Elektra Part 9: Daredevil #179 (February, 1982)

Elektra kicks some Daredevil ass in her ninth appearance.

I have this story in the Daredevil Visionaries: Frank Miller Vol. 2 trade.

Daily Bugle reporter Ben Urich enters a movie theater to meet a mob contact, but before Urich can learn anything beyond the mob’s financial investment in Mayoral candidate Randolph Winston Cherryh, Elektra kills his informant. She then tells Urich that the people of New York will be electing Cherryh as the new Mayor, that Cherryh will serve the interests of her new employer, and that Urich will do nothing to stop it. Daredevil starts getting nosey, and she sets a trap for him. He takes the bait, and they fight. Daredevil is left for dead under a pile of bricks after falling into the sewers. Urich, meanwhile, gets a sai in his back.

Notes of Interest:
1) Elektra is on Kingpin’s payroll and earns every penny.

2) She also has dialogue!

3) The first few times I read this, I thought Elektra entered the theater after Ben. In fact, she’s there already, waiting for Urich to arrive.

4) Her cold-heartedness really shows. Killing a man in a movie theater? That creeped me right out. Plus, she threw that sai right through Urich without batting an eye, and looked like she enjoyed kicking Matt’s ass.

WTF? Moment: Through all of her appearances so far, including this one, Elektra is shown to have brown eyes. So why, on this classic cover, are her eyes blue?

WTF? Moment #2: It would’ve been nice to actually see Elektra accepting Kingpin’s offer.

WTF? Moment #3: You’d think Matt’s newly returned radar-sense would've warned him about the bear trap.

WTF? Moment #4: Again with Miller's choices of names. Cherryh? How the heck do you pronounce that?

Don’t Be THAT Guy (or Girl)…

As we enter the summer convention season, I think we should address the way we dress when attending these things.

I have no problem whatsoever with cosplay. I think people with enough time and money on their hands should be allowed to express their level of devotion by dressing as their favorite characters.

Wanna go as Optimus Prime this year?
Fine.

How about Snake Eyes?
Go for it!

That furry creature that appeared for 16 seconds in episode eight of the anime series made in 1997 that you discovered last October?


Have a blast.

My issue is with people who wear just the shirt (of which I have several) of any given character.
The S shield, the Batman signal, the Punisher skull, whatever. To me, these are meant to be worn when you’re out mowing the lawn or shopping for groceries, as a way of expressing your devotion to the uninitiated. To let the commoners know that you are proud of your dorkiness. To get the unwashed masses to think about comics (or sci-fi…anime…whatever you’re into) a little bit more and remind them that these things are here to stay.

These shirts are not to be worn at conventions, because at conventions you’re preaching to the masses, converting the converted, selling to the sold. You don’t need to express yourself in that way, because you’re already at the convention!

It’s like going to a concert and wearing the shirt of the band you’re going to see.

Don’t do it, ladies and gentlemen.

DON’T BE THAT GUY (or girl)…

Elektra Part 8: Daredevil #178 (January, 1982)

Elektra continues to avoid Daredevil’s path as she passes Kingpin’s tests…

I have this story in the Daredevil Visionaries: Frank Miller Vol. 2 trade.

She returns to her apartment only to be attacked by five men, killing four of them before finding a note on a table addressed to her. The note tells her that these men were a test, courtesy of Kingpin, to prove if she was good enough to join his employment. She then works her way into Kingpin’s building, killing every man she sees, until she arrives at his office. Kingpin is there, waiting for her.

Notes of Interest:
1) Miller manages to tell this story in all of five pages, as bookends to the main Daredevil story.

2) Elektra’s skills shine here. Miller makes her move effortlessly through the fight at her apartment, and shows of her ninja skills during her invasion of Kingpin’s skyscraper.

3) Again, not one word of dialogue from Elektra in this entire sequence.

4) The offer from Kingpin must be tempting, because up till now she hasn’t been paid for one kill.

WTF? Moment: Where exactly is Elektra coming from as she enters her apartment? She’s wearing a trench coat, over her costume, and is empty handed (except for her sai). No groceries, no take out, nothing. Maybe she had dinner at a restaurant, and as an assassin is always prepared for battle.

