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Elektra Reading Order, Marvel’s most deadly assassin

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First appearing in 1981, Elektra Natchios has become one of Marvel Comics’ most iconic anti-heroes. Created by Frank Miller, she is a deadly woman who has walked the fine line between hero and villain since the beginning.

The daughter of an ambassador, Elektra had a troubled childhood and was trained to become a master martial artist and assassin. Driven by rage and a thirst for vengeance, she was exploited and corrupted by the Hand, who turned her into one of their deadliest warriors. She is also one of Matt Murdock’s greatest loves, and the two developed a complicated relationship in which love, passion, violence and ideals merged and collided.

While Elektra has existed mostly in the pages of Daredevil for a long time, she has since grown to occupy a bigger place in the Marvel Universe. She has starred in her own comics and been part of different teams, such as the Thunderbolts, Heroes for Hire and the Savage Avengers.

You can now discover all of the comics featuring Elektra with our reading guide, from Marvel’s deadliest assassin to the Woman without Fear.

Where to Start with Elektra Natchios?

New to Elektra and don’t know where to start? Following is Elektra’s greatest hit to help you discover her most important stories: 

  • Frank Miller’s Elektra Saga – Covering Elektra’s First Appearance and Origin, her history with Matt and her fateful clash with Bullseye, Miller’s run is one of Marvel’s iconic run and still the classic starting point for Marvel’s deadliest assassin
  • Elektra by Greg Rucka – Elektra starred in her own ongoing comic during the Marvel Knights era, with Rucka taking on as main writer at issue #7 to deconstruct the character to rehabilitate her. Less iconic but a well-worth read. Check also Greg Rucka’s “The Redeemer”, a great team-up with Wolverine written just before he took on her main title.
  • Elektra by Haden Blackman – A brief and visually stunning run (with art by Mike Del Mundo) taking a great look into the character’s psych.
  • Elektra in Chip Zdarsky’s Daredevil – The more modern entry point for the character sees our lethal assassin taking on the Daredevil mantle to defend Hell’s Kitchen against Wilson Fisk while sporting amazing hair (a speciality of Marco Checchetto, to be fair).
👹 Elektra’s history is intertwined with Matt Murdock/Daredevil’s life, so we invite you to check out our Daredevil Reading Guide.

Your Lethal Elektra Reading Order

Frank Miller’s Elektra Saga (1981-1993)

Frank Miller’s work on Daredevil is one of Marvel Comics’ most celebrated runs. Together with Klaus Janson, Miller redefined the character, transforming him from a swashbuckler into the dark, gritty, street-level superhero we know today. It was in these stories that Elektra Natchios first appeared, serving as a supporting character, antagonist and love interest for Matt Murdock/Daredevil.

Although Miller revisits Elektra’s origins several times during that period, this remains a defining period and a classic entry point for the character, establishing the basis for her relationship with Matt and revealing her violent nature, driven by pain and hatred.

  • Daredevil Epic Collection: To Dare the Devil
    Collects Daredevil (1964) #155-176 and material from What If? (1977) #28 and Bizarre Adventures (1981) #28.

    • First appearance of Elektra in Daredevil #168.
  • Daredevil Epic Collection: Resurrection [2026]
    Collects Daredevil (1964) #177-193; material from Marvel Fanfare (1982) #1, What If? (1977) #35.

    • What If? #35 is an alt-story exploring what would have happened if Elektra hadn’t died.
  • Elektra by Frank Miller Omnibus
    Collects Elektra: Assassin #1-8, Elektra Lives Again, Bizarre Adventures 28, What If? #35

    • Elektra Lives Again is the last Elektra story by Frank Miller.
Elektra: Assassin by Bill Sienkiewicz

◼ What about Daredevil: The Man Without Fear? This limited series, which retells the origins of Daredevil and features an alternative introduction to Elektra, was released in 1993, but set chronologically before Miller’s run. Frank Miller has made several changes to Elektra’s story, so it is best read either after the whole run or independently of it to avoid confusion. Collected in Daredevil Epic Collection Vol. 17: Into the Fire.

◼ Complementary reading: Elektra: The Hand by C. B. Cebulski. Published in 2004-2005, it’s a flashback story with a very limited presence from Elektra that reveals The Hand’s bloody formation during Japan’s Feudal era.

◼ Flashback Series: Psylocke: Ninja – Rise from the Fall [2026] by Tim Seeley. A modern comic set after Psylocke was reborn into the ultimate killing machine for the Hand and featuring Elektra.

⚔️ For more information and other collected editions, check out our Daredevil by Frank Miller Reading Guide.

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Elektra: Back From the Dead (1993-1998)

Frank Miller didn’t want Elektra to meet Daredevil again, but this decision was out of his hands. She appears in a dream in Daredevil #228, and makes her official return after an absence of almost a decade in the ‘Fall from Grace’ story arc, written by D. G. Chichester. She quickly established herself in the Marvel Universe, playing a supporting role in Wolverine and headlining her own solo series.

◼ Totally Optional: Not to be confused with the 2022 story, Devil’s Reign is a Top Cow/ Marvel crossover that surprisingly fits into the main continuity. Mephisto attempts to gather all the souls of the Top Cow Universe so that he may return to the Marvel Universe. Elektra participates in this crossover, in Witchblade/Elektra #1 and Elektra/Cyblade #1, respectively parts six and seven of this crossover. collected in Top Cow/Marvel: The Crossover Collection vol. 1

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Marvel Knights Elektra (2001-2006)

At a time when Marvel wasn’t in great shape, Joe Quesada and Jimmy Palmiotti started the Marvel Knights imprint that targeted a more mature audience. Daredevil was among the characters chosen as part of this line, in which Brian Michael Bendis’s celebrated run took place.

