Guys. Guys. GUYS! Why are we not celebrating Elodie Yung, the breakout star of season 2 of Daredevil?

Wait, wait. Let me take a step back and give this some context before riding in on the wings of righteous internet justice to spread the news about Ms. Yung, the hottest talent on Daredevil no one is talking about.

Concerns over race and gender have been hot button issues when it comes to comic book movies, shows, and comic books themselves. This has been going on for a while, but particularly since 2008 when Iron Man became super popular and put MARVEL in the spotlight. For instance, when Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014) came out there were gnashing of teeth over the poster featuring Scarlett Johansson and how sexualized it was. More recently, the casting of Finn Jones (who is white) as Iron Fist (a character that has always been white) caused controversy because Marvel declined to cast someone of Asian descent in the role. These arguments are courageously taken up by the greatest philosophical minds of our time (A.K.A. underpaid bloggers), and can be mistaken for important cultural commentary at best and trite over analysis at worst.

Which brings me to my larger point: With all of this commotion going on, why aren’t people celebrating Yung? She’s a watershed moment for women AND diversity in comic adaptations, but the Internet isn’t propping her up like they did Charlize Theron as Furiosa or Daisy Ridley as Rey? I won’t bother diving into what I think the answer is (let’s keep this fun), but I can tell you one thing: It stops here and now.

Here are the Top 10 Reasons why we should be celebrating Elodie Yung, the most bad ass woman on screen…

10. We can put the Jennifer Garner era Elektra behind us.tumblr_mjf5fuKC4L1r5e3noo1_500

Anybody else remember Jennifer Garner’s turn as Elektra in the movie version of Daredevil (2003) and her own spin off movie Elektra (2005)? I know, I wish I didn’t remember them either. Ben Affleck wishes it didn’t happen too. But like all bad comic book to movie adaptations we must remember…and we must remember their shame.

These movies, and in particular the solo Elektra film were awful. They were almost career ending for Affleck and were so bad FOX just gave up on the franchise and gave it back to Marvel.

But don’t worry true believer. Elodie Yung is here to save the day and not just give us the Elektra we want, but the Elektra we deserve. Now that the circle is complete we (and Jennifer Garner) can just pretend this never happened…Elektra-Death

9. ELODIE YUNG IS OF ASIAN DESCENTelodie-yung-1

In an era where race and superheroes get dissected, and criticized left and right, it was cool for MARVEL to cast Elodie Yung in the role. She is of Cambodian and French descent. This is an important step for MARVEL (I guess?) because of diversity. Wait, no, I can’t lie on this one. I don’t care about her descent that much. Or anyone else’s. It may be something fun to talk about when you’re getting to know someone but I don’t think it has any bearing on someone’s artistic abilities or should have any bearing on whether someone should be hired/fired for a job. I just want to see if they can do the business and entertain people. And if you can’t tell I think she’s done a fantastic job 😉

 

8. SHE HAS AN AWESOME BRITISH ACCENT

But she is from France. How does that even happen? And her voice is velvety smooth. And every American knows british accent = smarter than you (I’m pretty sure 50% of Tom Hiddleston’s popularity among the ladies is due to this face). And Yung has that in spades! She’s suave, cultured, and able to talk Daredevil into all sorts of crazy adventures. Simply awesome.

 

7. SHE’S A G.I. JOE.elodie-yung-4

That’s right. She was one of the best parts of G.I. Joe Retaliation, which was one of my favorites of 2013. She played Jinx and teamed up with Snake eyes to kick much ass!!! Right now liking her is just the patriotic thing to do.

 

6. SHE MAY ACTUALLY BE AN ASSASSIN.Daredevil_How_Elodie_Yung_Turned_Herself_Into_Elektra

No, like, for reals. In her biography it states that she has been practicing martial arts since 2004. That has given her 12 years to do nothing but learn how to kill a man with her bear hands. So if you did something stupid like tell her French people are only good for surrendering she’d probably roundhouse kick you right in the face and then laugh while she casually finishes her glass of wine.

 

5. SHE EATS NINJAS FOR BREAKFAST.Marvel_s_Daredevil_Season_2_Official_Trailer_Part_2_Netflix_HD

Yeah, she goes through ninja’s the way my alcoholic uncle goes through a bottle of Jack Daniels. Straight shots taken without mercy. After writing that all I can say about Elektra is THIS!

 

4. DAREDEVIL IS HER LITTLE BITCHMarvel_s_Daredevil_Season_2_Official_Trailer_Part_2_Netflix_HD

Yeah, I said it. He’s literally the star of the show, but this season he’s been upstaged left and right by Yung AND Jon Bernthal’s Punisher. That is not to diminish Charlie Cox and his role as Daredevil. No, it just speaks to the level of talent on this show.

 

3.  SHE’S A STRONG FEMALE CHARACTER

HEEEEEEEELLLLLL YES SHE IS!!!!! And we wouldn’t have it any other way.

On Daredevil season 2, when Elodie is on screen, she’s totally in control of herself, Murdock, the plot, and the audience. Don’t agree? Fight me irl! I’m sure Elodie will back me up on all these points!

 

2. SHE IS JUST A GREAT, WELL-ROUNDED CHARACTERwell rounded elektra

Never mind all the flippant reasons I’ve given so far. Daredevil is a fantastic, well-rounded show with excellent cinematography, writing, stunt choreography, and special effects. The cherry on this sundae is Elektra herself. It’s not just that she kicks ass. It’s that she is an engaging character you want to watch. And that in and of itself is an achievement with a character that simply hasn’t been done right on screen up until this point.

 

1. WE ARE GOING TO GET MORE ELEKTRA!!!!!!daredevil-season-2-teaser-elektra-elodie-young

That’s right folks! If the stars align and we keep our fingers crossed she may get her own spin off show, or maybe even a movie! Even if she just stays on Daredevil the show has already proven that it is more than willing to let side characters take up some of the limelight and be all the better for it. It happened with Jessica Jones, as Luke Cage is getting his own spin off as we speak, so that gives us a lot of hope on this one. Perks of Marvel maintaining their own shared universe.

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