- Tigress (DC Comics)
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Tigress is the name of three different comic book supervillains, all of whom have appeared in various series published by DC Comics.
The original Tigress was a Golden Age villainess who battled Zatara. The second Tigress was a member of the Young All-Stars, who later became a villainess named the Huntress. The third Tigress is the daughter of the second Tigress, and is a member of the Injustice Society.
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Foe of Zatara
Tigress
The original Golden Age TigressPublication information Publisher DC Comics First appearance Action Comics #1 (1938) Created by Fred Guardineer The first Golden Age Tigress was a thief/spy and foe of Zatara in the late 1930s. She debuted in Action Comics #1 (June 1938), and was created by Fred Guardineer. She wore tiger-striped sweaters and ran gangs of thieves and murderers. Apparently, she had no powers.
Fictional character biography
The original Tigress appeared as Zatara's primary foe throughout several issues of Action Comics, including issues 1, 3, 6, 7, 9, 10, 22, 23, 30, 35, and 42. In her initial appearance, she battles Zatara and his assistant Tong while attempting to rob a freight train. She escapes and later resurfaces in stories using various methods in attempts to kill wealthy men, including using an attacking airplane, poisoning their drinks, and infecting them with a disease from a rare South American insect. She also uses her influence as a mob boss to pressure other criminals into assisting her in crime sprees, which usually involve bank robberies and thefts of other valuables.
Relationships
The Artemis entry in Who's Who Update '87 #1 states that she is the mother of Paula Brooks (the second Tigress and original Huntress) and the grandmother of Artemis Crock (the third Tigress). However, Who's Who Update '87 #5 states that neither Paula Brooks or Artemis Crock are related to her.
Paula Brooks
Main article: Paula BrooksThe second Tigress is Paula Brooks. She was a member of the Young All-Stars and later became the villainous Huntress. She later married the Sportsmaster, and had a daughter, Artemis Crock, who becomes the third Tigress.
Artemis Crock
Tigress
Artemis Crock as TigressPublication information Publisher DC Comics First appearance Infinity Inc. #34 (Jan 1987) Created by Roy Thomas
Todd McFarlaneIn-story information Alter ego Artemis Crock Team affiliations Injustice Society
Injustice League
Secret Society of SupervillainsNotable aliases Artemis Abilities Olympic level athlete, speed, and agility with skills as a hunter and tracker. Artemis Crock is the daughter of the Golden Age villains Paula Brooks and Crusher Crock. She had taken up a career in crime, modeled after that of her parents, but only after some years did she take on the mantle of Tigress.
Fictional character biography
During the DC mini-series Legends, the people of America were turned against heroes, and law was made that no one could operate legally wearing a costume. This did not affect the villains much, as they were already breaking the law. For Artemis Crock it proved an opportune time to break her parents out of the Empire State Detention Center. Calling herself only Artemis she joined the Wizard in his new Injustice Society – which he called Injustice Unlimited. They overcame the security at the International Trade Conference in Calgary, Canada, namely Infinity, Inc. and a contingent of the Global Guardians and forced the heroes to help in some mayhem. For Artemis, she took Nuklon and Rising Sun to New York and, with their help, freed the elder felons. They all returned to Calgary to share in the stolen wealth but the plan went haywire when Hourman revived and freed himself, as well as when Solomon Grundy was brought in from the Arctic Circle. It was Solomon who incapacitated Artemis and her parents, but in the confusion they were able to escape. (Infinity, Inc. #35-37, 1987)
Only weeks later Artemis again joined with the Icicle and Hazard, as well as the new Harlequin, the Dummy and Solomon Grundy. The Dummy wanted to head a revived Injustice Unlimited and planned to murder the members of Inifinity Inc to make a name for themselves. Their first target - Skyman - was successfully killed by the Harlequin and then Artemis went after Jade. After believing her dead, Artemis returned to her cohorts. A plan was hatched to bring all the remaining Infinitors to Stellar Studios and kill them, a plan defeated only by the unwillingness of Hazard to cooperate, and the sudden reappearance of Jade and Brainwave Jr (both of whom had been thought dead). During the fight Artemis went one-on-one with Wildcat (Yolanda Montez) and lost. In the end Artemis was given over to law enforcement. (Infinity Inc 51-53, 1988)
Artemis later changed her codename to Tigress and became the on-again, off-again lovers with the second Icicle. He invited her back into the reformation of the Injustice Society. She helped him, Wizard, Solomon Grundy, Gentleman Ghost, Rag Doll and Thinker break into JSA headquarters and steal the Prometheus Key, a key that is used to open doors between reality and magic. This allowed Johnny Sorrow who had asked the Wizard to bring him back, to re-enter the earth.
During the Infinite Crisis storyline, Artemis appeared as a member of Alexander Luthor, Jr.'s Secret Society of Super Villains. She later appeared in the Justice League Wedding Special.
Icicle and Tigress later alternately work with and against Hourman and Liberty Belle in a quest to locate a magical artifact.[1] Currently they are expecting a baby, which appears to threaten Tigress' health. Icicle is trying to 'raise' money for expensive treatments.[2]
Powers and abilities
Tigress has superhuman fighting skills and is highly trained. She is an expert marksman with her crossbow. She has an enhanced sense of smell that allows her to track individuals. She carries a compact crossbow and a quiver of arrows, knives, nets and bolas.
In other media
Batman: The Brave and the Bold
Artemis Crock (in a Tigress costume) makes a small cameo in the Batman: The Brave and the Bold episode "Aquaman's Outrageous Adventure!". She is seen taking a family vacation with her parents, Sportsmaster and Huntress.
Young Justice
A teenaged version of Artemis Crock appears as one of the main characters in Young Justice, where she is voiced by Stephanie Lemelin and uses the superhero identity of Artemis. Unlike the comics where Artemis is depicted as a Caucasian supervillain, here she is portrayed as a biracial (half-Vietnamese) vigilante. Her identity is a mystery to the characters in the show, but has been revealed to viewers via a letter she received in the show's eighth episode which contains her full name.
She first appears in the episode "Infiltrator", where she is introduced as Green Arrow's niece and new sidekick, who is brought in to join the team following the departure of Green Arrow's original sidekick, Roy. During her first mission with the team, she faces off against Cheshire, and ultimately reveals that she knows the assassin from some past encounter. Though she attempts to apprehend the villain, Cheshire blackmails Artemis into releasing her, threatening to tell Artemis' teammates some potentially damaging information she knows about her. At the end of the episode, she is confronted by Roy, who tells her that he knows that she isn't really Green Arrow's niece, and that Batman must have some good reason for wanting her on the team. In the episode "Downtime", it is revealed that Artemis lives in Gotham City with her mother Paula (who is depicted as a disabled Asian woman and voiced by Kelly Hu). In the episode "Bereft" Artemis wakes up with no memory of the last six months. When asked if she knew how to use her bow Artemis responds that her father taught her to use it. In the episode "Home Front", her connection to Cheshire is expanded revealing she's her older sister and that they have a potentially abusive father. It is unknown as of yet if the show will follow the comics continuity and have Sportsmaster be her father. Usually, Artemis and Kid Flash are depicted as having a combative relationship, though Kid Flash's reaction to her "death" in "Failsafe" suggests he cares for her very much.
References
External links
Foe of Zatara
Artemis Crock
Categories:- Fictional vigilantes
- Fictional sidekicks
- Fictional archers
- Fictional bi-racials
- DC Comics martial artists
- DC Comics supervillains
- Female supervillains
- Characters created by Roy Thomas
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