Elektra

Marvel Knights.
Volume 2
The Scorpio Key (1-6; w Brian Michael Bendis; a Chuck Austen). [From Marvel Comics: "This blade I am holding… I have died at the end of it." She knows firsthand the chill of the grave. Now, the sexy, enigmatic international assassin called Elektra begins a new life, courtesy of red-hot writer Brian Michael Bendis and artist extraordinaire Chuck Austen! In the deadly world of international espionage, Elektra is a hot commodity - and the top-secret organization called SHIELD wants her for a mission so dirty, so difficult, no one else could even think of pulling it off. But Elektra can't be bought, bribed or threatened. If she takes the job, she'll do it HER way - no matter how many people may die.]
1 Introspect (10-15, Marvel Double-Shot 3; w Greg Rucka; a Carlo Pagulayan et al.). [From Marvel Comics: Acclaimed crime novelist and Eisner Award-winning comic book writer Greg Rucka reveals a chilling, self-destructive side to the enigma known as Elektra. Trained as a ninja, loyal to no one, Elektra is inhumanly ruthless, coldly efficient and impossibly determined. Her own tragic death and miraculous resurrection offered hope for new life, but her redemption slipped far too quickly from her bloody fingers. Now accepting her dark destiny, Elektra carries out her assignments with grim resolution. But what happens when she's between jobs, with no one to kill? Cut off from her livelihood and struggling to keep hold of her sanity, Elektra finally faces the consequences of her actions as the mysterious Mr. Locke takes the femme fatale on a guided tour of her blood-drenched past. The journey will change Elektra forever.]
2 Everything Old is New Again (16-22; w Greg Rucka; a Joe Bennett, Carlo Pagulayan, Carlos Meglia). [From Marvel Comics: Once, Elektra Natchios was the sheltered daughter of a Greek diplomat – but after watching her father struck down in a hail of gunfire, the young woman sought out training by a deadly band of ninjas. Armed with superior fighting skills and razor-sharp sais, the femme fatale for years offered her killing touch to the highest bidder. Now, after being confronted with the choice to change or die, Elektra opts to amend her murderous ways… but can she really reach out for help and find a life beyond killing and death? One thing is certain: She cannot do it alone.]
3 Relentless (23-28; w Bob Rodi; a Sean Chen). [From Marvel Comics: After her father was killed before her very eyes, Elektra Natchios focused her rage on acquiring revenge. Trained as a ninja, and loyal to no one but herself, she is the world's most dangerous assassin. Now, experience the life of Elektra from two unique perspectives: through the eyes of the assassin herself, and through the eyes of her latest mark. First, witness the futility of attempting to evade Elektra in a unique journey ending on a dying man's last day. Then, follow her to Africa as she fights to complete a job gone wrong involving a vicious female dictator. Finally, learn what happens when you try to double-cross the world's most perfect assassin. Three corporate bosses meet for drinks and dinner to talk golf, fine cigars, finer women and the unsavory business of controlling the world - never expecting the tables are about to be turned.]
4 Frenzy (29-34; w Bob Rodi; a Will Conrad). [From Marvel Comics: The beautiful but deadly assassin is hired to eliminate the leader of a violent guerilla movement in Southeast Asia, but will Elektra’s conscience allow her to fulfill the contract when she learns the insane guerilla leader is just an 8-year-old boy hailed as a prophet by his followers? Plus: What happens when the world’s most lethal woman is felled by... the Flu?!]
Misc
Daredevil-Elektra: Love & War (Supersize HC—Love & War OGN; Elektra: Assassin 8-issue mini; w Frank Miller; a Bill Sienkiewicz). [The 1980s was a groundbreaking period in the history of comic books, with a flood of talented writers and artists smashing the boundaries of the medium. Epitomizing the decade's bold spirit of innovation, visionary creators Frank Miller and Bill Sienkiewicz unleashed two epics in 1986 that bore no resemblance to any previous comic book - and to few since. Daredevil: Love and War and Elektra: Assassin represent a rare synergy between two acclaimed auteurs, each at the top of his creative career. Love and War dares to peer into the pitch-black heart and tainted soul of pure evil. The Kingpin has built an empire on human sin. He is feared by the innocent and the wicked. Elected officials obey his will as swiftly as the lowest pimps and pushers. He has everything he desired. Everything he desired... until he met her. Will Wilson Fisk allow his one weakness to undo all he has acheived? Assassin is a psychological excursion through the mind, body and soul of a woman at war with herself. An unconscious body washes ashore off the coast of a small Central American country, setting in motion a strange series of events. Two police officers are strangled. A diplomat is assassinated. A S.H.I.E.L.D. agent is brutally dismembered. Unrelated incidents? Hardly. Elektra is back.]
