Elektra Natchios, usually referred to only by her first name Elektra, is a fictional character in publications from Marvel Comics.

Elektra is a kunoichi – female ninja assassin – of Greek descent. She wields a pair of bladed sai as her trademark weapon. Created by Frank Miller, Elektra first appeared in Daredevil #168 (January 1981). She is a love interest of the superhero Daredevil, but her violent nature and mercenary lifestyle divide the two. She is one of Frank Miller's best-loved creations, and subsequent writers' use of her is controversial as Marvel had originally promised to not resurrect the character without Miller's permission.^[1] She has also appeared as a supporting character of the X-Men's Wolverine and in other series and mini-series as well as adaptations for the screen. In the 2003 film Daredevil and its 2005 spinoff, Elektra, the character is portrayed by Jennifer Garner. Elektra was ranked 22nd in Comics Buyer's Guide's 100 Sexiest Women in Comics list.^[2]

Publication history[link]

This section requires expansion.

Created by Frank Miller, Elektra first appeared in Daredevil #168 (January 1981). She has appeared in two eponymous ongoing series and several mini-series.

Fictional character biography[link]

According to Marvel Comics, Elektra is the world's most lethal woman and one of Marvel's most cold-blooded characters.

Some features or history details in other versions may differ significantly from Frank Miller’s original.

Family and early life[link]

Elektra was born on a Greek island near the Aegean Sea to Hugo Kostas Natchios and his wife Christina Natchios. She had an older brother named Orestez Natchios (in Greek the name should be Oρέστης - i.e. Orestes with Latin alphabet).

Two contradictory accounts of her family history have been given in various issues. In Elektra: Root of Evil #1-4 (March - June 1995), it is stated that her father was an aspiring diplomat who eventually managed to gain his first assignment as an ambassador to an unspecified country. However, Hugo and his wife had grown apart. Christina had begun a series of extramarital affairs with no apparent interest in keeping them secret, resulting in personal humiliation for her husband. Popular opinion in diplomatic circles stated that a man unable to control his wife had no business deciding on the fate of the world. When Christina became pregnant for a second time, Hugo was certain the child was not his own.

Hugo confided to his adolescent son that his mother was a whore who was shaming their family. Orestez promised his father that Christina would never again shame them. Hugo failed to understand the meaning of these words. On August 13 of that year, the couple was on holiday in the Aegean Sea. They were located by a helicopter which opened fire on them both. The assassins left them for dead. The couple was taken to a nearby hospital. Christina gave premature birth to Elektra and then died. Hugo recovered from his wounds.

Orestez had hired the assassins in order to indirectly commit matricide. He was horrified by the idea of unintentional patricide and ran away from home. Hugo was the only family left to Elektra. At first, Hugo had no intention to raise this "bastard" child. However, a paternity test confirmed the child to be his own. Hugo was not sorry for losing Christina. He was grateful, however, for her giving him a daughter. He arranged for a beautiful headstone to be placed on her grave. Images of the Erinyes on the headstone implied however that Christina was responsible for her own death.

Hugo grew to adore Elektra. He nicknamed her his "Little Amber" and showered her with gifts. Her favorite gift was a pet dog of her own, named Agamemnon, continuing the pattern of Hugo naming members of his family after the Atreidae. The dog was killed when a nine-year-old Elektra was assaulted by kidnappers. The men were all killed by Orestez, who had grown into an accomplished martial artist after leaving home. He did not explain his presence there. He briefly acquainted himself to his little sister and then left again. However, Orestez had a lasting effect in her life. He advised his father that Elektra needed to learn self-defense. Hugo hired a sensei to teach her the martial arts, beginning her acquaintance with fighting.

Contradictory accounts[link]

A different account was told in Elektra (Vol. 2) #18 (May 1998). The account was told to Wolverine by an old family retainer by the name of "Stavros." Stavros had reportedly met Hugo and Christina during World War II, at the time of Greece's occupation by Nazi Germany.

Stavros was leader to a small group of the Greek Resistance movement. A younger Hugo was a leader of a greater covert cell which operated in the same area. A 15-year-old Christina was also part of the cell and operated as a messenger. She brought a message to Stavros one day: an order to join her commandant and fight under his orders. Stavros replied to this arrogant message with laughter until Christina drew her gun and threatened his life. The following day, Stavros joined a leader who was able to inspire such determination to his followers.

Christina would prove her worth many times during the resistance. She married Hugo after the war. They were not involved in the Greek Civil War. However, the later war cost Christina her life. Christina was in the eighth month of her pregnancy when Hugo had to go to Athens, Attica on "government matters." Stavros was left behind to take care of her. He accompanied her to the clinic to see the family doctor and was then dismissed for an hour. During that hour, "a man who considered himself a patriot", but wanted by the Greek Army invaded the clinic. He killed the doctor and attempted to take the patient as a hostage. Christina attempted to convince him to stop the unnecessary violence, but was shot in the chest. She used her old combat training to take the man down. She then had to stop the other patients from assaulting the already defeated man until his arrest yet she was mortally wounded and gave premature birth. Elektra was born on the clinic floor, painted red from the blood of her mother. Christina died before hearing the first cry of her daughter. The issue was scripted by Larry Hama and drawn by Mike Deodato.

The two versions of the nature of Christina Natchios' death cannot be reconciled. Furthermore, Elektra: Assassin #1 (August 1986) placed ambiguity on the relationship Elektra had with her father. The adult Elektra recalled vague memories of being raped by her father as a 5 year old. Years of counseling and medication had convinced her this was a false memory, but the doubt remained. Another memory had the 6 year old Elektra sitting on Hugo's lap while her teasing father compared her to a cat; likely the Cheshire Cat from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. Elektra grew up close to her father but was plagued by dark visions and voices with no known source. She occasionally reacted to them with self-harm. Her father eventually sent her away to psychotherapy until becoming more stable. It was uncertain whether Elektra actually became more stable or merely appeared to. The issue was scripted by Frank Miller and drawn by Bill Sienkiewicz.

Activities as an adult[link]

Hugo Natchios is known to have eventually served as a Greek ambassador to the United States. 19 year old Elektra first attended Columbia University, New York City, New York. There, Elektra met the man who would become her boyfriend, Matt Murdock.

A year later, twenty-year-old Elektra and her father were kidnapped by terrorists. Matt wore a mask for the first time and started a rescue attempt. Elektra used the distraction to strike down some of the terrorists. However, one of the defeated men fell out of a window. The police assumed the terrorists had started throwing their hostages out of the window. They opened fire and killed the man closest to the window: Hugo Natchios, right in front of his daughter's eyes.

Elektra lost faith and hope. She quit Columbia and returned to China to study martial arts. Stick, a member of the benevolent organization called the Chaste, recognized the darkness in her soul and attempted to train her himself, but she ultimately sided with the Hand, a sect of mystical ninja, who trained her as an assassin. She later broke away from them and became an independent agent, and in this role she again encountered Matt Murdock, who was now active as Daredevil. She battled Daredevil in order to force him to help her capture the criminal Alarich Wallenquist, and Daredevil saved her from being killed by Eric Slaughter.^[3] She soon learned of his double identity, and although the pair worked together to fight the Hand, they also came into conflict frequently.

Elektra later first battled the Hand alongside Daredevil and Gladiator.^[4] She then battled Kirigi.^[5]

She soon became the chief assassin in the employ of New York City's premier crime lord, the Kingpin.^[6] She attempted to kill Daredevil after he tried to stop her from terrorizing Ben Urich.^[7] The Kingpin then assigned her to kill Matt Murdock's partner, Franklin "Foggy" Nelson. When Nelson recognized Elektra as Matt's college girlfriend, she was unable to kill him.

