Pre-Crisis Huntress: Ultimate Respect Thread
Background
Huntress
Real Name: Helena Wayne
Aliases: The Darknight Demoiselle
Nicknames: Hel, Princess
Age: 28
Height: 5’10
Weight: 127 lbs
Occupation: Superhero, lawyer
First appearance: All-Star Comics #69
(December 1977)
Likes: Her parents, Power Girl, Robin, Earth-One’s Batman, Batwoman, Batgirl, Alfred Beagle, Harry Sims, Smokey Robinson
Dislikes: Criminals, sexism, defacing artwork, domestic abuse, Joker, Nedra Borrower
Backstory
Born in 1957 on the alternate universe of Earth-Two, Helena Wayne was born to Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle. Once the feared vigilante Batman and the infamous burglar Catwoman, these two costumed figures eventually married and settled down to focus on raising their daughter.
From birth Helena was trained to the peak of physical and mental development, not out of a desire for crime fighting, though she would be exposed to that through stories of her father’s glory days.
After spending three years in law school, Helena would graduate from Harvard as valedictorian at 21 and become a successful lawyer under the firm of Cranston, Grayson, and Wayne. Sadly, her burgeoning career in law would be cut short by an unexpected tragedy. One of Selina’s old associates had resurfaced and blackmailed her into joining him for one last job. In an unfortunate twist of fate, this last job would also become her final one when the former Catwoman was fatally shot during a confrontation between her husband and blackmailer.
With his wife dead, Bruce Wayne buried Batman with her, but his daughter felt differently. Furious at the incident that cost her mother’s life, Helena Wayne swore an oath of vengeance and took on a new identity. If criminals were cowards that preyed on the innocent, she would become their Huntress!
Under her new identity, Huntress captured her mother’s killer and began her career as a crime fighter. On her second mission she’d directly aid Wildcat and Star-Spangled Kid of the Justice Society against the technologically advanced bank robbers of Strike Force. Though these actions got her welcomed into the Justice Society, Helena was somewhat unsure of herself and- desperate for advice- used the JSA’s Transmatter Cube to enter the neighboring universe of Earth-One. During her trip she’d gain more confidence through teaming up with fellow heroines Batgirl and Batwoman before heading back to her universe. And she’d receive a further confidence boost upon returning to Earth-Two and defeating the original Huntress.
During her time with the Justice Society Helena would help save the planet and even the universe numerous times. She’d also gain a close friendship with Power Girl and help her get more used to civilian life. Unfortunately, she’d suffer another tragedy when Batman sacrificed himself to save Gotham from a magically enhanced criminal. Though she mourned his loss, she refused to let that dissuade her from defending Gotham alongside Robin.
As her career developed, Huntress would become close friends with Gotham’s district attorney Harry Sims. Though he was initially wary of Huntress due to his distrust of vigilantes, he would go on to become one of Huntress’s closest confidants when he discovered her secret identity. Unfortunately, this would lead to him being poisoned by the Joker, who’d sought a vigilante that could give him the fun he had with Batman.
Though she managed to defeat Joker and Harry parole from his coma, the incident left their relationship in a rocky position. As time went on and Huntress became more experienced, Harry would become more apprehensive about her life as Huntress and worried she’d be killed in action. Their relationship would continue to strain after Huntress was framed for murder, making her the victim of a smear campaign by reporter Nedra Borrower. By purposefully twisting statements and omitting testimony that could exonerate Huntress, Nedra convinced both the public and politicians into adopting her anti-vigilante agenda.
Fortunately, Huntress would get back into the public’s good graces by saving crack babies from a child smuggling ring led by the deformed crime lord Earthworm. It helped that by this point Nebra was unceremoniously fired after her boss realized she was getting too involved in her “objective reporting.”
From there, Huntress would go on to have many adventures fighting the mad geneticist Sea-Lion, the ninja Nightingale, and her crazed therapist June Moorman. And when her solo stories ended, she and Power Girl decided to leave the JSA and formed Infinity, Inc, but after realizing the Infinitors could handle themselves, they later rejoined the Society.
Shortly after this, a being called the Anti-Monitor would begin a quest to wipe out the multiverse. In an effort to save all of existence, Helena teamed up with the heroes and villains from other Earths to confront him. While they proved successful in defeating him, the entire multiverse was lost in the process, and though Huntress survived the merging of the remaining Earths, it was far from hopeful.
