Huntress (Helena Wayne)

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caption=Helena Wayne as the Huntress.
character_name=Huntress
real_name=Helena Wayne
publisher=DC Comics
debut="All Star Comics" # 69 (December 1977)
creators= Paul Levitz
Joe Staton
alliances=Infinity, Inc. Justice Society of America
aliases=
powers=Highly skilled athlete and martial artist.|The Silver Age Huntress was Helena Wayne, the daughter of the Batman and Catwoman of Earth-Two, an alternate universe established in the early 1960s as the world where the Golden Age stories took place. Earth-Two was also the home of the Golden Age versions of various DC characters.

Publication history

Helena's first appearance was in "All Star Comics" #69 (December 1977) and "DC Super-Stars" #17, which came out the same month and revealed her origin. The bulk of her solo stories appeared as backup features in issues of "Wonder Woman" that were published in the early 1980s.

Following the character's death and erasure from history in "Crisis on Infinite Earths" #12 (1986), DC created a new Huntress (Helena Bertinelli), whose costume and weaponry are similar to Helena Wayne's.

A trade paperback collection entitled "The Huntress: Darknight Daughter" was published in December 2006. It collects "DC Super Stars" #17 and stories from "Batman Family" #18 - 20, as well as the backup stories from "Wonder Woman" #271 - 287, #289 - 290 and #294-295. The cover art is drawn by Brian Bolland.

Following "52" (2007), the DC Multiverse system was restarted. A rebooted Helena Wayne character now resides on Earth-Two, and has appeared in the "Justice Society of America" (vol. 3) in issues set on the parallel world of Earth-2.

Fictional character biography

Origin

Helena was born in 1957 to Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle Wayne, and grew up enjoying the benefits of being in a wealthy household. As a youth, she enjoyed a thorough education, as well as being trained by her parents, Batman and Catwoman, to become a superb athlete. After finishing school, she joined the law firm of Cranston and Grayson, one of whose partners was Dick Grayson, alias Robin.

In 1976, a criminal blackmailed Selina into resuming action once again as Catwoman, an act which eventually led to her death. Helena, deciding to bring the criminal responsible to justice, created a costume for herself, fashioned some weapons from her parents' equipment (including her eventual trademark, a crossbow), and set out to bring in the criminal. After accomplishing this, Helena decided to continue to fight crime, under the code name "the Huntress."

Allies and Adversaries

Helena soon found herself involved with the Justice Society of America (the group her father was a member of), and formally joined the group in "All Star Comics" #72. Helena was also briefly associated with the superhero group Infinity, Inc..

Helena also struck up a friendship with fellow new superheroine Power Girl. In addition to Power Girl, Helena frequently worked with Robin and with a new hero named Blackwing. Some of her foes consisted of Thinker, the Joker, Karnage, Crimelord, Boa and Earthworm. Her lover for a time was Gotham District Attorney Harry Sims.

She made several visits to Earth-One. Her first was in "Batman Family" #17, where she met the Earth-One Batman, Robin, Batgirl and Batwoman, and fought the Earth-One Catwoman, Poison Ivy and Madame Zodiac. She took to calling the Earth-One Batman her "Uncle Bruce," and built a familiar relationship with him. As a member of the Justice Society, she participated in several of the annual JLA/JSA meetings, most of which took place on Earth-One. She also participated in the battle against the Adjusticator as part of the female force of multiple earths led by the Earth-One Wonder Woman. Other heroines involved in this adventure included Zatanna, Supergirl, Phantom Lady, Madame Xanadu, Power Girl, Black Canary, Wonder Girl, Raven and Starfire.

Death

During the 1985 miniseries "Crisis on Infinite Earths", after the battle with the Anti-Monitor rewrote reality to erase the multiverse, Helena was one of the Earth-Two survivors who escaped the destruction of their world only to learn they no longer officially existed. Helena was killed while attempting to save the lives of several children during the attack of the Anti-Monitor's shadow demons, along with Earth-Two's Dick Grayson and Kole. After "Crisis" ended, Helena Wayne's existence, like that of her parents and Earth-Two's Dick Grayson, was retroactively erased from the remaining Earth and the world no longer remembered her.

In "Superman/Batman" #27, Power Girl, whose memories of Earth-Two were restored, recollects an untold adventure she had with the Huntress in which they clash with the Ultra-Humanite and Solomon Grundy, the Humanite having briefly trapped Superman and Batman's minds in the bodies of their cousin and daughter respectively; if they weren't returned to their bodies in time, the minds of the bodies they were in would re-assert themselves and Superman and Batman would die.

New Earth-2

Following the events of "52", it is revealed a new Multiverse has been created. Within it, the new Earth-2 resembles the old one, featuring familiar characters such as Helena Wayne. She is briefly glimpsed again in the pages of "Justice Society of America" #11, when the Flashes use the cosmic treadmill to try find the old Earth-Two.

In "Justice Society of America Annual" #1, Power Girl is sent to Earth-2 by Gog. There, she is discovered by Huntress who recognises her as the Power Girl from their world who went missing after the first Crisis. In this new Earth-2, the citizens remember having been the only Earth in existence following the Crisis. Huntress re-initiates Power Girl into amalgam Justice Society Infinity (Infinity Inc. and Justice Society merger) and brings her to speed on her life. Following the death of Alfred, Huntress has become more estranged from her friends; Robin serves in Batman's place as a global protector, while Huntress protects the streets of Gotham. As all her father's rogue's gallery have begun to pass away, an aged Joker makes plans to recreate the Two-Face by scarring acid on Huntress' would be fiancée, D.A. Harry Sims. Huntress attempts to kill him, and is stopped by Power Girl; Joker's plan to take Huntress out with him backfires, and he dies. However, Huntress confesses to Power Girl that it is Robin she truly loves to this day.

In other media

*The Huntress's first appearance outside of comics was in the 1979 NBC "Legends of the Superheroes" TV specials, with actress Barbara Joyce portraying the character. Huntress and Black Canary are the only two superheroines featured among a cast of some of DC's biggest heroes, including Batman, the Flash, and Captain Marvel. This version is clearly based on her.
*The Huntress appears as a featured character in the short-lived live-action series "Birds of Prey". This version of the Huntress, played by Ashley Scott, was mostly based on the Silver Age Helena Wayne version, although she is named Helena Kyle in this series. She is the daughter of Batman, who disappeared after the death of her mother, Catwoman. The Huntress in this series worked with Oracle and Black Canary's daughter as the primary crimefighters in Gotham City. Unlike the previous versions of the Huntress, this series' version possessed low-level superpowers.
*In 1999, Bruce Timm spoke of bringing Helena Wayne/Huntress into "Batman Beyond", as she would make a good alternative to having a "Batgirl Beyond". [cite web
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accessdate =2007-01-28 ]

External links

* [http://meltingpot.fortunecity.com/egypt/235/ Huntress Unofficial Webpage]
* [http://www.sequentialtart.com/archive/apr00/art_0400_3.shtml Sequential Tart: The Huntress and the Hunted]
* [http://jl.toonzone.net/huntress/huntress.htm The Watchtower Creator opinions on the Huntress]

References