The Best of the Huntress: Wonder Woman #316 Review

Title: Wonder Woman #316
Story: The Roar of the Ocean
Characters: Huntress (Helena Wayne), Sea Lion
Creators: Joey Cavalieri (writer), Mark Beachum (artist)
Publication Date: 06 June 1984
Available In: Digital

Summary: The Huntress has exposed the truth behind the theft of Dr. Tori's research on Project Starfish. With the culprit revealed, the Huntress is led to the real man behind the curtain: a double amputee who could certainly benefit from Dr. Tori's regeneration research, a mariner who goes by the name of Sea Lion. Apart from the obvious, what is the Sea Lion's other motives for hijacking Dr. Tori's project? What does he plan to do about the Huntress and his accomplice at the hospital, now that his secret is out? Things aren't looking too well for the Huntress as she finally confronts her newest foe!

Doomsday Clock #7 Reveals The Fate Of Alan Scott And The Justice Society. So Now What? Spoilers Ahead.

Doomsday Clock #7 hit the shelves last week, and while the story does recover one major piece to the larger puzzle, we are sadly still no closer to seeing (let alone understanding) the larger picture that is the post-Flashpoint DC Universe. We especially don’t know what writer Geoff Johns wants to say about DC’s haphazard reboots and their long term damages to character vitality and the integrity of their core mythologies.

Mary Elizabeth Winstead Cast As The Huntress In Upcoming Birds Of Prey Film. Did Warner Bros. Make The Right Casting Call?

Mary Elizabeth Winstead

From the moment director Christopher Nolan concluded his epic Dark Knight trilogy in 2012, Warner Bros. has since been looking to capitalise on the trilogy's success by applying a similar formula to the rest of DC's stable of characters, leading to the formation of a DC cinematic universe. A formula Warner Bros. could use to compete against Disney's Marvel cinematic universe with matching success. Unfortunately for Warner Bros., their attempt at creating that DC cinematic universe has been met with mixed reception, and have since changed their course.

Rather than create a series of films that are part of a tightly-knit universe like the Marvel films, Warner Bros. appears to be going for a more "Elseworlds" approach. A series of films that are part of a shared continuity, but not necessarily existing within the same universe like in the case of Joaquin Phoenix' upcoming Joker film.

This approach will afford filmmakers more creative freedom to tell the stories they want to tell, and reimagine DC characters in ways that fit their stories. One of the films that appears to be following this approach is the upcoming Birds of Prey film by director Cathy Yan, with actress Margot Robbie reprising her role as Harley Quinn.

Huntress Video Blog, Session 00: Wayne or Bertinelli?

Mark and I celebrated Helena Wayne's canonical birthday (07 September) earlier this month by discussing the history of the Huntress across the pre-Crisis, post-Crisis, and post-Flashpoint DC continuities. We also discuss the core differences between the Huntress as Helena Wayne and the Huntress as Helena Bertinelli.

All images presented in this video are the property of Warner Bros. and DC Entertainment for commentary purposes.

Music: "Romantic" from Bensound.com

The Best of the Huntress: Wonder Woman #315 Review

Title: Wonder Woman #315
Story: Chasing Rainbows
Characters: Huntress (Helena Wayne), Tom Kelly, Gary Minelli, Sea Lion
Creators: Joey Cavalieri (writer), Mark Beachum (artist)
Publication Date: 02 May 1984
Available In: Digital

Summary: The Huntress has moved on to her newest case, but has no idea where to start looking. All she knows is that there is one Dr. Mizuki Tori--the head researcher of Project Starfish--and stolen data from said project. She has no leads on the culprit and begins her investigation by looking into a new hospital intern as a possible suspect, Tom Kelly. Huntress rationalises that the person leaking Dr. Tori's research has to be someone working close to her with easy access to the data. If the Huntress is wrong, she'll be back to Square 01...or will she?