Upon learning she no longer existed in this new history, Huntress had a brief existential crisis, but her struggles would soon end when she was killed during the final battle alongside her Earth’s Robin. Though her death was mourned by the Justice Society, over time Huntress’s very existence would be erased from the minds of everyone who knew her, and her existence would be supplanted by the mob princess Helena Bertinelli.
Personality
When she first began her career, Huntress kept her identity a secret out of fear that Bruce would die of shock if he learned his daughter took up the cowl so soon after his wife’s death. And while she was confident she could handle herself, she was still somewhat insecure about her role. It got to the point where she once traveled to Earth-One so she could ask its Batman for advice, viewing him as something of an honorary uncle.
Even when she was well into her career Huntress would still use her father as a guide for what she should do, though she would become more mature and independent as time went on. But this wouldn’t stop her from having moments where she was unsure of herself and worried she’d inherit her mom’s fluctuations between hero and villain.
While the comics describe Huntress as a grim woman carrying on her father’s legacy, that isn’t entirely accurate. It would be more appropriate to say she’s extremely determined. She’s even willing to risk her own life if it means stopping random criminals. She’s also not what you’d call “grim” either. Quite the opposite, in fact. She’s pretty relaxed about getting involved as a vigilante and enjoys making dramatic entrances. Whether in or out of costume, she has a habit of making jokes and quips, and rejects the idea of murphy's law.
When in her costume around close friends or family, she could get somewhat mischievous, like the time she purposefully broke into the penthouse of Earth-One’s Batman because she couldn’t resist outwitting its locks. Or there’s the time she tricked Power Girl into serving as a stopwatch to see how fast she could jump.
Speaking of which, anytime she was with Power Girl, Huntress would act as a peacekeeper to Karen’s fiery temper. But when left to her own devices, she could get pretty brutal. Though she had a sense of humor when it came to intimidating repeat offenders or high profile criminals, she had an intense hatred toward domestic abusers and would threaten violence against anyone who harmed her friends and family.
But that’s not the only thing she did differently on solo missions. When on her own, Huntress prefers to avoid the public so she can strike fear into criminals as an aloof, shadowy vigilante. She won’t hesitate to use intimidation to gain intel or threaten criminals, which she enjoys doing to repeat offenders. It’s also been implied she may have a bit of bloodlust in her considering she abandoned her crossbow against the Joker specifically so she could beat him with her hands.
In her civilian life, Helena was much more carefree. She’s also focused on keeping herself at peak condition, to the point of turning her apartment into her own personal gym.
Like her father, Helena refuses to carry a gun. She also shares his “no killing” rule, but when it comes down to it, she’ll prioritize saving herself over a criminal in a life-threatening situation. While she occasionally had thoughts of killing others and even threatened it at points, she never actually followed through on them. The one time she thought she killed someone, it left her wracked with guilt until she later realized his death didn’t add up with what she’d done beforehand.
In addition to ensuring she never killed, she’d also try to convince others against it, like when Robin began gunning for Tony Zucco after his morals became inverted.
Strength
Striking
DC Super Stars #17:
Knocks Cerniak out with one kick.
All-Star Comics #71:
Kicks two Strike Force members.
Kicks one of Strike Force’s members hard enough to lift him through the air.
Kicks a Strike Force member in the chest.
Batman Family #17:
Knocks out Catwoman with one punch.
All-Star Comics #72:
Kicks one of Thorn’s goons in the stomach.
All-Star Comics #73:
Kicks the original Huntress in the stomach.
All-Star Comics #74:
Beats multiple terrorists with one blow each.
Adventure Comics #463:
Adventure Comics #465:
Hits two thugs with a chop and kick, then knocks one out with another kick.
Wonder Woman #272:
Kicks one of Solomon Grundy’s goons in the stomach.
One-shots Solomon Grundy’s thugs.
Wonder Woman #273:
Splits a wood door in half with a kick.
Wonder Woman #275:
Wonder Woman #277:
Knocks out Joe Martin with a backhand.
Wonder Woman #278:
Accidentally kicks Harry Sims over her while waking up.
Wonder Woman #279:
Knocks out a prisoner with a chop to the back.
Wonder Woman #280:
Kicks Lionmane off of her, then kicks him hard enough that he screams.
Elbows Lionmane despite her shoulder being broken.
Wonder Woman #281:
Kicks a metal door off its hinges.
