Elektra - Mirror - R.A. Wonsowski

Layout:
1122
3344
5566

Setting: morning, a public park outside of Hong Kong, beginning of spring, apple blossoms in the trees.

Panels 1 thru 4 are similar, ELEKTRA (left) and an OLD WOMAN are in varied positions in a tai chi routine, perfectly synchronized in every stance. ELEKTRA is in her signature red head scarf, but in a loose tank top, running pants, and sneakers. The OLD WOMAN is in a loose-fitting matronly house dress. Each position should be fluid and graceful.

CAPTION, PANEL 1: The stranger has shadowed me for nearly three months. She asks questions as one would poke a sleeping husband.

CAPTION, PANEL 2: Over tea one morning, I ask if she considers herself a spiritual woman. She answers that she is Greek Catholic.

CAPTION, PANEL 3: I tell her that her answer is as meaningless as if she had told me she was a zookeeper.

CAPTION, PANEL 4: The religious are those who fear Hell.

Panel 5: ELEKTRA and the OLD WOMAN bow to each other.

CAPTION: The spiritual have already walked through it.

Panel 6: The OLD WOMAN (background) watches ELEKTRA (foreground) walk away, sadly proud.

CAPTION: When I see her again, in this life or the next, her spirit will have been well forged in fire.

Elektra - Blind Man's Bluff - J.D. Coughlan

Elektra and Daredevil have a tense showdown in a textiles factory, which breaks into a fight.

Panel 1: From behind Daredevil's back as he dodges out the way of Elektra's thrown sai, a smug grin on his face.

ELEKTRA (CAP): He's fast.

Panel 2: Elektra's sai hits a large button on the wall.

ELEKTRA (CAP): But I wasn't aiming for him.

SFX: CLIK

Panel 3: Daredevil frowning as the factory machinery loudly comes to life around him.

SFX: RRRRRRRRR

SFX: MMMMMMMMM

Panel 4: Elektra dives away from Daredevil as he lunges for her in desperation. With her other sai, she stabs at a large plastic bucket marked " HOT GLUE"

ELEKTRA (CAP): When outmatched in a fight, always use your opponent's advantages against them.

Panel 5: In the background, the hot glue pours out onto the floor, maybe with stink lines emanating from it. In the foreground, Daredevil turns back towards Elektra (OP), his nose and face wrinkled in disgust.

SFX: sniff

DAREDEVIL: (small) Ugh...

Panel 6: Daredevil, not looking as graceful as usual, throws one of his escrima sticks at Elektra, who backflips away.

ELEKTRA (CAP): When you remove even a sliver of their superiority...

Panel 7: Elektra stands behind a propped up sheet of glass, preparing her sai for a throw. On the other side of the glass, Daredevil stands in a cautious pose, searching for her. He is looking right at her.

ELEKTRA (CAP): ...they will sacrifice the rest in their panic. Then, all that remains...

Panel 8: Daredevil's POV. In his radar-sense, the panel of glass appears as a solid wall that he cannot "see" through.

ELEKTRA (CAP): ...is to push them over.

END OF PAGE

Elektra – Cruel, Sad Irony – MK Stangeland Jr.

(She probably doesn’t have nearly the reputation for dying and coming back as this page runs with, but given that dying and coming back is one of the things she’s primarily known for and it was stated to be one of the reasons she was used as a test subject for replacement by Skrulls during secret invasion, I figure it’s not too out of place to stretch the idea for the sake of the following script.)

(8 Panels)

Panel 1: ELEKTRA wakes up in some version of the underworld.

Panel 2: ELEKTRA stands up and sees DEATH standing nearby.

Panel 3: DEATH approaches ELEKTRA.

Panel 4: ELEKTRA holds up a hand in a ‘wait a minute’ motion.

Panel 5: ELEKTRA flashes a ‘FREQUENT DYERS CARD’, which should include some kind of text about getting resurrected 12 times and the 13^th being free.

Panel 6: DEATH waves her hand and ELEKTRA begins to vanish.

Panel 7: ELEKTRA is back on EARTH, alive again, but it looks like the end of the world. ELEKTRA is confused.

Panel 8: Large panel as ELEKTRA looks up to see the state of pre-SECRET WARS EARTH with an incursion about to destroy the world. ELEKTRA shakes her hands in fists above her and is shouting something – probably profane – but the destructive force of the incursion is cutting off whatever it is she’s saying.

(END PAGE)

(And I’m not going to hedge a bet that I’m getting any other similarly appropriate characters to play this idea with in nearly as timely and appropriate manner.)

Elektra - Lost Time - Grant McLaughlin

Sorry I'm a little late - had my wisdom teeth out this week, which put me on my ass for a bit.  But enough about me...

At the end of the previous page, Elektra, who was wearing regular civie clothes of some variety, encountered someone she recognized in a public park in the middle of the day.  The reader did not see how it was, only seeing Elektra wave and say "It's been a long--"

1 - Black panel stretching across the page.  Two captions boxes that should be placed in a slightly awkward manner to slow down the reader a bit.

