Alias: Huntress
Occupation: Former high school English teacher, vigilante
Base of Operations: Gotham City
Affiliations: Former member of the JLA, unapproved member of the Bat-Family
Marital Status: Single
Height: 5' 9" Weight: 125 lbs.
Eyes: Blue Hair: Black
Helena Bertinelli grew up as a member of the prominent Bertinelli family. Her father, Franco Bertinelli was the �capo di tutti capi� the boss of bosses of the Italian Mob, and her mother was Maria Panessa. Helena had an older brother Pino, and as an heiress to an ill-gotten fortune, Helena could have grown up to be just like the rest of her family, or any other of the Five Families � the Inzerillos, the Cassamentos, the Bertinellis, the Galantes, and the Berettis. However, the Anastasia of Gotham would be forced to grow up very fast.
Originally na�ve and possessing no knowledge of the truth about her family�s operations, all she knew was that she loved them. But when she eight years old (coincidentally the same age as Bruce Wayne at the time of his parents� murders), Helena had dinner with her family for the last time. A masked man barged in, shot her father, brother, and mother, and then turned and ran off, leaving Helena to wonder why only she had been spared. She wouldn�t learn the reason until many years later.
Upon arriving in Sicily, Helena was immediately struck by its beauty and �other-worldliness�. Helena lived there for the next seven years, believing her family�s life was as ordinary as the next. She had tutors, chores, and though she lived in fear, she was certain that the reason her cousin and uncle spent all their time shooting at targets in their backyard was because they were training to protect her. The only restriction she had was that she was forbidden to go into the large barn she often saw Sal and Nicola disappear into.
�Blood cries for blood, Helena. You hear it every night. Now you must choose. Do you live your life afraid�running and hiding the rest of your days, hunted because of the accident of your birth? Or do you answer the call of your blood. You can fight back. You can protect yourself, instead of remaining at the mercy of others. You can take revenge for your family. What will it be, cuz? Hunter or hunted?�
And Helena replied, �Teach me.�
As a result of Sal�s training, Helena could fight well enough to kill someone, and could put a bolt in the bull�s eye ten times out of ten by the time she was fifteen. But she didn�t know who her enemy was. Helena had been fed the myth that the Mafia were simply Robin Hoods, protectors of the down trodden when they were really thugs and murderers. She believed her father and uncles were great men.
Helena returned to Gotham for a Christmas party when she was sixteen, and it was there that she had her first encounter with the Batman, who crashed the party and beat up several of the guests. That�s when Helena received her inspiration from the Bat�s crusade for justice. She knew how she could fight back against the people she hated. When she returned to Sicily, the house had been abandoned, so she had the freedom to train and design weapons and a costume. When she couldn�t stay any longer, Helena returned to the U.S., attended a New York university, and upon graduating, came home to Gotham City, took a job as an English teacher�.and became the
Two years into her work and she was still on the outs with Batman. This was because Helena�s training had had no restriction against lethal combat, so the Huntress�s methods were violent, often brutal, and sometimes lethal, an attitude that Batman would not and could not condone. Because of her unorthodox methods, she was rejected from Bat-family and fought in Gotham as an unsanctioned vigilante in Batman�s eyes. Her reckless behavior reminded him of the first Batgirl and her final fate. By not accepting her as one of the family he hoped to discourage her from continuing her career as Huntress, but instead it made more determined than ever.
In the light of day, Helena dedicated her life to teaching her youthful high school students as a straight-laced, conservative Catholic woman. Devoted, firm, and caring teacher who was fully aware of her students and what went on in their lives, no one would guess what nightmares she 'd wake up to every night.
