The red outfit. The slick, black hair. The knives. The way she takes you out before you even know she's there. These are just some of the reasons why Daredevil's Elektra is so captivating to fans. Ever since her appearance in 1981, she's been seen as one of the most engaging characters in Marvel, and maybe even of all time.
We all love a mystery, and Elektra is certainly that. She usually keeps herself at an arm's distance from everyone, even her greatest love, Matt Murdoch. She's had a traumatic life and has a job that certainly takes a deep emotional toll. Keeping all of this to herself protects her from demons that she fears will hurt those around her. In a lot of ways, she's like Catwoman, but far darker and even more complex.
She has most famously been played by Jennifer Garner in the highly disliked films Daredevil and Elektra. Although both films were critical flops, many have equated her with Garner for years since she undeniably did the best she could with the material given to her. In recent years, Elodie Yung has played her in Netflix's Daredevil and The Defenders. Even before all of that, Elektra Natchios had been a mainstay for comic books fans and Marvel video game players alike.
This secretive assassin has become a fan favorite, both to play and to watch, because she's pretty much capable of taking on even the strongest foe. But these fans may be surprised by some of her abilities, both learned-skills and supernatural, as well as some of the darkest elements of her past.
Without further ado, here are the 20 Strangest Things About Elektra's Body.
She Was Born Prematurely
There are two different origins of Elektra's birth in the main canon of the Marvel comics. In one version of the birthing story, her mother Christina passes away during an insurrection at the time of the Greek Civil War. In the other, Christina perishes at the hands of assassins hired by Elektra's brother. However, in both origins, Christina gave birth to Elektra prematurely and leaves the planet shortly after.
Additionally, in the movie Elektra, it happened when she was a young girl, instead of a baby, and at the hands of Kirigi on orders from his father, the head of The Hand. This decision made sense from a story perspective, as the writers clearly wanted the hero and villain to have a closer tie to one another, but it all felt a little lazy and uninspired.
She Can Control Minds And Telecommunicate
Although some of these traits were explored in Jennifer Garner's Elektra, a lot of Marvel fans don't know that the assassin has legitimate powers. She's not just a well-trained mercenary, she actually has some psychic abilities.
As a child, she found herself hearing voices, which caused her incredible psychological issues. However, once training under The Hand, Elektra's psychic abilities increased.
She is able to place her mind in someone else's body as well as communicate with them telepathically.
Her powers are extremely limited but come in handy in dangerous scenarios. She also has precognitive abilities, which come in handy when avoiding oncoming violence.
Elektra also learned how to bring people back to life with the powers from The Chaste and The Hand.
She's Of Greek Decent
Although she's been played by actors from the US and France, Elektra actually hails from Greece. In almost every origin story, including in the comics, film, and television, Elektra was born near the Aegean Sea to Christina and Hugo Kostas Natchios.
This Mediteranian heritage adds to the character's mystery, as someone who comes from a faraway land.
Aside from her mother and diplomat father, in the comics, she also had an older brother named Orestez Natchios, whose loyalties wavered at times. However, he was the one who suggested that Elektra receive some self-defense courses which started her on her way to becoming one of the world's most lethal assassins.
She fought her own evil self
After Elektra was stabbed with one of her iconic sai, she was brought back to life by The Hand. She then trained on top of a snow-capped mountain. She stayed fairly hidden for many years before she returned to Daredevil in New York City.
However, upon her return, she seemed drastically different. She was far colder and even angrier. She even decided to work as an assassin for absolutely anyone who would pay the price.
During a storyline where she and Stick attempt to help a feral Wolverine, she finds out that when she was resurrected, she split into a good and evil side.
She confronts this evil side and defeats it.
She merges it with her good side, which soon took control.
She's Resistant To Extreme Heat and Cold
Elektra may not have a supernatural ability to resist extreme temperatures, but she's been trained to withstand them. Much like Batman and Green Arrow, Elektra went through incredible feats to train her body into becoming the ultimate weapon.
Part of this training included being able to stable her breathing and her body in order to work through intense heat and frigid cold. These skill come in handy when she had to fight in wintery locations as well as dealing with fire.
Additionally, being able to withstand insanely drastic temperatures must have come in handy while wearing her iconic red comic book costume; something that's been altered for her television and film appearances.
She Struggles With Mental Illness
One of the more interesting facts about Elektra's body is that she actually struggles with mental illness. Due to her traumatic past, it's completely understandable why she would struggle so deeply, but some of her issues predate the passing of her father.
As a child, after her mother's passing, Elektra found herself plagued with voices in her head. She'd also experienced visions. She then took to harming herself as a way to cope.
