The rantings of a diseased mind, laid out for all the world to see....
The story continues...but why?
Published on August 27, 2004 By DarkHawke In Entertainment
Ultimate Elektra # 1
W: Mike Carey
P: Salvador Larroca
I: Crimelab Studios
C: Liquid's Aron Lusen

What Has Gone Before:
In the Ultimate Daredevil and Elektra mini-series, we were introduced to Matt Murdock, blind college student with preternaturally keen senses even for a blind man, his best friend Foggy Nelson, and the alluring yet elusive Elektra Natchios, martial arts whiz and daughter to an immigrant father, who owns a dry cleaning store. As a result of her efforts to defend a girlfriend against a rich and arrogant student who had sexually assaulted her, Elektra's father's store was burned out and thus Elektra no longer had the funds to continue her education.

What Happens Now:
As this mini-series opens, we find Elektra's father reluctantly agreeing to make two of his cousins part owners in his shop in exchange for the money to rebuild. Elektra has her misgivings, but between the cousins' cajoling and her father�s wounded pride, the deal is struck. Meanwhile, Matt continues in school, but he's still carrying an obvious torch for Elektra. Foggy has managed to get them both internships at a prestigious law firm. Matt will work directly for the firm�s principle criminal attorney, who, amoung other cases, is working out a plea agreement for an accountant. He'll turn state's evidence on Wilson Fisk, the Kingpin, which the DA is more than happy to oblige. The Kingpin has other plans, naturally, and is going to use Elektra's cousins to effect them, for they are deep in Fisk's organization and have plans to use the re-built dry cleaners to launder more than just clothes.

Hearing about her continued plight, Matt makes a late-night visit in his not-quite-Daredevil garb to Elektra to offer his help. She fights him off, literally, but he still offers his help if she wants it. She is sufficiently suspicious and determined to remove her cousins from her father's business, though, that she goes to them the next day to offer to buy them out herself. She picks the least opportune day, for the cousins are monitoring the efforts of hitmen they've hired to take out the Kingpin's accountant and secure his incriminating ledger. The hit will be made at the offices of the accountant's lawyer, where Matt and Foggy arrive to begin the first day of their internships. Just as Elektra is proving to the cousins (by beating up their goon) that she will not be deterred in her efforts, the Kingpin shows up to check up personally on the hit. The hit begins as planned: a bomb blows a hole in the side of the building, knocking out Matt just seconds after his uncanny senses detected something amiss.

THIS is Ultimate Elektra?
The good news is that for fans of the Ultimate Daredevil & Elektra mini-series, issue 1 of this five-issue arc is pretty much the same thing as what you read before. The art is pretty good, though the colors are uninspired. The narrative moves along well and there is good attention paid to the characters and their relationships. The bad news is that I think everyone 20 years old and over has been here before and with more snap in other venues. The college thing, the star-crossed lover thing, the mob-taking-over-the-small-business thing, etc. Hell, the accountant-takes-down-the-mob-boss thing is straight out of Brian DePalma�s excellent The Untouchables movie of 17 years ago (Christ, time DOES fly, don't it?)! Mr. Carey does a serviceable job, and at least they're not asking you to fork over $2.99 for it, but there are FAR better books in which to invest your precious time and money. If you loved Ultimate Daredevil & Elektra, pick it up and go with God. Otherwise�

Recommendation: Leave it.


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