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Daredevil – Kinbaku (Review)

Posted on March 22, 2016 by Darren

This month, we’re doing daily reviews of the second season of Daredevil. Check back daily for the latest review.

Although she appeared in a small cameo at the end of Penny and Dime, Kinbaku marks the proper introduction of Elektra.

Elektra is very much an essential part of the Daredevil mythos, tied to Matthew Murdock since her introduction all the way back in Daredevil #168. There was even a thinly-veiled reference to the character buried deep in the first season, with Foggy making a nod towards Matt’s Greek girlfriend in one of the flashbacks in Nelson v. Murdock. Elektra was always going to be a part of Daredevil. It seems the only reason the show waited a full season was due to the Jennifer Garner twin disasters of Daredevil and Elektra.

Enter Elektra…

After all, Daredevil owes a lot to Frank Miller. Like every Daredevil story or adaptation after 1980, the television show is steeped in the mythology that Frank Miller carved out for the character. It was Frank Miller who elevated the Kingpin from a b-list Spider-man villain to an a-list Daredevil baddie. It was Frank Miller who introduced Stick, adding a whole host of ninja training to Matt Murdock’s back story. It was Frank Miller who turned Matt Murdock’s life into a slow-moving trainwreck. As such, Frank Miller’s fingerprints are all over this adaptation.

However, Elektra remains Frank Miller’s most lasting and enduring original contribution to Marvel. While Miller transformed and defined characters like Daredevil and Wolverine, Elektra was created from whole cloth. More than any other character, Elektra is Frank Miller’s baby. She represents the pinnacle of Frank Miller’s contribution to the character’s mythos. She is very much “peak Miller.”