Her father put her into psychotherapy to deal with some of these issues, and The Hand helped her to control her powers.
However, her issues went far deeper than these powers. She had several other experiences as a child that forever inflicted pain onto her.
She Was A Religious Figure
In Netflix's Daredevil, as well as The Defenders, Elektra is thought to be "The Black Sky", the ultimate weapon destined to lead the demonic cult, The Hand. Though she resisted this or a while, after her loss and resurrection, she became an assassin working for Alexandra and The Hand and thus the main antagonist for Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Iron Fist, and Luke Cage.
The Hand believed that this living weapon would end the conflict with The Chaste as well as end the noisy conflict on the planet so that The Beast could rest.
The Elektra movie followed a similar storyline, as explained by Terrance Stamp's narration at the beginning of the film. In the flick, The Hand was ruthlessly searching for "The Weapon," which ended up being the girl Elektra was protecting.
She Used Her Broken Tooth As A Weapon
The sign of a really powerful warrior is the fact that they can use literally anything as a weapon. Jason Bourne is a good example of this. In every one of his movies, it's a tradition for him to take out an assassin with some sort of inanimate object. Well, Elektra isn't dissimilar.
Though Elektra is best known for using her sai, she actually used her broken tooth to destroy a mercenary that was sent for her.
This took place after she was impersonated and was held captive by Norman Osborn and H.A.M.M.E.R. Because of her impersonator's actions, a bounty was put on her.
When the bounty hunter found her, he broke her tooth which she then proceeded to spit into his throat. At that moment, he chocked on it which allowed her to escape.
Her Look Was Different In The TV Show
As detailed in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, it was very important for the creators of Netflix's Daredevil to design a practical, appropriate, and modern outfit for Elektra.
In the comics, Elektra is usually seen in a very skimpy, flowing red outfit.
Though this costume has been part of Elektra's popularity, it didn't suit the tone of the Netflix show.
To recreate Elektra's image, costume designer Lorraine Calvert gave up the sleek look that Elektra had been associated with. She made her outfit appear more "street"-- black with red accents.
Toward the end of the second season of Daredevil, Elektra got an outfit that was closer to the comics as it had a ninja-esque look. Even then, it was pretty different than the comics.
She's An Expert In The Ways Of The Chaste And The Hand
Elektra exists somewhere between the light and the dark, in large part due to her tragic past.
Before her father perished, she was encouraged to take self-defense classes. However, her best skills came a little later in life when she became a member of The Chaste, an ancient organization that sought to defeat a mystical ninja sect called The Hand.
Elektra trained under a wise sensei named Stick, who eventually banished her from the organization due to her unbridled rage. She then turned to Stick's enemies and trained under them, becoming one of The Hand's most dangerous assassins.
Eventually, she broke with them too and became a freelance assassin, but she took the physical and mental skills from both organizations.
She's Powerful Enough To Fight An Actual Demon
Though Elektra was once part of The Hand, for the most part, they remain her mortal enemies. This ninja cult spends the majority of its time following the desires of an actual demon. This demon, known as "The Beast" is a massive, powerful entity who dreams of calming the "noisy" corruption of the universe and will ruthlessly do anything to get it. Essentially, he just wants to get some peace.
As powerful and demonic as this "Beast" is, he found a legitimate match in Elektra, who took him on with just a large spear.
The warrior assassin even managed to wound him during their altercation. This proved that Elektra is so much more of a threat then we all thought beforehand.
She Was Resurrected
Without a doubt, Elektra's most famous storyline is when she was eliminated and then brought back to life. Though this event has happened a few times in a few different canons, the most popular one was when she was stabbed with her own sai by Bullseye.
Originally, Elektra creator Frank Miller only intended the character to be an important story arc for Daredevil. The fans loved her and so Marvel decided to bring her back with the powers of The Hand.
This story thread was explored in the Daredevil and Elektra movies, although Stick was the one to bring her back in this series. An alternative resurrection story was shown in Netflix's Daredevil series. However, in both, she was brought back to life after appearing to have met her demise.
She's Been Played By Two Different Actors
Although Elektra has been a popular character for comic book fans since the '80s, it took a blockbuster movie to make her a household name. Although 2003's Daredevil was a highly disliked film, it did offer a few strong aspects, one of which was Jennifer Garner as Elektra.
Although this version fo Elektra wasn't as formidable or rage-filled as some fans would have liked, most agree that Garner did the best she could with the role.
This thought persisted when the 2005 Elektra movie came out. It was practically the only positive thing one could say about the film.
In recent years, Elodie Yung has taken on the role, adding her own spin in Netflix's Daredevil and The Defenders.