WTF? Moment #2: Miller mentions is his narration that despite her hatred for Matt, Elektra will not leave New York “until she is certain that her work here is finished.” What work? There is nothing at this point keeping her in the city except the fact that she still thinks Matt is without his radar-sense (which is incorrect). If she hates Matt so much, why doesn’t she leave now, before being contacted by Kingpin?

Elektra Part 7: Daredevil #177 (December, 1981)

While technically not an appearance, I’m counting this issue as Elektra’s seventh because things start getting real interesting here…

I have this story in the Daredevil Visionaries: Frank Miller Vol. 2 trade.


Elektra shows up on the last page, in photos taken by someone in New York’s Finest Homicide Squad. Her activities from the last few issues are reviewed, and she is credited with eleven known kills – all ninja Hand members. Turns out the show-and-tell is for Kingpin, who’s looking for a new top assassin now that Bullseye is in lock-up. He’s intrigued, and tells his men to find her.

Notes of Interest:
1) It’s nice to see her character continue to develop outside of Daredevil’s immediate vicinity, but still within his world.

2) The one shot of her kill outside Duke’s Pool Hall was a nice touch.

3) Eleven kills…and that doesn’t include everyone from her time with The Hand, her activities after leaving the Hand, and the events from Bizarre Adventures #28.

WTF? Moment: I can’t believe that Elektra would let anyone snap a picture of her. Granted, the photographer could have used a telephoto lens from a safe distance, and it’s possible she let it happen, but still…

Elektra Part 6: Daredevil #176 (November, 1981)

Kirigi returns to cause Elektra grief in her sixth appearance.

I have this story in the Daredevil Visionaries: Frank Miller Vol. 2 trade.

We find Elektra hovering over Matt’s brownstone as he decides to find Stick so he can regain his radar-sense. She decides to help him despite her feelings. What she doesn’t know is that she is being watched by Kirigi, a member of The Hand whom she tried to kill twice last issue. She saves Matt’s life yet again by killing two thugs about to shoot Daredevil from behind. Then she finds Wall-Eyed Pike, a stoolie living in Hell’s Kitchen, who tells her where she can find Stick – Duke’s Pool Hall. She arrives in time to see Daredevil take out Turk (who’s wearing a Mauler suit) when Kirigi attacks. She drives a truck into him, knocking him into the Hudson. The truck explodes, setting Kirigi on fire, and still he comes after her. She finally kills Kirigi by decapitating him, and she’s left to wonder what she’ll do when Daredevil eventually catches up with her.

Notes of Interest:
1) Elektra continues to linger in the background here, never interacting with Matt or Daredevil.

2) Outside Duke’s, however, it looks like she had just finished cutting a bar out of a window, and was going to go in when Kirigi attacked. So it’s possible her lack of face-to-face time with Matt wasn’t entirely her choice.

3) She gets another kill! Too bad she doesn’t get paid for it…

WTF? Moment: Elektra gets to Wall-Eyed Pike before both Turk and Daredevil, but shows up after the fight? I guess cutting the window bar could've taken that long.

WTF? Moment #2: I didn’t know that driving a truck cab was part of The Hand’s assassin curriculum.

Elektra Part 5: Daredevil #175 (October, 1981)

Elektra’s fifth appearance delves into her ninja background.

I have this story in the Daredevil Visionaries: Frank Miller Vol. 2 trade.

Elektra’s usual morning calisthenics are interrupted by a visit from Daredevil. He tells her that he’s lost his radar sense from the explosion last issue, and wants to know why ninja are after Matt Murdock and his client. Elektra responds by tossing him out a window. She follows Matt as he prevents a ninja from killing Foggy, and together they find a clue that leads to an Asian oddities shop. Knowing it’s a trap, Elektra goes in disguised as a typical New Yorker. She kills several Hand members (with Daredevil tagging along) when she comes face to face with Kirigi – the legendary ninja assassin that strikes fear into the hearts of other ninja. They fight, and Elektra deals some fatal blows, but Kirigi doesn’t fall. During the battle, Elektra learns that Kirigi’s boss, or Jonin, is a former sensei of hers when she was a member of The Hand who tried to win her affections but was rejected. Elektra manages to stab Kirigi with his own sword, and as he lumbers off, she turns her attention back to the Jonin. Upon killing him, Elektra is now free from The Hand, but her happiness is cut short by Daredevil who threatens to take her to jail before collapsing. She toys with the idea of letting him bleed to death, but saves him (again) anyway.

