Elektra Part 11: Daredevil #181 (April, 1982)

This is it. The BIG one. No. Really.

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

Elektra succeeds in acquiring her target – Franklin Nelson. She takes him into a parking garage and prepares to kill him when he recognizes her, and refers to her as “Matt’s girl”. She lets him go, and she’s attacked by Bullseye. They fight, and she gets several good shots in, but he wins by stabbing her with her own sai. She lives, making her way to Matt’s brownstone, where she dies in his arms. Her death is confirmed by the city coroner, and is buried by issue’s end.

Notes of Interest:
1) I’m not sure, but I think that’s Elektra in the courtroom, sitting behind Bullseye, as Matt closes the case.

2) It was Miller’s decision to have Elektra die. Guess he felt Matt needed more suffering in his life.

3) Elektra’s death solidified the hatred between Daredevil and Bullseye. It’s a very emotional moment. Quite a memorable one. Hard to believe it’s all of eight pages long in the middle of a 38 page story.

WTF? Moment: I’d like to think Foggy would’ve notice an attractive woman dressed in red driving a cab before getting in, but it is New York, and it is Foggy…

WTF? Moment #2: I’m still fuzzy regarding Elektra’s feelings towards Matt. If she loved him, why’d she appear to care less about him? If she hated him, why go to him while she was dying?

WTF? Moment #3: Why did Elektra let Foggy go in the first place? Did she have a moment of weakness when he mentioned Matt? Was that the moment she remembered him from her time at Columbia University?