| Storyline |
Batman
questioned Huntress when one of her cousins was fished out of the Gotham
River with a crossbow dart through his heart. She visited her family and
offered condolences. Driving home, she stopped for a man standing in the
road. Oracle contacted Nightwing. He visited Helena and offered his help.
She turned him down and threw NML in his face. She found a reporter pin cushioned
with more of her darts. When Batman and Nightwing saw her coming out of
the reporter's window, they tried to take her in. She accidentally shot
Batman and leapt into the river to escape Nightwing. The man from the road
rescued her. When she woke up, The Question (Vic Sage) introduced himself
and his teacher. Sage asked her to stay with them so that she could learn
how to live, not just how to keep from dying. Robin believed she was
innocent and asked Oracle to help him with the investigation. Helena
finished her training and left for home with Vic. On the bus ride back to
Gotham, Helena told Vic how her cousin in Sicily showed her how to be a
hunter, not hunted; how she learned what the "family business"
really was; how she first came in contact with Batman. Vic told Helena
that Batman was, in a sense, her father. He was waiting for them in her
apartment when they arrived. Batman told Helena that he'd give her room to
clear her name as long as she didn't mix it up with the GCPD. Robin showed
up shortly thereafter with the information that he and Oracle had
uncovered. Helena found a picture of her mother with another man in a
hotel, and the Huntress went to question him. He told her that he was her
father, and that her life was an accident; her still being alive was also
an accident - when the hit was called in on her family, her mother - not
her - was supposed to be spared. He also confessed to framing her, but
since he knew who she was, he figured he controlled her. Nightwing
confirmed his accusations. Helena made a request to her uncle on his
daughter's wedding day (Sicilian tradition says that a man cannot turn a
favor down on this day). She busted up her "new" father's son
while he awaited a shipment, so her father had to stand in for him. He
requested that she be there to protect him, and an anonymous tip got him
caught.
Note: This
series contradicts earlier works on Helena's past. Here, Helena tells Vic
that her family was killed when she was 8, 15 years ago. This was later
confirmed by Robin and Oracle. After their deaths, she was taken to
Sicily. There, she became the Huntress under tutelage of her cousin over
the next dozen years. Earlier works (the 19 issue monthly) stated her as
being 19 and in college when her family was killed, and that her bodyguard
taught her. |