Elektra was fatally stabbed by Bullseye with one of her own sai in a battle over which of them would be the Kingpin's assassin. Elektra managed to crawl to Daredevil's house before dying in his arms as Bullseye watched the two, hidden among a crowd that had gathered to see what was going on.^[8] Later, members of The Hand stole her body and attempted to resurrect her. Daredevil, with the assistance of Stone, a member of Stick's order, intervened, defeating The Hand ninja. Daredevil then tried to revive Elektra himself. Although his attempt failed, it did have the effect of purifying Elektra's soul. Elektra's body subsequently disappeared, as did Stone.^[9]

Later, Stick somehow resurrected Elektra and then sent her to aid the X-Man Wolverine, at a time when he had been physically and mentally regressed to a bestial form. She helped retrain him to the point where he could think and vocalize as a human once more, and spent time with him thereafter as he returned to his normal form, including taking him with her on a return to her ancestral home.^[10]

Some time after her partnership with Wolverine ended, it was revealed that when Elektra was resurrected by Stone, Elektra's evil aspect had been physically split apart from her in its own body as a consequence of the ritual performed by Daredevil. Her darker half, calling itself Erynys, fought Elektra and was killed by her, thus returning the dark side to Elektra's soul.^[11]

She was hired by Nick Fury to assassinate Saddam Abed Dassam, the leader of Iraq who was in league with HYDRA, and retrieve the Scorpio Key from them. Fury hired her as a way to avoid accountability in global political circles. Along the way HYDRA tried to hire her, an offer she refused. They then set the Silver Samurai on to her and it appeared she killed him though he appeared alive and well in other comics. When she eventually obtained the Key, she refused to give it to Fury, believing that he could not be trusted with such a powerful weapon. She instead gave it to the police officer who had killed her father stating that he had a debt to her and he would not let her down.^[12]

[edit] Wolverine: Enemy of the State

Elektra was one of the 'good guys' when she worked with S.H.I.E.L.D.^[13]

HYDRA and The Hand joined forces, killing off various heroes and resurrecting them into their possessed warriors, including the X-Man Wolverine, who became their killing machine.^[14] Based on her relationship with Logan and her ties to the Hand, Nick Fury hired Elektra to lead the mission, paying her in excess of $200,000, more money in one day than the (then) yearly salary of the President of the United States.^[15] She worked to stop Wolverine from killing others as well as to try to turn him back to his normal self. During a fight with The Hand, Elektra was killed and resurrected as a Hand warrior, eventually becoming their leader.^[16] Along with the X-Man Northstar and other superhumans killed and resurrected by the Hand, Elektra attacked Nick Fury, injuring him badly and causing the destruction of a S.H.I.E.L.D. helicarrier.^[17]

Thanks to S.H.I.E.L.D., Wolverine eventually came to his senses and wanted revenge.^[17] During a fight with Elektra, she mentally spoke to him, using new abilities given to her by the Hand, which were similar to the Kimaguri abilities she had in the Elektra movie. She explained that being killed by The Hand was all part of a plan she had from the beginning. She explained that she had been resurrected by The Hand and infiltrated the organization, making them believe they had been successful in resurrecting her as a brainwashed warrior. She told him that they would take The Hand and HYDRA down together. They fought off many ninja and were victorious.^[18] Gorgon, however, attacked Elektra and threw off her mental blocks, enabling him to read her thoughts and see where Fury was being treated for his injuries (he also discovered that the Vatican also hired her, to kill him). Gorgon teleported, with Elektra, to kill Fury. When they arrived, Elektra ordered the S.H.I.E.L.D. soldiers to attack. Gorgon used his power on her neck and she collapsed. Wolverine eventually used Gorgon's own powers against him, defeating him.^[19]

In an e-mail to Kitty Pryde, Nick Fury told her that Elektra had survived, but was missing and was probably in Eastern Europe, creating her own militia group, which she intended to be her own version of The Hand. He also told Kitty that Elektra was no threat... so far. It was unknown where Elektra really was or what her plans were, but it was during the time following the destruction of the helicarrier that she was abducted by Skrulls and replaced with an imposter.^[20]

Daredevil and the Kingpin[link]

She resurfaced to help Daredevil with a situation with the Kingpin. The crime lord, in exchange for his freedom, offered the FBI irrefutable evidence that Matt Murdock was Daredevil.^{[volume & issue needed]}

It was revealed that Elektra actually helped Kingpin gain all the needed information back when she was Daredevil's enemy, and she returned because she felt an obligation to help Matt out of the trouble for which she felt responsible. It was also revealed by the Black Widow that Elektra is now the leader of The Hand.^{[volume & issue needed]}

Daredevil meets up with Elektra, the Black Widow, and the new White Tiger in front of the building that holds the "Murdock Papers" (the evidence Kingpin was talking about). They intended to retrieve the papers before the FBI could get there, but were suddenly attacked by Bullseye. Daredevil and Elektra fought the villain and, after a lengthy and bloody battle, won. However, Daredevil was suddenly shot by Paladin (who was working for FBI operatives) and was left bleeding profusely in Elektra's arms. Elektra then takes Matt to the Night Nurse, but insists that The Hand should cure him. Black Widow appears and objects. While Elektra and Black Widow fight, The Hand heals Matt Murdock.^{[volume & issue needed]}

Outside the Night Nurse's medical office, reporters and police gather. Elektra then jumps out the side of the window, along with The Hand to drive off the police and FBI. She gets in a quarrel with Luke Cage, and quickly exits the scene at Matt's request.^{[volume & issue needed]}

It was later revealed that this Elektra was actually a Skrull and not the real Elektra.^[21]

Replacement by Skrulls[link]

Elektra seemingly reappears, appearing to be corrupted by the Hand.^[22] She kills, resurrects, and imprisons the vigilante Maya Lopez, intending to use her as a weapon. The New Avengers rescue Lopez and she ends up stabbing Elektra to death.^[23] However, upon her death it is revealed that "Elektra" is actually a Skrull in disguise; its death indicates that the Skrulls have become undetectable to even the heightened senses of New Avengers members Spider-Man, Wolverine, and Doctor Strange. The corpse is given to Iron Man by Spider-Woman.^[24]

Mighty Avengers #16 reveals that Elektra was selected to be replaced by a Skrull imposter named Siri. She was targeted by several Skrull impostors while staying in Japan, however, Elektra fought and killed most of these Skrulls (including Siri), before being blindsided and severely beaten by a Super Skrull manifesting Invisible Woman's invisibility and Colossus' organic steel armor. A Skrull named Pagon took Elektra's place since Siri was killed by Elektra. Pagon's death was planned all along, being their major "reveal" of their intent to take over the world's superheroes.^[25]

The real Elektra was revealed to be alive upon one of the Skrull Ships and was released during the final battle between the heroes and the Skrulls.^[26] Iron Man immediately orders her held in protective custody at S.H.I.E.L.D.^[27]

Dark Reign[link]

Being the only Skrull captive showing signs of experimentation and torture, Elektra finds herself weakened by multiple injuries. Norman Osborn orders her studied and monitored to obtain information as to why this was the case.^[27] Paladin breaks into H.A.M.M.E.R. (formerly S.H.I.E.L.D.) headquarters intending to kill Elektra for $82 million. She overpowers Paladin and chokes him by spitting her broken tooth down his throat. She forces him to surrender the keys to her to escape. Before leaving the cell, she murders the interrogator who was torturing her for info.^[27] She finally makes her escape after taking down several H.A.M.M.E.R. operatives and manages to reach Matt Murdock's office to raid his stash of first aid supplies. After being confronted by Foggy Nelson, she collapses from extensive blood loss due to her injuries.^[28]

Elektra wakes up handcuffed to a hospital bed in the Night Nurse's clinic. The nurse explains that she bound Elektra for her own safety, although the ninja easily frees herself. Their conversation is interrupted when a hit woman named Nico breaks in and attempts to kill both of them. Elektra sends Nico flying out the window then arms herself with the ninja's weapons while telling the Night Nurse to escape. Elektra jumps into the alley and battles Nico, only to find that another hit man named Carmine is also attempting to kill her with a sniper rifle from a rooftop. She manages to defeat Nico while evading Carmine's shots and obtains some clues from Nico as to why she was being targeted for assassination. On the rooftop, Carmine is murdered by Bullseye (in the guise of Hawkeye), who was sent by Norman Osborn to kill Elektra.^[29]

