Huntress (Helena Bertinelli)
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The Huntress is a fictional character in the DC Universe. There are several versions of the Huntress, this article focuses on Helena Rosa Bertinelli, who was for a time one of the versions of Batgirl and currently is a member of the Birds of Prey.
Contents |
[edit] Fictional character biography
[edit] Origins
In the 1989 Huntress limited series, Helena Rosa Bertinelli, who was born into one of Gotham City's most prominent Mafia families, is a withdrawn girl. At the age of six, she was kidnapped and raped by an agent of another Gotham crime family. Her parents, Guido and Carmela, send her to boarding school and assigned a bodyguard for her protection. Helena hides her fear and shame until the age of 19. After she witnesses the mob-ordered murder of her entire family at a wedding, she crusades to put an end to the crime families. She travels, accompanied and trained by her bodyguard Sal, before returning to Gotham to make her debut as the Huntress. This origin story is heavily revised in the 2000 limited series Huntress: Cry for Blood.
Batman rarely accepts the Huntress, believing her to be too unpredictable and violent. Others in the Batman family feel differently; for instance, Tim Drake has a good relationship with her. Early in his career, he worked with the female vigilante, and later clears her name in a murder case. Batman sponsors Huntress' membership in the Justice League,[1] and for some time, Huntress is a respected member of the League. Under the guidance of heroes such as Superman, Helena grows in confidence but is forced to resign after Batman stops her from killing the villain Prometheus.[2]
[edit] Cry for Blood
In the Huntress: Cry for Blood limited series Huntress' origin is revised; a young Helena Rosa Bertinelli believes Franco Bertinelli to be her father, but her father is actually Santo Cassamento, the don of a rival mafia family. When a capo named Mandragora orders the murder of the Bertinelli family, his underling Cassamento arranges it, but orders that Maria be spared. The killer misinterprets the message and leaves eight-year-old Helena alive instead. Helena's maternal family sends her to Sicily to live with her cousins, the Asaros, an assassin family. Helena learns to hurt those who have hurt her. Helena's cousin Sal trains her in a variety of weapons and hand-to-hand combat techniques and schools her in the concept of omerta.[3] When Sal and his father are arrested, a shocked Helena is sent to boarding school in Switzerland. Finally understanding that her family is involved in organized crime, Helena vows to wage war on the criminal underworld. At 16, she briefly returns to Gotham to attend a party held by her mafia-connected uncle, where she first encounters Batman, who inspires her. She attends university at Palermo. Upon graduation, she returns to Gotham and becomes the Huntress.
Years later, Helena discovers the truth of her parentage and her family's slaying. She confronts Cassamento, who long ago realized that his daughter's return coincides with the debut of the Huntress. He threatens to reveal her identity to the rest of the mob if she does not work for him. To preserve her identity, she reveals to her uncle that Cassamento was responsible for the deaths of her family and asks that Cassamento be killed.
She is eventually featured in the four-issue Nightwing/Huntress limited series, in which Helena partners with Nightwing on a mission against the mafia. The young heroes engage in a brief affair, after which Helena confesses to Nightwing that she seduced him partly because she thought it might help get her into the "boys club" of Batman's world. Later, Nightwing cares about Helena as a friend, but is annoyed whenever she brings up their sexual past. Although the affair was short, it also puts Huntress in some awkward situations with her later partner, Oracle, who has also been romantically linked to Grayson.
[edit] No Man's Land - Helena becomes Batgirl
In the No Man's Land storyline, an earthquake levels Gotham City. The United States government declares Gotham City a "No Man's Land," and Batman disappears. To bring order to the city, Huntress assumes the mantle of Batgirl, and she discovers criminals fear her more as Batgirl than they do as Huntress.[4] When Batman returns, he tells her that if she fails him, she must give up the costume. When Batgirl fails to protect Batman's territory from Two-Face and his gang of more than 200 criminals, Batman holds her responsible and formally strips her of the title of Batgirl. The Joker later shoots Helena, dressed as the Huntress, several times when she prevents him from murdering Gotham City's newborn infants.[5] She almost dies, but this seems to earn Batman's respect. However, this is only temporary. After the "No Man's Land" storyline ends and she recuperates, Batman and his "family" become distant and combative again when she is framed for a series of murders.
[edit] Outsiders and Birds of Prey membership
Huntress is asked to serve as co-leader of the Outsiders after Arsenal sustains major injuries on a mission.[6] She gets along well with the team, but frequently finds herself at odds with Nightwing, the other team leader. At the end of her mission with the Outsiders, it is revealed that the Huntress slept with Arsenal (one of Nightwing's best friends) in the past.
The Huntress becomes involved with Oracle and Black Canary in the comic series Birds of Prey, establishing a close friendship with Black Canary in the process. However, she leaves the team in disgust when she realizes that Oracle (also a former Batgirl) has been manipulating her. She later rejoins the team after a mobland incident forces her to swallow her pride and ask for Oracle's help.
She appears in a subplot depicting her attempts to take down the Gotham mafia by parlaying her family heritage into a position as a capo. While Batman irrationally fears that she is attempting to trigger a gang war, at the story's end she placates Batman with the gift of a detailed "mob atlas" of Gotham that she compiled.
The Huntress also appeared in the famous "Hush" storyline that took place in the Batman comics. In the story she continues her semi-feud with Jonathan Crane aka the Scarecrow. Apparently the Scarecrow infects Helena with his fear toxin causing the heroine to see Catwoman as an alternate version of herself. At the end of the story arc Helena talks about wanting to get revenge on the Scarecrow someday.
In 2006, the narratives of most DC Comics superhero series skipped one year. In the "One Year" Later" stories Huntress works with other members of Oracle's group: Black Canary, Lady Blackhawk, Lady Shiva, and Gypsy. With Black Canary's departure from the team (Issue #99), in Issue #100 Huntress and Lady Blackhawk are Oracle's top two agents, with full access to Oracle as needed (along with Black Canary, should she decide to return).
[edit] In other media
[edit] Animation
- The Helena Bertinelli version of the Huntress has appeared in the animated series Justice League Unlimited, primarily as the love interest and partner to The Question. She is voiced by Amy Acker and starred in the episode "Double Date". In this episode, Huntress' thirst for revenge against the murderer of her parents, Steven Mandragora, results in her expulsion from the Justice League. Green Arrow and Black Canary chase Huntress only to find her ready to kill Mandragora, until the Question talks her down and Mandragora's rescued son is revealed. In the subsequent episode "Question Authority", the Huntress helps the Question uncover a government conspiracy against the League. She later rescues him, with the help of Superman, from the Cadmus Project after he has been captured and tortured for information. Huntress also appears in the fifth-season episode "Grudge Match", in which she uncovers a plot to use mind-controlled female Leaguers in metahuman cage matches and her rivalry with Black Canary comes to a boil. She plays a significant role in freeing the other heroes and shutting down the organization behind the brawls. At the end of this episode, Black Canary offers to advocate that Huntress be reinstated as a League member, but Huntress graciously turns her offer down. Instead, the two decide to get the aggression out of their systems by going one last round, by saying "two falls out of three".
[edit] Video Games
- The Huntress is an unlockable character in Justice League Heroes. The character is voiced by Vanessa Marshall.
[edit] External links
- Amalgam Comics: The Huntress
- Huntress Unofficial Webpage
- Lair of the Huntress
- Sequential Tart: The Huntress and the Hunted
- The Watchtower Creator opinions on the Huntress
