Elektra #1 – Review

By: W. Haden Blackman (story), Michael Del Mundo (art) Marco D’Alfonso (colors)

The Story: So, wait—you don’t want Elektra to kill somebody?

The Review: Now that I’m on something of a hot streak where Marvel titles are concerned, I might as well go for broke and pursue another series featuring an unusual suspect. Of all the solo characters I’ve picked up in recent weeks, I probably have the most familiarity with the assassin by virtue of her guest spot on
Daredevil #35. It’s not much to go by, but it was enough to get me interested in her cool, confidently amoral aura, so close to that Secret Six flavor I haven’t tasted in so long.*

In a lot of the Marvel #1s I’ve read, the protagonists are at an uncertain juncture of their lives, and Elektra is no different. What separates her from the others is that she knows exactly who she is, an “assassin,” and she also knows why: “…I could not bear how foolish I felt every time I spared someone who was determined to kill me.” She’s come to the point where she accepts herself and her beastly past (as concisely summarized by Blackman) completely. She’s a killer with Zen. Even when the direction of her life is unclear, she knows what she has to do.