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Netflix’s corner of the Marvel Cinematic Universe has expanded rapidly since its launch in 2015 with Marvel’s Daredevil, growing to include a deep mythology filled with all the reluctant do-gooders, shadowy government agencies, and ancient evils that go hand in hand with superhero stories. And speaking of “hands,” there’s nothing in the Netflix/Marvel-verse quite as complex as The Hand, a centuries-old ninja clan obsessed with immortality and burdened by endless infighting.
The Hand’s major weapon, as you’ve no doubt learned if you’ve watched either season of Daredevil or just binged all of Marvel’s The Defenders, is something called Black Sky–and Black Sky is not a “what,” but a “who.” So, who is Black Sky? What’s its purpose? What threat does it pose, and how is it wielded? There’s no shame in asking these questions, because the answers were scattered across two seasons of Daredevil and then glossed over in The Defenders. Here’s a breakdown of what–I mean who–Black Sky is.
What’s up with Black Sky on Defenders?
Like a lot of genre fiction, superhero mythologies loooove a good prophecy–and that’s basically what the Black Sky is. An ancient prophecy long ago revealed to the five founders of the Hand that something called the Black Sky would appear and lead them to ultimate, world-conquery power. The Hand spent the last few centuries worshipping this Black Sky and waiting for their arrival on Earth. In recent years (specifically 2015), the Hand got more proactive and started searching for the Black Sky.
Who is the Black Sky?
Here’s a confusing response: which one? We’ve seen two Black Sky candidates so far in the two seasons of Daredevil. The first potential Black Sky appeared in the Daredevil Season One episode “Stick.” In that episode, Daredevil’s blind sensei Stick (Scott Glenn) returns to New York to stop the city’s branch of the Hand from importing the Black Sky. Stick and Daredevil (Charlie Cox) team up and track down the Hand’s shipment, leading to a confrontation on the docks. One little hiccup: the Black Sky was a kid.
Surprise! Daredevil obviously did not see that coming, but it did ping his heightened senses. Of course Matt Murdock, a superhero with super morals, wasn’t going to kill a kid–even if the Hand had deduced that the kid was an incarnation of a totally evil force. Stick, however, had no problem with taking this kids life. The Black Sky was killed by Stick, thus wrecking the Hand’s plan.
And that’s the end of the Black Sky!
Nope, not at all! In fact, it only gets more complicated from there!
As revealed in Daredevil Season Two, the Defenders Black Sky wasn’t that kid at all. The Hand was wrong about that, and they realized that the real Black Sky is someone else: Elektra.
Long before he met Daredevil, Stick raised a little girl named Elektra to be a living weapon against the Hand; he raised her to fight and kill the Black Sky. A few decades later, Elektra (Elodie Yung) had grown into a one-woman army and a vigilante in her own right (although one that was rarely as moral as Daredevil). Elektra returned to New York City on her mission to stop the Hand and the Yakuza’s dealings in the city, only to come face to face with her destiny. Surprise, Elektra, you’re the very thing you were trained to kill!
A Hand head honcho named Nobu broke the news to Elektra, revealing her destiny to her. She would be targeted by the Hand and then brought into their fold, lifted up and worshipped, as she led them to ultimate power. The details would remain murky about all that, though, since Elektra resisted the Hand and died in battle with Nobu in DD’s Season Two finale.
Okay, so that’s the end of the Black Sky.
Again, nope, not at all!
As we saw in the final scene of Daredevil Season Two, the Hand got their hands on Elektra’s corpse and started to work some nefarious magic on it.
***SPOILERS AHEAD FOR MARVEL’S THE DEFENDERS*** The Defenders kicks off with Elektra alive and well (“well” meaning “amnesiac and very stabby”). We learn what happened in episode three: Alexandra–one of the Hand’s original founders, played by Sigourney Weaver–recovered Elektra’s body and used the Hand’s last bit of resurrection juice (the stuff that kept the founders alive for centuries) to bring her back to life. We learn during the course of The Defenders that not everyone thinks Elektra is the Black Sky; some of the other Hand founders are skeptical, but Alexandra is a true believer. That belief gets her killed…by Elektra. Turns out Elektra wasn’t so happy about having her memories mucked with and being a puppet! Elektra fulfills her Black Sky destiny, taking control of the Hand and leading them on their mission to track down more immortality juice. That doesn’t go so well, because of the Defenders–and also Elektra’s self-destructive crush on Daredevil (and vice versa).
Are there any hints about what’s next in the comics?
Nope! That’s because the Black Sky is a totally original thing for the Netflix shows. There is no Black Sky in the comics, so there’s really no precedent for what’s going to come next. Is Elektra still alive after that crushing defeat? Does being the Black Sky give her any powers, or is it just a title? Hell, were Nobu and Alexandra even right about Elektra being the Black Sky? And can there be more than one Black Sky? All of these are valid questions, and they’re questions future seasons of these shows could answer.