Notes of Interest:
1) We learn that Elektra’s had intensive training while with The Hand. She’s badass, and can handle any threat she faces, but…

2) …She needs to decide if Matt’s a threat or not.

3) Elektra tells Matt he’s useless without his radar. Damn, she can be cold.

WTF? Moment: Will she make up her damn mind already about her feelings for Matt? It feels like she wants to love him but Miller won’t let her.

WTF? Moment #2: I understand that Kirigi is a major ninja threat, but he pulled that Kyoketsu-Shugi rope-knife out of thin air. I gotta call bullshit on that.

WTF? Moment #3: As choppy as Elektra’s look has been, there’s no questioning Miller’s ability to sequence a scene. The fighting is choreographed beautifully.

Elektra Part 4: Daredevil #174 (September, 1981)

Elektra returns to Daredevil after five issues away on a side mission involving a Nazi scientist. See here for details…

I have this story in the Daredevil Visionaries: Frank Miller Vol. 2 trade.


She’s in Paris on another job that gets cut out from under her; this time by a ninja from The Hand. She follows the killer to The Hand’s hideout and learns that Matt Murdock and his new client are their next targets. Against her better judgement, she flies back to New York. She arrives in time to stop one of The Hand from shooting Matt with a crossbow, but disappears before he could detect her. She comes to his rescue again as three more Hand members attempt to blow up Matt and Foggy’s law office. One of the ninja does manage to let loose a stick of dynamite before going down. It explodes in the building, and Matt is hurt, but alive. Elektra learns that Matt’s client is Melvin Potter, the Gladiator. She breaks him out of an armored transport truck and gives him back his costume just before they are surrounded by Hand ninjas. They fight, and Elektra does her best but is soon outnumbered. Daredevil arrives and the tables turn. She does save Matt’s life a third time during the fight, and again disappears before he can notice her.

Notes of Interest:
1) Miller’s artwork seems inconsistent here, but Elektra looks her sexiest while sneaking through what look like Parisian sewers.

2) It’s established here that Elektra learned to be an assassin while a member of The Hand, and that she left them to operate on her own. This is why The Hand want Elektra dead. Nobody leaves The Hand…Nobody.

WTF? Moment: I can’t believe this is the third time Elektra has had a bounty either killed or taken by other people. Someone’s gonna have to pay for that. DAMN YOU MILLER!!!

WTF? Moment #2: When exactly did Elektra learn that Matt’s father died, and how did she know that his father’s death is what inspired him to become Daredevil?

WTF? Moment #3: Elektra hates Matt, but loves him enough to return to New York and save his ass three different times? Talk about inner turmoil…

WTF? Moment #4: How did she learn who Matt’s client was, how did she get her hands on the Gladiator armor and why would she care if Melvin lived or died? Does she care enough about Matt to protect his clients too?

The Hard Goodbye (March 28, 2005)

While technically just one part of Sin City, I consider it a stand alone movie, much like Frank Miller wrote it as a stand alone story within the Sin City universe.

Synopsis: Little is known about Marv prior to The Hard Goodbye. He considers himself a down-and-outer with no direction in life until he meets Goldie one night at Kadie’s Bar. They share a night of passion, and Marv wakes to find Goldie dead beside him in their bed. Police arrive too quickly to be coincidence and Marv breaks through them to get away.

He winds up at the apartment of Lucille, Marv’s parole officer. She knows about his history with police and knows that if arrested again, Marv will be imprisoned for life. She gives him some medicine, which keeps Marv from becoming confused, and he tells her that Goldie brought meaning to his life. He’s out for blood, and will stop at nothing until he learns the truth about Goldie’s death.

