I have literally had Elektra: Root of Evil for years. I just never read it, mainly because I was afraid it wouldn’t live up to Elektra: Assassin. How could it? Bill Sienkiewicz didn’t draw it and Frank Miller didn’t write it. So, it has sat bagged and boarded until this week. Netflix’s Luke Cage inspired me to dig around in the old boxes, and here we are. Elektra: Root of Evil is a four-issue limited series from the same team that wrote the Daredevil Fall from Grace storyline.
I have to say my fear of disappointment was warranted. Root of Evil is not terrible, but it’s not great. Meh. I’m not a fan of the artwork by McDaniel. Although, there are some interesting panels, all of them during flashbacks. McDaniel conjures some images from Elektra: Assassin during her memories of training with Stick and the Chaste in the snow. There’s also a strange, but interesting shift when she remembers Tekagi creeping on her in the lake. This turns into a weird love affair, which leads me to the storyline.
The storyline in Root of Evil felt very plain to me. Again, meh. Elektra assembles a team to take on the dark Snakeroot clan. Snakeroot is attempting to restore power to the sword Sakki by taking three specific innocent lives. I never think of Elektra as being someone who would put together a “team,” so that seemed strange. Elektra bounces from insecure to cocky throughout. There are a few surprises and clues to her past, which were the highlights of the story. Overall, I just wasn’t impressed. I realize none of this is fair, since I can’t help but compare it to the Miller story. Take that for what it’s worth. I look forward to seeing what they do with her character in the Netflix series.
