WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Daredevil #30, by Chip Zdarsky, Marco Checchetto, Mike Hawthorne, Adriano di Benedetto, Marcio Menyz, and VC’s Clayton Cowles, on sale now.
Ever since Matt Murdock agreed to plead guilty to accidental manslaughter, Hell’s Kitchen has gotten a new Daredevil to defend it rather than Matt allowing his home neighborhood to remain vulnerable to increasingly powerful enemies. In searching for a new Scarlet Swashbuckler, Matt found an old friend to become a worthy Daredevil in his absence: Elektra Natchios. Elektra has already weathered considerable challenges in her new role as the protector of Hell’s Kitchen and sees no need in maintaining a secret identity as she keeps the neighborhood’s streets safe.
Click the button below to start this article in quick view.
As Elektra learns of a new crime lord making moves in Hell’s Kitchen, she decides to confront him directly at a local nightclub that he has rented out. Initially approaching the club wearing the cowl and scarf that comes with her Daredevil costume to conceal her face, Elektra reveals herself to the bouncer and demands he let her in, reminding him that she not only owns the nightclub but that she owns nearly half of Hell’s Kitchen, quietly buying the real estate to keep the neighborhood from falling into the wrong hands. And as Elektra moves to reestablish her authority in Hell’s Kitchen she completely dismisses the notion that she would need to maintain a secret identity, no matter what superhero mantle she currently holds.
This has generally been true of Elektra for most of her life, training from an early age to become one of the deadliest assassins in the Marvel Universe. Upon her return to New York City to hunt Daredevil after being hired by the Kingpin as his personal bodyguard and enforcer, Elektra didn’t bother to develop an alter ego for herself, she was always simply Elektra, the deadliest woman alive. This was true even when Elektra took control of the insidious ninja cult The Hand, with her role and existence kept a secret but not her actual identity. Part of this likely stems from pride and another from Elektra being poised to play this lethal role since she was a child.
Conversely, the Marvel Universe has always had an uneven position with Daredevil’s identity remaining a secret, often at the expense of Matt Murdock’s life and those around him. When Kingpin learned Daredevil’s secret identity, he systematically dismantled every aspect of his personal and professional life in an ambitious effort to destroy his nemesis completely. Matt’s identity would leak to a local tabloid years later, culminating in his conviction and imprisonment before his name was cleared. Later, Matt would confess his secret identity to the world again but employ magical trickery to erase the general public’s knowledge of the revelation.
Matt Murdock has struggled with Daredevil’s true identity being a secret for years and it has resulted in the people closest to him getting hurt as a direct consequence. Elektra has no such moral compunctions or internal dilemma about maintaining such a secret.
Long before she took on the mantle of Daredevil, Elektra maintained an emotional distance from others, only allowing them to see what she wanted them to see. She protects herself without even needing a secret identity, and in this issue she makes this plain to her young charge by explaining to her that every one of her names evokes fear from others. As such, Elektra remains ready, willing, and able to protect Hell’s Kitchen without the need of hiding behind anything other than herself.
About The Author