Wonder Woman #282:
Hits Charlie with a strike to the throat.
Wonder Woman #283:
Knocks out Joker with one punch.
Wonder Woman #285:
Knocks out Carson with a kick to the face.
Wonder Woman #286:
Kicks Karnage in the face twice, then staggers him with a palm strike.
Wonder Woman #287:
Knocks out an attack dog with a nerve pinch.
Kicks through a window and kicks Karnage in the face.
Knocks Karnage out by kicking his Adam’s apple.
The Brave and the Bold (1955) #184:
Knocks out a mobster with a kick to the face, and later does it to another one.
Wonder Woman #289:
Kicks Crimelord’s mace missile into the air.
Wonder Woman #290:
Kicks a candelabra at Crimelord, kicks his arm, kicks him into the air.
Wonder Woman #294:
Kicks Sammy twice and knocks him out with a punch.
Kicks a door off its hinges, then knocks out a gunman with another kick.
Justice League of America (1960) #208:
Kicks two mutants in the head.
Justice League of America (1960) #209:
Kicks Owlman’s gun out of his hands, then beats him with a double-handed chop and kick.
Wonder Woman #296:
Wonder Woman #299:
Knocks out a snake by kicking it.
Wonder Woman #301:
Kicks Sharkey onto a pool table.
Repeatedly punches a thug until he’s knocked out.
Wonder Woman #302:
Kicks Pat Pending in the face.
Wonder Woman #303:
Crashes through a window and kicks a doctor’s bag into the Undertaker.
Wonder Woman #304:
Knocks out the Undertaker in one punch.
Wonder Woman #306:
Kicks some Arkham inmates away while in a straitjacket and weakened from being drugged.
Wonder Woman #308:
Kicks a drug dealer in the stomach and punches another hard enough to lift him into the air.
Wonder Woman #309:
Kicks a drug dealer twice and stomps on him.
Wonder Woman #311:
Kicks and chops a trio of alligators in the jaws and eyes, and even kicks one away after it tries to jump on her.
Backhands Earthworm’s runner and kicks him into the sewer.
Wonder Woman #313:
Breaks Terry Marsh’s nose with a punch.
Wonder Woman #315:
Knocks a man out by dropping from a tall height.
Wonder Woman #316:
Kicks Sea-Lion in the face and later does it again.
Wonder Woman #317:
Kicks Nightingale in the face.
Wonder Woman #321:
Kicks a gun out of June’s hands and smacks it through a window.
Lifting
All-Star Comics #71:
Lifts a Strike Force member over her head and slams him into his partners.
Batman Family #17:
Batman Family #20:
Wonder Woman #276:
Judo flips Power Girl into The Thinker.
Wonder Woman #279:
Wonder Woman #280:
Despite having no strength in her muscles and a broken shoulder, she still manages to lift a boulder and swings it hard enough to knock Lionmane out.
Wonder Woman #282:
Wonder Woman #290:
Supports her own weight using her legs and an arm that had previously been stabbed.
Wonder Woman #295:
While still wounded from being stabbed in one arm and the other being dislocated, she still manages to hold Alfred up, lift a man by the neck, and throw him.
Wonder Woman #296:
Supports herself while hanging onto the underside of a windowsill and flips herself above it.
Wonder Woman #311:
Holds back an alligator with her legs.
Grappling/Crushing
All-Star Comics #71:
All-Star Comics #73:
Grapples the original Huntress and forces her to give.
Batman Family #20:
Restrains Franklin Gresham, with her grip being strong enough to choke him.
Wonder Woman #281:
Wonder Woman #283:
Wonder Woman #295:
Chokes a man with her injured arm and threatens to crush his throat.
Wonder Woman #318:
Grapples with Nightingale and pulls him to the ground.
Pushing/Pulling/Throwing
All-Star Comics #71:
Slams a gun into a wall hard enough to destroy it.
Batman Family #20:
Pries some bars open with her crossbow.
Wonder Woman #277:
Pushes Joe Martin away from his wife.
Wonder Woman #279:
Uses her lasso to pull a man into the water.
All-Star Squadron #15:
Knocks Power Ring out by throwing a batarang at him.
Wonder Woman #296:
Knocks out some thugs by throwing knives at them.
Wonder Woman #299:
Wonder Woman #302:
Throws a water gallon at Pat Pending, then throws him into a shelf.
Wonder Woman #304:
Pulls herself free of some ropes.