Elektra climbs to the top of the building to confront the third assassin, only to be taken aback when she discovers that he is Bullseye. Although initially hesitant, she stands her ground and faces her killer. The two begin to fight when Nico manages to reach the rooftop to check on Carmine. Bullseye attempts to kill her with a drug laced arrow, but she is saved by Elektra (who accidentally gets the drugs on the arrow in her system in the process). Bullseye then kicks the seemingly sedated Elektra off the building, but she manages to land safely. Bullseye follows and confronts her on the street, attempting to kill her with her own sai, much like their first encounter. However, this time Elektra outmaneuvers him and stabs him through the back with one his own arrows. Nico once more interrupts the fight, attempting to shoot a fleeing Bullseye, then confronting a heavily drugged, helpless Elektra. H.A.M.M.E.R. agents enter the fray and shoot Nico, but are ambushed and killed by Wolverine before they can finish Elektra off.^[30]

After escaping H.A.M.M.E.R., Wolverine reveals to Elektra where Nico ran, and Elektra tries to confront the problem head on and peaceably end the conflict. Arriving at the Blackhawk crash site, she discovers that Agent Brothers, a former S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, was the one who put a price on her head. Brothers claims that she was responsible for killing hundreds of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents during the Blackhawk incident. Elektra, having no memory of the incident, denies the accusations and urges both Brothers and Nico to go in peace, stating that it was her Skrull impostor who was responsible for the incident. However, Norman Osborn then appears, and reveals that Elektra was in fact abducted after the Helicarrier attack, although she has no memory of this because she had used a mind trick to "forget" her resurrections and the incidents surrounding them to prevent the Skrulls from accessing them during her abduction. Norman taunts Elektra to undo this mind trick, and Elektra obliges. It is then revealed that Elektra is actually guilty of the accusations. She then proceeds to kill both Nico and Brothers.^[31]

Code Red[link]

Elektra was involved in an incident with the Red Hulk, X-Force, a new villain called the Red She-Hulk and a few other well known mercenaries such as Deadpool and the Punisher.^[32]

Shadowland[link]

In Shadowland storyline, Stick tries to convince Elektra to help stop the Hand from corrupting Matt. However she refuses, because she wanted him to be cold-hearted just like her out of spite for him. However she reconsiders when she witnessed the broadcast of Daredevil killing Bullseye.^[33] She joins the Hand so she can gain intel on the Shadowland fortress to help the super heroes infiltrate it. Later upon rejoining the Hand, Elektra visits Daredevil and Typhoid Mary at Bullseye's grave intending to resurrect him.^[34] She then helps sneak the super heroes into the building, to stop Daredevil from resurrecting Bullseye. A fight erupts and just when Elektra tried to reach out to Matt, the Demon of the Hand finally possesses him. Once he defeats all of the super heroes, Iron Fist used his chi energy on the demon to help heal Matt's soul. While that was happening, Elektra entered Matt's mind to encourage him fight the evil presence of the demon. Matt killed himself to stop the demon from causing anymore chaos. However, Elektra later resurrected him.^{[volume & issue needed]}

Powers and abilities[link]

Skills[link]

Elektra's primary abilities are a strong knowledge of martial arts and weaponry. Elektra learned ancient martial arts of China, Siam, and Japan. She is a master combatant with the Japanese Sai, her usual weapon of choice. She is also highly skilled with the katana, daggers, three-sectional staff, and shurikens. She is a master of many Japanese combat forms including Ninjutsu. Elektra is an Olympic-level athlete, strong in gymnastics and swimming, with a high level in athleticism in human strength, speed, stamina, agility, dexterity, reflexes & reactions, coordination, balance, and endurance. She is resistant to pain and extreme heat and cold. She is also able to keep to the shadows and move with such speed that she can remain unseen even in daylight.

Elektra has the ability to mesmerize others, and as such make them see illusions or other phenomena.

Elektra's also has the ability to "throw" her mind into those of others. For instance, she was able to track down her enemy, Ken Wind, by temporarily "borrowing" people's minds and acting through them while she hunted around for her prey. This temporal mind control enables her to metaphorically sniff out the psyche, or intent, of her targets. It saw extensive use during Elektra: Assassin, in which she was heavily reliant on only her ninja powers.

Elektra has demonstrated low-level telekinesis. She can communicate telepathically with individuals possessing similar levels of mental discipline, such as the Chaste. Elektra mastered this ability during training with The Hand, which mentally links her to The Beast, the demigod of The Hand.

Other versions[link]

What If?[link]

In the story "What If Elektra Had Lived?", penned by Frank Miller, Elektra's murder at the hands of Bullseye does not occur as Bullseye is cut down and killed while trying to escape from prison. As in the original 616 continuity, Elektra spares Franklin Nelson's life, irritating the Kingpin, who swiftly orders her execution. After fighting off several assasination attempts, Elektra flees to Matt Murdock's brownstone home. Murdock initially wants to take Elektra into custody, but she warns him that with the Kingpin putting a bounty on her head, she will die if she is sent to prison at the hands of his agents. Murdock decides to flee New York with Elektra, putting up his home for sale and cutting off contact with Nelson. The couple are last seen enjoying a quiet sunset on a beach, far removed from society and seemingly happy.^{[volume & issue needed]}

Exiles[link]

In one of the universes visited by the Exiles, Elektra was one of the few remaining survivors in a world ravaged by HYDRA and their leader, Sue Storm. Elektra is shown to be the lover of Reed Richards, and is a key player in the revival of the inhabitants of that earth. Her abilities are identical to that of her mainstream version.

House of M[link]

Elektra appears as one of the assassins of the Kingpin and is later hired by John Proudstar to bring down Luke Cage's "Avengers".^[35]

Marvel Mangaverse[link]

In the Marvel Mangaverse, Elektra is evil and works for the Hand. When she is first introduced she encounters Daredevil who at first refuses to believe that she was working for the enemy. After a tearful reunion they kiss and she says to him "You tried to save my soul once. Unfortunately there was nothing there worth saving" and then proceeds to cut him in half. Later, during her fight with Carol Danvers, she shows remorse for having killed him. Elektra thanks Carol when Carol cuts her in half with Daredevil's blades.^{[volume & issue needed]}

Marvel vs. DC[link]

In the Marvel vs. DC. miniseries, Elektra fought Catwoman and won. Stating that she has no problem with killing people, but this was not really 'their' fight, she instead cuts Catwoman's whip in a way that causes the DC character to fall into a truck filled with sand. She does state that she is a spectacular martial artist and can, most likely, beat other heroines.

Marvel Zombies[link]

In the Ultimate Fantastic Four arc "Crossover", Elektra is seen among the zombie hordes preparing to attack Magneto, Mr. Fantastic, and the few living humans they are protecting.^{[volume & issue needed]} She is also among the zombies that attack (and infect) Frank Castle.^{[volume & issue needed]} The infected Wolverine from this incident travels to another Earth where he kills the human Elektra with his claws, impaling her through the stomach in the manner of Bullseye.^[36]

MC2[link]

In the MC2 Universe (an alternate future primarily focused on the children of current Marvel superheroes), Elektra married Wolverine and the two had a daughter named Rina Logan, a.k.a. Wild Thing. Very little is said about the future of Elektra, although we do see that she is actively involved in parenting Rina. Additionally, it is shown that she is wealthy enough to have an "extra-dimensional" credit rating.

Elektra also has a cameo in Spider-Girl where she is hired by the Black Tarantula to be Spider-Girl's martial arts instructor. Though not knowing Spider-Girl's true identity, Elektra quickly surmises that she is the daughter of Spider-Man based on how she talks, fights and carries herself.

Mutant X[link]

In the Mutant X Universe—an alternate world which was visited by the Earth-616 (mainstream Marvel Universe) Havok—Elektra (surname: Stavros), while still equally trained as a martial artist and assassin, was the nanny and bodyguard of Scott Summers. Scott was the son of that reality's Alex Summers and Madelyne Pryor. She came to accept that Scott believed a different man inhabited the body of his father. Elektra stuck with Alex, protecting Scott from repeated assaults by his mother, the Goblin Queen, and her brainwashed allies. She seemingly dies near the end of the series, though Scott reassures Alex that she will come back.

Ultimate Marvel[link]

See also: Ultimate Daredevil and Elektra and Ultimate Elektra for information on the two starring miniseries.