Hoping to tame Huntress's vicious tendencies, Batman recommended her to the Justice League of America (JLA), although he still refused to sanction her operations in Gotham City. She accepted and did very well, one time even figuring out a way to prevent Vandal Savage from killing Superman. She made some good friends, and worked together particularly well
Shortly after Nightwing became the vigilante protector of Bludhaven, a murder connected to the mafia brought him to Gotham where he locked horns with the Huntress. The two were constantly bickering but knew they had to work together to solve the mystery. Nightwing was curious and bewildered by the Huntress�s fierce methods and bitter disposition, while Huntress viewed him as na�ve and annoyingly noble. But as these two opposites worked on the case together, they became drawn to each other, and the two lonely heroes ended up spending the night together at Helena�s apartment. While there, Nightwing looked through her schedule book and learned her secret identity. When the case was over, the two parted �without any strings attached� or so they claimed, realizing that that night was probably more hormonal than emotional.
But even so, planned or not, Helena could not achieve Batman's approval. .
When the Cataclysm, a devastating earthquake, struck Gotham and destroyed most of the city, Helena was riding on a subway when it hit. Thanks to the loss of electricity, she was able to get away long enough to change into her costume, and she teamed up with Spoiler at the Westerberg Mall to recapture escapees from Blackgate Prison. Then she returned to the fractured streets to keep order. The U.S. government would later close off Gotham from the outside world, and the city became referred to as "No Man's Land." Huntress was one of the few heroes that remained in the City, along with Oracle and the former GCPD, who called themselves the "Blue Boys". Batman had apparently left town. So with no one to defend the innocent, Huntress realized Gotham needed a Bat. She took it upon
Helena followed Batman's rules as Batgirl - she didn't kill, didn't act as violent, and things seemed to be looking better. However, Batgirl failed to protect Batman's territory when both Penguin and Two-Face invaded, but onsidering she faced over sixty armed men alone, Helena did pretty good just surviving. But six innocents died and Batman's territory was lost.
Batman was as tough on himself as he was on Batgirl; he held them both responsible for the deaths. He unmasked her in front of Nightwing, which not only humiliated her but infuriated her, and gave her one more chance to stay on his team. Do as I say, he told her, or get out of the way. But he already knew what her answer would be - she refused and gave up the cowl - or, from another
Huntress went rogue then, hoping to spite Batman for what he did to her. Unknowlingly to her, however, he had forseen this, and had basically manipulated her into joing Billy Petit's force. Petit had walked away from the Blue Boys because he thought more progress could be made with more brutal force, something Commissioner Gorden did not accept. Although Huntress often thought Petit was too cruel to his own men, she felt she had nowhere else to go, and when he started going crazy, she knew she had to stay to keep the people under his sector safe and Petit under control.
On Christmas Eve, the Joker, who had been very quiet during the entire year of NML, attacked Petit's sector, planning to kidnap the babies inside the waredhouse where a Chrstimas dinner was being held. He dressed Petit's men in Joker costumes and Petit, enraged and not thinking clearly, ended up shooting all his men. Huntress managed to stop him, beating him almost unconcious, but then Joker shot him in the back.
Helena turned to face Joker, Harley Quinn, and their goons. It was twelve to one and Huntress knew she couldn't win.
"I know."
"Kill her, boys."
Huntress managed to fight and defeat every single one of Joker's thugs, but as soon as she'd finished, Joker shot her three times - the leg, her chest, and an arm. He was about to shoot her in the head when Batman and Nightwing arrived just in time to save her and prevent Joker from blowing up the place. Huntress fought to remain concious long enough to tell them Joker's plan.
Batman: Well done, Huntress.
Nightwing: Congratualtions, Helena. That's his hightest praise. Honest.
Nightwing carried her to the MASH sector to be treated, and the rest of the BatClan worked to defeat the Joker. On New Year's Eve, Helena received a sweet surprise when Nightwing showed up with flowers and a kiss to mark the close of the century.