Word of Marv’s snooping gets out, and he’s soon taken by some low level thugs. Marv kills them after learning a little more about the hit, and continues up the food chain killing everyone he finds, including a priest. His actions lead him to Roark’s Farm, where he’s taken down by Kevin, who is caretaker of the farm. Marv wakes up in a basement cell with several women’s heads mounted on a wall, and Lucille who is missing her left hand. She tells Marv that Kevin is a cannibal, and ate the women whose heads are mounted as well as her hand. Marv also learns that Goldie was a prostitute.

Marv breaks out and tries to escape with Lucille, when a small S.W.A.T. team approaches the farm; they kill Lucille, and attempt to kill Marv. He fights back, and learns that Cardinal Roark is involved. Marv heads to Old Town to learn more about Goldie where he gets the attention of Wendy, another prostitute and Goldie’s twin sister. Marv is captured, tied up and beaten because Wendy is convinced Marv killed her sister. He explains that because of his looks, he could never get close enough to any of them to kill them, and that he’s been trying to find the truth behind Goldie’s death. Wendy believes him, and together, Marv and Wendy go back to the Farm. On the way, Wendy tells him that Goldie worked the clergy.

Marv fights and kills Kevin, and then storms the Cardinal’s home. Marv learns that Kevin went to the Cardinal for spiritual guidance because of his cannibalism, and the Cardinal ended up joining Kevin’s habits, killing prostitutes to serve their needs. Goldie found out, and was on the run when she found Marv at Kadie’s. He was to be her protector, but he failed. Marv kills the Cardinal, and is shot down by police. Marv survives, and is forced to sign a confession for killing Roark, Kevin, the prostitutes they ate…and Goldie.

Marv dies in the electric chair, content that he got Goldie’s killers.

Comments: I had the pleasure of seeing this in one of those restaurant style theatres, with the recliner chairs and full menus. It was my first time in a place like that, and I got there early enough to have an appetizer and a soda before the movie began. I mention all this because I had a bathroom emergency that couldn’t wait until the end of the movie. I had no idea how long the movie was, or how much was left, but I couldn’t hold it any longer and missed what ended up being the last five minutes. The good news is that The Hard Goodbye was the first full story in the film, and I saw it all.

I bought this movie on the 2-Disc Recut-Extended-Unrated version.


I hadn’t read any of the Sin City books before seeing the movie. I did know that Frank Miller’s creation was very popular, had a film noir feel, and was primarily black and white with some color thrown in from time to time.

In fact, the first full Sin City story I read came with the DVD - The Hard Goodbye. I was surprised how faithful Rodriguez was to the original work. My only disappointment was that there wasn’t more in the movie…until I played the second disc.

This DVD set has a lot of extras, which is the main reason I buy DVDs. Bells and Whistles. Love ‘em. Can’t get enough of ‘em.

The first disc’s extras allow me to watch The Hard Goodbye four different ways:
1) The original version with DTS 5.1 or Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound.
2) The original version with commentary by Rodriguez and Miller.
3) The original version with commentary by Rodriguez and Tarantino. And most cool…
4) The original version with an audio track recorded live in Austin, Texas.

The fourth version is the best, because you feel like you’re back in the theater. Not a lot of movies can pull this off, but it’s as good as The Rocky Horror Picture Show. The audience is that animated, and is a lot of fun to listen to.

The version on Disc 2 is still my favorite, because that features the extended cut of The Hard Goodbye. What does that mean? That means that the sequence in the graphic novel featuring Weevil, a Wolverine-esque character, appears in the film, with a Hugh Jackman-esque actor. I laughed out loud when I first saw that, and I know…I KNOW…that if this version appeared in theatres, the Austin crowd would have laughed too.

Why do I love The Hard Goodbye? Two words…Mickey Rourke. He won awards from four different events for this role and truly deserved them.