Wonder Woman #319:
Throws a sword into Nightingale’s arm.
Wonder Woman #321:
Pushes a bookshelf off of her and throws June onto it.
Infinity Inc #6:
Throws a dagger at Robin hard enough to knock him out.
Statements/Off-Panel
Wonder Woman #295:
Threatens to crush a man’s throat with her injured arm.
Wonder Woman #301:
Is so heavy she’d snap a man’s neck.
Speed
Movement
All-Star Comics #71:
Moves several feet to tag a man behind her.
Adventure Comics #466:
The speed of her falling down several flights of stairs is equal to Power Girl at half super speed.
Wonder Woman #271:
Vanishes from Winston’s sight in the brief moment he looks away.
The Brave and the Bold (1955) #184:
Saves a man from being hit by a car.
Wonder Woman #304:
Escapes the Undertaker’s base before it can explode.
Combat/Reaction
DC Super Stars #17:
Dodges an anchor thrown at her.
All-Star Comics #71:
Beats a technologically advanced bank robber in a quickdraw.
Smacks a man with his own gun before he can fire.
Dodges a blast from an energy gun.
Batman Family #17:
Fires her crossbow right as a gunman tries to shoot her, then rapidly shoots Catwoman’s other thugs.
Catches Catwoman as she’s being swung fast enough to create afterimages.
All-Star Comics #73:
Dodges arrows fired from a trap, then leaps away from a crashing chandelier.
Wonder Woman #271:
Can fire her crossbow 8 times one after another.
Wonder Woman #272:
After being thrown by Solomon Grundy, she stops herself mid-flight by grabbing a Sphinx model.
Wonder Woman #273:
A gun fires at her several times, but she vanishes before the bullets can hit her.
Wonder Woman #276:
Dodges punches from a hypnotized Power Girl.
Wonder Woman #277:
Catches Joe Martin’s hand before he can hit his wife.
Wonder Woman #280:
Dodges Lionmane’s attempt to grab her.
Wonder Woman #281:
Avoids being tagged by Joker’s venom darts.
Wonder Woman #283:
Disarms Joker before he can hit her with a blow dart, then sidesteps an attempt to tackle her.
Wonder Woman #286:
Dodges Karnage’s mini missiles while exhausted.
Wonder Woman #287:
Dodges Karnage’s missiles again.
Wonder Woman #289:
Dodges Crimelord’s electrified chain and mace missile.
Justice League of America (1960) #209:
Wonder Woman #308:
Ducks under a punch from a drug dealer.
Wonder Woman #311:
Blocks up an alligator’s mouth with a batarang.
Wonder Woman #315:
Intercepted miniature buzz saws with her knives.
Statements/Off-Panel
Batman Family #20:
Removes her cape “with a lightning gesture.”
Wonder Woman #286:
Boasts that Karnage’s mini missiles can’t hit her.
Durability
Blunt Force
Batman Family #17:
Withstands being strangled by Catwoman.
All-Star Comics #73:
Kicked in the stomach and tripped by the original Huntress.
Batman Family #18:
Crashes through a burning roof and hits the floor back-first.
Adventure Comics #461:
Survives being strangled by a giant snake, though it knocks her out.
Adventure Comics #462:
Gets hit by a magic construct hard enough that it shatters.
Wonder Woman #272:
Wonder Woman #276:
Survives being choked by Power Girl.
Wonder Woman #280:
Stays conscious while being bear hugged by Lionmane.
Has a boulder thrown at her shoulder, then uses that same arm to elbow Lionmane.
Takes a beatdown from Lionmane and remains conscious.
Wonder Woman #286:
Gets choked by Karnage but remains conscious.
Wonder Woman #287:
Wonder Woman #290:
Survives Crimelord choking her.
Knocked through a wall by Crimelord.
Wonder Woman #298:
Gets strangled by a massive boa constrictor.
Wonder Woman #306:
Is only dazed after taking a punch from Milo while drugged and weakened.
Wonder Woman #311:
Smacked by an alligator’s tail.
Wonder Woman #317:
Kicked in the face by Nightingale and later gets sucker-punched by him.
Wonder Woman #318:
Wonder Woman #319:
Infinity Inc #6:
Slammed into the ground hard enough to give her a nosebleed, has her arms twisted by Robin, and gets thrown into some cops.
Piercing
Wonder Woman #286:
Quickly recovers after being cut by Karnage’s electrified whip.
