Elektra Natchios is one of the most iconic antiheroes in comics. She is notable for her striking design, compelling past, and star-crossed relationship with the troubled hero Daredevil. What’s helped keep her interesting to readers after debuting under the pen of the legendary Frank Miller is her consistently fantastic array of stories.
Since her inception, Elektra has been placed in stories that test her morality and just how far she’ll go as an assassin. She’s been made into a remarkably well-rounded character. Elektra has been crafted into a permanent and iconic fixture of Marvel Comics, from her role in Secret Invasion and Dark Reign to her connection with The Hand to her struggles with her death and identity.
10 Chip Zdarksy Made Elektra The Woman Without Fear
Series |
Creators |
Release Dates |
---|---|---|
Daredevil Vol.6, Daredevil: Woman Without Fear Vol.1, & Daredevil Vol.7 |
Chip Zdarsky, Ty Templeton, Marco Checchetto, Clayton Cowles, Jorge Fornés, Nolan Woodard, Francesco Mobili, Marcio Menus, Mattia Iacono, Rafael de Latorre, Matt Wilson, Stefano Landini, Chris Giarrusso, Declan Shalvey, Federico Blee, Chris Bachalo, & Ann Nocenti |
February 2019 – October 2023 |
During Chip Zdarsky’s legendary run on Daredevil, the author focused heavily on Matt Murdock’s on-again, off-again love, Elektra. From forming a new organization known as The Fist to taking down an army of clone Bullseyes to even becoming Daredevil herself, Elektra always had something to do in Zdarsky’s run.
Most notable of the changes made to Elektra during Zdarsky’s tenure on Daredevil was her adoption of the Daredevil identity. She took up the mask and horns after Matt Murdock was imprisoned for murder. Her stint as Daredevil culminated in the Red Fist Saga, a storyline in which she and Matt finally got married after decades of will they/won’t they and formed The Fist, a ninja cult that would destroy The Hand for good— until another writer inevitably wants to use them again.
9 The ’90s Had Elektra’s First Ongoing
Series |
Creators |
Release Dates |
---|---|---|
Elektra Vol.1 |
Peter Milligan, Larry Hama, Mike Deodato Jr, Deodato Studios, Christie Scheele, Jack Morelli, Digital Chameleon, Kevin Lau, Scott Koblish, & Ian Laughlin |
September 1996 – April 1998 |
While it lasted only two years, 1996’s Elektra was the character’s first solo ongoing, lasting a fair nineteen issues. While not revolutionary, the series was still remarkably entertaining and fairly well-written by its iconic team of Peter Milligan and Larry Hama. Elektra was given more of a baseline status quo and even an enjoyable recurring cast of supporting characters.
The series was also fairly interesting because it cemented Elektra as a regular figure in the wider Marvel universe. It would be easy to simplify her as a figure confined to the small corner occupied only by Daredevil and Matt Murdock’s messy love life. However, the 1996 series gave Elektra a wider world to engage with— from her own love interests to an attempt at a normal life to meeting other costumed individuals; the series was a fun and simple title that engaged readers.
8 Dark Reign Explored Elektra At A Low Point
Series |
Creators |
Release Dates |
---|---|---|
Dark Reign: Elektra |
Zeb Wells, Clay Mann, Cory Petit, Mark Pennington, Matt Hollingsworth |
March 2009 – August 2009 |

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It could be said most of Elektra’s life has been spent at a low, from the tragedies that plagued her personal relationships to her time as an assassin for the Hand. Yet, Dark Reign: Elektra showed readers how the anti-hero was able to claw her way up from an exceptionally unfavorable position.
Before the events of the series, Elektra had been taken prisoner by alien scientists and replaced by a Skrull whose death set the events of Secret Invasion into high gear. The Skrull had committed several atrocities under her name, thus putting Elektra into the crosshairs of a myriad of individuals who wanted her dead as a result. Dark Reign: Elektra was a compelling tale that pitted its lead as an underdog fighting for her survival while struggling with her identity.
7 Marvel Knights Was A New Era
Series |
Creators |
Release Dates |
---|---|---|
Elektra Vol. 2 |
Brian Michael Bendis, Greg Rucka, Robert Rodi, & Various Artists |
July 2001 – April 2004 |
The early 2000s were a period of experimentation for Marvel, from bringing in independent or Vertigo-adjacent writers to revitalize their biggest titles to greenlighting a fair few series about lesser-known or new characters. One of their bigger swings was the Marvel Knights imprint (and later team), in which various Marvel characters were given accessible stories in PG-13, generally street-level settings.
Elektra was one of these characters, given a solo series that lasted over thirty issues. While it cycled through various writers and had a few covers presenting a somewhat sleazy image of the stories within each issue, the authors involved with the series— notably Rob Rodi and Greg Rucka— left their distinct mark on Elektra. The series asserted the assassin as a powerful legend that could never be escaped while also confronting her demons to redeem herself.
6 Elektra Lived— And Died— Again
Series |
Creators |
Release Dates |
---|---|---|
Elektra Lives Again |
Frank Miller, Lynn Varley, Chris Eliopoulos, & Jim Novak |
March 1990 |

