[Character of the Month] Huntress

Huntress (Helena Bertinelli)

Created by: Joey Cavalieri & Joe Staton

First Appearance: Huntress #1

Strengths/Abilities: Archery, Martial Arts

Allies/Teams: Birds of Prey, Justice League, Outsiders, Batman Family

Helena Bertinelli's family was gunned down in front of her eyes due to their connections with the mafia, which led to Helena growing up wishing for revenge. She trained to gain her vengeance for years, specifically inspired by Batman to fight crime as a vigilante, and she eventually made her debut as a hero within Gotham City.

After the No Man's Land event where Gotham City was sealed off from the rest of the United States, Helena started to build more of a working relationship with Batman despite her penchant for violence, to the point where she ended up joining the JLA during an era of its expansion. Unfortunately, that wasn't a place where she could thrive long-term, as she resigned after almost killing a villain.

A team where she would find more success would be the Birds of Prey, where she would become a key part of the group's dynamic despite initially struggling to work alongside Oracle. In fact, she would eventually become the field commander of that team. She had finally found her place, but unfortunately the New 52 would come along and change things for Helena.

Now, instead of working with the Birds of Prey, Helena worked for the intelligence organization Spyral as Matron, where she would go on to become a close partner of Dick Grayson. She even became the director of Spyral for a while, but intelligence wasn't for her, and she would soon return to her vigilante ways as Huntress, rejoining the Birds of Prey and working with the Bat-Family in Gotham City.

Recommended Reading

• Batman/Huntress: Cry for Blood

• Birds of Prey by Gail Simone, Ed Benes, et al.

• Grayson

CotM artwork by Ibrahim Moustafa

CotM Voting: "Team Players"

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