The RYU
MEMBERSHIP: Impact, Lynch, Masquerade, Niko, Salvo, Target
PURPOSE: Stopping the Snakeroot
AFFILIATIONS: Elektra, Father Peter Nova, Dr. Aaron Sokoto, Singer Tsilkali
ENEMIES: Snakeroot
BASE of OPERATIONS: Elektra's Manhattan Dojo
FIRST APPEARANCE: Elektra: Root of Evil#2 (April, 1995)
HISTORY:
(Elektra: Root of Evil#2) - As the Chaste refused to aid Elektra against the
Snakeroot, Elektra gathered her own order, or Ryu, to oppose them.
Elektra gathered Salvo first and then the
other five. She outlined the Snakeroot's plot: to
sacrifice three innocents--Father
Peter Nova, a priest working the inner city; Navajo activist, Singer Tsilkali;
and Nobel Peace Prize Winner, Dr. Aaron Sokoto of Aradenni--to restore the power
of their totem sword, Sakki. They headed to St. George, the Devlin Shelter to
watch over Nova, infiltrating the homeless being served there. Though they
intended to ambush the Snakeroot when they arrived, the Snakeroot quickly turned
the tables on them, slaying Niko and Target in short order. Elektra, Impact, and
Salvo took Nova and fled.
(Elektra: Root of Evil#3) - The Snakeroot pursued Nova, and though Elektra herself killed Feruze, Genkotsu, and Doka, the Snakeroot's leader, Tekagi, caught up to them, throwing down the dead bodies of Lynch and Masquerade. Salvo held his own against Tekagi for nearly a minute before meeting his end, and Impact fell before a hail of arrows from the rest of the Snakeroot. Tekagi caught Father Nova and sacrificed him to Sakki, leaving Elektra to regroup and oppose the rest of the Snakeroot's plot.
COMMENTS: Created by D. G. Chichester, Scott McDaniel, and Hector Collazo.
This group is never officially named. They are called "Elektra's Order," and they are called her Ryu (which means "order"), and they are referred to as an Army of Stealth.
This may not be the shortest lived team, but it's not too far from the top of the list.
St. George, the Devlin Shelter, is a nod to Chichester's Shadowline series, specifically Michael Devlin (Shadowline, Knight of St. George).
Profile by Snood.
CLARIFICATIONS:
Impact has no known connection to:
Lynch has no known connection to:
Masquerade has no known connection to:
Salvo has no known connection to:
Target has no known connection to:
The longest lasting member of the Ryu, he fell before a volley of arrows fired by several of the Snakeroot.
A student of Karumi-Jutsu's ferocious acrobatics, he honed his senses via hermetic acupuncture.
--Elektra: Root of Evil#2 (3
Left behind to hold off the Snakeroot while Elektra, Impact, and Salvo tried to escape with Father Nova, he was slain behind the scenes by Tekagi and the others and thrown at the feet of Elektra.
A practitioner of Horo-Jutsu, he twisted and knotted lethal coils of rope and wire.
--Elektra: Root of Evil#2 (3(fb) - BTS, 3
Left behind to hold off the Snakeroot while Elektra, Impact, and Salvo tried to escape with Father Nova, he was slain behind the scenes by Tekagi and the others and thrown at the feet of Elektra.
An authority in Hengen-Kashi disguise and the bone-breaking talent of Koppo.
--Elektra: Root of Evil#2 (3(fb) - BTS, 3
She was the first to fall against the Snakeroot, when she leapt at them, telling them to taste steel, and Doka responded, "I like mine well-done." as he unleashed a fiery blast which consumed her.
She mastered and became one with a deadly two-sword attack pattern called Niko.
--Elektra: Root of Evil#2
Everett Salvo
Though he claimed to have been urged to battle injustice by his mother, in reality he found that he could not contain his area of expertise, which demanded to be used. He chose to use it as an assassin. He was the first recruit of Elektra (actually having heard of Elektra's quest fourth hand and seeking her out himself) and the second to last to fall. He held his own against Tekagi, until the ninja managed to pull the ammo from his weapon, after which Tekagi skewered him with the spikes on each of his wrists.
He is No-Kajutsu, a master of fire and explosive. He was also highly skilled in hand-to-hand combat.
--Elektra: Root of Evil#2 (3
Originally from the Natal Province of South Africa, his larynx was crushed by Feruze when the Snakeroot assaulted the Devlin Shelter.
He trained long years in the bowman's school of Kajimi.
--Elektra: Root of Evil#2
images:
Elektra: Root of Evil#2, p21, panel 5 (Niko)
p22+23 (group picture and most
close-ups)
Elektra: Root of Evil#3, p10, panel 2 (Impact)
panel 4
(Salvo)
Appearances:
Elektra: Root of Evil#2-3 (April-May, 1995) - D.G. Chichester (writer), Scott McDaniel (pencils), Hector Collazo (inks), Ralph Macchio (editor)
First Posted: 10/04/2004
Last updated: 10/25/2012
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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