becoming full-page crotch shots.
• Master of Disguise: Elektra sometimes wears disguises to get close to her target.
• Master of Illusion: Elektra can project illusions into her opponents' minds.
• Master Swordsman: She is also proficient with the katana.
• McNinja: She is a Greek ninja.
• Missing Mom: Elektra's mom died shortly after giving birth to her. Maybe.
• Modesty Towel: Elektra's first solo series has a few examples:
  • In Issue #8, Doctor Strange sends an Astral Projection to Elektra right as she's showering and she teases him by asking if he has nothing better to do than peeping on a girl in the shower. He dispels it and gives her a minute to get dressed. The second Astral Projection he sends finds her wearing a towel and she once again teases him by asking him if all Astral Projection can blush.
  • In Issue #10, she goes after crime lord by attacking his home while he was showering. He comes out of the bathroom in a towel, and is shocked to find all his bodyguards dead. Suddenly his towel is swiped away by Elektra's Sai, who shoves him against a bathroom mirror and begins to intimidate him, telling him if she doesn't do as he asks he'll be losing more than a bath towel.
• Mole in Charge: Part of Elektra's plan to take down the Hand and HYDRA simultaneously in Wolverine: Enemy of the State.
• Mook Horror Show: She's known for dishing these out like candy. Hundreds of security guards, hired goons, bounty hunters, and Hand ninjas have met the business end of a sai over the years. It reached the point where SHIELD's official protocol for agents encountering her while on the field is to immediately abandon their mission and get the hell out of there.
• More Deadly Than the Male: Elektra is one of the few characters in the Marvel Universe that Wolverine considers more dangerous than himself.
• Ms. Fanservice: She is a red-clad Femme Fatale whose outfits are Stripperiffic in nature, and she is often drawn in many provocative poses as seen in Male Gaze. She has expressed to dressing revealing on purpose to lure in predatory males for a vicious beating.
• Old Retainer: Stavros
• The Paralyzer: She can locate different pressure points on a person's body. She can incapacitate, paralyze, severely injure, or kill a person
• Parental Incest: In Elektra: Assassin #1 (August 1986), 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.
• Pinball Projectile: Elektra's sai can be used in this manner by striking surfaces handle first.
• President Evil: In Elektra: Assassin, the Beast manages to get Ken Wind elected president, but Elektra thwarts the plan with her psychic powers and ninja skills.
• Professional Killer: For years, Elektra worked as a bounty hunter and assassin for hire until meeting Daredevil.
• Psychic Block Defense: Elektra has demonstrated an ability to remain hidden and undetected by other telepaths. By using a telepathic technique that she learned during her time with the Hand, Elektra can create a mental shield around her mind keeping herself hidden from not only other psychics but mind locating machines like Cerebro
• Psychic Powers: Elektra has demonstrated low-level telekinesis and telepathy.
• Race Lift:
  • Who do you cast to play the olive-skinned, raven-haired, Greek-born assassin in your movie? Apparently the American-born, light-skinned, brunette Jennifer Garner...
  • The Darker and Edgier Punisher Max series makes Elektra Japanese, instead of a white woman who dresses up in ninja gear.
  • In the Daredevil (2015) live-action series, she's played by French-Cambodian actress Élodie Yung. To be fair though, she can pass as Greek based on facial features.
• Red and Black and Evil All Over: Elektra has striking black hair and wears a red outfit. She is also one of the deadliest assassins in the Marvel Universe.
• Red Is Heroic: When she is a hero.
• Red Is Violent: Elektra fluctuates between being a hero and a villain but two things that stay consistent is her preference for using violence to solve her problems and her wearing a red outfit.
• Religious and Mythological Theme Naming: Elektra wanted to avenge her murdered father. What are the odds?
• The Rival: She and Bullseye competed for the position of Kingpin's top assassin. Bullseye won by killing her.
• Roof Hopping
• Scope Snipe: Elektra once used a handgun to kill a sniper this way.
• Self-Harm: Elektra grew up close to her father but was plagued by dark visions and voices with no known source. Because of this, she occasionally reacted to them with self-harm.
• Series Continuity Error: Two contradictory accounts of her family history have been given. In Elektra: Root of Evil #1-4 (1995), her mother, Christina, is killed by assassins hired by Orestez, while in Elektra Volume 2 #18 (1998), she is killed by an insurrectionist during the Greek Civil War. In both accounts, she gives premature birth to Elektra just before dying.
• Skinny Dipping: Elektra does this on Elektra: Root of Evil #3 complete with a Toplessness from the Back shot.
• Sociopathic Hero: Even when she is on the heroic side, Elektra is incredibly ruthless and flippant when it comes to inflicting pain.
• Stay in the Kitchen: Elektra knocked a man unconscious for saying that being a hero "ain't a girl's job."
• Stealth Hi/Bye: Due to her ninja training, she can blend in with the shadows and remain undetected by most humans.
• Strong and Skilled: Elektra is incredibly strong and fast for a human and is one of the best martial artists in the Marvel universe. She is also trained in Ki Manipulation, albeit not quite to the extent of Danny Rand.
• Super-Scream: The Silent Shout, a powerful ki attack used by the Chaste that leaves the user mute for a few days. Elektra can use this power as well, though not with the same intensity.
• Sword and Fist: Elektra either beats down enemies with her fists or stabs them with her sais. is trained in unarmed combat and use of the sai.
• Technicolor Ninjas: Elektra's revealing leotard and loin-cloth... thing.
• Throwing Your Sai Always Works: Her aim is so good it works for her.
• Waif-Fu: She's capable of lifting twice her body weight.
• Weapon Specialization: Elektra is well known for her skill with the sai.

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