After my recent post covering Wolverine in
the MC2 thanks to the new Deadpool & Wolverine movie
ushering the pair into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it feels like the
right time to detail Logan’s romantic life partner in the MC2
Universe so today’s post will be all about Elektra in the MC2.
Elektra Natchios first appeared in Daredevil #168,
and reportedly she was intended to be a one-off character, former love interest
and foil for Matt Murdock aka Daredevil,
according to creator Frank Miller. Elektra proved popular enough
to make regular appearances in the series until her death at the hands of Kingpin’s
assassin Bullseye
in Daredevil #181. Elektra returned from the dead by
ninja cult The Hand soon after in Daredevil #190 and eventually
went on to be a consistent fan favourite character.
A part of Elektra’s published history which proves very
relevant to the MC2 begins in Wolverine #100 (written by
long-time Wolverine scribe and MC2 alumni Larry Hama)
where Natchios begins a mission to help restore Logan after the
loss of his Adamantium
left him in a feral and bestial state. With the backdrop of the Onslaught
event raging, Elektra helps re-train and guide Wolverine back
to himself and the two grow close as they begin to understand each other
resulting in a friendship that continued into Elektra’s own series (Wolverine
#100-#106).
Now, on to the MC2 proper! With the introduction
of Rina
Logan aka Wild
Thing we also saw the arrival of her mother, Elektra Natchios
in J2 #5. Here we learn that the relationship between Elektra
and Logan has developed into a long-term romantic one resulting in the
couple raising their teenage mutant ninja daughter together. Elektra
informs Logan their daughter is pursuing J2,
leading him to head to New York to find her.
We get our first glimpse of the relationship between Rina
and her mother in a two page story from J2 #7 where we learn she and Elektra
sometimes fight crime together, discuss weaponry, attend international
mercenary conventions and build bombs together and have apparently even clashed
with notable villains such as the ninja cult The Hand and Bullseye.
In J2 #11, alongside Cyclops, Logan and Elektra watch
on as Rina runs the gauntlet against Jubilee’s team, the X-People.
After Wild Thing proves herself, Jubilee declares
she has passed the initiation and may join the X-People as a
probationary member. Rina declines, stating she only did it
because her father asked her to which Cyclops remarks she
reminds him of Logan, who asks Elektra if she thinks he’s
mellowed with age.
While at the Mall with her daughter Rina, Elektra
visits a local martial arts dojo for some training. Targeted by her old enemy Kuroyama,
the villainous assassin of the Hand, now rebuilt as a cyborg with a
built-in attack computer that uses a virtual reality
matrix. Elektra battles her old foe until Kuroyama is
inadvertently defeated with one hit after appearing within Rina’s hacked video game
(Wild Thing #2).
Elektra Natchios is seen alongside various other
major Marvel female heroes in Spider-Girl #60 on
both the issue’s cover and within the thoughts of May ‘Mayday’
Parker as the latter reflects on her place amongst the other
superheroines who came before her. The real-world reasons for these cameos
was to acknowledge prior female heroes as the Spider-Girl title
reaching its 60th continuous issue, something only one other
solo female superheroine title at Marvel had achieved, that
being none other than Sensational
She-Hulk. The Spider-Girl title would go on to surpass
this, reaching issue 100, a feat still unbeaten to this date.
While temporarily working with the crime lord The Black
Tarantula, Spider-Girl receives martial arts training from Elektra.
While rocking a black variant of her classic costume, Elektra educates Spider-Girl
by noting she is telegraphing her moves and repeating patterns. After correctly
deducing she is the daughter of Spider-Man
based on her mannerisms and body language, Elektra advices Spider-Girl
she must not hold back if she hopes to defeat Lady
Octopus (Spider-Girl #75).
Spider-Girl demonstrates she has quickly improved
under Elektra’s tutelage by running a gauntlet without a single nick.
Despite Spider-Girl’s confidence in her ability to defeat Lady Octopus,
Elektra warns the heroine that there will be more challenges ahead,
seemingly alluding to the threat of her employer the Black Tarantula (Spider-Girl
#77).
With Spider-Girl parting ways with the Black
Tarantula shortly afterwards, Elektra was not seen again in the MC2.
Thus, we come to the end of today’s post with a bit of an anticlimax. As such,
I would love to see the Greek assassin make her return to the MC2
someday, perhaps in a tightly plotted Wild Thing revival series?
Until I commit to watching the Director’s Cut of the Elektra
movie, I remain
frogoat
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