Jennifer Garner Was Injured While Playing Her
Appearing in a bad film wasn't the only negative thing to happen to Jennifer Garner while playing Elektra. She actually ended up hurting her knuckles while filming with Will Yun Lee, who portrayed Kirigi in the messy 2005 flick.
Jennifer Garner had a history of doing a lot of her own stunt work. She had extensive experience doing multiple action scenes in J.J. Abrams' beloved show, Alias.
Having experience doesn't mean that someone is impervious to injury.
Garner hurt her the exact same spot on her knuckles twice while filming the climactic sword/sai-fight with Kirigi. Luckily, this injury didn't prevent her from returning to her hit show.
She's A Master Martial Artist
Elektra is a master when it comes to martial arts. Most famously, Elektra wields two sharp knives called Okinawan sai. These weapons help contribute to her iconic look, but they aren't the only weapon she's trained to use. She is also skilled with swords, particularly Japanese katanas, shuriken, daggers, and three-sectioned staffs.
Her most powerful weapon is her body itself. Due to her training experiences as a child, as well as time with The Chaste and The Hand, Elektra is a master of Ninjutsu, Karate, and Aikido.
Elektra is also an Olympic level athlete, which means that her body is not only skilled but capable of some of the most intense situations. She's a skilled swimmer, talented at gymnastics, and incredibly coordinated.
She Was Impersonated By A Skrull
When X-Men: Dark Phoenix and Captain Marvel hit the big-screens, mainstream audiences will find out just how dangerous The Skrulls can be. Comic book fans already are well aware of these shape-shifting, otherworldly beings that have often come into conflict with many of Marvels most famous characters.
In the comic Mighty Avengers #16, it's revealed that Elektra was selected to be replaced by Siri, a Skrull imposter. Though Elektra managed to take out Siri, another Skrull, Pagon, turned into Elektra and acted as her for some time.
The real Elektra ended up captured on a Skrull ship while Pagon was wreaking havoc as her double.
Eventually, she was freed by The Avengers, although Iron Man ordered to have her held in protective custody due to the Pagon's actions.
Her traumatic past
Elektra's past is full of incredible tragedy, including the early demise of her mother, but her history is far more complicated than most fans believe.
During Elektra: Assassin #1, which came out in 1986, Elektra begins to have vague memories of having been assaulted by her father when she was very young. She had spent years in counseling, which her father put her in, and being medicated, which led her to believe that this wasn't a real memory.
This suppressed memory caused her to have violent visions which led her to self-harm. This incredible violation comes on top of an event where a young Elektra was assaulted by her abductors as well. That event led her to take the self-defense classes which started her on a journey to becoming one of the greatest warriors in Marvel history.
She's Been A Lego
Although Elektra has been featured in two feature films (Daredevil and Elektra), a Netflix television show, and multiple comics, she's had far more video game appearances.
This is pretty impressive since she's been in relatively few major comic book storylines. Fans clearly grabbed onto this character and wanted to see her in more action. In fact, she's one of the favorite characters for video gamer to play.
The video game titles that have included Elektra are practically endless. Among the most famous are Marvel Superheroes vs. Street Fighter, Marvel: Future Fight, Marvel Ultimate Alliance, Marvel Heroes (where she appears as a villain), and Lego Marvel Superheroes. At this rate, there's probably far more video game opportunities for her in the future.
She Was Kept In A Mental Institution
In one of Elektra's most famous storylines, detailed in an eight-issue series called Elektra: Assassin, we find Elektra in a mental institution. While in the facility, she attempts to recover her memory, which has become completely disjointed and therefore causes her to be in distress.
During this stay, we find out much of the darkest aspects of her history, even if she chooses not to admit all of them.
Additionally, she has multiple visions flash before her which allows her, as well as us, to discover "The Beast"; the demonic creature that The Hand worships.
Although the time in the mental institution was somewhat helpful for both Elektra and the readers, it's ultimately very painful for her and she's forced to escape.
Almost Anyone Can Use Her Skills
Because Elektra often operates somewhere in-between good and evil, she has allowed her skills to be sold to the highest bidder. At this point, practically every major force in her life, good and bad, have used her assassin skills to their advantage. This means that Elektra has worked for the enemy on multiple occasions.
Although she loves Matt Murdoch, she has worked for his greatest enemy a couple of times. She helped Wilson Fisk (AKA Kingpin) gather information on Daredevil as well as acted as his enforcer and eliminating some of his enemies. However, it was later revealed that she was, in fact, being impersonated by a Skrull at this time in the comics.
But even in the movie Elektra, she didn't seem to struggle too much with who she worked for, especially if she wasn't told.
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