Wonder Woman #289:
Shows no signs of pain when Crimelord pricks her skin with his broadsword.
Wonder Woman #290:
Stabbed in the arm by Crimelord’s dagger.
Wonder Woman #298:
Bitten by a massive boa constrictor.
Explosive
Justice League of America (1960) #172:
Survives the Justice League’s computer exploding, though it knocks her out and leaves her burned.
Energy
Wonder Woman #289:
Survives being electrocuted by Crimelord’s energy infused sword, though it knocks her out.
Wonder Woman #293:
Survived being blasted by the Adjudicator’s eye beams. The Adjudicator has enough power to single-handedly erase all Earths in the multiverse.
Wonder Woman #302:
Gets electrocuted by Pat Pending’s shock vest.
Heat
Wonder Woman #304:
Survives exposure to the intense heat of a furnace that’s about to explode.
Other
Wonder Woman #290:
Withstands her shoulder being pulled out of its socket.
Wonder Woman #293:
Multiversal existence erasure affects her and ten other heroines at a slower rate.
Scaling
Batman (Earth-One and Earth-Two)
Regardless of what universe she’s in, Huntress has managed to casually best members of Batman’s rogues gallery.
Earth-One Batman survived a blast from a gun that creates earthquakes (26.8 kilotons of TNT)
Earth-One Batman is superior to Adam Strange, as Adam has struggled to contend with Gotham thugs, while Batman can handle Adam’s foes, the Rann’s, fairly easily.
Adam Strange survived being launched on a meteor to the sun (62.89 kilotons of TNT)
Adam Strange survived being accelerated by Earth's expansion (77.06 kilotons of TNT)
Adam’s wife Alanna dodged near-lightspeed lasers (0.6216 - 1.119 c)
A time-displaced Earth-Two Batman, while early in his career, held his own against a bloodlusted OMAC
OMAC could survive being bombarded by enough voltage to melt a tank (10.97 tons) and being hit by a lava blast as tall as he is (57.4 tons)
While amped tenfold by Brother Eye, OMAC could lift a box containing the entirety of a bay and leap through the air with it (12.24 kilotons for the amp, 1.2 kilotons unamped)
Earth-Two Batman grabbed Joker’s arm “with the speed of light”
Batgirl and Batwoman
During their team up, Huntress. Batwoman, and Batgirl were shown to be physically comparable to each other.
Intelligence
DC Super Stars #17:
Is an expert lockpick and phone tapper.
All-Star Comics #71:
With help from one of Wildcat’s associates, she discovers the location of Strike Force’s HQ.
All-Star Comics #73:
Defeats the original Huntress by springing one of her traps.
Batman Family #18:
Deduces that a courtyard is being used as a base to pay arsonists.
Batman Family #20:
Combines her wits and agility to break out of a chair, then burns her restraints.
Uses her crossbow as a makeshift crowbar to pry open some bars.
Adventure Comics #465:
Discovers matching fingerprints for a woman that broke into a hospital safe, and later deduces her son was a drug addict.
Justice League of America (1960) #172:
Adventure Comics #466:
Beats Power Girl in a race down some stairs by jumping down several flights.
Wonder Woman #273:
After realizing she can’t defeat Solomon Grundy in a fight, she sets a trap to outwit him.
Wonder Woman #276:
Escapes Power Girl’s chokehold by using her weight against her.
Wonder Woman #282:
Identifies the toxin in Joker’s smile venom and that Gotham’s dealers are working with him.
Claims she can drive through Gotham’s streets blindfolded.
Wonder Woman #284:
Uncovers forged testing results.
Wonder Woman #286:
Studies the aftermath of her fight with Karnage so she’s more prepared in their next fight.
Studies Karnage’s weaponry to determine where it came from.
Wonder Woman #287:
Knows how fragile the Adam’s Apple is.
Wonder Woman #295:
Despite knowing little about organic analysis, she still manages to identify the poison infecting Alfred.
Wonder Woman #299:
After realizing a snake tightens around her every time she exhales, she uses yoga training to control her breathing and trick it, though she nearly passes out.
Wonder Woman #302:
Feigns unconsciousness after being electrocuted, then douses Pat Pending’s shock vest in water to disable it.
Wonder Woman #309:
Distracts a thug by handing him a baby while throwing a batarang to disarm him.
Wonder Woman #311:
Prevents an alligator from biting her by lodging a batarang in its mouth.
