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 May1984
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.

The Best of the Huntress: Wonder Woman #312 Review

Title: Wonder Woman #312
Story: Crocodile Tears
Characters: Huntress (Helena Wayne), Nedra Borrower, Terry Marsh, The Earthworm
Creators: Joey Cavalieri (writer), Dan Spiegle (artist)
Publication Date: 01 February 1984
Available In: Digital

Summary: As reporter Nedra Borrower advances her plans to publicly discredit the Huntress, Gotham's citizens also take to the streets to protest the Huntress' activities in order to pressure the mayor into banning vigilantes all together. Another Gothamite looking to get a slice of the cake of the Huntress controversy is politician Terry Marsh who wishes to gain strong public support in order to advance his political career.

Doomsday Clock #5: The Road To Finding The Justice Society Finally Begins? Spoilers Ahead!

I find it a bit ironic that just four days after I expressed concern about the lack of progress on the Justice Society's return in Rebirth, lo and behold, Doomsday Clock #5 starts to pick up pace on that front. And because I can't talk about what happens in this week's issue without spoiling the big reveal, insert spoiler alert here, come back to this post after you've read the issue. If you don't care about being spoiled, proceed.

So You Like The Bronze Age BatCat Marriage, But How Do You Feel About The Rebirth Marriage?

Friends have been asking me to share my thoughts on the upcoming Rebirth marriage for quite some time now, but I have to admit this was not an easy post for me to write. The fact that this is my tenth draft on this topic should speak to my ambivalence about DC's decision to revisit an idea that was canon 40 years ago for a new generation of Batman and Catwoman fans.