In the Ultimate Marvel universe, Elektra Natchios is a student at Columbia University who has a knack for martial arts and is a great fan of Bruce Lee. Her mother died of breast cancer when she was 6, and her father is trying to make money with a laundromat.

In this universe, she starts out as a sweet, innocent girl who cares deeply for her loved ones - so deeply that she is willing to go over dead bodies to help them. This trait starts her descent into becoming one of the most deadly assassins in the world.^{[volume & issue needed]}

There is a gap between the Elektra featured in Ultimate Daredevil and Elektra and Ultimate Elektra and the one shown in Ultimate Spider-Man. In the first two arcs, she is a normal college student,^{[volume & issue needed]} but in the last arc - which is set a few years later - she has become the Kingpin's right hand and is a villainess.^{[volume & issue needed]} She is hired by an unknown person to kill a Latverian terrorist, but Spider-Man prevented her of doing it.^{[volume & issue needed]} She is shown in this universe as a highly dangerous and skilled killer, and was able to take down the likes of Hammerhead,^{[volume & issue needed]} Black Cat,^{[volume & issue needed]} Moon Knight,^{[volume & issue needed]} and Spider-Man easily.^{[volume & issue needed]} She was later put into a coma when Moon Knight threw one of his crescent blades at her, hitting her in the head when she was about to kill Black Cat.^{[volume & issue needed]}

PunisherMax[link]

A realistic version of Elektra will appear in the ongoing PunisherMax series. This version of the character is Japanese, and works as a bodyguard for the Kingpin.^[37] This is really a ruse, as she was secretly hired by Kingpin's ex-wife Vanessa to assassinate him for standing idly by while their son Richard's neck was slit. It also is revealed that she is in a lesbian relationship with her as well.^[38] During a final confrontation with The Punisher to save Vanessa, she is shot in the chest, and her fingers were blown off. She is then shot in the head.^[39] Elektra survived, but lost her eye and was paralyzed from the neck down. She is speaking to a man that represents the hand asking to see Vanessa. He states that she can't help her, and asks her to move. She tries to use her bodily functions, but to no avail. The representative states that he will miss her, and has another man assassinate her with a sword.^[40]

Bibliography[link]

By Frank Miller[link]

In addition to her signature appearances in Daredevil, Elektra starred in three series produced by her creator, Frank Miller:

• Elektra Saga #1-4 (Marvel Comics, 1984) (drawn from previously published material)
• Elektra: Assassin #1-8 (Marvel Comics, 1986, with Bill Sienkewicz)
• Elektra Lives Again original graphic novel (Marvel Comics / Epic Comics, 1990)

Additional series[link]

Elektra has also headlined the following series:

• Elektra: Root of Evil #1-4 (Marvel Comics, 1995)
• Elektra Megazine #1-2 (Marvel Comics, 1996, reprint series)
• Elektra vol. 1, #1-19 (Marvel Comics, 1996-1998)
  • Elektra vol. 1, #-1 (Marvel Comics, 1997, "FlashBack Month" issue)
  • Peter Parker: Spider-Man / Elektra '98 Annual (Marvel Comics, 1998)
• Elektra vol. 2, #1-35 (Marvel Comics / Marvel Knights, 2001-2004)
  • Issue 3 was recalled by Marvel due to featuring nude images of the character. An edited version was later reissued to retailers.
• Elektra and Wolverine: The Redeemer #1-3 (Marvel Comics, 2002)
• Elektra: Glimpse & Echo #1-4 (Marvel Comics / Marvel Knights, 2002)
• Elektra: The Hand #1-5 (Marvel Comics, 2004)
• Dark Reign: Elektra #1-5 (Marvel Comics, 2009)
• Shadowland: Elektra one-shot (Marvel Comics, 2010)

Ultimate Marvel[link]

An alternate version of Elektra starred in the following series set in the fictional Ultimate Marvel Universe:

• Ultimate Daredevil and Elektra #1-4 (Marvel Comics, 2002)
• Ultimate Elektra #1-5 (Marvel Comics, 2004)

Intercompany crossovers[link]

Elektra has been featured in crossovers with characters from other publishing companies:

• Elektra / Cyblade one-shot (Marvel Comics / Top Cow Productions, 1997)
• Witchblade / Elektra one-shot (Top Cow Productions / Marvel Comics, 1997)

In other media[link]

Films[link]

• The 2003 Daredevil film tells of Elektra being the daughter of billionaire Nikolas Natchios and the love interest of Matt Murdock. At a very young age she witnessed the murder of her mother, and since then her father has had her become highly trained in martial arts. For the role of Elektra, many actresses were looked into with considerations including Penélope Cruz, Salma Hayek, Natalie Portman, Lucy Liu, Jessica Alba, and Katie Holmes.^[41] A short-list was eventually made, giving the choices of Jennifer Garner, Jolene Blalock, Mía Maestro and Rhona Mitra,^[42] with Garner finally becoming the actress to land the role.^[41] Garner said of the character, "I think she's strong and cool and beautiful and smart. She'd be a good role model."^[43] Garner noted that the costume would be different as Elektra often wears red satin, but in the film she wears black leather. Garner explained "the red would never have worked for hiding a harness, and I know this sounds ridiculous, but you have to protect your skin a little bit. They throw me around so much on the rooftop [that] I got cut through the leather, so imagine if I hadn't had anything."^[44] The course of events in the film begin with Elektra falling for Murdock, then seeing her father murdered by Bullseye. However, she wrongfully accuses Daredevil for his death, seeing only him at the scene of the crime. Elektra was trained by Stick as a child so she practiced intensely with her favorite weapons, sai, which she would use to attack Daredevil. When she finally confronts the vigilante, she impales him by his shoulder. She goes on to unmask him, surprised to see Matt Murdock. Elektra finally realizes it was Bullseye who murdered her father. She confronts Bullseye who beats her in battle, leaving her for dead. She was able to say goodbye to Murdock before dying in his arms.

• In the Elektra spinoff sequel to Daredevil, it was revealed that after Elektra died, her old trainer Stick resurrected her and trained her in martial arts in the Way of Kimagure (the ability to control time, the future, and life and death), a benevolent dichotomy of The Hand. On expulsion from Stick's school – a life lesson for her heart of anger and hate – Elektra became an assassin for hire. She soon became acquainted with a single father and his daughter, Abby. She discovered the two were being hunted down by the organization known as the Hand. Elektra, with the help of Stick and his assistants, protected Abby and her father. Abby was then revealed to be a great warrior known as the Treasure: a powerful weapon that could tip the scales of the Hand's power. Elektra had a final showdown with the leader of the Hand. If Elektra won, Abby would go free; if the leader of The Hand won, then Abby would belong to the Hand. In the battle, Elektra was nearly beaten – then, realizing that The Hand leader was her mother's killer, Elektra fatally impaled him through the heart with one of her sai, and flipped him down a well-where he disintegrated. A final scene shows Elektra resurrecting Abby the same way Stick resurrected her.

Video games[link]

• Elektra is boss in the video game tie-in to the Daredevil live-action film. In the game, she is brainwashed by the Kingpin into fighting Daredevil. After she is defeated by Daredevil, she reveals the Kingpin's whereabouts.
• In the game Spider-Man 2: Enter Electro, she is mentioned by Spider-Man, when he is referring to Dr. Watts (whom Hammerhead had taken hostage) and was wearing a red dress, similar in color to Elektra's costume. He told him that if she would have been Elektra, then they would have been dead.
• She appears as a playable character in EA's Marvel Nemesis: Rise of the Imperfects, along with other well known Marvel characters (Elektra and Storm are the only Marvel heroines). In this video game, she fights against Daredevil who has been altered by an imperfect chip and wins, but then she is defeated by the magician The Wink.
• Elektra is also a playable character in Marvel: Ultimate Alliance voiced by Gabrielle Carteris. She is the fastest character in the game and her sai attacks are very deadly. She has special dialogue with Arcade, Black Widow, Bullseye, and The Wrecking Crew, and is one of the few characters who appear during all game briefings. A simulation disk involved Daredevil protecting Elektra from Bullseye and another simulation disk has her fighting Bullseye on the S.H.I.E.L.D. Omega Base. Her costumes include her classic, Ultimate (colored white instead of the usual red), Assassin, and Stealth.^[45]
• Elektra also has a cameo appearance in the game Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter. She is locked in a container along with several other Marvel and Street Fighter characters who are locked in containers in Apocalypse's stage.
• A game based on the film was availible on mobile.
• Elektra is a playable character in Marvel Super Hero Squad Online, in her red outfit and an alternate white outfit.
• Elektra is featured as a boss in the Facebook game Marvel: Avengers Alliance.

