Crosses & Cross Bolts: A Huntress Reading List

After my recent Black Canary reading list, I’ve received a lot of requests to do a similar post for Huntress, a fan-favorite character from DC Comics who also made her big-screen debut. Now I don’t talk about her enough but I love Huntress. She’s a pretty amazing character and as an ass-kicking, crossbow-wielding heroine she’s one that not everyone may know, but definitely that everyone should love.

That being said she’s not the easiest character to get into. Something that a lot of people don’t realize when it comes to Huntress is that there are two different versions of the character, each one going by the first name Helena and both operating under the Huntress persona. So you see where the complication comes in.

In fact, the first Huntress, who debuted back in 1977 was actually Helena Wayne of Earth 2, an alternate universe in which she was the daughter of Batman and Catwoman, and eventually took on her own superhero identity. It wasn’t until her self titled series in 1989 ( which please don’t read that because it is severely outdated and grossly violent) that the Helena Bertinelli Huntress was introduced, sporting not only a new name but an entirely new personality and origin as well. Since her debut, Helena Bertinelli went on to become the mainstream Huntress. It’s this version of the character that you’ll see in animated adaptations television shows and even in the Birds of Prey movie Now I do want to do a break down for both Helena Bertinelli and Helena Wayne, along with what stories you can read to get you started as I think both identities are important for the character.

I’m gonna kick things off with Helena Bertinelli. Personally, this is the version of the character I prefer. She’s tough, ruthless, a little unstable but undoubtedly loyal to those around her. She’s also both a recurring member of the Batfamily as well as being a key member of the Birds of Prey.

Huntress Year One: Ivory Madison & Cliff Richards -  Batman, Green Arrow, Wonder Woman, it feels like every major player in the DC Universe has their own Year One story. So I will say that while it’s certainly invited, it is a little strange that Huntress, who could be argued as a minor character, has a Year One story of her own. Much like Bruce Wayne, Helena Bertinelli has a tragic backstory of her own. Born into the Bertinelli crime family, one of the most powerful crime families in Gotham, 8-year-old Helena is forced to bear witness to the murder of her father, mother and older brother during a family dinner. It would be the start of the end for the Bertinelli line, as members of the family would be wiped out from Metropolis to Chicago, leaving a young Helena as the sole surviving member. From there she’s whisked away to Sicily where for years she would reside with extended family and grow a close relationship with her cousin Sal. After all "blood cries for blood" and it’s Sal who would teach her how to fight and to take back what was stolen from her. Unlike most origin stories, in Huntress Year One, Helena has practically mastered her craft. Already, she’s depicted as a skilled detective and an adept martial artist. While a lot of readers might have a problem with this it’s the one thing I find the story does particularly well. Rather than follow the same old formula of the hero finding their path, honing their skills and donning the costume, Huntress Year One gets straight to the point allowing Helena to come face to face with the men who killed her family. It also has some ridiculously gorgeous art which is another great draw to this story. My biggest complaint with Year One is some of the characterizations for some of the characters. While Helena herself is written fairly well its members of the supporting cast including characters like Catwoman and Barbara Gordon’s, Batgirl that come off as a little strange and sometimes even demeaning of the character. That all being said while not my first pick,  Year One makes for a great first introduction to if you’re new to Huntress. [Comixolgy]

Huntress: Cry for Blood - Greg Rucka & Rick Burchett -  What is possibly my favorite on this list, Cry for Blood is pretty much my immediate go-to when it comes to a solid Huntress story. Being that this book is written by Greg Rucka, who has titles under his belt like Wonder Woman Hiketia and Batwoman Elegy, that should be enough to sell this title for you. Cry for Blood follows the story of Helena Bertinelli after her Huntress persona is framed for the murder of her cousin. Given her previous history with violence, as she’s one of the few in the Batfamily unafraid to kill, she’s confronted by Batman and after an altercation between him and Nightwing she’s pushed into hiding during her recovery. Here she’ll spend time with Richard Dragon, a master martial artist, along with the conspiracy theorist vigilante known as The Question. After some time away and allowing her body and mind to retrain,  she’ll return to Gotham, in an action to clear her name and to discover the clear motive for her framing. It’s in the story’s final pages that she’ll learn a dark secret that will change her life forever. While Cry for Blood isn’t considered an origin story, unlike Year One it does provide some insight and detail into Helena’s tragic backstory. We also get to see a closer look at her interactions with various members of the Batfamily along with some of the animosity towards her from characters like Batman and even Oracle. One of the reasons Cry for Blood is so prominent on this list and why I love it as much as I do is because this is really where we start to see Helena question her morality and her struggle with if it’s right to kill even with a just motive. This mini-series also served as much of the inspiration for the JLU episode Double Date (my personal favorite episode btw) not only with Huntress’s internal conflict but with her relationship with the Question as well. [Comixology]

Birds of Prey: The Battle Within - Gail Simone & Joe Bennett - Alongside Black Canary and Oracle, Huntress is a prominent member of the Birds of Prey. While she appeared in previous Birds of Prey comics, she didn't become a recurring character until the start of Gail Simone’s run with issue #56. Like Black Canary, I wanted to give Huntress a similar treatment and pull an arc from the famous series that I thought best represented the character. That brings us to Birds of Prey: The Battle This is another one of those pesky hard to find books long since out of print however this arc, in particular, is covered in issue #81 to #85 and can be found digitally on Comixology. After an internal conflict between Oracle and Huntress, Helena has left the Birds of Prey to form a task force of her own. In doing so she’ll have to masquerade under her own civilian persona, Helena Bertinelli, in the attempts to infiltrate a mob ring responsible for bringing one of the largest shipments of drugs into Gotham. Now there are multiple reasons why this is such a great arc for the character. The first being the fact that Helena will have to come to terms with the one thing she hates most. It's interesting to see someone with such a deep-rooted and just hatred for organized crime, suddenly take on that role, even with it being within her birthright. That aspect combined with the conflict and resolution between Helena Bertinelli and Barbara Gordon helps to further her development as a character and even her place within the  Birds of Prey, as most of what we’ve seen previously is just the hot-headed woman ready to kick in teeth. Now admittedly there’s a lot going on in this arc and a lot of moving pieces which can make it feel overwhelming for some. However, I’d like to think that Simone has done a pretty superb job at laying everything out and even manages to catch new readers up to speed making a great addition for anyone who wants to read a little more Helena Bertinelli. [Comixology]

