DC Universe Online Wiki
Register
Advertisement

The Huntress is the "black sheep" of the Bat-Family.
A vigilante motivated by anger, vengeance and the policy that "Blood Cries for Blood", Huntress' anger and willingness to use deadly force has caused concern among the other Bat-Family members who recognize her good intentions, even if they disagree with her excessive, and sometimes permanent, methods.

While skilled and driven, Helena possesses a violent ruthlessness and no initial compunction against killing. Batman has made many attempts to curb these potentially destructive traits, nominating her for membership in the Justice League of America in the hopes that some of the more tolerant heroes may become an influence for her future actions.
After various adventures and civilian jobs she now operates as field leader for Oracle's Birds of Prey strike team.

Background[]

Maria Panessa Bertinelli was the wife of Franco Bertinelli; head of the Bertinelli mafia family; the head mafia family of Gotham City. While a loyal and devote wife, Maria was subjected to frequent beatings from her husband and so Maria began an affair with a man named Santo Cassamento and eventually became pregnant by him. When Maria gave birth to this child of her illicit union, she chose the name Helena Rosa.

Helena, along with her brother, Pino, witnessed her mother's frequent beatings and fantasized about becoming the Pope "to make sure daddy goes to hell". Her unrestrained animosity towards her father impressed him, causing him to form the opinion that she would be more suited to taking over the family business instead of her brother.
When Helena was eight, a mafia hit was issued against the entire Bertinelli clan due to their growing power and an assassin known as "Omerta" entered the Bertinelli household and executed all of the family but Helena, who he intentionally spared due to orders to "spare the sister".

Orphaned, Helena was placed under the care of her Uncle Tomasso's nephew, Salvatore Asaro, and was taken to Sicily where she would be kept safe. Helena remained there for a number of years, watching her cousin and uncle train and practice with weapons and hand-to-hand combat.
While her uncle, Nicola Asaro was a boring, ignorant man, Salvatore stepped in for her deceased brother and comforted her as she grew into her new family. While growing, Helena's tutor, Justina, encouraged Helena's independent streak against the mafia's tendency toward male dominance.
Eventually, Salvatore showed her how to fight and she trained until the age of fifteen when she was sent to a boarding school in Switzerland to protect her from the coming Italian authorities who were in the process of enacting a raid against all members of the Mafia family.

Following her completion of school, Helena returned to the Asaro Farm in Sicily and, when she was on the verge of turning twenty-one, she was approached by Tomasso who collected her for a family meet where she met Tony Angelo, the son of the Angelo mafia family, and quickly fell in love with him.
Staying with the meet, Helena intended to use her inheritance to free her stepbrother, Salvatore, from prison. However, she soon discovered that the current head of the Angelo family, Nino Angelo, was raping Tomasso's sixteen year-old daughter. As the daughter opted to lie and blame Helena for the injuries instead of Angelo, Tomasso disavowed Helena of any further help after informing her of Salvator's death during a prison fight. Taking matters into her own hand, Helena beat Nino with his own baseball bat while he was sleeping.

After attempting to receive her inheritance led to the discovery that someone was siphoning away her family's entire fortune, Helena returned to the meet one last time to say goodbye to Tony before embarking to retrieve the rest of her inheritance from a Mafiosi ritual being held beneath an opera between some of Sicily's most powerful male figureheads; including head of the mafia worldwide syndicate; Stefano Mandragora.
While unaware that Helena had been the "commando" who stole the Bertinelli inheritance from him, Mandragora intended to lure her to a party hosted by himself in order to kill her as a loose end.
After a surprise revelation that her stepbrother was not dead, but had escaped prison and now served as a priest, Helena learned that Mandragora was the one behind her family's deaths. Armed with this knowledge, Helena willfully accepted Mandragora's invitation to his party and used his money, originally intended to be used to buy a gown for the party, to fund the creation of a commando suit to kill Mandragora in. While managing to kill the man who issued the order, Helena now wished to hunt down the assassin who killed her beloved mother.

While managing to find him, she was nearly killed in their first encounter. Tracking the assassin back to Gotham, Helena discovered Nino Angelo arranging a Mafiosi hit on the board members of Wayne Enterprises with Bruce Wayne and confronted the playboy on it, however, she was interrupted by Batgirl's arrival.
A further attempt at Angelo resulted in Omerta killing the Mafiosi and Helena being confronted by Batman, only to be saved by Catwoman. In a confrontation that culminated with Helena, Batman, Catwoman, Salvatore, Tony, Omerta and the new head of the Sicilian Mafiosi, Helena enacted her revenge by cutting out Omerta's tongue before seeking shelter within the church where she makes an oath to continue her mission to destroy the mob's grip on Gotham and the world.