Toys[link]

• Elektra appeared in the Marvel Legends toy line, in series 4 (the first female in the toy line) and in the Urban legends box set (repaint white outfit). Elektra later appears in Hasbro's first series of Marvel Legends 2 Packs, with Ronin.
• Elektra appears in Hasbro's Marvel Super Hero Squad toy line for children ages 3 and older, sharing a two-pack with Daredevil. In 2008, a white-clothed Elektra with a different face was issued in a box set including a repainted Ghost Rider, Punisher, and Spider-Man.
• Elektra also appears in the Marvel Select toy line, designed and produced by Toy Biz for Diamond Select Toys
• Elektra is the seventeenth figurine in the Classic Marvel Figurine Collection.

Miscellaneous[link]

• Elektra was among the ten Marvel characters utilized on a set of Marvel Comics Super Heroes commemorative postage-stamps that were issued in 2007.^[46]

See also[link]

• Woman warrior
• Electra

References[link]

External links[link]

• Elektra at Marvel.com
• Daredevil & Elektra screenplay Based upon DD #181
• Architectural Grounding in Miller's Elektra: Temporality and Spatiality in the Graphic Novel Article on Elektra: Assassin

Look up Electra, electra, or elektra in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Electra was daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra in Greek mythology.

Electra or Elektra may also refer to:

Greek myth[link]

• Electra (Pleiad), one of the Pleiades
• Electra, an Oceanid, wife of Thaumas
• Electra, one of the Danaids, daughter of Danaus and Polyxo. She married (and murdered) Peristhenes, son of Aegyptus and Caliadne

Works based on the Greek myth[link]

• Electra (Sophocles), a play by Sophocles
• Electra (Euripides), a play by Euripides
• Electra (Giraudoux), a 1930 play by Giraudoux
• Electra (Rajiva Wijesinha), a 1986 play by Rajiva Wijesinha
• Elektra (Hofmannsthal), a play by the Austrian writer Hugo von Hofmannsthal after Sophocles
• Elektra (opera), a 1909 opera by Richard Strauss to a libretto by Hofmannsthal adapted from the above play
• Electra (1962 film), a film by Michael Cacoyannis
• Elektra (Theodorakis), an opera by Mikis Theodorakis
• Elektra (started in 1949, first performed 1987), a play by Ezra Pound and Rudd Fleming

Other fictional works[link]

• Elektra (comics), a Marvel Comics character
  • Elektra: Assassin, a 1986 miniseries dedicated to the Marvel character
  • Elektra (2005 film), a film based on the Marvel character
• Electra the Electric Train, a character in Starlight Express
• "Electra", Cathy's dog in the Cathy comic strip
• Electra (1996 film), a Shannon Tweed film
• Mourning Becomes Electra, a 1931 play cycle written by American playwright Eugene O'Neill
• Electra (cat), a character in the musical Cats
• Elektra King, a character in the 1999 James Bond film The World is not Enough portrayed by Sophie Marceau
• Elektra (2010 film), a Malayalam psychological drama film

Places[link]

• Electra, California
• Electra, Texas
• Electra Building, Vancouver, a skyscraper
• Electra (San Diego), a condominium tower located in downtown San Diego

Business[link]

• Elektra (espresso machines), an Italian producer of high-quality espresso machines
• Electra Private Equity, the London-based listed investment trust
• Electra Partners Europe, the pan-European private equity firm renamed Cognetas
• Elektra Records, a U.S. record label
• Grupo Elektra, a Mexican corporation
• Electra Guitars, a brand of imported electric guitar of the 70s and 80s

Transportation[link]

• Elektra (smartcard), a planned Hungarian smartcard-based fare payment system
• Lockheed Model 10 Electra, a twin-engine, all-metal monoplane airliner from the 1930s
• Lockheed Model 12 Electra Junior, an eight-seat, six-passenger all-metal twin-engine transport aircraft of the late 1930s
• Lockheed Model 14 Super Electra, a civil cargo and passenger aircraft
• Lockheed L-188 Electra, an American turboprop airliner built by Lockheed
• Buick Electra, full-size premium automobiles built by the Buick division of General Motors
• Electra Bicycle Company, a Vista, California-based bicycle brand/company
• Electra, a express electic locomotive of the type British Rail Class 77 built in 1953 for the Woodhead Line
• Electra, an early codename for the British Rail Class 91 electric locomotive
• Electra, a Great Western Railway Firefly class 2-2-2 locomotive
• Harley-Davidson Electra Glide, a motorcycle in the FL model series since 1965

People with the given, professional or family name Electra or Elektra[link]

• Carmen Electra (born 1972), American model, actress, and singer
• Paul Oakenfold British producer and Trance music DJ
• Elektra King, character in the film The World is Not Enough
• Elektra (Salina Bartunek), of the American Gladiators competed from 1992–1994
• Professional name of Efva Attling in modeling career
• Donna Adamo or Elektra (born 1970), professional wrestling valet and adult model

Music[link]

• Electra (album), an album by Arild Andersen
• Elektra (Suspekt album), a 2011 album by Danish band Suspekt
• Elektra: The Album, the soundtrack to the 2005 film
• "Electra" (Dio song), the thirteenth and final single by heavy metal band Dio

Other uses[link]

• Elektra Festival is an International Digital Arts Festival in Montreal
• HMS Electra, four ships
• Electra (star), 17 Tauri
• Electra (teletext), a teletext service from the early 1980s to the early 1990s
• 130 Elektra, an asteroid
• Electra complex, a psychiatric concept
• Elektra Initiative, an alternative back-end for text configuration files
• Electra (cat), a fictional cat in T. S. Eliot's Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats
• Electra, one of the first popular modern serif typefaces, designed by W. A. Dwiggins
• Elektra (layout engine)
• Elektra (name), female given name
• Electra, My Love, a 1974 Hungarian drama film directed by Miklós Jancsó
• Electra (bryozoan), a prehistoric genus of bryozoan
• Electra is another name for satellite Explorer-1 Prime

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. No cleanup reason has been specified. Please help improve this article if you can; the talk page may contain suggestions. (October 2008)

Green Arrow is a fictional character, a superhero that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Mort Weisinger and George Papp, he first appeared in More Fun Comics #73 in November 1941. His secret identity is Oliver Queen, billionaire and former mayor of fictional Star City.^[2] Dressed like Robin Hood, Green Arrow is an archer who invents trick arrows with various special functions, such as glue arrows, net, explosive, time bomb, grappling, fire extinguishing, flash and tear gas arrows, as well as cryonic arrows, and even a kryptonite arrow. Originally developed as an archery-themed analogue of the very popular Batman character, writers at DC have developed Green Arrow into a voice of left-wing and progressive politics very much distinct in character from Batman, with his own supporting cast.

