When it comes to the Marvel Universe, there are very few characters as polarizing as Elektra. She started off as a love interest for Daredevil, but proved throughout the years to be a formidable hero and villain. She has proven to be Matt Murdock’s most enduring rogue, sometime being an ally, other times being his foe, as in the time she became Black Sky. Her onscreen representation may have given audiences a different view.

As her representation in the movies was less than astounding, as Jennifer Garner, though a brilliant actress , she could only do so much with her appearance in the Daredevil movie and her spinoff. In the Daredevil series, Elodie Yung, gave fans what we always wanted , Matt’s antagonistic foil, who could meet him intellectually and then some.  It is fair to say, her journey within comic books has been better written than it has been onscreen. In a celebration of the character, Marvel has rounded up some of the best scribes who have ever written her. Elektra: Black, White, Blood #1 kicks things off with a trio of stories showing her at her best.

In ”Red Dawn”,  Elektra loses a a battle to a band of vampires but not before taking down some , as she relishes her last few hours, saying goodbye , only face the sunlight for the last time. In “Not The Devil”, Elektra has a hard time taking out a Yakuza target, as past trauma stops her from finishing a job, one that she happily walks away from. In “The Crimson Path”, we are taken to a mystical realm, where she must fight off a hoard to save a young girl, but as we soon find out it is an allegory for salvation that well crave. By the issue’s end, we get different looks at the same character showing off how multifaceted she can be.

Overall, Elektra: Black, White, and Blood #1 is a great first issue that is both deep and action packed. The stories by the different writers are incredible. The art the different artists  is stunning. Altogether, a set of stories that shows the versatility of the Assassin in Red.

Story: Leonardo Romero, Declan Shalvey, Charles Soule
Art: Leonardo Romero, Mark Bagley, Simone D’Armini
Ink: John Dell Color: Edgar Delgado
Story: 9.0 Art: 9.0 Overall: 9.0 Recommendation: Buy

Marvel provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review