Four months after her recovery, the Huntress became Batman's prime suspect in a murder case. While trying to prove her innocence, she found herself cornered by both Nightwing and Batman, and in an attempt to escape, her crossbow went off and accidentally hit Batman. She dived into the Gotham Harbor after receiving a brutal beating from Nightwing.Vic Sage aka The Question saved her and took her to Canada where she met Richard Dragon, the enigmatic martial arts master who had trained Vic years ago. At first, Helena was reluctant to retrain herself, but Vic convinced her to stay, telling her that he was a lot like her once - angry, lost, and heading for certain death. Vic also told her a story that would stick with Helena for the rest of her life.
Helena found some peace through the art of tai chi and the teachings of Richard, and taught herself "how to breathe' instead of just keeping from dying.
Three months passed before Helena returned to Gotham to put her life back in order.Vic accompanied her, having paid her bills and cleaned out her fridge, but unable to prevent her from being fired from her teaching job. As an attraction and respect developed between the two, they arrived at her apartment and found Batman waiting for her. After they
Huntress confronted Santo, demanding information about the picture. Cassamento revealed that he knew who she was and that he was her biological father! He and Maria had had an affair because Franco Bertinelli would beat her, Cassamento explained, and said that he arranged the hit on her family, ordering the hitman to "spare the
That night, she then scared off Mario Cassamento (Santo's son) and his lieutenants when she and the Question jumped him at a gambling club, forcing Santo to show up at the docks to oversee the shipment himself, with Huntress as his back-up.
The next night, Helena showed as the Huntress and informed Santo she wouldn't work for him. He entered the warehouse, and told her to stand guard. Helena was shedding her costume and throwing it into the water when the Question showed up. Hearing the sound of gunshots, they both knew that Tomaso's men had killed Cassamento, just as Helena had arranged. Vic left her then, angry that she could still kill, and their blossoming romance ended.
Unlike the smooth, cool-as-ice members of the Bat-family, Helena more often than not lets her emotions rule her actions. She still yearns for approval, for a family to replace the one she lost, and the one that betrayed her. Huntress is constantly at odds with herself and with the people around her. She is a living contradiction - a hard exterior concealing a desperate, lonely soul, and a soul in search of peace but wants to achieve it on her own.
POWERS AND ABILITIES
Huntress has no special powers, but she is an expert in the martial arts, an Olympic-
Her weapons include a crossbow, CO2-propelled razor-sharp bolts she fires from a wrist-launcher, throwing knives, explosives, grapples and lines, and discs with the Huntress emblem on them with purposes similar to that of Batman. Helena also has a Lambourghini for her long-distance traveling as Huntress, but tends to take the subway as a civilian.
Her expertise lies in the knowledge of the ways of the Mafia � the Italian Mob who run many large operations in Gotham City - and on the subject of organized crime altogether. She's got street smarts and is very knowledgable on any from of artilery, no matter how strange the weapon.
Helena has a wide variety of tastes, and her current mood determines which she'll choose to listen to. She favors the tumes of rock, singer-songwriters, 80s music, and a little country here and there. Her early dabbles in high society have also cultured from her a taste in classical music and opera, and she appreciates the other classics of what we term "Oldies.". Her style includes that of Switchfoot, Jennifer Knapp, Dashboard Confessional, the Doobie Brothers, the Corrs, and Miranda Lambert.
I try very hard not to be partial to one character (ha!), but I can't contain how much I love the character of the Huntress. Helena is like a broken mirror - beautiful and shattered, and everyone can see a bit of themselves in her. I do not believe that she is a failure, not at all, but I do think she represents the part of us that can't seem to do anything right, loses her temper, makes mistakes with drastic consequences, is not successful in love, and is misunderstood. Of course, maybe we don't find ourselves in the midst of such extreme measures, but we've all been alone, hurt, angry, made decisions we wish we could take back later, been criticized for how we think. Even if she may not have the best ideals, Huntress is not going to compromise her values to fit in.
But she is human, let's not forget - she doesn't not need people. Her story will always remain an interesting and eventful one as she comes to terms with what she does need. We know how other people see her, but it's much more intriguing to catch glimpses of how she sees herself.
