Past and Present: Pre-Crisis Wayne vs New 52 Wayne: Afterthoughts

Having examined the past and current versions of Helena Wayne, it's clear that both characters are progressive in their own way with room for improvement. Having examined the different variables of character development, it's clear that the pre-Crisis Helena Wayne was the most progressive on this front.

Past and Present: Pre-Crisis Wayne vs New 52 Wayne: Diverse Representation

The Bronze Age was one of the more progressive eras of DC Comics. In addition to pushing for more sophisticated storytelling and racial diversity, DC was also advocating for more female visibility at that time. The creation of Helena Wayne pre-Crisis fell into the latter initiative.

Past and Present: Pre-Crisis Wayne vs New 52 Wayne: Relationships

Throughout the Bronze Age, there was a sense of family amongst the Justice League and Justice Society heroes, creating strong unity between them. Staying true to form, the pre-Crisis Helena Wayne valued nothing more than family, which comprised not only of her immediate family, but also of her friends in the Justice Society, and even the Earth-1 counterpart of her father.

Geoff Johns Announces Rebirth's Mission Statement, DC Announces Rebirth Titles

DC Comics announced today the titles they have slated for their Rebirth relaunch later this year, and amongst the titles getting a 'rebirth' is Earth-2. Also today, Geoff Johns elaborated more on DC's mission statement with Rebirth, with an emphasis on getting 'back to basics' with what makes the DC Universe what it is and its characters who they are. Similar to how the Green Lantern and Flash Rebirths were handled pre-Flashpoint, we can expect some sort of revival of old concepts while still telling new and modern stories with DC characters. Johns also made a point of emphasising how valuable every DC character is to both the DC Universe and to every fan who's been fortunate to get to know them. He does want to find a place for each of them moving forward.

Past and Present: Pre-Crisis Wayne vs New 52 Wayne: Heroism

When the pre-Crisis Helena Wayne embarked on her first case as the Huntress, it was to catch her mother's killer when she was only 19 years old. As stated in the previous post, prior to her mother's tragic death at the hands of a former henchman from her Catwoman days, Helena had no interest in taking over the family business. Once she got a taste of the superhero lifestyle, however, it became her passion. More than she was driven by a strong desire for vengeance, she was more driven by a desire to uphold her father's legacy and a strong desire to help others.

Past and Present: Pre-Crisis Wayne vs New 52 Wayne: Character Development

The character evolution of Helena Wayne pre-Crisis was an interesting one. How she changed from the time she made her debut in the late 1970s to the time Crisis on Infinite Earths rebooted the DC Universe in the mid-1980s reflected a rapidly changing comics culture. The first time we met Helena Wayne in the pages of All-Star Comics #69 and DC Super-Stars #17, we were introduced to a smart, confident, and outgoing young woman who persevered in every aspect of her life. She was just as passionate about justice in her Helena Wayne persona as she was as the Huntress.

Past and Present: Pre-Crisis Wayne vs New 52 Wayne: Costume Design

In addition to developing the origin story for the character, it was natural that a costume design had to accompany the character. In 1977, the character's co-creators wanted her to have a costume that was an amalgamation of the Batman and Catwoman costumes. Since Selina Kyle originally had a purple and green colour scheme for her Catwoman costume, purple became the Huntress' signature colour. Her boots, gloves, and mask were all a dark purple hue, while the main torso piece itself comprised of both light and dark shades of purple.

Past and Present: Pre-Crisis Wayne vs New 52 Wayne: Inception

When Helena Wayne was first conceived in 1977, the idea was to originally have an Earth-2 Batgirl as a member of the Justice Society to relieve Power Girl of her status of being the only female member of the team. According to Huntress co-creator Paul Levitz, the original Batgirl (presumably Bette Kane) didn't prove to be too interesting as a character, and a soft rebooting of her character would not have resulted in stronger story potential. The idea was ultimately scrapped until artist Joe Staton insisted on adding another woman to the team. After much conceptualising between Paul Levitz, Joe Staton, and Bob Layton, the idea of adding a Batwoman to the team evolved into the idea of the Huntress as the daughter of the Golden Age Batman and Catwoman.

Past and Present: Pre-Crisis Wayne vs New 52 Wayne: Introduction

One of the things you get accustomed to as a fan of the 'Big Two' publishers is that decades-old characters get subjected to change over a period of time. Some of the changes are progressive, and others regressive depending on the people in charge at the two companies at any given time.

One way that DC Comics stands out from Marvel is their tendency to do hard reboots of their universe as a way of streamlining continuity whenever it gets written out of control. The first DC reboot took place in 1955 when the company replaced their older Golden Age characters with brand new characters, effectively kickstarting the Silver Age of comics. The Green Lantern went from being Alan Scott to Hal Jordan, the Flash went from being Jay Garrick to Barry Allen, but the original trinity of Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman remained intact with slightly altered histories. The heroes of the Justice Society were similarly replaced with newer characters, leading to the formation of the Justice League.

Earth-2: Society #9 Review

Title: Earth-2: Society #9
Story: One Nation Indivisible
Characters: Fury, Hawkgirl (Kendra Muñoz-Saunders), Huntress (Helena Wayne), Power Girl (Kara Zor-L), Green Lantern (Alan Scott), Flash (Jay Garrick), Captain Steel (Henry Heywood Jr), Doctor Fate (Khalid Ben-Hassin), Sonia Sato, Sandman (Wesley Dodds), Superman (Val-Zod), Batman (Dick Grayson)
Creators: Dan Abnett (writer), Jorge Jiménez (artist)
Publication Date: February 2016
Available In: Print | Digital

Summary: In the new technologically advanced city of Amazonia, Kendra Muñoz-Saunders watches as the new Amazonian queen, Fury, trains the new Amazons in the ways of combat in preparation for impending war. Kendra asks Fury if she plans to start a war and Fury answers that she doesn't, but would like to end it should one arise. Fury then asks Kendra why she's always alone and Kendra responds that she prefers solitude to having people stare at her for her giant wings. Fury sympathises, but Kendra has questions of her own: why is her city hidden from everyone else? Fury responds that it is due to the Amazons' status of being feared and not wanting to subject them to the same fear and corruption that is destroying the other colonial cities. Kendra believes that they must all work together to create a more unified society, but Fury doesn't believe neither the Green Lantern nor the World Army has what it takes to lead. She believes that the survivors of Earth-2 need the Amazons to guide them, given their culture is rooted in wisdom and have experience in governance. Kendra then asks what happened to the survivors of her ship. Fury says that they all died and the new Amazons took their place. Exactly what this means isn't entirely clear.