Fictional character biography
Dakota North is the daughter of ex-CIA[8] agent Samuel James "S.J." North and his wife Caroline. Dakota North and her brother Ricky were raised by their father after their mother died in a car explosion.[9] After a successful child modelling stint, during which she appeared on several magazine covers, Dakota decided to become a private detective. Her father felt this was dangerous but the headstrong Dakota chose her own path, causing ongoing discord between them. After serving a three-year apprenticeship with an agency, she opened her own business specializing in high-paying fashion industry cases, using her model connections to her advantage. She soon owned small branches in New York, Rome, Tokyo and Paris. Robert "Mad Dog" Morales ran the New York branch, and Yvon Berse ran the Paris branch. Business executive Cleo Vanderlip sought to crash the stock value of her employer, the high-tech corporation Rycom, so she could take it over. She arranged for them to purchase and heavily invest in Luke Jacobson Fashion, planning to ruin the company by killing the fashion mogul, blackmailing his assistant Anna Stasio into helping her. Wanting to destroy SJ by slaying Dakota, Cleo had thug Scott "Otto" Shanks vandalize Jacobson's workplace, then suggested that Luke hire Dakota for protection. but North saved Jacobson, killing Shanks in the process.[10]
Dakota's 12-year-old brother Ricky came to stay with her - and promptly became involved when old friend Major George C. "Coop" Cooper left a nerve-gas-filled pen with the boy. Seeking the gas, Vanderlip assigned desperate young model Daisy Kane to befriend Ricky.[11] Unknown to Dakota, the pair travelled to Europe while she protected Coop from Russian thugs hunting down the nerve gas. Dakota trailed Ricky to Paris but lost him when he took a train for Venice, but disembarked in Switzerland.[8] Aided by police detective Amos Culhane, Dakota reunited with Ricky outside Grindelwald only for the trio was captured by Vanderlip's ally Sheik Ibn Bheik.[12] They eventually escaped and the nerve gas was released in the sheik's castle, killing all present.[9]
Dakota was later hired to investigate the "Slasher," a serial killer who targeted fashion models, slashing their faces and cutting their throats. The case was complicated by Harvey Finklestein, who sought to win over model Elyse Nolan by protecting her from a hired fake "Slasher." Despite the diversion, Dakota exposed a deranged Elyse as the real Slasher and captured her with Spider-Man's assistance before Elyse could attack Mary Jane Watson.[13] Jack Power showed up on Dakota's office doorstep wanting to clear the name of his favorite author she took the case for fun, and quickly solved the case with the aid of the Punisher in the process, but was unable to prove anything - though she did not realise Jack and his sister Katie were members of the child super-hero group Power Pack.[14] On a shopping trip, Dakota witnessed the Wasp battling the shape-changing Kingsize; she shot him, freeing the Wasp, who then defeated Kingsize.[15]
The Chicago Spectator newspaper hired Dakota's company to provide a full background on super-mercenary Luke Cage.[16] During her investigation, Dakota learned that Cage's father James Lucas was still alive.[17] She met Cage and was later hired to run the paper's security. The assassin Hardcore sent the Untouchables and Tombstone after Dakota.[18] After promising Cage the information if he aided her, Dakota was kidnapped and delivered her to Hardcore; Cage and the Punisher would rescue Dakota.[19] When Cage later went missing,[20] Dakota tracked his father to Arizona, and teamed up with Iron Fist to save Cage himself from kidnappers.[21] She was attacked by Cage when he was possessed by Bogeyman,[22]
When blind attorney Matt Murdock was imprisoned, his law partners Franklin "Foggy" Nelson and Becky Blake hired Dakota at the recommendation of Jessica Jones to provide security and do investigative work for the firm.[25] While visiting Murdock with Foggy, the pair were ambushed; restrained during the attack, Dakota watched in horror as Foggy was stabbed repeatedly and seeming died en route to the hospital. She began working with reporter Ben Urich and used her contacts to learn a new Daredevil was on the streets - Danny Rand. Murdock soon escaped from jail, and with Dakota's help exposed Vanessa Fisk as the mastermind behind the scheme.[26] Foggy's "death" was revealed to have been faked to place him in Witness Protection. Murdock confided in Dakota that he truly was Daredevil, and she began aiding him regularly through several crises, including tracing the sudden insanity of Murdock's wife Milla Donovan to Mr. Fear. Murdock grew more irritable and desperate when Milla was put into a mental institution after being released from jail, but Dakota continued working for Matt, putting him in his place when necessary. Dakota drove Murdock to visit his wife over the following weeks, and took him out for a drink when he learned he was not allowed to see Milla while she received treatment.
After Cage sought Murdock's help in clearing Big Ben Donovan of a false murder charge, Dakota began investigating the case, convincing Murdock to join her and fight his depression. When Dakota got close to the truth, she was assaulted by a man she later identified as FBI agent Moss. After she attacked Moss with a baseball bat, she was shocked to see her estranged father at her apartment, warning her off the case. Dakota learned Donovan had a son but Moss shot her before she could report it. Dakota was rushed into surgery while Matt cleared up the case. After Iron Fist accelerated her healing, North trained with Murdock back at his townhouse - leading to a brief romantic tryst that Murdock swiftly regretted as he considered it a betrayal of his wife. Dakota tried staying professional but an investigator had photographed the affair; ashamed of the damage she had caused, Dakota subsequently avoided Murdock.[27] Dakota was later stripped of her private investigator's license as part of the Kingpin's plot to frame H.A.M.M.E.R. director Norman Osborn. Using a compromising photograph, Dakota and Foggy forced the judge who had both of their licenses revoked to learn the Kingpin was behind their recent problems, leading North to decide that they need to locate Murdock at once.[28]
Some time later, Carol Danvers developed a brain lesion; to help her remain healthy and mobile, Wendy Kawasaki modified one of Captain America's old Sky-Cycles and Carol hired Dakota to teach her how to fly it.[29] Dakota also helped Captain Marvel track down the new Deathbird and supported Carol in her pursuit to identify and beat her enemy Yon-Rogg.[30]
