Elektra in the MC2

 

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

Doctor Octopus in the MC2

 

With Spider-Man: No Way Home on everyone’s mind, I figured now is a great time to cover some of the MC2 counterparts of the villains confirmed to appear in the film. Today, we are taking a look at Dr Otto Octavius aka Doc Ock aka Doctor Octopus in the MC2.

 

Doctor Octopus first appeared in Amazing Spider-Man #3 but makes his MC2 debut behind the scenes in The Buzz #1. Well, technically he’s only alluded to in the first issue and really makes his debut in The Buzz #2 albeit partially obscured, with his identity finally revealed in The Buzz #3. Let me break it down.

 

In The Buzz #1 we learn from J Jonah Jameson that Spider-Man vanished right before Jameson needed him most, though we don’t get any further details. Jonah’s wife Marla, Dr Sonja Jade and Richie Robertson were key members working on Project: Human Fly, a superpowered suit designed to empower Buzz Bannon and intended to be keyed to his specific brainwaves. However, when Dr Jade reveals her true self and her intention to take the suit, Bannon is shot and dies before his encephalograms can be linked to the Human Fly suit, leaving JJ Jameson to be keyed with the suit and foil its theft, though not before Dr Jade makes off with the project's data and erases all remaining records. Evidently, Dr Jade is being well-paid by Doc Ock and the suits of the henchmen accompanying her distinctly resemble those seen way back in the classic Master Planner story from Amazing Spider-Man #31-33.

 

Doctor Octopus makes his partially obscured first MC2 appearance in The Buzz #2, receiving a report from Dr Jade regarding the henchmen’s failure to obtain the Fly suit, which he attributes to the decrease in quality since the Taskmaster retired. Otto provides Jade with a device that would allow him to remotely take control of the Fly suit. Teaming up with Richie Robertson to maintain the suit,  JJ (dubbing himself The Buzz) sought out Dr Jade with little success for several weeks until confronted by her in a prototype of the Human Fly suit. With the device attached, the unseen Octavius downloads himself into the suit’s operating system and attempts to remotely pilot The Buzz back to his hidden base only to be interrupted by Spider-Girl.

 

Otto forces The Buzz to target Marla Jameson, resulting in JJ’s grandfather J Jonah Jameson being taken hostage. In order to force Doc Ock to leave the suit, Richie hits the kill switch and leaves The Buzz plummeting to earth. With the threat of the suit being destroyed and with Jonah being rescued by Spider-Girl, Doctor Octopus abandons control and Richie wipes him from the suit’s system, allowing The Buzz to pull out of the drop just in time (The Buzz #2).

 

JJ learns from his grandmother Marla the reason why Jonah blames himself for two murders following Buzz Bannon’s death. Marla explains that shortly after the original Spider-Man disappeared in battle with the Green Goblin, an old enemy attacked the Daily Bugle and murdered Jonah’s closest friend, Joe Robertson, Richie’s grandfather. It’s this inciting incident that led to the idea for Project: Human Fly (The Buzz #3). 

Using the control module device, Richie traces Dr Jade and her boss to their base and The Buzz and Spider-Girl follow this lead deep below the East River. The pair encounter Jade and Doctor Octopus is finally revealed as the mastermind who secretly aided in the development of the Human Fly suit, specifically the encephalo-gate which ties brain waves into the suit’s operating system (The Buzz #3). 

Otto also reveals he is dying from cancer and intended to use this method to transfer his consciousness. Unveiling his prototype Octopod, Otto uses the machine to battle The Buzz, but is left in a coma following an electrical backlash when the underwater base beings to flood. Confronted with the man who killed his grandfather, Richie insists The Buzz brings him in to face justice, but when given the choice between proving Dr Jade's involvement and saving Doc Ock, he was more than happy for The Buzz to leave Ock to die. Conflicted, The Buzz instead helps save Octavius and Dr Jade escapes (The Buzz #3).

 

It seems Doctor Otto Octavius never regains consciousness, and by the time Dr Jade re-emerges her partner Carolyn Trainer has assumed the mantle as the new Doctor Octopus in honour of her ‘recently deceased mentor’ (Spider-Girl #69). At least the name is in good hands.

 

Thus ends the life of Otto Octavius, at least in the MC2. Unless, of course, he managed to transfer his consciousness like he had planned and is still out there somewhere trapped inside his Octopod…

 

Until I stop the rampant rumour-mongering about versions of Doctor Octopus somehow surviving beneath the water, I remain

 

frogoat