I wish they included “making-of” docubits for each story separately, but what they do include pertains to the whole movie. We do get to see Rourke in the chair getting his make-up put on, or at least starting to, and insight into how quickly some of the actors were cast.

This brings up a point. I’m not sure if this is how Rodriguez usually works, but there was a lot of editing done on this project because actors were cast at various times. Rourke was cast as Marv pretty quickly, but most of the characters he’s on screen with were cast after he finished. Elijah Wood, Rutger Hauer and Jessica Alba all came in later, which is really amazing to me. It’s one of those things where going into the movie knowing that information is the only time it shows. At least he had Jaime King and Carla Gugino to act with. Those scenes would have been very hard to pull off otherwise.

Adorkable Moment: It’s interesting that Miller makes his cameo in The Hard Goodbye. Not as a character that appears in all four stories, but as the priest that Marv kills in the church. Why that part? Why this story? Because The Hard Goodbye was the first Sin City story Miller created. In fact, this story was originally called Sin City. Miller changed the name later, probably right before the movie’s release.

Elektra Part 3: Bizarre Adventures #28 (September, 1981)

I consider this Elektra’s third appearance for two reasons:
Her next appearance is in Daredevil #174, also dated September, 1981, so from a publication standpoint, this story fits here chronologically. Also, this story takes place outside of New York, which means Elektra was so distraught over the events of Daredevil #’s 168 & 169 that she left the city, if not the country.

I have this story in the Daredevil Visionaries: Frank Miller Vol. 3 trade.


Elektra is on a ship somewhere at sea where she kills a few men and sets a time bomb. Before she can get away, she’s ambushed and has to fight her way through. The bomb goes off, sinking the ship, but she’s injured and is stuck floating on debris with the man she was hired to kill. Her target explains that her employer, an old man named Von Eisenbluth, was a Nazi and during the war he performed experiments on Jews. Elektra’s target had escaped the camp, and was here for revenge. They make it to Von Eisenbluth’s island when he shoots her, and sets off to seek justice. Elektra’s still alive of course, and makes it to Von Eisenbluth’s mansion in time to hear her target shoot her employer in the legs. This doesn’t seem to bother Von Eisenbluth because he’s so old his legs have been numb for a while. The old man then pulls out his own gun and shoots his trespasser dead. Von Eisenbluth then apologizes to Elektra for stealing her kill, saying that it’s been “such a long time since I have shot a Jew.” Elektra turns to leave, then spins around and hurls a sai into the old man, killing him.

Notes of Interest:
1) This is only nine pages long, being just one of several stories in this issue.

2) Miller’s writing chops are strong here - early film noir with a little pre-Quentin Tarantino time jumping going on. Makes me wonder if Tarantino ever read this.

3) I like how we see her resourcefulness. She loses one sai by the time she’s in the water, and gives up an earring to reach a dune buggy. Talk about using what you have…

4) Elektra shows a little morality here, killing her employer. Maybe seeing Matt again affected her more deeply than she thought?

5) She must be pretty good at throwing sais around to have this one go through Von Eisenbluth’s body into the chair behind him.

WTF? Moment: Where does Miller come up with the names? Von Eisenbluth? Really?

Elektra Part 2: Daredevil #169 (March, 1981)

This is Elektra’s second appearance, and it isn’t very big. It’s ten panels long, but shows how their meeting in #168 affected her. I have this issue in the Daredevil Visionaries: Frank Miller Vol. 2 trade.


While Matt is busy dealing with Bullseye running around New York, Elektra sneaks into Matt’s brownstone. She soon realizes that she’s there not because she lost the bounty to Matt last issue, but because she still has feelings for him. She comes across a statue someone named Heather gave him as a gift and throws it at a mirror, which smashes. This wakes Heather up, and she comes sleepily into the living room thinking Matt’s home. Elektra leaps out of the window before Heather sees her, and is gone.

Notes of Interest:
1) Miller obviously has future plans for Elektra and writes her as a tormented soul, torn between what she is and what she wants, or at least thinks she wants.

2) It’s explained here that Matt is the only man Elektra ever loved. She is clearly jealous of Heather and upset that he moved on.

