The  Huntress

Publisher: DC Comics
First appearance: Huntress #1 (April 1989)
Created by: Joey Cavalieri & Joe Staton
Alter ego: Helena Rosa Bertinelli
Team Affiliations: Birds of Prey (current member), Batman family, Justice League (former member), Outsiders, Checkmate
Abilities: highly trained athlete and martial artist
Occupation: Vigilante, school teacher
Homebase: Gotham City
Weapon of Choice: crossbow
Height: 5'11"
Hair: black
Eyes: blue

History

Helena Bertinelli was born into one of the prominent mafia families of Gotham. When one of the rival mafia families killed her family when she was eight, Helena's mother's family looked after her in Sicily. When she was older, Helena was sent to a boarding school in Switzerland and finally figured out what the "family business" was all about. Helena sought revenge on the mafia and always distanced herself from them. She returned to Gotham as a vigilante, one who seeks out justice by often times violent and unpredictable means. Her behavior has led to confrontations with other superheroes, namely Batman and Nightwing, who often disprove of her methods and often have to stop her from killing the bad guy. In fact, she was kicked out of the Justice League for this reason. But as a member of the "Batman family" (she was, for a short time, Batgirl), the Huntress occasionally teams up with Batman and Nightwing. As a member of the all-girl superhero group Birds of Prey, she is now a teammate of Oracle (Barbara Gordan) and a close friend with Black Canary. The Huntress is a highly trained athlete and martial artist, and a skilled crossbow shooter. Helena, when not the Huntress, is a middle-school teacher. She has had romantic encounters with Nightwing, The Question, and Arsenal.

Personality & Looks: the Huntress is very straightforward and demanding. She is very independent as a superhero, in that she was often by herself until she joined BoP. She believes in justice very strongly and it often overpowers her emotions. The Huntress' costume has changed somewhat but it is always purple with a cape with some sort of cross emblem. She often wears a cross, even though she has stated her faith is not strong. She also wears a purple face mask.

Other Huntresses

Before Helena Bertinelli's creation in 1989, there were a few other Huntresses. In the 1940s, the supervillain Paula Brooks/Huntress was a member of the Injustice Society. Another Huntress was Helena Wayne, an alternate reality daughter of Batman and Catwoman. Her character became inactive in 1985.

The Various Looks of the Huntress

Brief List of Huntress Titles

Huntress Vol. 1 #1-19 (1989-90)
Robin III: Cry of the Huntress #1-6 (1992-93)
Huntress Vol. 2 #1-4 (1994)
Birds of Prey: Manhunt #1-4 (1996)
Nightwing/Huntress #1-4 (1998)
Batman: No Man's Land (1999)
Batman/Huntress: Cry for Blood #1-6 (2000)
Birds of Prey #57 (2003)- ongoing
Huntress: Year One #1-6 (2008)