Wonder Woman #315:
Realizes a man’s paintings are really spectrograph readings of leaked information.
Wonder Woman #316:
Restored Dr. Peale to his original self after his DNA was altered.
Wonder Woman #319:
Deduces that a samurai statue is fake.
Statements/Off-Panel
Batman Family #18:
Graduated from Harvard as valedictorian at 21.
Wonder Woman #284:
Went to law school for three years.
Wonder Woman #303:
Is the sharpest deductive mind in her world.
Infinity Inc #7:
Graduated Yale with honors, has considerable detective abilities, uncanny skill with arcane weaponry, and is a top-flight criminologist
Who's Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe #10:
Abilities
Peak Human Condition
Helena’s training since childhood has granted her the physicality of an Olympic level athlete. Her reflexes are sharp enough that she can kick someone immediately upon waking up, but the most impressive thing about her is her strength. She’s been able to elbow a muscular man with her broken shoulder, and could still hold herself up despite being stabbed in one arm. Even while suffering those same injuries, she could still punch out, lift, and throw grown men.
Law
Given her credentials, Helena is an expert in the fields of civil and criminal law. Even her fellow attorneys have admitted she’s a damn good lawyer.
Investigation
Being the daughter of the world’s greatest detective, Huntress has naturally followed in Batman’s shoes as a top-flight criminologist. She’s scanned a crime scene for fingerprints and deduced the culprit’s son was an addict, determined a man’s paintings were really spectrograph readings, and identified toxic chemicals, forged documents, and fake statues.
She’s even used her detective skills to analyze opponents and exploit their weaknesses.
Weapons Mastery
Helena is noted to be an expert with many weapons, such as knives, cat o’ nine tails, dart guns, and batarangs.
Lockpicking
Being the daughter of the world’s greatest cat burglar, Helena is an expert at picking locks, with it being said no lock is safe from her fingers. She could even bypass the security systems of the Wayne Foundation Building, which were meant to be impenetrable.
Gymnastics
Thanks to her childhood training, Huntress has become a superb gymnast. She can flip, bounce, and reposition herself across her apartment (which doubles as her gym) with ease and flip herself while tied to a chair.
Marksmanship
Huntress has displayed expert marksmanship, whether it’s with her crossbow, knives, or paper balls. She’s able to shoot out all 4 of a car’s tires, hit a man through a glass window, beat a technologically advanced bank robber in a quickdraw, and intercepted miniature homing buzz saws.
Hand-to-Hand Combat
Thanks to her training, Huntress has become a master of many forms of armed and unarmed combat. She’s capable of suplexing others, taking them out with nerve pinches and strikes to the throat, and besting martial artists like the original Huntress with grappling and pins.
Stealth
As expected from the daughter of Batman, Huntress is capable of remaining undetected whether in shadows or in public. She can track dangerous criminals and fellow heroes for up to a day without them noticing; sneak into highly secure museums, prisons, and mansions without tripping off their alarms; vanish from sight like her old man, and take down criminals without being seen. She’s even managed to avoid complete detection from Darkseid!
Judo
A competitive martial art focusing on strikes from the hands and feet, as well as the use of weapons for defensive purposes. Practitioners of judo (called judoka) use these techniques with the goal of throwing an opponent to the ground, immobilizing or subduing them with a pin, or forcing them to submit via joint locks or chokes.
Intimidation
Huntress has shown an extreme willingness to intimidate others for intel or to discourage criminals from breaking the law. She’s so intimidating she’s even scared high profile criminals into unconsciousness.
Acting
Huntress has feigned injury and unconsciousness to get opponents to lower their guard. She’s also used yoga training to control her breathing for the latter.
Resistances
Existence Erasure:
When the Adjudicator began erasing all life in the multiverse, Huntress- among ten other heroines- was affected slower than everyone else.
Arsenal
Costume
The costume Huntress wears during her one-woman war on crime. Its spandex material allows for greater flexibility and agility, it has fireproof boots, and she can use the cape to guard against attacks or explosions. She can even unhook it to shield against projectiles. And as an extra bonus, the boots are fireproof.
Utility Belt
A multipurpose belt that contains various gadgets. It has a bult-in signal device that lets her alert the JSA from across the globe, and the belt buckle is actually a concealed batarang for surprise attacks. The pouches come equipped with tweezers and an infrared reading lens.