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Frank Miller seemed to love writing Elektra over the years and, as a result, wrote the masterpiece Elektra Lives Again. Set after her initial resurrection at the end of his Daredevil run, in a dubious sense of canon, the story seemed to be about Matt Murdock’s guilt over her death.
Miller utilized a fantastic parallel framing for the story to tell Matt’s decline after seeing constant visions of his former love and Elektra’s adventures trying to fend off the Hand. The story initially presents Elektra as a ghastly specter haunting Matt in his dreams for his mistakes before revealing the subtle twist that Matt’s presence haunts Elektra. His inability to let her go even as she had come back to life tortured them both, with the story concluding on the powerful note that letting go could lead to better things for them as individuals.
5 Black, White, And Blood Was A Perfect Anthology
Series |
Creators |
Release Dates |
---|---|---|
Elektra: Black, White & Blood |
Various |
January 2022 – May 2022 |
Anthologies have always existed in comics, but 1996’s Batman: Black and White popularized the color-coded anthology format for various characters. Over the years, DC expanded this format to include more characters, and Marvel utilized it heavily in their Black, White, and Red style of anthologies. The series has featured characters like Carnage, Moon Knight, Deadpool, Wolverine, and, of course, Elektra.
Elektra: Black, White, and Blood is a great book for new readers to immerse themselves in Elektra’s character. Readers are filled in on the basics very quickly and shown a variety of stories told by many creative teams about the inner world of Elektra Natchios. Sold in a beautiful— yet affordable — gallery edition, Elektra: Black, White, and Blood is an accessible and compelling anthology for the character.
4 Elektra: Assassin Was A Dream
Series |
Creators |
Release Dates |
---|---|---|
Elektra: Assassin |
Frank Miller, Bill Sienkiewicz , & Jim Novak |
June 1986 – January 1987 |

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Bill Sienkiewicz made a name for himself with his lavishly surreal art over the years. His interiors and covers are rendered in such a way that they feel like they could plaster the walls of a gallery. While Sienkiewicz has worked on more widely beloved titles like The New Mutants, the comic Elektra: Assassin is one of his best works.
Written by Elektra’s creator, Frank Miller, Elektra: Assassin is a fever dream of a comic that may, admittedly, be hard to grasp if a reader doesn’t know what they’re getting into. But if a reader embraces the surreal nature of the story, a masterwork awaits them. Assassin delves into Elektra’s traumatic past and time with The Hand before setting her on a mission to interfere with international politics in a haunting epic about violence and power. The first of Elektra’s many solo adventures, Assassin showed how the anti-hero could operate on her own terms.
3 Elektra Has Always Had A History With Wolverine
Series Issues |
Creators |
Release Dates |
---|---|---|
Elektra and Wolverine: The Redeemer |
Greg Rucka, & Yoshitaka Amano |
November 2001 – February 2002 |
While Elektra is commonly associated with Daredevil due to their romantic history, she’s had notable relationships and dynamics with several other Marvel antiheroes, such as Typhoid Mary, Punisher, and Wolverine. The story Elektra and Wolverine: The Redeemer told the tale of the titular pair’s first meeting.
Taking place after two incredibly traumatic events for the leads— Wolverine getting his adamantium claws and Elektra coming back from the dead— the duo is put on a collision course when Logan is hired to protect a child Elektra must kidnap and kill due to her status as a witness. The story works wonders to foil its titular anti-heroes as living weapons once having been wielded by others while being presented in a unique style— it was quite literally a graphic novel, as Greg Rucka’s engaging prose entirely occupied some pages, while Yoshitaka Amano‘s wispy, ethereal art entirely occupied others.
2 Elektra Got Her Start In The Definitive Daredevil Run
Series Issues |
Creators |
Release Dates |
---|---|---|
Daredevil Vol.1 #168 – 190 |
Frank Miller, Klaus Janson, Joe Rosen, Glynis Oliver, & Bob Sharen |
October 1980 – September 1982 |

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Frank Miller’s run on Daredevil is the stuff of legend, developing the modern foundations of the character and his world that every writer after him would borrow from in terms of tone, themes, backstory, villains, and so on. But perhaps one of Miller’s most notable contributions to the mythos was, of course, Elektra.
Miller introduced Elektra as Matt Murdock’s former love from college, torn apart by circumstances beyond their control. The run explored how their lives diverged, the ill-fated nature of their relationship, and the tragedy of Elektra’s death at the hands of Bullseye. The run eventually culminated in her revival, marking a new start for the character to move on from.
1 Marvel NOW! Was Elektra’s Best Era
Series Issues |
Creators |
Release Dates |
---|---|---|
Elektra Vol.3 |
W. Haden Blackman, Mike Del Mundo, Clayton Cowles, Marco D’Alfonso, Alex Sanchez, & Esther Sanz |
April 2014 – March 2015 |
Launched as part of the Marvel NOW! initiative, the 2014 Elektra series is arguably one of the character’s best-ever solo runs. While it concluded a bit before its time at a mere eleven issues, the story within was exceptional in many ways. It was especially fantastic with the painterly art of Mike Del Mundo.
The 2014 series saw Elektra take on some of the world’s deadliest mercenaries to protect the mysterious Cape Crow, fight Bullseye once more, and eventually rise to the top of the Assassin’s Guild after previously defying them. This occurred alongside Elektra grappling with her feelings over her mother, struggling with the desire for a normal life, and showing readers the lighter gray shades of her morality. While the series was short, it encapsulated the most important aspects of Elektra’s character while remaining accessible, making it one of the character’s best comics.