Throughout his first twenty-five years, Green Arrow was not a significant hero. In the late 1960s, however, writer Denny O'Neil chose to have him lose his fortune, giving him the then-unique role of streetwise crusader for the working class and the disadvantaged. In 1970, he was paired with the more law-and-order-oriented hero Green Lantern in a groundbreaking, socially conscious comic book series. Since then, he has been popular among comic book fans and most writers have taken an urban, gritty approach to the character. The character was killed off in the 1990s and replaced by a new character, Oliver's son Connor Hawke, the second Green Arrow; however, Hawke proved a less popular character, and the original Oliver Queen character was resurrected in the 2001 "Quiver" storyline. In the 2000s, the character has been featured in bigger storylines focusing on Green Arrow and the character Black Canary, such as the DC event The Green Arrow/Black Canary Wedding and the high-profile Justice League: Cry for Justice storyline, the climax of which sees Green Arrow becoming a morally ambiguous anti-hero.^{[citation needed]}

The character was not initially a well-known character outside of comic book fandom; he had appeared in a single episode of the animated series Super Friends in 1973. The character, however, became a prominent feature in the DCAU animated series Justice League Unlimited in the 2000s, reflective of his status in Justice League comic books, as well as the animated series The Batman and several DC Universe Animated Original Movies. From season six of popular live-action series Smallville, in 2006, Green Arrow was played by actor Justin Hartley, who would become a core cast member; he was originally introduced in a guest run as a substitute for the restricted-rights character Batman. As a main character, Smallville prominently featured Green Arrow supporting characters and mythos. David S. Goyer also attempted to get Green Arrow: Escape from Super Max into production as a film in the late 2000s. In fall of 2012 Green Arrow will be portrayed by Stephen Amell in the live action Arrow (TV series) on the CW.

Publication history[link]

Beginnings, 1941–1968[link]

Green Arrow and Speedy first appeared in More Fun Comics #73 (cover-dated November 1941), which was illustrated by artist George Papp. Aside from the obvious allusions to Robin Hood, Mort Weisinger, when developing the character, was also inspired by a movie serial, The Green Archer, based on the novel by Edgar Wallace. He retooled the concept into a superhero archer with obvious Batman influences.^[3] These include Green Arrow's sidekick Speedy, his use of an Arrowcar and Arrowplane, his use of an Arrowcave as headquarters, his alter ego as a billionaire playboy, the use of an Arrow-signal to summon him, and a clown-like arch foe named Bull's Eye, similar to Batman's arch-foe, the Joker.

Another Weisinger-created character called Aquaman also appeared for the first time in that issue, and these two back-up features continued to run concurrently in More Fun Comics until the mid-1940s, and then in Adventure Comics from 1946 until 1960. Green Arrow and Speedy also appeared in various issues of World's Finest Comics until issue #140 (1964). The Green Arrow and Speedy feature was one of five back-up features to be promoted in one of the earliest team-up books, Leading Comics.

Green Arrow was one of the few DC characters to keep going after the Golden Age of Comic Books. The longevity of the character was due to the influence of creator Mort Weisinger, who kept Green Arrow and Aquaman as back-up features to the headlining Superboy feature, first in More Fun Comics and then Adventure Comics. Aside from sharing Adventure Comics with him, issue #258 featured an encounter between a younger Oliver Queen and Superboy. The Green Arrow and Speedy feature during this period included a short run in 1958 written by Dick and Dave Wood and drawn by Jack Kirby. For much of this period, Green Arrow's adventures were written by France Herron, who was the character's primary scripter from 1947–1963.^[4]

Neal Adams and Dennis O'Neil, 1969–1983[link]

In 1969, artist Neal Adams decided to update the character's visual appearance by giving him a Vandyke beard and costume of his own design in The Brave and the Bold #85 (August -September 1969).^[5] Inspired by Adams' redesign, writer Dennis O'Neil followed up on Green Arrow's new appearance by completely remaking the character's attitude in the pages of Justice League of America #75 (cover-dated November 1969), giving his personality a rougher edge. This revision was explained by having Oliver Queen lose his fortune due to fake documents of him engaging in corruption, and then become an outspoken advocate of the underprivileged in society and the political left wing. For instance, he once saved a child's dog playing in a railyard, but instead of feeling satisfaction, he brooded on the larger problem of how the child had nowhere in the city to play safely.

In the early 1970s, he became a co-feature with Green Lantern (Hal Jordan) in the latter's series in an acclaimed, but short-lived series of stories by O'Neil and Adams that dealt with various social and political issues in which Green Arrow spoke for radical change while Green Lantern was an establishment liberal figure, wanting to work within existing institutions of government and law. Where Queen advocated direct action, Hal Jordan wanted to work within the system; where Queen advocated social change, Jordan was more concerned about dealing with criminals. Each would find their beliefs challenged by the other. Queen convinced Jordan to see beyond his strict obedience to the Green Lantern Corps, to help those who were neglected or discriminated against. As O'Neil explained: "He would be a hot-tempered anarchist to contrast with the cerebral, sedate model citizen who was the Green Lantern."^[6] The duo embarked on a quest to find America, witnessing the problems of corruption, racism, pollution, and overpopulation confronting the nation. Writer O'Neil even took on current events, such as the Manson Family cult murders, in issues #78–79 ("A Kind of Loving") where Black Canary falls briefly under the spell of a false prophet who advocates violence.

It was during this period that the most famous Green Arrow story appeared, in Green Lantern (vol. 2) #85–86, when it was revealed that Green Arrow's ward Speedy was addicted to heroin.^[2] In his zeal to save America, Oliver had failed in his personal responsibility to Speedy—who would overcome his addiction with the help of Black Canary, Green Arrow's then-love interest. This story prompted a congratulatory letter from the mayor of New York, John Lindsay. Unfortunately, the series did not match commercial expectations, and Neal Adams had trouble with deadlines, causing issue #88 to be an unscheduled reprint issue; the series was canceled with issue #89 (April/May 1972).

The duo were moved to the back-up feature in The Flash, issues #217 through #219. The socially relevant themes would continue, as the story opens with Oliver killing a criminal (albeit accidentally). Oliver shed himself of the remaining trappings of his super-heroic life (including crashing the Arrowplane into a mountain) and withdrew to an ashram monastery. He would find no peace there, and returned to the outside world at the request of Hal and Dinah. This storyline would prove very important to the character in the 1990s. After this three-part story, Green Lantern continued as a solo back-up in The Flash, while Green Arrow's solo stories began appearing in Action Comics.

In 1976, the Green Lantern title was re-launched starring both Hal Jordan and Ollie Queen, and the Green Arrow/Green Lantern partnership returned to more traditional superhero storylines. Denny O'Neill resumed writing the characters, while Adams-influenced artist Mike Grell drew the feature. After the title moved to solo Green Lantern stories, solo Green Arrow stories began appearing in the World's Finest title. The solo stories were frequently written by Elliot S. Maggin.

In his solo series, Oliver would land a job as a newspaper columnist, which allowed him to articulate his political beliefs in a more public field. In World's Finest #255 (1979), Queen ran for Mayor of Star City and lost in a close vote. Although there was reason to believe that the election had been fixed against him, Black Canary chose for him not to contest the results legally, effectively ceding the race to his opponent.

In May through August 1983, Green Arrow appeared for the first time in his own comic book, a four issue limited series^[7] of murder and betrayal that established potential for a full series. It was in this miniseries that Green Arrow would gain a running rivalry with the super villain Count Vertigo.

In 1985, a Green Arrow died in the Crisis on Infinite Earths, wearing red boots and gloves, suggesting this was a leftover Earth-2 character being disposed of, especially considering no resurrection was later acknowledged before his further appearances.

Longbow Hunters/Mike Grell Ongoing[link]

In 1987, DC Comics launched the character into a new ongoing title as part of their mature audience comic line. Written and illustrated by Mike Grell, the revamp was launched with Green Arrow: The Longbow Hunters mini-series.^[8] In this three-issue prestige format limited series, a routine adventure against a group of drug runners led to tragedy as Black Canary was captured and brutally tortured. In response, Green Arrow murders his girlfriend's attackers. The mini-series would also introduce the enigmatic female Japanese archer, Shado, whose family suffered in a World War II internment camp.

Under Grell, Green Arrow would abandon the use of his trademark gadget arrows and relocate from Star City to Seattle, Washington. As the series was part of DC Comics' mature audience line, it took on a more gritty, violent, and urban tone, with Green Arrow often using deadly force against his enemies. Grell wrote the series for the first 80 issues, downplaying the super-hero aspects of the characters; Oliver abandoned his mask and was never actually referred to as "Green Arrow", and Black Canary was never shown using her sonic scream power (sometimes explained as having lost it due to the events of The Longbow Hunters, though this was not consistent with her appearances in other titles published during this period). While crossover specials were conceived to allow other writers (most notably Denny O'Neil, who wrote Batman and the mature audience comic The Question) to use Green Arrow, Grell wrote him as largely isolated from the rest of the DC Universe; when other DC characters like longtime friend Hal Jordan (a.k.a. Green Lantern) appeared, they did so in street clothes and used only their civilian names.^[9]

In place of the super-hero community, Grell created his own supporting cast. In addition to Shado, Grell introduced Seattle police Lieutenant Jim Cameron, who was disgusted with Green Arrow's vigilante actions (including killing criminals); renegade CIA agent Greg Osborne, who began to monitor Queen's activities; and mercenary Eddie Fyers, initially introduced as Queen's adversary, but later to become a companion of necessity when Green Arrow was forced to leave Seattle after false accusations of aiding terrorists. Grell's run ended with Green Arrow #80, shortly after Dinah dumped Oliver.