3) I feel it also important to note that she has brown eyes, which convinces me that anytime she’s given blue or green eyes is because she’s on some mission and is using tinted lenses damnit.

4) It’s also interesting to note that Elektra doesn’t say a single word in this sequence. This was Miller’s first writing job and his first original character, so that might have something to do it.

5) The fact that losing the bounty last issue is even mentioned furthers the belief that she cried last issue because of that and not because of Matt.

WTF? Moment: Where does Elektra get off being upset that Matt moved on? She left him, right? And don’t tell me that she hasn’t had relationships while becoming an assassin. Was she in love? Probably not. But she was in relationships. I’m sure of it.

WTF? Moment #2: My guess is Elektra left Matt’s place because she was embarrassed to be seen. Any assassin worth her salt knows not to go around smashing things. Especially ninja assassins.

Elektra Part 1: Daredevil #168 (January, 1981)

This is Elektra's first appearance, as Frank Miller retconned her into Matt Murdock’s past. I know I’ve talked about Elektra before, but I feel the need to further explore the history of the character if for no other reason than to get the voices out of my head.
I’ve never owned this issue, but have seen it many times while working at a comic shop in Boston. At the time, it was worth more than I could afford. I have it now in the Daredevil Visionaries: Frank Miller Vol. 2 trade.

Alarich Wallenquist is an international thief who witnessed a murder while in New York. An innocent man has been charged with the murder, and Matt Murdock is defending him. Daredevil is out and about looking for Wallenquist in order to clear his client, and learns that Wallenquist hired local crime boss Eric Slaughter to protect him. Daredevil’s wounded after evading a bomb, but has one of Slaughter’s men on the ground, ready to reveal Wallenquist’s location.

The first time we see Elektra, she’s balancing on a wire, watching this happen. She throws a sai at Daredevil’s head and then kicks him into eventual unconsciousness. Before he falls under, she tells Daredevil’s informant that Wallenquist has a bounty on his head, and she intends to collect it. Daredevil recognizes her voice and calls out her name right before passing out.

Then we’re treated to the retcon of Matt meeting Elektra in college at Columbia University. Retcons are another thing I have mentioned before, and Miller does a good job here because Elektra’s introduction isn’t the major plot point. (When they retconned Conduit into Superman/Clark Kent’s past after Zero Hour…that was a good example of a bad retcon.)

Wallenquist is on his way out of town, and Elektra uses the informant to meet Wallenquist and Slaughter at the rendezvous. She kicks some ass, but gets taken down by a guy with a blow dart. She’s tied up, and Daredevil shows up, rescuing her and taking Wallenquist into custody.

Notes of Interest:
1) Miller eventually expanded on Matt and Elektra’s time together in the five-part Daredevil The Man Without Fear mini-series with John Romita Jr. My only problem with that series is that if you’ve never read this issue, The Man Without Fear is a fully fleshed out story. If, like me, you have read this issue, that story feels more like a two-hour movie based on a 30-minute TV script; lots of pretty filler, very little plot.

2) Elektra had heard about Daredevil prior to meeting him, but never knew he was Matt until the fight at the rendezvous. This was a nice touch.

3) Matt had no problem telling Elektra about his abilities. Did he do this with all the women in his life?

4) Elektra never cried when her father was killed. Not when it happened, not during the funeral, never. Yet knowing that Matt was Daredevil moved her to tears? I suppose the point was to show how much Matt meant to her, but it could be read that she was upset that Matt got Wallenquist instead of her.

WTF? Moment: I don’t accept that Elektra, with all her ninja bounty hunter skills, can get taken down by a blow dart. No way. No freakin’ way.

WTF? Moment #2: After the fight at the rendezvous, Wallenquist was the only one left standing. He pulled a gun on the tied-up Elektra in an attempt to get Daredevil to leave. You’re telling me that Elektra couldn’t: a) have had something in her gloves to cut the ropes, or b) spun around and drop-kicked Wallenquist into submission whether her hands were tied or not? Wallenquist was a thief with a gun, not some master of an ancient martial art. She could have taken him. Easily.