Elena Cardenas

Elena Cardenas was a tenant of an apartment sought by Wilson Fisk and his associates who turned to Nelson and Murdock for legal counseling and befriended its workers, especially Karen Page. When Cardenas continued to fight to keep her home, she was tragically murdered by a local drug addict who was paid by Fisk.
==Biography==
===Guatemala===
Elena Cardenas was born in Guatemala where her mother cooked a dish that Elena would duplicate for special occasions.
===Hell's Kitchen Apartment===
Cardenas got a rent-controlled apartment in Hell's Kitchen, New York City from the landlord Armand Tully. After years of living there, Cardenas and her neighbors in other apartments worked together to make life easier. In 2012, she witnessed the Chitauri invasion of New York, an event she would reminisce as the "sky falling".
===Eviction Attempt===
Armand Tully hired the law firm of Landman and Zack when he wanted to evict Cardenas and other tenants from the apartment building. He hired people to do "renovations" on the building; in actuality, they were destroying the apartment by turning off the water, heat, and cooking gas and destroying the walls. The workers then left, claiming that the building was in too dangerous a neighborhood, infected by drug dealers and junkies, for them to complete their job. Cardenas was determined not to leave despite her setbacks and the neighbors decided that legal action was needed.
===Nelson and Murdock===
On the advice of Bess Mahoney, Cardenas went to Nelson and Murdock where she met lawyers Foggy Nelson and Matt Murdock, and their secretary Karen Page. Cardenas explained her situation to them; at first, Nelson suggested they demand more money from Tully but Cardenas assured him that all she wanted was to stay in her home. Murdock, reassuring her that they would help her to keep her home, promised that Nelson would speak to Tully's lawyers at Landman and Zack.
====Matchmaker====
Foggy Nelson and Karen Page visited Cardenas in her home to update her about their meeting with the Landman and Zack lawyers. Although they had not completed the deal, they promised Cardenas that things were moving forward. Seeing the poor state of her home, Nelson promised to assist Cardenas in getting her water running. As a thank you, Cardenas cooked a dinner for Nelson and Page, the same one her mother made her years ago in Guatemala. She left the two alone to eat, causing them to have an impromptu date.
====Bombing of Hell's Kitchen====
Suddenly, an explosion rocked the building. Cardenas emerged from her bedroom bleeding with a serious head injury, reminiscing the Battle of New York, Cardenas, who was in shock, said that the sky was falling again; Foggy Nelson left her with Karen Page to see if other tenants were more seriously injured. Nelson and Page eventually got her to Metro-General Hospital where nurse Claire Temple tended to her wound. Nelson and Page promised to wait for Cardenas to come out of surgery to support her.
====Giving Information====
Not willing to accept the groceries as charity, Cardenas asked Page how much she owed her. Page, who did not want money, told Cardenas that she can pay her with information since she was working on a legal case. Cardenas told Page she noticed that Foggy Nelson is in love with her, shocking Page, before they moved on to the legal case. Page told Cardenas that she was trying to make a connection between Union Allied Construction and the repairmen who wrecked Cardenas' apartment. Cardenas, wondering why Page did not ask Armand Tully for information, reacted angrily when she heard Tully was on vacation. When Cardenas was unable to show any papers about the repairs, she shared the only thing she could: the looks of the two repairmen.
Before Page left, Cardenas confessed that the entire situation made her scared. Page reassured Cardenas that she did not have to be scared, but the people who did this should, because if Page would find a connection between them, they will have "their dicks in vice". As a Christian, Cardenas was surprised with this language and asked Page since when she has been like that. Page left the apartment after telling Cardenas that she changed since she got to New York City.
===Murder===
Still not willing to leave her apartment, Cardenas was attacked by Jake, a junkie living in her building. Jake, who was offered a supply of high-class Steel Serpent heroin in exchange for murdering Cardenas by one of Wilson Fisk's men, stole her purse and stabbed her multiple times. Cardenas was found shortly afterwards and her corpse was taken to a morgue, where Karen Page, Foggy Nelson and Matt Murdock were called to recognize the body.
==Personality==
Mrs. Cardenas was a kind, friendly woman who was heavily grateful and indebted to the support of Nelson and Murdock. She also had a strong desire to see justice done, for herself and her neighbors, being oppressed by Armand Tully.
She formed a close bond with Matt, Foggy and Karen, who were visibly devastated when they learned of her murder.
==Abilities==
*Bilingualism: Cardenas spoke her native Guatemalan-dialect Spanish, and English.
==Facilities==
*Elena Cardenas' Apartment: Cardenas lived in an apartment building with others her age. However, the landlord was rude and didn't care for the building, so she actively tried to leave.
*Metro-General Hospital: After the bombing of Hell's Kitchen, Cardenas got injured and was brought to the hospital by Foggy Nelson and Karen Page.
==Relationships==
===Family===
*Mother †
===Allies===
*Bess Mahoney - Friend
*Nelson and Murdock
**Karen Page - Friend
**Foggy Nelson - Lawyer and Friend
**Matt Murdock - Lawyer and Friend
*Claire Temple
===Enemies===
*Westmeyer-Holt Contracting
**Armand Tully - Landlord
**Stewart Schmidt
**Joseph Pike
*Wilson Fisk
*Junkie Jake † - Killer
==Appearances==
Appearances for Elena Cardenas
==Behind the Scenes==
*Elena's murder in Speak of the Devil was initially intended to be more gruesome. According to showrunner Steven S. DeKnight, rather than stabbed under the orders of Kingpin, while bringing some flan, Elena would have been blown up in a bombing, leaving only her arms and the flan. However, the writers resolved that it was too violent and decided that a stabbing was more straightforward.‘Daredevil’ Showrunner Steven DeKnight details grisly deleted scenes at Hypable
*In the Spanish dubbing of Daredevil, Cardenas' background was changed to be a Portuguese woman, in order to have her speaking a different language than that of the main characters.
==References==
Category:Characters
Category:Daredevil (TV series) Characters
Category:Humans
Category:Females
Category:Brown Hair
Category:Gray Hair
Category:Brown Eyes
Category:Nelson and Murdock Clients
Category:Metro-General Hospital Patients
Category:Multilingual Characters
Category:Deceased Characters
Category:Characters Killed by Junkie Jake