Elektra: Assassin (8-issue mini; w Frank Miller; a Bill Sienkiewicz). [From Marvel Comics: Meet Elektra Natchios. She's an intriguing young individual who has played equally intriguing roles throughout her life - Gymnast. Martial Artist. Ninja. Assassin. But this enigmatic woman who was trained in the deadly arts of Ninjitsu and was renowned as the world's deadliest assassin... is now dead. Or is she? A strange woman washes ashore unconscious off the coast of a small Central American country. Things start to happen. Two policemen are strangled. A diplomat is assassinated. A S.H.I.E.L.D. agent is brutally dismembered. Unrelated events? Hardly. Elektra has returned. Whether she's been miraculously resurrected or this is an untold tale from Elektra's past is left for the reader to decide. But one thing remains certain, Elektra is back, and she's back with a vengeance. From the combined talents of two of comics' greatest innovators - Frank Miller and Bill Sienkiewicz - comes this psychological excursion through the mind, body and soul of the world's most dangerous woman. A woman named Elektra.]
Elektra Lives Again (Oversize HC OGN; w & a Frank Miller). [From Marvel Comics: Despite the fact that Elektra died in his arms, Daredevil is plagued by recurring nightmares and terrible premonitions that his former lover and world's top assassin-for-hire is not only alive, but active once more.]
Elektra Movie (Elektra movie adapatation, Daredevil 168, 181, Elektra -1; w Sean McKeever, Frank Miller, Peter Milligan; a Mike Perkins, Frank Miller, Mike Deodato Jr.). [From Marvel Comics: The comic adaptation of the blockbuster motion picture starring Jennifer Garner, this collection captures all the cinematic excitement of the new hit movie — plus a selection of the classic Daredevil and Elektra stories that inspired the film! The world's most dangerous assassin, Elektra remains a mystery, a shadow — until she chooses to reveal herself. Collects the ELEKTRA movie adaptation, Elektra's first appearance from DAREDEVIL #168, her death at the hands of Bullseye from DAREDEVIL #181 and a special flashback from ELEKTRA MINUS 1.]
Elektra & Wolverine: The Redeemer (Supersize HC—3-issue mini; w Greg Rucka; a Yoshitaka Amano). [From Marvel Comics: For the mercenary and enigmatic assassin Elektra Natchios, it was to be a standard night's work: the make death happen. The target: a wealthy and powerful scientist. The price: eight million dollars for a clean hit - no witnesses. When the target's teenaged daughter Avery stumbles onto the murder at the critical moment, Elektra knows the girl must be taken out at all costs. But for the assassin still haunted by the pain of seeing her own father's death, taking out a girl eerily reminiscent of herself proves to be more difficult than expected - especially after Logan, the mutant known as Wolverine, is hired to protect the key witness. Enticed into the job by a slick government agent, Logan must keep the girl safe in exchange for answers he hopes will illuminate his clouded past. The two supremely skilled fighters face off in the streets of New York over Avery's fate, each with different emotional stakes in a deadly game of intrigue. In Avery, Elektra must face a disturbing reminder of her past and present lives. For Logan, the girl represents the key to a history he must recover. When Avery unveils a mysterious secret of her own, the stage is set for an unforgettably haunting grand finale.]
The Hand (5-issue mini; w Akira Yoshida; a Christian Gossett). [From Marvel Comics: The Hand — few names have ever instilled such terror in the very soul of the Marvel Universe! Elektra witnesses a mystic ceremony that leads her to the never-before-revealed origin of the Hand, the world’s most deadly assassins! In feudal Japan, a single murder fuels one young samurai’s struggle for dominance — a struggle that will lead to the inception of this immortal ninja clan. And when a foreign merchant sends his beautiful daughter to learn the ways of the warrior, a cycle is set in motion that will change the Marvel Universe... forever!] Old Book of the Week 1/12/05: [OK, so it's only a week old, but this unexpectedly nifty book, tracing the origin of Elektra's former assassination guild, The Hand, both tells a very interesting story of early modern Japan and shows that Red Star artist Christian Gosset can draw with a pen as well as a computer. Elektra herself does not appear except in a framing sequence, but frankly she is not missed.]
Ultimate Daredevil and Elektra (4-issue mini; w Greg Rucka; a Salvador Larroca). [From Marvel Comics: Wide-eyed Elektra Natchios arrived at Columbia University with a fourth-degree black belt in karate, but a white belt in life experience. Raised by a loving single father in Queens and a martial-arts master in the dojo, Elektra has risen to the challenges of freshman year. Still, she wasn't prepared for the romantic free-fall she would plunge into after meeting Matthew Murdock, a blind pre-law student who just happens to be more than he appears. But following her brush with a campus menace, Elektra hungers for revenge. When the stakes are raised, which will she choose: the man she loves... or her own brand of justice? It's Elektra as you've never seen her!]
Ultimate Elektra: Devil's Due (1-5; w Mike Carey; a Salvador Larroca). [From Marvel Comics: Award-winning writer Mike Carey and original ULTIMATE DAREDEVIL & ELEKTRA artist Salvador Larroca team up for the blockbuster follow-up to the smash first series! Matt Murdock — desperate to see Elektra Natchios again — makes an attempt to contact this mysterious young woman, putting himself squarely in the crosshairs of the biggest crime boss in New York City: Ultimate Kingpin! Wilson Fisk enters the life of Elektra as well, along with a mystery killer who’s right on target! Can the young warrior face this deadly assassin alone? Matt doesn’t think so. Sparks are sure to fly when comics’ hottest couple is reunited!]