Elektra #1-5Issue(s): Elektra #1, Elektra #2, Elektra #3, Elektra #4, Elektra #5 Review/plot: My partner Min started picking up this comic along with John Byrne's Wonder Woman around this time, probably one of the pitfalls of coming with me to the comic book stores once a week. She hated Byrne's Wonder Woman ("all the characters look like old men") but liked this. She didn't know much about Elektra's history but liked the strong female character, the art (allowing for the typical 1990s problematic depictions of women), and the story. I think most fans had a different reaction which is why Larry Hama unceremoniously wipes out the books supporting cast and status quo when he takes over with issue #14 (and Min will never hear a good word about Hama thanks to that). The status quo is admittedly a weird one. Elektra becomes a dancer, and develops a supporting cast around the dance theater and a martial arts school that she sponsors. But even more than the specifics, the real issue is giving Elektra a personality and a cast of characters that she can care about at all. In all of her depictions to date, she's been cold and aloof, a mystery and and object of other people's desires and/or fears. Heck, in her first solo miniseries, she arguably isn't even the protagonist (it's John Garret, who narrates about Elektra as if she's a force of nature). An intention of her second miniseries might have been to humanize her a bit by giving her a long-lost brother and a former lover, but both of those relationships are depicted as being part of a past that she seemingly has become distant from. The same could be said of her old relationship with Matt Murdock; there's a sadness to the loss of that love but her feelings had to become suppressed so that she could become a heartless killing machine. So i think giving Elektra *any* kind of personality was going to result in detractors and claims that it's a deviation from the established character, but that's arguably because we've never really seen a story from her perspective. And if she's going to be the star of the series, she couldn't just keep being a mysterious figure we never learn anything about. I grant you that we didn't need a solo Elektra series but i applaud the attempt to keep publishing a book with a female lead (especially after Silver Sable's cancellation last year). I also grant you that Elektra's personal life didn't have to involve her become a modern art dancer, but that actually happens more naturally and seems less goofy than it first sounds. We start by seeing that Elektra has a policy of taking down local criminals and sparing their lives if they promise to go to a dojo run by friends of hers, King Lau and Mackinley Stewart. One of the criminals - called Rat or Ratty - decides to stay with the dojo. The initial fight happens to be in a dance theater, and the theater owner, Konnie Weiss, is impressed with her fighting style and thinks it could be used in dancing. Elektra initially rejects the idea, but when the dojo needs money, she returns. Her idea is to develop shows based on the Greek legends of her forefathers (there are a lot of references to the original myth of Electra as well as other such things like the Furies in these issues). And, since it's modern dance, she tells Wolverine (who pops up a few times in this series to reciprocate after she'd been appearing in his), she won't have to practice. Later, her dojo is attacked by Bullseye, and the teachers and Ratty are all badly injured. Elektra ends up fighting him, but it's an intimidating situation. He's already killed her once, after all, and on top of that, the mysterious organization that hired him also taught him all about her history and how to anticipate her attacks. We see flashbacks for both Bullseye and Elektra during the fight. It's said that Bullseye has a form of colorblindness that causes red to appear as a muddy green. Elektra finally beats Bullseye by breaking out of her usual fighting style and using moves that he won't predict. Her flashback showed her giving her father a necklace for Father's Day, and in the end Bullseye turns out to be wearing that necklace. She resists the urge to kill him. A sixteen year old girl and her father were bystanders during the fight, and the father is killed. The daughter, Nina McCabe, blames Elektra. Elektra goes to Bullseye's apartment and finds one of the people that hired Bullseye. She chases him and learns that the person behind the organization is called the Architect, also known as the Shining One and other such mystical things. The person she's captured then explodes. Later, Nina is picked up by some Ukranian pimps. Elektra uses her connections with former Kingpin goons, who help her because she once worked for the Kingpin. They point her towards the Ukranians but tell her "the big man will be back soon, and you'll owe him". She rescues Nina. Afterwards, since Nina's father is dead and she doesn't want to live with her grandparents, Elektra reluctantly lets her move in with her. Later, Elektra witnesses a fight between Killer Shrike and a new super-mercenary named Shatterhead. Turns out the Architect has been hiring super-mercs to fight each other. The others are new one-offs. The "corpse-meat" guy is the Architect himself, who has possessed someone in New York after killing some tourists in India. Elektra goes to a policeman named Michael Morrisey to find out what's going on, but he doesn't know anything. On Wolverine's advice, Elektra goes to Dr. Strange to get more information on the Architect. It's a fun interaction. The theory is that he is Hassan, the original assassin (and they guy who gave us the name "hashish" for marijuana). Strange says he'll look into it more. But in the meantime, Elektra is confronted by the Architect directly. Sounds like we've got some cool upcoming appearances. The Architect also has the ability to bring Elektra's father back from the dead. He says it's no illusion (but come on!) and Elektra seems actually tempted. The Architect says that he can make Elektra's father available regularly and he'll also cancel the mercenary war if Elektra kills him. But it's not that easy; killing the body he's currently possessing doesn't count. She's given fourteen days to think about it. Meanwhile, the super-mercs begin to gather. I've talked before about the genericizing of the Taskmaster. He's a guy that should be training goons for other super-villains, not participating in stuff like this. Dr. Strange also visits again. While she's thinking things over, we see bits from her personal life. Nina is dealing with her father's death... ...Mackinley professes romantic interest in Elektra... ...and we learn that Konnie has a club foot. In the end, Elektra rejects the Architect's offer. It's a well written story with lots of humor and good character development. Plenty of downtime to explore the new cast while also building up to some fun super-villain fights. And as you can see, the dance stuff barely figures into it all. It comes down to whether Elektra is allowed to develop a personality and have interpersonal relationships, or just remain an unobtainable sex object. Quality Rating: B Chronological Placement Considerations: The MCP has Wolverine here between Wolverine #106-107. Dr. Strange is his usual self. Days and even weeks pass during issues of this story but each ends on a kind of unrelated cliffhanger (something i always find annoying, but it's an annoyance specific to my project). References:
Crossover: N/A Continuity Insert? N My Reprint: N/A
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