CAPTION (ELEKTRA) (1): --Time.

CAPTION (ELEKTRA) (2): Stops.

2 - Top down shot of Elektra lying in a dumpster in a darkened alley at night.  She looks to have just landed - quite awkwardly - bloodied and bruised.  Maybe her eyes are still closed - either way, it's clear she's in a lot of pain.  Of course, she is now in her signature costume - although it's in about as bad a way as she is.

CAPTION (ELEKTRA) (1): And spits me out a moment later.

CAPTION (ELEKTRA) (2): But it's not a moment.

CAPTION (ELEKTRA) (3): It's hours.

3 - Closer in, Elektra grimaces as she examines her side to realize that no small amount of the blood is her own.

CAPTION (ELEKTRA) (1): And I'm covered in blood.

CAPTION (ELEKTRA) (2): Too much of it my own.

4 - Elektra slowly climbs out of the dumpster - this is no easy task considering the wringer she has been through.

CAPTION (ELEKTRA): I have no idea what's happened.

5 - Looking at Elektra from behind as she stumbles out of the alley into the night.  Perhaps she is leaning against the wall for a bit of support.  She's in a bad way.

CAPTION (ELEKTRA): But there will be hell to pay when I find out.

Elektra - One Last Hunt - Ryan K. Lindsay

5 Panels

PANEL ONE

Thin red bar panel across the top of the page, with two floating talking balloons in them. The balloons should have kinda straight edges, be rough, like what Wooton is doing in DEADLY CLASS.

Rand: I think I’m dying.

Elektra: No better time to live.

PANEL TWO

Elektra kisses Rand, it’s hot, bodies pressed. They are inside an office in Rand Corp’s tower, there’s a wall behind Rand, and littered in the room around them are dead Hand bodies/uniforms.

Rand is bleeding from his side, near the kidney, and the blood presses against Elektra’s side. There’s no doubt Elektra is the dominant person in this kiss, she holds his face/head in one hand, the other holding him to her from around the high waist.

Most importantly, their chests are pressed together, because this means she’s blocking the tattoo, or drawing from it.

NO COPY

PANEL THREE

He pauses, looking at her, his face and eyes clearly say ‘wow.’

Rand: That...tingled.

PANEL FOUR

She pulls a sai out from her waistband. Rand is now leaning back against the wall that was behind him. He’s confused, and touching his slightly glowing chest tattoo, looking down, as he talks.

Rand: What just happened?

Elektra: You are dying.

Elektra: Goodbye, Danny Rand.

PANEL FIVE

She launches out the window in a long profile shot with two glowing sais leaving a yellow trail against the dark sky. She has some of the Iron Fist power in her right now.

Elektra: If I fail, I’ll see you soon.

Why Elektra? - Ryan K. Lindsay

Because she’s a character I would love to write one day. She’s mean, and broken, and quiet, and so goddamn deep. There are so many ways to still take Elektra and I’d love to have a run at it.

Plus, she’s got a killer visual that despite being one of those costumes that isn’t enough, it still looks amazing. Maybe because she carries it so well. Or probably no one would ever mess with Elektra, or even waste her time discussing fashion choices.

If you’ve ever read Elektra’s first appearance, you’ll see she was kinda a damsel at heart. Frank Miller writes an insane romance comic, with romancey internal thoughtballoons, and she’s not exactly the strongest or most independent character. She’s very much Matt Murdock’s first love. And yet now, when I think about Elektra, which happens often, I find I don’t think of Elektra like that at all anymore. She’s had amazing growth since her inception.

Through to the conclusion of Miller’s Elektra Saga, our lady in red just went from strength to strength. Icing that informant in the cinema from behind Ben Urich is still one of my favourite scenes of all time. After that we had ELEKTRA: ASSASSIN and ELEKTRA LIVES AGAIN and suddenly independent mythos was born. She is no one’s girl, she’s this insane killer bad ass who can carry her own, and her own book. Or story. At least for a little while.

She was supposed to be put away once Miller let her be, an agreement with Jim Shooter that lasted right up until it didn’t. Resurrected, she’s been used ever since and to varying degrees. For me, it all started to really pull up out of a nose dive when Zeb Wells wrote her Dark Reign mini. That story, terse, violent, perfect, really helped solidify who Elektra was now. Quiet, deadly, brutal: a force of nature. That mini is maybe the best Dark Reign thing to exist.

Recently, we just wrapped an 11 issue run of ELEKTRA by Mike del Mundo and W. Haden Blackman and it’s one of the best comics of the past few years. It started strong but really charted upwards right until the end. A shame it came to an end but I’d rather 11 tight issues than a bloated 24 which peter out. Get in, get out, seems to be the Elektra way.

So because when she’s done well she’s usually done perfectly, and because we can all always practise writing our fantastic female leads, here she is, my favourite lady, Elektra Natchios.

- Ryan K. Lindsay