World Famous Comics: Ultimate Daredevil & Elektra Volume 1 TPB
Ultimate Daredevil & Elektra Volume 1 TPB
By: Greg Rucka Publisher: Marvel Comics Average Rating: Binding: Paperback Label: Marvel Comics Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 128 Publication Date: February 01, 2003
No Lies I'm not going to lie to you, Ultimate DareDevil is NOTHING like his 616 counterpart. Ironically, DareDevil is never actually shown. Matt Murdock is a college student who is attending the same school as Elektra Nachios. These stories (Ultimate Elektra: Devil's Due included) are more featured around Elektra. The two story arcs dwelve into Elektra's past and the suffering that the mafia has put her through and is ultimately the explanation of how she get's involved with the King Pin as she is always seen in the Ultimate Spider-Man series. DD's role in the short series is just him trying to save Elektra from herself and, ultimately, failing due to her impulsive nature.
Solid origin book from Marvel's Ultimate Universe I think this book is generally underrated by comic fans. It is a very good origin story by Greg Rucka set in Marvel's Ultimate universe. Matt Murdock and Elektra Natchios are both college students. Neither one of them has explored vigilante/assassin roles when we first meet them. But as certain events unfold in both of their lives, including a rapist on the loose, both characters make some life choices that will direct their lives along very specific (and very different) paths. Although the cover may indicate otherwise, we never see Matt & Elektra suit up in familiar costumes. But the book ends with the assumption that both are headed to a seamstress.
I wouldn't call it a "must have" for any comic fan, but you won't be disappointed. Like I said, very good. And if you already like DD, you will thoroughly enjoy this book.
Far from being Ultimate at all It's no secret I'm not much of a fan of Marvel's Ultimate line (besides Mark Millar's Ultimates that is), and this collection (which collects the 4 issue mini-series of the same name) helps me prove my point. Taking place in Marvel's Ultimate universe before Matt Murdock became the horned vigilante and Elektra became a cold hearted assassin, this mini-series is an origin story/love story turned tragic; but the story doesn't go anywhere special, and while writer Greg Rucka is a solid writer in his own right, his story just can't compare with Frank Miller's epic, classic saga of years back. The art by X-Treme X-Men artist Salvador Larrocca is his typical style while he makes Elektra look simply gorgeous. This book also contains issue #9 of the regular Daredevil title by David Mack and Joe Quesada which is the beginning of the "Parts of a Hole" story. I suggest picking up that book instead of this one, and leave this in the dust.
This is not the ultimate version (more like the opposite) "Ultimate Daredevil & Elektra" Volume 1 collects issues #1-4 of "Ultimate Daredevil & Elektra" by writer Greg Rucka and artist Salvador Larroca. The story takes us back to the very early days when both Matt Murdock and Elektra Natchios were students at Columbia University. In other word the story-arc here takes place before they were Daredevil the superhero and Elektra the assassin. The idea is that this story gives us insight into how each of them ended on their respective paths while dealing with the tragedy that Matt and Elektra were soul mates who could have lived happily ever after.
The end result is, in a word, okay. I know that Elektra is not yet a highly trained assassin, but she should still be able to recognize her boyfriend when he is just wearing a hood. But the real problem with getting this storyline off the ground is the book's villain, a spoiled rich kid who likes to rape women. The idea is that his father is able to get sonny boy out of trouble, but if the whole point of these Ultimate series is to restart the stories of Marvel's superheroes in the twentieth century then it is hard for me to believe that this sort of case would not end up on Court TV and every tabloid in the nation. The media brings down everybody in this country and being rich only adds fuel to the fire. Anyhow, Cal Langstrom the Third (Trey to his friends and non-admirers alike) is just a high school level bully who should not be causing Elektra and her pals this much trouble, even when she is basically being a good girl. Even in a comic book, the success of a story rests as much on the villain as it does the hero, and "Ultimate Daredevil & Elektra" is just not worth the effort.
The focus is more on Elektra than Murdock in these issues, with Matt's life and his friendship with Foggy Nelson being minor considerations. But Elektra's relationship with her friends and her Sensei are all standard fare, which just reinforces the conclusion that there is nothing of depth here which enriches the retelling of the tale. As a special bonus feature this trade paperback includes "Daredevil #9," the opening chapter of the graphic novel "Daredevil Volume 2: Parts of a Hole" by David Mack, Joe Quesada, and Jimmy Palmoiotti. It is the more interesting tale, both from a storytelling and an artistic standpoint, and even without reading the rest of the story it would be reasonable to say go pick that up instead of this one.
good story, nice art First, let me say that, while I read a lot of comics, I haven't really read that many Daredevil comics. I only really got interested in them once I saw the movie. I read this book after reading the Daredevil:The Movie comic collection. The first comic in this book was also in that one, so the repetition is kind of a disappointment. However, it's nice to get the rest of the story. In this book, Matt and Elektra are both at college. They meet and they fall in love, but then Elektra starts to want to get revenge on a guy who hurt a friend of hers. I thought the artwork in this book was great, and the story was interesting. I don't know if a big fan of the Daredevil comics would like it, but I enjoyed it a lot. After the main story, there are a few pages from Salvador Larroca's sketchbook, showing how he came up with the design for a younger Elektra and her costumes. I liked those pages too - they gave a nice (but not really very detailed) look into some of the thought process behind the story. The final part of the book is a bonus comic featuring Maya Lopez (Echo), a woman with birth-induced deafness who can watch any action and commit it to muscle memory. In other words, she can watch someone fight or play a piano and do exactly as they did. I liked the comic, and I'll do my best to try and find the book in which that story is continued. Overall, I definitely recommend this book.
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