The Best of the Huntress: Wonder Woman #314 Review

Title: Wonder Woman #314
Story: Life is for the Lionhearted
Characters: Huntress (Helena Wayne), Tom Kelly, Gary Minelli, Nedra Borrower, Sea Lion
Creators: Joey Cavalieri (writer), Mark Beachum (artist)
Publication Date: 04 April 1984
Available In: Digital

Summary: After dissolving a baby trafficking ring and losing the Earthworm in the process, the Huntress decides to follow up on one of the children she rescued from the gruesome operation. The baby is deaf, but the Huntress takes comfort in knowing the baby will live a normal life free of the criminals who tried to traffic him.

But as is par for the course in the Huntress' life, the journey is truly never over. While she may have stopped the Earthworm hot in his tracks and exposed his accomplices Terry Marsh and Nedra Borrower, there is a new villain in town. One that seeks to make a profit off the research of one Dr. Mizuki Tori!

The Best of the Huntress: Wonder Woman #313 Review

Title: Wonder Woman #313
Story: The Worm Turns
Characters: Huntress (Helena Wayne), Nedra Borrower, Terry Marsh, The Earthworm
Creators: Joey Cavalieri (writer), Tim Burgard (artist)
Publication Date: 07 March 1984
Available In: Digital

Summary: Nedra Borrower has succeeded in turning an already unfriendly demonstration into an angry lynch mob, but the Huntress is not about to become their punching bag, much less their retaliation kill. Making her escape she decides to take the fight to Nedra herself by investigating an aspiring politician she's been doing heavy coverage on. What Helena Wayne discovers next puts into perspective just how low her newest enemies sink as well as how closely they intertwine!

The Essential Huntress: I Want To Read Helena Wayne's Bronze Age Stories. Where Do I Start?

One question I get asked a lot by new readers who want to get to know Helena Wayne better as a character is "what should I start with?"

Apart from DC Super-Stars #17 as the obvious first choice, I'm always tempted to link fans to every Helena Wayne Huntress story that has ever been published by DC, which can at times overwhelm newcomers. I therefore started to think about "what are the essential stories to read for getting to know Helena Wayne?"

The thing I've always loved about Helena Wayne is that she was always more than just the daughter of Batman and Catwoman and had more to offer the DC Universe than just being a member of the Justice Society. She also had her own character motivations, goals, and relationships that were uniquely her own, culminating in an exciting journey and ultimately a compelling narrative.

What is the core of Helena Wayne and what are the must reads for understanding her character? I break down (in chronological order for each section) the stories that set the standard for her character and more significantly develop her character.

For the ones that are available for purchase on Comixology, I will post a link to the first issue of the story arc. If not all the issues of the story arc are available, it'll be noted as incomplete.

Can Bruce Wayne Be Happily Married To Selina Kyle And Still Be Good At What He Does?

It's been a little over a week now since Batman #50 came out and hopefully everyone reading this post has had a chance to read it. I didn't spoil the plot twist of Batman #50 in part because I wanted to give fans a chance to read the issue and judge the story for themselves, and in part because the plot twist centred around an age-old question that I felt deserved its own post.

If you still haven't Batman #50 and don't want to be spoiled, this is your turning back point as I can't progress with the rest of this post without discussing the plot twist that prevented the wedding from taking place.

Outside of Earth-2 Review: Batman #50 (Spoilers?)

Title: Batman #50
Story: The Wedding
Characters: Batman (Bruce Wayne), Catwoman (Selina Kyle)
Creators: Tom King (writer), Mikel Janín (artist)
Publication Date: 04 July 2018
Available In: Print | Digital

Summary: As Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle prepare for their big wedding day, the couple ruminate about their past history together--from their very first meeting to their present--and think about whether or not this next step is the right future for them. Can they truly be happy together? Will their happiness cost Gotham their guardian Dark Knight? Is it a sacrifice worth making? These are all the thoughts that run through the young couple's minds as they make their way down the aisle.