Kit-Bag
A purse that Huntress wears alongside her belt. It stores a multitude of different devices and gadgets in it, which include:
A bat-shaped tracking device that she can track through unknown means
Sleeping gas pellets that incapacitate with even the lightest whiff
A bomb capable of blowing through a 4 inch metal door
Mini Crossbow
Huntress’ signature weapon is a collapsible crossbow made of vanadium steel. She can use it to fire two arrows at once. When not in use, it’s fastened to a special holster on the side of her boot.
The crossbow can be equipped with several different types of ammo, which include:
Tranquilizer Darts: Huntress’s go-to ammo. Miniature metal darts containing a powerful sedative that will instantly incapacitate its target for several hours even with the tiniest scratch. Their tips are sharp enough to embed them in stone and break metal, and they’re filled with enough sedative to knock out an elephant. She carries several on hand
Crossbow Batarang: A grapple line attached to an arrow. When fired, the arrow splits apart into a grappling hook that latches on to a distant rooftop or surface. Despite its name, it isn’t actually a batarang
It also makes for a decent crowbar to escape burning buildings.
Bat-Rope
Huntress often uses this several meter long rope to swing from buildings, though it’s also useful for dramatic entrances, ensnaring others, and strangling.
Binoculars
Useful for viewing others from afar.
Batarang
Though she doesn’t use them as often as her crossbow, Huntress is armed with batarangs. She can use them to disarm gunmen, distract opponents, prevent alligators from biting her, burst nearby pipes, or climb out of a burning building. She also has one disguised as her belt buckle, which is often used for surprise attacks.
Fingerprint Dusting Kit
Self-explanatory.
Knife
A throwing knife that’s really useful for intimidation or cutting down traps.
Mini Knives
Huntress keeps a series of miniature throwing knives that she can summon and throw with a flick of her wrist or retrieve from her kit-bag. They’re useful for intimidation, intercepting projectiles, and disarming opponents.
Red Convertible
A car Helena drives in her civilian life.
Net
A collapsible net Huntress can drop on others from the shadows.
Batline
It’s the same as the Bat-Rope, but now there’s a batarang on the end for better leverage. She can also use it to tie up escaping criminals.
Miniature Camera and Tape Recorder
Dual devices that Huntress can hook up to a crime scene and later monitor for investigative use. She used this to clear her name after she’d been framed for murder.
Feats
On her first night as a vigilante, she avenged Catwoman’s death by defeating her killer
Saved Wildcat and Star-Spangled Kid after they were captured by Strike Force
Journeyed to Earth-One to get advice from its Batman on how to become a better hero
Casually defeated Earth-One’s Catwoman
Teamed up with Batgirl and Batwoman to defeat Catwoman, Poison Ivy, and the fortune teller Madame Zodiac
Defeated her villainous (and unintended) namesake while retrieving Icicle’s freeze ray from the JSA headquarters
Teamed up with Dr. Fate and The Flash to stop some terrorists in Montreal
Saved some elderly people from a burning building in South Gotham
Helped the JSA uncover the whereabouts of a poisonous capsule in Gotham City
Uncovered the murderer of Terry Sloane, the first Mr. Terrific
Escaped Solomon Grundy after she was kidnapped by him
Exposed that Winston Pitt’s paintings had been switched with forgeries
With Batman and Mister Miracle, she led an army of New Genesisians against the forces of Apokolips
Worked with Power Girl to stop a crime wave across Gotham
Tracked down her secretary’s abusive ex-husband Joe Martin and prevented him from continuing to blackmail her
Ended an attempted prison break from the musclebound inmate Lionmane and defeated him in combat while suffering a broken shoulder
Defeated the Joker in one punch
Worked with Robin to clear Arthur Cranston’s name after he was framed by the crime lord Stenville
Defeated the one-man artillery Karnage
While visiting Earth-One for Christmas, she acted as Gotham’s guardian during Batman’s brief retirement
Helped Earth-One Batman clear his father’s name after he’d been posthumously framed
Defeated Crimelord (Stenville) despite him battering her and disabling both of her arms
Rescued the Wayne family butler Alfred Beagle after he was taken hostage
Saved Alfred after he’d been infected by a deadly poison
Worked with Hawkman and Johnny Quick to defeat Power Ring from Earth-Three’s Crime Syndicate
Defeated Owlman from the Crime Syndicate
Broke out of Arkham Asylum after she’d been placed there by the Undertaker’s partner Milo
Saved crack babies from being sold on the black market by Earthworm
Defeated the mad geneticist Sea-Lion and stopped him from creating new life with recombinant DNA
Defeated the ninja Nightingale and exposed a con artist who was selling forged statues
Her backups in Wonder Woman became the highlight for many readers over the comics’ main stories.