Combat Statistics[]

Involvement[]

Heroes[]

Villains[]

Associated Equipment[]

Trivia[]

  • Huntress first appeared in The Huntress (April 1989).
  • Huntress is voiced by Clair Hamilton.
  • As a day job, Helena Bertinelli is a High School English teacher. Her vigilante activities, however, sometimes lead to unexplained injuries and absences from work that mar her professional record.
  • A devout Catholic, Helena possesses a Catholic rosary cross pendant given to her by her mother. Temporarily stolen by Omerta, she took it back after slicing his tongue from his mouth.
  • Helena first saw the Batman when she was sixteen attending her uncle's birthday party in Gotham. The fear the Mafiosi showed towards the vigilante inspired her for years to come.
  • Helena is the sole surviving heir of the Bertinelli mafiosi crime-family which stretched from Gotham to Chicago and New York. She has inherited a family fortune amassing to around 3 billion European dollars.
  • One of Helena's tutor's many lessons to her about female power included the revelation of a female Pope in history and this saying: "In all operas, women only matter if they are young, innocent, and die because men can't handle women their own age, you see. And innocence is overrated. As for death, well, you must vow to outlive them all." Another of her sayings was "Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim."

Gallery[]

See also[]

External links[]

v · e · d
Characters
Heroes Batgirl - Batman - Batwoman - Future Batman - Huntress - Nightwing - Oracle - Red Robin - Robin
Villains Bane - Brother Eye - Bruno Mannheim - Catwoman - Clayface - Dark Robin - Deathstroke - Echo - Harley Quinn - Hush - Isis - Joker - Killer Croc - Kyle Abbott - Lady Shiva - Mad Hatter - Man-Bat - Mister Freeze - Owlman - Penguin - Poison Ivy - Query - Ra's al Ghul - Riddler - Scarecrow - Talia Al Ghul - The Batman Who Laughs - The Dawnbreaker - The Drowned - The Merciless - The Red Death - Two-Face - Whisper A'Daire
Other Armored Robotic Custodian - Bat Sentinel C-Cu - Bat Sentinel DP-5 - Batman (Family Reunion) - GCPD Batman - Harvey Bullock - James Gordon - Lucius Fox - Martha Wayne - Ninja Batman - Primal Batman - Question - Red Hood - Riot Control Prototype - Steampowered Batman - Thomas Wayne - Vicki Vale - Zetta-Drone
Items
Batcomputer & More Pack - Batcave Mainframe - Batcave Trophies & More Pack - Batman Bouncy Ball - Bat Drone - Bat-Signal - Bunker - Cave - Deco - Gothic - Detective Comics #1000 Cover Set - Grandfather Clock - Penthouse - Ultimate Batman Bundle
Weapons Batarang - Bat-Grenade - Bladed Batarang - Dual Wield - Exobyte-Infused Escrima Sticks - Joker's Weapon Style Box - Light Synthium Staff - Martial Arts - Scarecrow's Sinister Cleaver - Staff
Apparel Ace Chemicals Hoodie - Al Ghul Emblem - Android Batman's Cowl - Android Batman's Helm - Bane Emblem - Bane's Rageblind Belt - Batman's 80th Emblem - Batman Boxers - Batman Day Hoodie 2017 - Batman Doll - Batman Hoodie - Batman-Inspired Mask - Batman Rebirth Emblem - Batwoman Mask - Batwoman T-Shirt - Batwoman's Serrated Cape - Beyond High-Tech - Bombshell Batman Doll Accessory - Brainiac Joker's Malevolent Head - Brother Eye's Helm of the OMAC Centurion - Cape of the Demon - Catwoman Emblem - Catwoman's Goggles - Dark Specter 2018 Batsuit - Dark Specter Batsuit - Daring Vigilante - Deathstroke's Menacing Bandolier - Elite OMAC Centurion Helmet - Emblem of the Bat-Axe - Emblem of the Dawnbreaker - Emblem of the Devastator - Emblem of the Drowned - Emblem of the Mantling - Emblem of the Merciless - Emblem of the Murder Machine - Emblem of the Red Death - Enhanced al Ghul Emblem - Enhanced Bane Emblem - Enhanced Batman Rebirth Emblem - Enhanced Catwoman Emblem - Enhanced Emblem of the Bat-Axe - Enhanced Emblem of the Dawnbreaker - Enhanced Emblem of the Devastator - Enhanced Emblem of the Drowned - Enhanced Emblem of the Mantling - Enhanced Emblem of the Merciless - Enhanced Emblem of the Murder Machine - Enhanced Emblem of the Red Death - Enhanced Harley Quinn Emblem - Enhanced Man-Bat Emblem - Enhanced Riddler Emblem - Enhanced Scarecrow Emblem - Enhanced Sixth Dimension Batman Emblem - Falcone Glasses - Frozen Fury - Future Crusader - Gloves of Clinging - Gotham Knight - Gotham's Outlaw - Harley's Sinister Masquerade - Harley Quinn 25th Anniversary Emblem - Harley Quinn Emblem - Joker Doll Accessory - Joker Hoodie - Joker's Punchline - Knight of Vengeance - League of Assassins (Style) - Lethal Zealot - Man-Bat Emblem - Master Mercenary - Mercenary's Malice - Mister Freeze's Frigid Cryotank - Mister Freeze's Improved Cryotank - Monitor Propulsion Pack - Plastic Batman Mask - Plastic Joker Mask - Poison Ivy's Thorny Cincture - Punchline (Armor Style Set) - Raptor Infiltrator - Riddler (Style) - Riddler Emblem - Riddler T-Shirt - Robin Cap - Robin's Utility Belt - Scarecrow Emblem - Shroud of the Scarecrow - Sixth Dimension Batman Emblem - Speed-Metal - Split Personality - The Cloak of Ra's al Ghul - Two-Face Hoodie - Two-Face-Inspired Mask - Vengeance - Vengeful Surgeon - Vigilante's Justice - WayneTech T-Shirt - Whip Belt - Zonewalker
Vehicles Batmobile - Batwing
Locations
Gotham City - Batcave - Arkham Asylum - Old Wayne Tower - Original Wayne Enterprises Building - R.H. Kane Building - Clocktower - Crime Alley - Park Row Theatre - Wayne Manor - Wayne Memorial
PvE Undisclosed Location - Batcave: Outer Caverns - Batcave: Inner Sanctum - Batcave: Brainiac Sub-Construct - Bludhaven - Nanda Parbat
PvP Batcave (PvP)
Miscellaneous
Arkham Inmates - Bat Family - Checkmate - Court of Owls - Gotham City Police Department - Gotham City Organized Crime Family - Gotham City Sirens - Gotham Gazette - Intergang - Justice League of America - League of Assassins - OMAC - Outsiders - Teen Titans - The Council of Batmen - Wayne Enterprises - WayneTech
Harley's Heist - Home Turf - Iceberg Lounge - Origin Crisis - Riddled with Crime - The Battle for Earth - The Bombshell Paradox - The Last Laugh (DLC) - Wayne Manor Gala
v · e · d
Characters
Heroes Black Canary - Huntress - Lady Blackhawk - Oracle
Villains Brainiac - Calculator - Deathstroke - Gorilla Grodd - Ra's al Ghul
Other Batgirl - Big Barda - Catwoman - Hawkgirl - Power Girl - Lady Shiva - Vixen
Items
Oracle's Challenge Kiosk - Penthouse - Tech
Weapons Dual Pistol - Martial Arts - Sonic Cry - Sonic Shout - Staff
Apparel Blackhawk (Style) - Daring Vigilante - Goth Leggings - Goth Tights - Power (Style) - Trench Coat - Vengeance - Viking
Vehicles
Locations
Clocktower
PvE
PvP
Miscellaneous
Bat Family - Blackhawk Squadron - Gotham City Organized Crime Family - Justice League of America - Justice Society of America - S.T.A.R. Labs
Age of Justice
v · e · d
Characters
Heroes Arsenal - Batgirl - Batman - Black Lightning - Fire - Geo-Force - Grace Choi - Green Arrow - Huntress - Metamorpho - Nightwing - Starfire
Villains The Brain - Blackfire - Brother Blood - Deathstroke - Felix Faust - Gizmo - Gorilla Grodd - Jinx - Mammoth - Manhunters - Monsieur Mallah - Psimon - Doctor Sivana
Other Captain Boomerang (Owen Mercer) - Catwoman - Martian Manhunter - Phantom Stranger
Items
Bunker - Penthouse - Dive
Weapons Dual Pistol - Exobyte-Infused Escrima Sticks - Katana
Apparel Dark Specter Batsuit - High Voltage
Vehicles
Locations
Stagg Enterprises Gotham HQ
PvE
PvP
Miscellaneous
Checkmate - Church of Blood - Fearsome Five - Justice League of America - OMAC - Stagg Enterprises - Suicide Squad - Teen Titans
Advertisement