Warning: this article contains spoilers for Savage Avengers #15 and Daredevil #25!
With a fortune stolen from the Stromwyns, has decided to keep the New York City neighborhood safe while Matt Murdock is serving his time in prison. Elektra has presented taking on the mantle as an effort to win Matt's trust, but it turns out she's also confident she'll be a way better hero.
Elektra is also currently appearing in Gerry Duggan and Patch Zircher’s Savage Avengers, though in her own persona rather than as Daredevil. This month’s Savage Avengers #15 sees Elektra in fine form, taking on a small army of cultists led by the dreaded Priest of Sickles. The book has Elektra working closely with Black Widow and Daimon Hellstrom as they infiltrate the death cult’s base of operations. When confronted by two armed cultists, Black Widow falls back on her spy training and opts to distract the guards long enough for another to move in for the kill. But before the trap can be set, Elektra dispatches the cultists from behind. Black Widow remarks that her attempt at distracting the men was futile, to which Elektra replies: “You’ve become accustomed to working with my lessers… like the devil.”
It's a clear indication that Elektra considers herself by far the better fighter, as well as a barbed acknowledgment of Daredevil's past relationships (and ongoing flirtations with) both Elektra and the Black Widow. Elektra has, as she puts it, become “the Assassin Landlord” of Hell’s Kitchen while Matt Murdock is in jail. But how strong is Elektra’s claim of superiority? Unlike Murdock, Elektra doesn’t have any powers- at least none that she’s been able to keep throughout her tenure in comics.
Matt Murdock’s Daredevil may be a highly-trained warrior with extraordinary powers, but as recent events demonstrate, his inner struggles with morality and his predilection for martyrdom have often distracted him from his responsibilities as a superhero. Though Murdock’s inner turmoil is what makes his character so compelling to readers and creators alike, an argument can be made that it gets in the way of him being the best hero he can be. Elektra isn’t a soulless machine either, and it isn’t as if she’s never been off her game, but generally speaking she undertakes her missions - whatever they might be - with the cold and calculated efficiency of a professional.
What exactly makes a better superhero is an interesting question to consider. If it’s strictly a numbers game, or a measure of effectiveness in crimefighting ability, then yes, Elektra is likely the better hero. She has the resources, the skills, and the mindset to be more consistent than Matt Murdock, who balances his vigilantism with a complex day job and countless romantic entanglements. However, in becoming Daredevil, Elektra has lost one of her biggest advantages: her ability to kill. Having promised not to kill, Elektra has lost the ability to instantly and permanently take out her enemies, and has also had her options restricted in combat. Only time will tell if Elektra can live up to her boast, though given her performance in Savage Avengers, it's likely her biggest hurdle will be stopping herself from being too effective on the streets.