Cofounded Infinity Inc with Power Girl
Stopped a morally inverted Robin from killing Tony Zucco
Cleared the JSA’s name after they were accused of treason during World War 2
Survived the destruction of the multiverse and being implanted into the unified New Earth
Weaknesses
Huntress may be a worthy successor to Batman’s cowl, but that doesn’t make her invincible. It’s been shown that enough force- be it blows to the head, strangulation, or explosions- can knock her out just like anyone else, and she has no defenses against knockout gas or psychic attacks. It doesn’t help that her spandex costume provides little to no protection, and her cape is an especially vulnerable area. Though that last point is mitigated by the fact that she can unhook it.
In terms of what she hasn’t overcome, she’s been noted by others to be stubborn and obsessive to the point of monomania.
Conclusion
It took the span of one week for me to finish researching Huntress, and it was well worth it. I’d been planning to do this ever since I finished my Power Girl blog those months ago, but I kept putting it off to the side to focus on some bigger projects. But when I finally did, I was on a wild ride.
My first exposure to her was from the Justice Society stories I read during my Power Girl research, so at the start I figured I had an idea for what her character would be like. And reading through them again, I was right. The Justice Society stories are pretty good, but if you want the really good stuff, the backups in Wonder Woman are some of the best she’s had.
It’s criminal that this Huntress never got her own series. She had to spend most of her publication serving as backup stories for Wonder Woman, but Paul Levitz made these stories work! His writing was nothing short of excellent, and the art- especially how Huntress was drawn- helped add to that tenfold! I loved seeing her struggles to live up to Batman’s legacy and carve out her own path while protecting Gotham and fighting some of his old villains. It reminded me a lot of how I felt reading Spider-Girl.
One of the things that surprised me most was how violent Huntress could get. I know these days people make jokes about Arkham Batman and Red Hood, but this woman was pulling off some pretty close calls and making threats I feel are more in place with modern Batman. The only thing that was more surprising to me was how much punishment she could take. I know Batman characters have some impressive pain tolerance, but having dealt with things like pulled muscles and dislocated hips, some of the things Huntress endured made me cringe.
The only other thing that made me cringe was the romantic tension she had with Dick, but thankfully it wasn’t focused on outside of one or two comments. Aside from that, I was on board for everything else and excited to see where things went. Even the story with Alfred had me worried about whether or not he’d survive, and I was surprised when he managed to pull through.
Even after Levitz’s run ended, Joey Cavaliers still gave some stories that were pretty good, though the quality overall is a bit mixed. The Undertaker arc started off pretty good. Even if the villains were extremely boring and forgettable, there was still some interesting conflict between Harry and Helena. And everything up to the point where Huntress gets taken to Arkham is really interesting, with the city being turned against her and her having to clear her name.
It’s everything after that point that things start to get weird. The comic still focuses on Huntress’s conflict with the growing stigma of anti-vigilantism in Gotham, but everything with the Undertaker’s thugs completely vanishes. Instead we get a new guy called Earthworm, a deformed sewer man that controls rats and employs crack addicts to kidnap children for blackmail. The whole thing came out of nowhere and I had to double check the comic to see if I missed something.
And then those plot lines are hastily resolved so we can move on to the remaining stories, which all feel like one-offs that were deliberately split into three parts. That’s all I can say about them because otherwise they weren’t anything special. It was kind of disappointing for her solo adventures to start off strong and then peter out into just being mediocre. Even the final story in Wonder Woman’s backups- despite its interesting concepts- doesn’t get followed up on.
Thankfully, her stories didn’t end there since we got to see some more action in Infinity Inc. After the LONG period between her last appearance with the Justice Society, she finally became the member of a team again. Unfortunately, while the series is really good, Huntress just… doesn’t do much in it. She shows up for some action scenes, stops Robin from killing Tony Zucco, jobs to the Atom, and leaves the team.
Even her final appearances in Crisis have that same problem. She shows up, the writers bring up an idea that could make for a great potential storyline, and then she dies. It’s a really disappointing end to a character that had a great start.
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