During this period, the writer also redefined the character's origin in the four-part 1992 limited series, Green Arrow: The Wonder Year. Grell portrayed Oliver Queen as a thrill-seeker who inherits his family business at a very young age. Changed by his sojourn on the island, Oliver decided to take up crime fighting as a means of rebelling against his responsibilities. During his first adventure in Star City, Oliver Queen meets an old flame, Brianna Stone, a former college radical who warns him if he continued to carry his bow, he would one day have to use it for real. Grell's limited series also established Queen's attraction toward dangerous women.

Post-Grell[link]

Once Grell left the series, DC almost immediately began restoring Green Arrow to the mainstream DC Universe. His ongoing series (mostly written by Kelley Puckett and drawn by artist Jim Aparo) was removed from the "Mature Audience" line (which had evolved into "Vertigo") with #63, prior to Grell's departure, and Green Arrow began appearing in various super-hero titles as a guest, most notably Green Lantern #47, which had Oliver aiding Green Lantern in rescuing his longtime girlfriend Carol Ferris and her family from one of Hal's enemies, and the 1994 DC Comics mini-series Zero Hour. In Zero Hour, Queen is forced to shoot his old friend at a pivotal moment. Now tightly integrated in the DC Universe, the character Connor Hawke was introduced and revealed as Oliver Queen's son.

In Green Arrow #100–101, Oliver would infiltrate a group of eco-terrorists known as the Eden Corps and sacrifice his life in order to prevent the group from detonating a bomb that would destroy the city of Metropolis,^[2] the resulting explosion completely atomising Queen's body so that his identity could only be confirmed by Superman witnessing his death. This allowed the writers to shake up the status quo by making Connor Hawke a replacement Green Arrow. The series, now written by Chuck Dixon, would continue, with Hawke as the main focus until issue #137, when the series was canceled.

Smith, Hester and Parks/Meltzer 2000–2004[link]

In 2000, Oliver Queen is revived in a new series, Green Arrow (vol. 3), in the story arc "Quiver", written by Kevin Smith and illustrated by Phil Hester and Ande Parks. Picking up the thread from "The Final Night", Smith reveals that Hal's resurrection of Oliver was a flawed one, in that Hal opted to resurrect Oliver in the form of a soulless body that had no memory of the events of The Longbow Hunters mini-series or of the subsequent events that followed, up until his death; having spoken with Oliver's soul in the afterlife, Hal and Oliver had agreed to bring back a version of Oliver to make for Hal's absence in the events that led to his death while still leaving Oliver in Heaven. His resurrection is used by the grandfather of Stanley Dover in an attempt to gain power over the monster that Dover accidentally bound to his grandson, Dover intending to take Oliver's body and use his access to the JLA's resources to find the monster. At the climax of the story, Oliver's soul returns from heaven (his earthly duplicate not possessing a soul), and helps his son Connor Hawke fight a horde of demons. Dover is defeated and actually consumed by the Beast, who then leaves of his own accord. Oliver also finds himself independently wealthy again, as Dover had transferred all his financial assets to Oliver in anticipation of taking over his body. He also picked up a new sidekick, Mia Dearden, who would become the new Speedy, under Oliver's tutoring.^[10]

After the resurrection storyline, Smith wrote a second and shorter arc involving a super-powered serial killer named Onomatopoeia that sought to claim Connor Hawke as his latest victim. Smith then left the title, and Brad Meltzer took over as writer. Meltzer went on to write the mini-series Identity Crisis, which heavily featured Green Arrow as one of the story's main characters.

Meltzer's single storyline for Green Arrow featured Oliver and former sidekick Roy Harper reuniting and going on a cross-country road trip to pick up old possessions of Oliver's, most notably a spare Green Lantern power ring entrusted to him by Hal Jordan many years earlier. The story also revealed that Oliver knew all along that Connor Hawke was his son and was even present at his birth, but that Oliver ultimately abandoned Connor and his mother, because of his fear of the responsibilities of fatherhood. Meltzer's storyline would continue into the mini-series Green Lantern: Rebirth, which featured Oliver's attempts to use the ring.

During this time, the character also appeared in a number of other titles, such as the Justice League and Justice League Elite. This series is notable for showing a brief affair with Dawn, the wife of the team's magical expert Manitou Raven.

Judd Winick, 2004–2008[link]

Judd Winick took over as Green Arrow writer and made many changes. Mia Dearden, the new Speedy, was revealed to be HIV positive, and attempts were made to expand Green Arrow's Rogues Gallery with Merlyn the archer, Constantine Drakon, and Danny Brickwell (the Brick) joining the cast of existing Green Arrow villains such as the illusion-casting Count Vertigo and the enigmatic Onomatopoeia (himself a relatively recent addition). Other DC villains, such as the Riddler, made guest appearances throughout his run.

In 2006 Andy Diggle and Jock's Green Arrow: Year One^[11] presented the most recent official version of his origin. Using concepts from previous iterations, Oliver Queen is a rich, thrill-seeking activist who is attacked, thrown overboard, and washes up on a island where he learns of a smuggling operation. Upon witnessing the inhabitants' slave-like living conditions, he begins to take down the smugglers' operation. He eventually returns to civilization changed by his experiences. In the final part of the story, Oliver claims that a mutiny or the actions of a group of heroin dealers could be used as a cover story for what transpired, referencing the original Green Arrow origin story, as well as Mike Grell's version.

That year also saw the title (along with other DC comics titles) jump "One Year Later" after the events in Infinite Crisis,. Oliver, having once again amassed a large personal fortune, is the newly elected mayor of Star City. He continues his fight for justice both on the streets and within the political system. He also has a new costume, which appears to be a combination of the classic Neal Adams costume and the Mike Grell Longbow Hunters costume. In flashbacks, it is revealed that Oliver survived a near-fatal attack during the events of Infinite Crisis, and used his recuperation time to retrain.

He works with several expert instructors including a sensei known as Natas, who also trained Deathstroke. The current Green Arrow (vol. 3) series ended with issue #75 in June 2007, concluding with the character, having resigned as mayor after a scandal, proposing to Dinah (Black Canary).

Green Arrow/Black Canary[link]

After the end of the ongoing series, DC Comics published a four-part bi-monthly Black Canary miniseries in which Green Arrow teamed up with Black Canary to help get Sin into school and establish a new life. This series concluded with Black Canary accepting his proposal. This resulted in DC Comics publishing three interconnected specials revolving around the Green Arrow/Black Canary wedding that tied into that month's "Countdown" stories. These were The Black Canary Wedding Planner, JLA Wedding Special, and The Green Arrow/Black Canary Wedding Special. The wedding special worked as a lead-in for a new Green Arrow/Black Canary series. At the conclusion of the wedding special, Black Canary is forced to kill Green Arrow after he appears to go mad and attacks her.

The new ongoing series picked up on this, quickly revealing that Green Arrow was alive (the dead Green Arrow being an impostor) and being held hostage by "Athena". Black Canary, Connor and Mia launch a rescue mission to save Green Arrow. As the team is united, and on their way to safety, Connor is struck by a bullet meant for Oliver, and is left in a vegetative state. While Connor rests, Oliver and Dinah go out and officially become married (since they never actually were married in the Wedding Special) but come home to find Connor has been kidnapped.

This storyline led directly into the second arc that followed the rescue of Connor Hawke from a mysterious foe. Connor is eventually found, now having recovered thanks to manipulation by Doctor Sivana. With issue #15, Andrew Kreisberg took over as the series writer.

