Batfamily

When you hear the name Batwing, you could be thinking about Batman’s airplane which was introduced in Detective Comics #31 in 1939 — also known as the Batplane. Since 2011, Batwing is also the name of a member of the Bat-family. Despite having less than fifteen years of existence, there are already two people who had taken the alias of Batwing.

Created by Grant Morrison and Chris Burnham, the first Batwing was David Zavimbe, a Congolese police officer who made his debut in the pages of Batman Incorporated #5 before headlining his own series. He was presented as the “Batman of Africa” and served as a representative of Batman Incorporated in the city of Tinasha, in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The character appears to be inspired by a minor character, a young African-American boy from Batman #250.

David Zavimbe’s time as Batwing was, in the end, quite short, as he decided to resign as Batwing, leaving the mantle free to be taken by someone else in 2013.

Created by Jimmy Palmiotti, Justin Gray, and Eduardo Pansica, Luke Fox took over the mantle and was established as the second Batwing in Batwing #19. As you could have guessed, Luke is the son of Lucius Fox, born into a rich family who, like his father, is intellectually gifted. A world-class boxer before joining Batman in his fight, the Dark Knight trained him in martial arts.

Luke Fox already appeared in a few other media, including in the Arrowverse where he was portrayed by Camrus Johnson, and part of the distribution of the TV Series Batwoman. He was also voiced by Gaius Charles in the animated film Batman: Bad Blood.

Read More »Batwing Reading Order (David Zavimbe, Luke Fox)

This has been less than ten years since Duke Thomas made his debut in the DC Universe. Created by writer Scott Snyder and artist Greg Capullo during their already classic run on Batman, Duke first appeared in Batman (vol. 2) #21, as an unnamed character, then he made his real entry in Batman (vol. 2) #30 as Duke Thomas.

Raised in the Gotham Narrows by his mother Elaine, a social worker, and Doug Thomas, a humble construction worker, Duke had an ordinary childhood. He was then unaware of who his biological father was (a villain named Gnomon) and that he was a metahuman and had powers.

Anyways, no one in Gotham can claim to have an ordinary life too long. Like so many Gothamites, Duke’s life was changed by the Joker during the events of Endgame with the disappearance of his parents. He was placed into the foster system and soon after, became the leader of a youth movement inspired by Robin.

Duke’s parents were later found, but permanently jokerized. Following this discovery, Bruce officially took Duke under his wings to make him his latest ward and partner-in-crime-fighting. He officially became The Signal in Batman and The Signal #1 (March 2018). He also joined the Outsiders, under Black Lightning’s supervision. You can’t miss him in the streets of Gotham with his yellow armor! 

Read More »Duke Thomas Reading Order (member of the Batfamily, The Signal)

The Huntress is a DC Character considered part of the Bat-family. But there is also more than one Huntress in the DC Universe, though the one that interests us today is one of the most famous women to bear the name: Helena Bertinelli. She was also the last one to date to become the Huntress…

Way before Helena Bertinelli made her debut, Huntress was a recurring villainess with no name from the Golden Age. Created in the pages of Sensation Comics #68 by artist Mort Meskin and an unnamed writer in 1947, she was retconned in the Bronze Age by writer Roy Thomas.

He gave her the name Paula Brooks and built her a real backstory in Young All-Stars, a title set in DC’s Golden Age. Over the course of the series, Thomas recounted Paula’s transformation, from the superheroine to the villainess named Huntress.

During her short stint, Paula stayed an obscure character. It was a certain Helena Wayne who popularized the name Huntress during the Bronze Age. Created by Paul Levitz and Joe Staton, she made her debut in DC Super Stars #17  (1977).

The daughter of Batman and Catwoman from Earth-2, Helena became a vigilante to avenge her mother’s death and choose the code name The Huntress when she decided to continue to fight crime. Later, Helena found herself fighting against Paula Brooks and winning the right to the name Huntress in All-Star Comics #72.

