Comic Review: Daredevil: Woman Without Fear #1

Marvel Comics

Writer: Chip Zdarsky

Artist: Rafael De Latorre

Colors: Federico Blee

Letterer: VC’s Clayton Cowles

The Devil’s Reign spin-offs have started, and few seem like they’ll have as great an impact on the event as Woman Without Fear, a spotlight on our favorite assassin’s recent run as the devil of Hell’s Kitchen.

It’s been quite a while since we first caught wind of Elektra’s machinations. To eliminate the Hand once and for all, there needs to be a king and queen. Ostensibly, Matt Murdock and Elektra Natchios. However, as part of whatever ritual that will take the Hand down, one must die.

There seems to be quite a bit more to Elektra’s plan than this, particularly when considering her love for Matt (and, more interestingly, her dedication to a hero’s code of morality) has never seemed more genuine. It doesn’t feel like she’s plotting to kill him. She certainly isn’t the type to sacrifice herself.

Then again, there’s more than a little fatalism when, sleeping with Matt, Elektra thinks to herself: “It’s too late for us. The burn always spills over. Once more before I fall away.”

Elektra’s secrets are core to Woman Without Fear. After Mayor Fisk insinuates he knows exactly what Elektra is planning, she confronts a deadly presence from her past: Aka, a disciple of the Hand. 

In just one issue we touch on the full spectrum of Elektra’s time in the Marvel universe. Her childhood training under Stick. Her youthful encounters with Aka and the Hand. Elektra’s entanglement with Matt, from college to present day. And her simultaneous interest in/frustration with the “shackles” of being a non-lethal protector of good.

It’s a rare issue in that it reads as a lot of setup for what comes next, yet still delivers a satisfying amount of character development and story movement.

We see Elektra at her most vulnerable on two occasions. First, before her romance with Matt, she admits to herself: “I need you for my plan to take down the Hand. I need you to trust me. But worst of all… I just need you.” Later, in a subtler but more impactful moment, Elektra decides to give up the ghost not just for Matt, but for New York: “I’m done here. With the past. Matt needs me back in the city.”

Unfortunately, Aka — or Fisk? — has other plans, as a surprise cameo on the final page stands between Elektra and a meeting at Avengers Mansion.

The artwork for Woman Without Fear is utterly fantastic. Elektra’s Daredevil costume alone warrants a few more years of her carrying the mantle. The art walks a fine line between slick, modern comics and a grittier, noirish style. Color artist Federico Blee does great work, from the shadowy opening pages with Fisk to two separate flashback groups, each with their own shade of nostalgia. 

I may be a comic neophyte, but I don’t know that there has been a more enjoyable or fully realized look at Elektra since Frank Miller brought her into the world. I’m hoping she ends this event as Daredevil, but whatever happens, she’ll definitely remain a woman without fear.