While I’m not going to go too in-depth on it, it’s worth noting that the massive crossover arc No Man’s Land also offers some key moments for Helena Bertinelli’s Huntress, including the time that she wore the Batgirl suit before it was ripped away from Batman and given to Cassandra Cain, but being that the event spans across six different volumes at over three thousand pages that’s going to have to be one you check out for yourself.

While there are some similarities between the both Huntresses there are also a lot of differences including their costumes and contrasting personalities. Helena Wayne is now often considered as the classic Huntress and is typically only used during alternate Earth stories.

Huntress: Dark Knight Daughter - Paul Levitz & Joe Staton -  Huntress: Dark Knight Daughter which was recently reclassified as Huntress Origins is written by Paul Levitz and illustrated by Joe Staton compiles Helena’s adventures which were originally published as backup stories across various issues of Wonder Woman. In an alternate reality known as Earth 2, Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle find themselves married eventually set aside their lives as caped crusaders and criminals to start a family of their own after the birth of their daughter Helena. However, years pass and Catwoman is blackmailed into one final heist that would ultimately cost her her life. Rather than be succumbed to grief young Helena Wayne would follow in her parents' footsteps donning a vigilante costume of her own and taking on the guise of Huntress. Soon after she gets her footing she’ll join the JSA where she’ll witness the unfortunate death of her father. Even so, she’ll continue in her parents' footsteps as a heroic crime-fighting taking on everything from everyday criminals to Solomon Grundy. At one point she even goes head to head with her father’s greatest nemesis, the Joker. Helena takes on the best traits from her both her parents, as a cunning detective like her father, and a skilled and adaptive gymnast like her mother she more than lives up to the Wayne name. Paul Levitz and Joe Stanton worked to create a well-rounded character and Levitz would return later on to pen the character in multiple stories some 30 odd years later, most of which you’ll also see on this list. Huntress: Dark Knight Daughter is a classic tale and is a must-read for any fan of the character, Wayne or Bertinelli as it would be what be the starting point for the character we know and love today. While I’ll admit this one isn’t meant for everyone, as at 224 pages it can be a little overwhelming and dense it certainly marks for the defining start for the Huntress. [Comixolgy]

Huntress: Crossbow at Crossroads  -  Paul Levitz & Marcus To - It's a common misconception that Crossbow at Crossroads is a Huntress story involving Helena Bertinelli. Now that’s a very fair assumption considering it isn’t until the final pages of the series and a surprise appearance from Karen Starr, also known as Power Girl, that it's revealed that this iteration of Huntress is actually Helena Wayne, masquerading under the guise of Bertinelli,  and was mysteriously brought over from the alternate universe of Earth 2. These few pages would be a starting point that would set the New 52 and it’s alternate Earths in motion. Now that sounds super complicated but I promise it’s not actually that bad. Another story that takes the Huntress to Italy,  it’s here that Helena teams up with a pair of Italian reporters in Naples as she prepares to take down a string of Italian drug lords and human traffickers. One by one she’ll take down the men in the circle until she finally makes her way to the top bringing justice to those who deserve it once and for all.  After my recent review of the mini-series, I realized that there is a lot of symbolism and small little motifs that hint towards Helena’s actual heritage, something I personally appreciated and an aspect that encourages multiple rereads. Crossbow at Crossroads, while not the most memorable book on this list is a really great series if you want to see the Huntress in action as Marcus To, does an amazing job taking her action and movements to another level. The series also makes for another great introduction to Helena Wayne’s Huntress, especially if you’re like me and prefer modern comics over the older classics.[Comixology]

World’s Finest: Lost Daughters of Earth 2 - Paul Levitz, George Perez & Kevin Maguire - Spiraling straight out of the pages of Crossbow at Crossroads, the first pages of World’s Finest pick up right where Helena’s previous story left off. After being whisked away from the alternate Earth they call home the pair find themselves on Prime Earth. Five years have passed since Helena and Karen were dropped into a world so familiar and yet at the same so strange and the two have remained side by side ever since never once stopping in their hunt for a way back home. As the issues progress, so does our time with Helena and Karen. While the story transitions between past and present each glimpse into the girls' first moments on the current earth pass until the two timelines eventually converge. This is one of those books where while there’s action there isn’t a whole lot of plot aa majority of the story consists of Huntress and Powergirl beating down a radioactive villain. That being said what World’s Finest lacks in plot substance it makes up for in character interaction and development between our two main characters. Thanks to the zero issue also included in the trade it's worth noting Helena’s origin in World’s Finest is tweaked ever so slightly from what was previously iterated in Dark Knight Daughter. While Helena is still very much the daughter of Batman and Catwoman her superhero training in this retelling came long before the death of her parents and even donning the role of Robin for a time. It wouldn’t be until her journey to Prime Earth that she would then take on the role of Huntress. While not featured in the trade I also want to stress the importance of issues #6 & 7 of World’s Finest as these two issues serve as a nice mini-arc involving Damian Wayne the current Robin, and Helena Wayne. Given their shared lineage it leads to some interesting interactions between the two characters that make for an engaging read. [Comixolgy]