Elektra survived her death in Frank Miller's legendary run on Daredevil in the 80s to become one of the most iconic Marvel characters of the Bronze Age. The visual simplicity - and awesomeness - of the assassin have held in her various incarnations since, though not always to a lot of success.
In comic books, movies, and television series, Elektra carves out a unique visual style, with the major elements of her classic costume usually playing some role. But which are the best of the best? Is her fashion sense as strong as she is? Here are five Elektra costumes we love, and five we hate.
10 Love: Enemy Of The State
All of Elektra's outfits follow a pretty basic plan: they mimic in some way her initial costume with its signature bandanna in either form or color. This outfit from the early 2000s takes the classic look and turns it black. The effect is immediate and striking. Elektra all in black makes a lot of sense, and really, much more than a ninja assassin who wears bright red. The costume also echoes a lot of Jim Lee-era Psylocke, which is maybe why it didn't last too long.
9 Hate: Nemesis
This is just... no. This variant on her costume from 2005, circa the Marvel Knights era, only exacerbates a problem many had with even the original and mostly beloved original costume. Elektra's outfits rarely serve any practical function given her profession; this one reduces practicality to zero. Her leotard reduces to a pencil sketch of bra and while she's wearing pants, it's hard to tell. It's hard to tell what the artist was thinking. This poor design didn't respect Elektra anymore than it did her fans.
8 Love: TV Show Inspired
As is often the case with successful comic books that beget successful movies and TV shows, the screen elements people enjoy work their way back into the books. Elektra is no exception. With her successful translation in the Netflix Daredevil series proving popular, that version's costume inspired a redesign in the comics. The sleeveless black bodysuit with red accents gets accentuated though with a little more comic flourish, and Elektra even takes a little visual flair from Golden Age pulp hero The Shadow.
7 Hate: 2000s
The practicality concern - and the problem of the male gaze - runs rampant in this take on her classic look from the mid-2000s. Elektra adopted a less inhibiting look during the Brian Micahel Bendis and Alex Maleev run on Daredevil. It didn't make any sense then and doesn't now.
RELATED: Daredevil: 10 Things That Make No Sense About Elektra In The Marvel Comics
For a ninja and assassin who routinely engages in battle with opponents armed with weapons and superpowers, wearing an outfit with absolutely no armor or protection makes no sense at all. It's a problem that dogs the character through many of her looks.
6 Love: White
The all-white version of Elektra's costume emerges with her surprise resurrection in the comics. While it's just the original with a different color, it still stands out (and again, tactically, not in a good way). The basic design of her classic costume works well enough in any color, so it's no surprise. There are some subtle differences in the outfit, though. Her red costume features solid red gloves, whereas the white version had a cut-out pattern that almost looked like claw marks.
5 Hate: Bald
Elektra wore the white costume for a while, and for some period of time after her resurrection, she didn't have any hair. Bald is beautiful but the combination here of the white outfit and lack of hair really made Elektra unrecognizable. Her huge dark locks are a big visual feature of the character, as important as her sais or bandanna. Everyone got new looks back in the 90s - it was kind of the deal - but in many cases, they went a little too extreme and this was one of those cases.
4 Love: Netflix Version
The Netflix version of Elektra, played with mischievous energy by Elodie Yung, finally brings the character's look in the realm of practicality. An all-black bodysuit with a red undershirt that also becomes a mask works so well, the comics stole it. While it lacks in the armor department, it is much more sensible in a fight than any of her comics versions previous to this. The Defenders series put her in other more comic outfits, but this was by far the best.
3 Hate: Movie
Elektra made it to be the screen before, in both the 2003 Daredevil movie and her own solo film (after she died - kind of like Black Widow). Jennifer Garner gave it her all, but the movie emphasized the worst elements of the comic book costume, and even then, weren't particularly strong adaptations.
The costumes in both movies repeat the same basic mistakes of some of the comics versions from that era, with the bare mid-riff and copious amount of vinyl, which couldn't have been that breathable. Throw in a mysterious and impractical choker, and it was a big miss.
2 Love: Original
So, Elektra's costumes just aren't very practical. Sure. The first Batman costume from the Christopher Nolan trilogy, Batman couldn't turn his head. The original Elektra costume remains the best, for its strong use of color and simple design. Few if any characters looked like Elektra in the 80s when she first appeared, though it's probably not an endorsement to say a lot of them looked like her after. Even so, ninjas are cool and Elektra, in this outfit, is one of the coolest.
1 Hate: Erinys
Erinys doesn't work for a lot of reasons. Starting with the costume, it's barely there and barely recognizable as anything remotely Elektra. Probably somewhat intentional, as the character is actually a clone of her. Kind of. It was the 90s. Elektra came back from the dead pure of heart, but not so fast: the Hand managed to collect all of her remaining evil qualities and turn them into a person, Erinys. This doppelganger didn't prove very popular and like a lot of the 90s, has been forgotten.