She bore the name until the destruction of the DC Universe in Crisis of Infinite Earths.

Following the reboot, Helena Wayne died and her family never existed. In this new continuity, Helena Bertinelli is introduced as the Huntress.

Created by Joey Cavalieri and Joe Staton, Bertinelli was conceived at first as a new interpretation of Helena Wayne. Making her debut in The Huntress #1 in 1989, this Helena has no link with Batman/Catwoman, but was born in one of the most powerful mafia families. She became a ruthless vigilante, ready to do justice by any means necessary. It puts her at odds with Batman, and she was for a long time the black sheep in the Bat-family, before Jason Todd/Red Hood was attributed that role. Her origins have been rewritten more than once, and she became the third member of the team Birds of Prey.

She was also recently played by Mary Elizabeth Winstead in the 2020’s film Birds of Prey.

To avoid confusion with Helena Wayne, what follows is a comprehensive reading order for Helena Bertinelli.

Read More »Huntress (Helena Bertinelli) Reading Order

At first, The Birds of Prey is a partnership between Black Canary and Oracle, which has expanded with time to include additional superheroines. The relationship between the two characters was established in Showcase ’96 #3, written by Jordan B. Gorfinkel — who is also the one who gave the team the name of Birds of Prey in the pages of the first issue of the series from writer Chuck Dixon and artist Gary Frank.

Chuck Dixon described this relationship as a clash of values, and “Dinah’s more idealistic approach is at the heart of this book.” Black Canary alias Dinah Laurel Lance is presented as more passionate and idealistic than her partner in crime Oracle alias Barbara Gordon who has a strong sense of morality but, is also less morally conflicted, per Dixon’s words who described her as a woman who knows that, sometimes, you have to kill to save lives–even if she’s not comfortable with that fact.

If Babs and Dinah made up the core team of The Birds of Prey, the two heroines are joined by other crimefighters throughout the series, including Huntress alias Helena Bertinelli who will become one of the most prominent members during Gail Simone’s run. The team was also re-imagined following the events of Flashpoint and the New 52 relaunch with Black Canary (Dinah Drake), and new character Starling (Ev Crawford). Barbara Gordon had recovered her mobility and was Batgirl once more, but didn’t join the new team until later. The line-up also added Poison Ivy and Katana. The New 52 was also a period in which The Bird of Prey, despite being an all-female team, was often assisted by male allies and had their first male member, Hawk, when Hawk and Dove briefly joined the team.

The Birds of Prey were originally based in Gotham City, with Gotham City Clock Tower serving as their base of operations. Some events made them relocate, and the team has also operated in Metropolis and California. But they also came back to Gotham.

Read More »Birds of Prey Reading Order

Batgirl. One of the most quintessential allies of Batman. Originally created by Bill Finger and Sheldon Moldoff, the initial incarnation of the character first appeared in Batman #139 (April 1961), presented as a female counterpart to our famous superhero. Under the costume at the time was Betty Kane, the niece of Kathy Kane (aka Batwoman) but the character simply disappeared in 1964. Batgirl was reintroduced in 1967, with Barbara Gordon under the mask, destined to become the more iconic Batgirl.

Batgirl is a crime-fighter in Gotham City who regularly appeared in Detective Comics, Batman Family, and several other books produced by DC until 1988. Barbara Gordon decided to retire from crime-fighting, before seeing her whole life being transformed by the Joker. It changed Barbara Gordon’s trajectory and at the same time, Batgirl’s trajectory. In 1999, in the storyline “No Man’s Land“, Batgirl is back in action as the mantle is finally assumed by someone else. It’s not long after that that Batgirl headline, for the first time since her introduction, her own title.

Throughout the years, several characters have held the mantle of Batgirl, from the most famous Barbara Gordon to our favorite trained assassin Cassandra Cain. Discover all the Batgirls with the following guide.

Read More »Batgirl Reading Order: Your Guide to Batman’s ally (from Barbara Gordon to Cassandra Cain)