Out For Vengeance

First off thanks to those who wished me better.  Still sick but much better than I was a few days ago.  Now onto my H topic of the day.

So here comes another spewing about one of my other all time favorite female comic book characters, Huntress.  Did some reading up on her and came up with mostly information I knew but also a few new facts.  Now if you know about Huntress you'll know that in the DC universe there are two versions of this character.  There's the alternate universe version who is Helena Wayne, the daughter of Batman and Catwoman.  Then there's the more 'mainstream' version of Helena Bertinelli whose parents were killed by members of the mafia that her parents were associated with.  Obviously the story is more complicated than that but you get the idea.  I am of course skimming over details but anyone interested in learning the whole story, or at least a good summary: Huntress on wikipedia

The version that I like to focus on is the Helena Bertinelli version.  It's the one I'm most familiar with, though I have read the comic that started the whole Huntress as the daughter of Catwoman and Batman line.  I have no real problems with that version but it's not as intriguing to me as the other.  To me she's kind of the female version of Batman, though still learning her way around.  She's filled with the same kind of anger and thirst for vengeance that Batman has managed to focus and channel.  She uses extreme measures to get things done, but she realizes that some of her methods are too extreme and is taking the measures she needs to in order to become better at her job and also better within herself.

Her origin story is different than some of the other characters in the Batman family.  Daughter of a mafia don, something she doesn't realize till later, who's parents were killed in front of her at the age of eight.  That sound familiar to anyone?  She went to live with family in Sicily and was trained to fight, to seek blood for blood to avenge her family.  Her later goal became to stamp out the mafia and all those connected with the wrong doings in Gotham.  Much later on the goal became less focused on revenge and more focused on helping those around her. 

Helena is a former schoolteacher (she could be one currently I haven't really updated myself on the comics just yet), and member of the Birds of Prey.  During No Man's Land she donned the Batgirl costume to help bring order to the chaos.  She was sponsored by Hush and given new equipment and a new costume and helped to save Batman's life.  All of which was part of Hush's plans but who's quibbling on the details?

Huntress is an interesting and complicated character that doesn't have much of her own standing in the comic book industry.  She's had a few of her own series but none long running.  Mostly she makes appearances in other series like the many Batman comics and the Birds of Prey series.  She's one of the darker heroine characters in the Gotham universe but definitely not the darkest.  All in all, she's pretty cool :)

Kicking butt with the Birds of Prey!




Oh and please no one mention that one television series I wish to keep from my memory.  It gives me a headache just thinking about it.  Those of you who don't know about it....be glad you don't...just my opinion.