Less known is the fact that Elektra also headlined her own solo series during those years, also part of the Marvel Knights imprint, with Greg Rucka’s deconstruction and rehabilitation of the character the most celebrated and important part.

◼ Recommended reading: Elektra and Wolverine: The Redeemer by Greg Rucka. Just before becoming the regular writer on Elektra, Rucka wrote this story, illustrated by Yoshitaka Amano (it’s not a graphic novel), which takes place shortly (apparently) after Wolverine gains his adamantium claws. Haunted by her own father’s death, Elektra finds that killing her latest target’s daughter — the only witness to the murder — is more difficult than expected, especially after Wolverine is hired to protect the girl.

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Elektra: Secret Invasion/Dark Reign era (2009-2010)

Who do you trust? The shape-shifting alien race known as the Skrulls has secretly infiltrated every super-powered organization on Earth with one goal: full-scale invasion! And this is right now with the Secret Invasion event written by Brian Michael Bendis.

While her presence is limited, Elektra is playing a bigger role than expected in this story. The conclusion of this invasion led the Marvel Universe into a Dark Reign and a limited series for Elektra written by Zeb Wells.

🧬 For the full infiltration, check out our Secret Invasion Reading Guide

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Elektra: Team Member (2009-2014)

Elektra’s place in the Marvel Universe was restrained until that point, as she mostly interacted with Daredevil and occasionally with another character such as Wolverine or the Punisher.

Things changed after the Secret Invasion, as she joined several teams, starting with the Code Red team that was formed to track down and kill Domino in the Hulk/X-Force crossover.

Then… Shadowland happens! Daredevil became the leader of the Hand, putting him against other New York street-level super-heroes during the Shadowland event written by Andy Diggle and illustrated by Billy Tan. Elektra was recruited into the Heroes for Hire and help take on Daredevil.

  • Daredevil: Shadowland Omnibus
    Collects Dark Reign: The List – Daredevil #1; Daredevil (1998) #501-512; Shadowland #1-5; Shadowland: Elektra, Bullseye, Ghost Rider, Spider-Man, After The Fall; Shadowland: Moon Knight #1-3; Shadowland: Blood On The Streets# 1-4; Shadowland: Daughters Of The Shadow #1-3; Shadowland: Power Man #1-4; Thunderbolts (1997) #148-149; Daredevil: Reborn #1-4.

    • The important issues of this event featuring Elektra were also reprinted in:
      – Shadowland (Shadowland #1-5)
      – Daredevil: Shadowland (Daredevil #508-512; Shadowland: After the Fall)
      – Shadowland: Street Heroes (Shadowland: Daughters Of The Shadow #1-3, Shadowland: Bullseye, Shadowland: Elektra, Shadowland: Ghost Rider And Shadowland: Spider-Man)
🥷 For the full Shadowland event, check out our Shadowland Reading Guide

Following Shadowland, Elektra continues to work with Heroes for Hire when the Marvel Universe is caught in the grip of Fear Itself, and has to confront the hammer-wielding, deity-possessed Thing on Yancy Street.

She then joined the Red Hulk’s Thunderbolts strike-team (along with Deadpool, the Punisher, Agent Venom, and others — a group of people ready to do bad things for the greater good.

Elektra by Mike Del Mundo (Elektra Reading Order)
Elektra #1 by Mike Del Mundo

Following the disbandment of the Thunderbolts, Elektra shines on her own once more, under the creative team of Haden W. Blackman and Mike Del Mundo, delivering a short but celebrated run for the character:

Secret Wars happens around here, leading to the destruction and relaunch of the Marvel Universe. It’s an All-New, All-Different Marvel, one in which Elektra mostly makes optional guest appearances.

Always Bet On Red. Running from her past, Marvel’s deadliest assassin goes to Las Vegas, which puts her in the crosshairs of Arcade in a limited series written by Matt Owens and illustrated by Juan Cabal.

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Elektra: Woman Without Fear (2018-Present)

A new era starts here for Elektra during Chip Zdarsky and Marco Checchetto’s run on Daredevil. Following Daredevil’s incarceration for murder, Elektra took on the mantle of Daredevil to prove to Matt that she was on the good side and to protect Hell’s Kitchen.

👹 For the full Devil’s Reign event, check out our Complete Devil’s Reign Reading Guide

After Devil’s Reign and before starting the second part of Chip Zdarsky and Marco Checchetto’s run, you can read the ‘Black, White & Blood’ anthology, containing a dozen stories set in different eras of Elektra’s life and her new stint in Marvel’s most savage superhero team for a new short run of Savage Avengers!

Elektra by Erica Schultz. As Saladin Ahmed and Aaron Kuder took over for a new Daredevil run, Elektra is stille protecting Hell’s Kitchen as the Woman Without Fear. She is guest starring in the Daredevil series, although beware that Ahmed’s dialogue can be awkward and cringe and Elektra does not shine at all in it. Most importantly, our reformed assassin headlined two limited series during this period, both written by Erica Schultz.

As demonic forces march their conquering army across the Seven Heavenly Cities, Iron Fist allies himself with Elektra, White Tiger, White Fox, Pei, Karnak, and Fooh to stand in their way and restore order in this limited series from writer Yifan Jiang and artist Paco Medina.

The Story continues…

Daredevil Reading Order

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