Tigress (DC Comics)
Tigress | |
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Artemis Crock as Tigress in JSA #17 (Dec, 2000); art by Stephen Sadowski. | |
Publication information | |
Publisher | DC Comics |
First appearance |
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Created by |
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In-story information | |
Alter ego |
Unknown Paula Brooks Artemis Crock |
Tigress is the name of three different comic book supervillains, all of whom have appeared in various series published by DC Comics.
Publication history
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. She apparently had no powers.
The second Tigress is Paula Brooks, who was a member of the Young All-Stars, who later became a villainess named the Huntress.
The third Tigress is Artemis Crock, the daughter of the second Tigress, and is a member of the Injustice Society. She debuted in Infinity Inc. #34 and was created by Roy Thomas and Todd McFarlane.
Fictional character biography
Zatara foe
The original Tigress appeared as Zatara's primary foe throughout eleven 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.
The Artemis entry in Who's Who Update '87 #1 states that the Golden Age Tigress 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
The 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
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.
In other media
Television
- Tigress appears in the Batman Beyond episode "Splicers," voiced by Cree Summer. This version of the character is a human spliced with tiger DNA by a villainous genetics expert named Dr. Abel Cuvier.
- Both Artemis Crock and Paula Brooks make a small cameo in the Batman: The Brave and the Bold episode "Aquaman's Outrageous Adventure!". They are seen taking a family vacation with Sportsmaster.
- A teenaged version of Artemis Crock appears as one of the main characters in Young Justice voiced by Stephanie Lemelin.
- Tigress appears in the second and third seasons of Gotham portrayed by Jessica Lucas.[1] This version of the character is named Tabitha Galavan, sister and lead enforcer of corrupt billionaire Theo Galavan (James Frain). They are both members of the Sacred Order of Saint Dumas, an ancient secret society bent on taking over Gotham City.[2] She kidnaps Oswald Cobblepot's (Robin Lord Taylor) mother Gertrude (Carol Kane) to force him to kill the other mayoral candidates; after Cobblepot does Theo's bidding, however, Tabitha kills her anyway. Tabitha eventually falls out of favor with her brother, however, and so forms an alliance with Cobblepot's enforcer, Butch Gilzean (Drew Powell). Theo is killed by Cobblepot and detective James Gordon (Benjamin McKenzie), but is eventually revived by Hugo Strange as the warrior Azrael. As Azrael, Theo stabs Tabitha with a sword, critically injuring her. After Theo is killed yet again by Cobblepot and Gilzean, Tabitha recovers and becomes small-time gangster Barbara Kean's (Erin Richards) right-hand woman. She has an uneasy truce with Cobblepot, who is now Mayor of Gotham City. Cobblepot's chief adviser Edward Nygma (Cory Michael Smith) blames Gilzean for the death of his girlfriend Isabella, and so he kidnaps Gilzean and Tabitha and imprisons them in an elaborate torture device that will kill Gilzean unless Tabitha pulls a lever that will sever her hand. After Gilzean declares that he loves her, Tabitha sacrifices her right hand to save him. Gilzean and Kean rush her to a hospital where her hand is reattached. Once Cobblepot falls from power, Tabitha and Barbara take over Gotham. However when Barbara begins to work with Nygma, Butch and Tabitha plan to kill her. When Barbara finds out she shoots Butch in the head and fights with Tabitha who manages to electrocute her to death. Now alone Tabitha takes up a mentoring role to a young Selina Kyle.
References
- ↑ Matt Webb Mitovich. "Exclusive Gotham Season 2 Casts Jessica Lucas as the Bullwhip-Cracking Tigress". tvline.com.
- ↑ Nellie Andreeva. "‘Gotham’ Casts James Frain As Regular, Will Play New Villain & Tigress' Brother". deadline.com.