Paula Brooks
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Paula Brooks is a fictional comic book character published by DC Comics. She is one of many characters to use the names Tigress and Huntress. Brooks first appeared in Sensation Comics #68 as the Huntress, seeking to add the superhero Wildcat to her collection of big game trophies. Later, it is retroactively revealed that she was a heroine named the Tigress before becoming a criminal.
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[edit] Character history
[edit] Pre-Crisis
As a member of the Injustice Society named the Huntress, she fought the Justice Society of America. During this period she met the original Sportsmaster, whom she later married.
Prior to the Crisis on Infinite Earths, the Huntress battled the Helena Wayne (who had become the new Huntress) and was defeated.
Also pre-Crisis, an Earth-1 Huntress and Sportsmaster were revealed. They fought Batgirl and Robin in "Batman Family" and then challenged the Earth-1 superheroes to a baseball game between heroes and villains. When the heroes won, the Earth-1 Huntress and Sportsmaster reformed and weren't seen again. After the Crisis on Infinite Earths, the villainous pair ceased to exist as the Golden Age versions became the dominant version in the new unified universe.
Post-Crisis, Helena Wayne never existed, so that battle did not take place. It is assumed that the Huntress and Sportsmaster vs. Batgirl and Robin battle did still take place. The softball game did not.
She never used the Tigress name during her Pre-Crisis adventures.
[edit] Post-Crisis
In the pages of Young All-Stars she was retroactively renamed the Tigress II (before becoming the villainous Huntress). These stories took place prior to her villainous career.
At this point, the young Paula Brooks (approximately age 18-19) was super-heroine, and fought both Nazis and criminals alongside Iron Munro, the first Fury, Neptune Perkins, Tsunami, and Dan the Dyna-Mite. During these stories, Paula expressed a fan worship of Paul Kirk, the Manhunter. She frequently made a play for Iron Munro as well. During a battle with the Nazi warriors known as Axis Amerika, Tigress was attacked and seemingly killed by the Valkyrie known as Gudra. She came back to life or was revived (it was unclear if she really was dead or not) with a new attitude which eventually led to her becoming the villainous Huntress.
In the All Star Comics two-issue mini-series of the late 1990s that went under the byline "JSA Returns," Tigress was seen on the side of the law again, this time as the companion of Manhunter.
At some point though, she moved permanently to the criminal side and became one of Wildcat's biggest foes, as well as a member of the Injustice Society, and renamed herself the Huntress. She later married Sportsmaster aka Crusher Crock, one of the biggest foes of the Golden Age Green Lantern. The two of them were known as Mr. and Mrs. Menace and fought Black Canary and Starman in the 1960s as well as continuing to serve as members of the Injustice Society.
At some point, Huntress and Sportsmaster had a daughter named Artemis Crock. Artemis grew up to be a supervillain much like her parents. As Artemis she served as a member of Injustice Unlimited, fighting Infinity, Inc. She later took the name Tigress III and served as part of the new Injustice Society.
The Paula Brooks Tigress/Huntress was last seen out of uniform in Young Justice at an Olympic Games-type event where her daughter Artemis competed on behalf of Zandia, a country that harbours supervillains.
[edit] Powers
Brooks had no powers or unusual technology, but she did utilize various types of wild beasts in committing her crimes, and also was a skilled hand-to-hand fighter whose nails were sharpened like talons.
[edit] Elseworlds
Outside of regular DCU continuity, James Robinson and Paul Smith featured the Tigress in 1993's The Golden Age.
In August of 1948, Paula Brooks was granted amnesty for her crimes in return for her allegiance to Tex Thompson's newly created anti-communism force (The Golden Age #2). After learning that Thompson was actually the ruthless Ultra-Humanite (The Golden Age #3), Brooks joined other heroes on January 8, 1950 in opposing him and his allies.
Traumatized by the deaths of her lover, Lance Gallant, and friends such as Miss America and the Sportsmaster in the ensuing conflict, Paula returned to crime and, by 1955, was reported to have "made the F.B.I.'s most wanted list" (The Golden Age #4).