Cry for Justice/Blackest Night[link]

During the Blackest Night series, Oliver is transformed into a Black Lantern Corps member and attacks his former allies. During a battle with his son Connor, Connor says he never really forgave his father.^[12]

Villain Prometheus destroys Star City and is eventually killed by Green Arrow, who murders him in secret.^[13] It is then revealed that Green Arrow obsessively hunts super-villains,^[14] including Prometheus' former allies who were involved in the bombing. He realizes he has crossed a line and turns himself in, and Black Canary returns her wedding ring and declares their marriage over. Oliver is found not guilty as most of the jury sympathise with his motives, but is exiled from Star City's remains.^[15]

Brightest Day[link]

When the white ring brought Deadman to the ruins of Star City, a vast green forest instantly grew in the presence of the white light.^[16]

Having been banished from Star City for murdering Prometheus, Green Arrow lives within the new forest, trying his best to protect a city still reeling from the death and destruction of the bomb attacks. With the law breaking down and numerous public figures being murdered, a new owner of Queen Industries, as a result of a hostile takeover, arrives to enforce peace and rebuild the city.^[17] This self-proclaimed 'Queen' has a connection to Green Arrow's father and claims to be upholding the Queen family legacy where Oliver failed.^[18]

The New 52[link]

In DC's 2011 launch of the New 52, Green Arrow was given his own ongoing series.^[19] Ollie Queen is Green Arrow and he balances his own breaking of laws with his efforts to bring outlaws to justice across the globe.

Roy's memories in Red Hood and the Outlaws bring to the surface that when Ollie cut their partnership ties, he publicly took all of Roy's stocks in his company and left Roy to his own devices leading Roy to an attempted assisted suicide by the hands of Killer Croc. Roy also comments how he steals from Ollie's company to get the arrows for his adventures.^[20]

Other versions[link]

Many alternative versions of the character have appeared in DC Comics publications. The original version of the character became established as the Earth-Two version of Green Arrow who was a member of the Seven Soldiers of Victory and All-Star Squadron in the 1940s, along with his sidekick Speedy. Aside from their origin, which states the two were trained together on a mesa top, their history nearly parallels the history of the Earth-One version, up until the point when Green Arrow and Speedy, along with their teammates, were thrown into various periods of time during a battle with the Nebula Man. He was killed during the Crisis on Infinite Earths. A retcon was made, in Crisis on Infinite Earths, that the Earth-Two Green Arrow had brown hair, as opposed to Earth-One's Green Arrow being blond. Similarly, the Earth-Two Speedy has blond hair, as opposed to Earth-One's Speedy having red.

The character appears in Frank Miller's Batman: The Dark Knight Returns and the sequel Batman: The Dark Knight Strikes Again. Despite missing an arm (implied to be because of Superman), Oliver still proves to be an effective archer (he grasps the nocks of his arrows in his teeth). The Emerald Archer later acquires a cybernetic replacement for his lost arm from Batman in the sequel. The death scene in Green Arrow #100–101 pays tribute to Miller's story. Superman's only course of action to rescue Green Arrow is by removing his arm, but Queen refuses to let him—admitting later in Quiver that he refused due to both his own issues at this point in his life and the more practical issue that he would be useless as an archer with one arm—thus bringing about his apparent death. In The Dark Knight Returns, Queen is portrayed as an anarchist, while in The Dark Knight Strikes Again he is explicitly described as a "billionaire turned Communist."

An older, balding Green Arrow would appear in Mark Waid and Alex Ross' futuristic vision Kingdom Come, where Oliver has joined forces with Batman to oppose Superman's army. He married his long time love Dinah Lance and they have a daughter, Olivia Queen.

Green Arrow appears in League of Justice, a The Lord of the Rings–inspired fantasy where the character is renamed "Longbow Greenarrow", a mysterious wizard resembling Gandalf; JLA: Age of Wonder shows Green Arrow as a defender of the poor and an enemy of oppression.

In JLA: The Nail and its sequel, Oliver is a featured as a crippled ex-hero, having lost an arm, an eye, and the use of his legs in a fight with Amazo, the same battle resulting in the death of Katar Hol. Bitter and furious, he is now wheelchair bound, and spreads fear on Perry White's talk show about the JLA being aliens and claims that they are planning to conquer the world; his former teammates speculate that this is his method of coping. In the sequel, Oliver's brain is transplanted into Amazo's body—the Flash having removed Amazo's computerized brain in an earlier fight—restoring his sanity, allowing him to defeat the creature threatening the universe at the cost of his own life, after mending fences with his former teammates.

In Batman: Holy Terror, Oliver Queen is mentioned as having been executed, found guilty of supporting underground Jewish "pornographers"; and he has a cameo as Bruce Wayne's society friend in Dean Motter's Batman: Nine Lives. Green Arrow has also appeared in the Justice League Unlimited spin-off comic book. Oliver Queen also appears in Mike Mignola’s Batman: The Doom That Came to Gotham, where he is portrayed as a latter-day Templar equipped with magic arrows dipped in the blood of Saint Sebastian. He is killed in issue #2 by Poison Ivy.

DC's weekly series 52 established a new 52-Earth Multiverse. On Earth-3, an evil equivalent of the Green Arrow is a member of the supervillain co-op called the Crime Society of America. In Tangent Comics (Earth-9), Green Arrow is a type of soda with the slogan: "Hits the Spot". On Earth-15, Roy Harper has replaced Oliver as the Green Arrow.^[21] The Kingdom Come (Earth-22) and Dark Knight Returns (Earth-31) stories and their variations of Oliver were later amalgamated into the 52-Earth Multiverse. In the gender-reversed world of Earth-11, Oliver is now Olivia Queen, and that world's version of Black Canary closely resembles him in appearance.^[22]

In the alternate timeline of the Flashpoint event, Oliver Queen is the head of Green Arrow Industries, a major military contracting company, and leads a ex-military band of Green Arrows. Even though Oliver is an inventive genius, he steals advanced gadgets from super-villains for military use. In one day, Oliver discovers his Green Arrows were killed by a female raider. Taking his weapons and gadgets to hunt down the woman in battle, Oliver shockingly learns that the woman reveals to him that she is a daughter of Vixen, Oliver's former lover, and the reason she attacked him was because of his industries build factories which specialize in testing super-villain weapons in American towns that inadvertently became targets for the super-villains looking to gain their weapons back. Shocked by her revelation, Oliver had only been stalling before his daughter is killed by his reserve teams he earlier called.^[23]

Green Arrow and Warlord[link]

Mike Grell's Warlord character, Travis Morgan, bears a striking resemblance to Oliver Queen. During Grell's run on Green Arrow, Travis Morgan shows up in Seattle in issue #27. After being attacked on sight by half of the Seattle underworld population (all of whom mistake him for Green Arrow), Morgan shows up at Queen's house and declares, "Whatever you've been doing to piss these people off... cut it out!!" Finally appearing on-panel together, Grell illustrates that while there is an uncanny resemblance, Travis Morgan is significantly taller than Oliver, and seemingly several years older. In Aquaman (vol. 5) #71, Aquaman accidentally passes through a dimensional portal that leads to Skartaris, the world of Warlord. When he meets Travis Morgan, he mistakes him for Oliver back from the dead (this was after Oliver had been killed by a terrorist's bomb, and before he was resurrected by Hal Jordan).^[2] During Kevin Smith's Green Arrow run, during the "Quiver" story arc, Deadman pokes fun at the resemblance as well.^[24]

In other media[link]

Collected editions[link]

The trade paperback edition of The Archer's Quest (#16–21) was released as Volume 4 in the series after Straight Shooter (#26–31) was released as Volume 3. The hardcover editions of Quiver, The Sounds of Violence, and The Archer's Quest were never numbered.

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Green Arrow (comics)

• Green Arrow at the DC Database Project
• Green Arrow's secret origin at DC Comics.com
• Earth-1 Green Arrow Index
• Earth-2 Green Arrow Index
• Index of the Earth-One adventures of Green Arrow
• Green Arrow at Don Markstein's Toonopedia
• The Green Arrow on the DC Animated Universe Wiki, an external wiki