While Helena Bertinelli aka The Huntress isn’t the most famous DC superhero/villain ever, she still managed to become popular among many fans who enjoy heroes, not as squeaky clean as some other DC big names (Superman, or Wonder Woman, to name just two).
Just like the city, she lives in, Gotham, Huntress is a complicated character who hides in the shadows and only steps out of them to do what she deems necessary and to disappear immediately afterward. In the new team-up film Birds of Prey, the American actress Mary Elizabeth Winstead portrayed the Huntress and she nailed the part in many ways.
Tragic Backstory
The original Huntress was the daughter of Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle-Wayne. She was also called Helena and lived happily with her parents until her mother got murdered. Helena then decided to avenge her mother’s death and became the superhero known as the Huntress.
However, the most popular version of the character is Helena Bertinelli, whose life was also filled with tragedy when her whole family died in a hit ordered by the mafia. Helena went to live with her remaining relatives and she trained to become a fighter so that she could punish those who killed her parents and her brother. Even if you aren’t familiar with the comics, the reason Huntress does what she does is still explained in the film.
Differences Between Huntress And Batman
Even though Batman doesn’t appear in Birds of Prey, and Bruce Wayne is only mentioned once by Harley (courtesy of her hyena named Bruce), Batman still plays an important part in Huntress’s life.
In some comic books, he was the one who inspired Helena to first put on her costume and start killing criminals and mafia lords who had something to do with her family’s death. While Huntress doesn’t mention Batman in the film, she still creates a parallel between them. Both lost their parents at a young age but they decided to take completely different routes to deal with their loss.
Lonely Hero
A path to revenge is a lonely one. It, therefore, makes sense that the Huntress likes to work alone - both in the comics and in the film, as well as in the TV show Arrow where she was played by Jessica De Gouw. Of all the future Birds of Prey members, Huntress is probably the most reluctant one and doesn’t want to work with Harley Quinn, Black Canary, and Renee Montoya at first.
She only changes her mind once Harley persuades her that Roman Sionis aka the Black Mask presents a threat to her as well. In the end, however, Huntress is the one who sets up the Birds of Prey, so maybe she’s changed for the better.
Fighting Skills
It’s next to impossible not to mention the Huntress’s fighting skills in this list. While there are certainly stronger heroes in the DC universe, when it comes to the likes of Batman and Nightwing, for example, Huntress can certainly hold her own in a fight. Unlike these two, she’s driven by a rage that adds her extra motivation to fight and to win.
In Birds of Prey, Huntress proves herself to be a remarkable and expert markswoman who can hit her target from a big distance. She’s also excellent at hand to hand combat and a proficient athlete and a gymnast.
Secretive Nature
The fact that Huntress likes to work alone is also connected to another important part of her character - her secretive nature. That makes perfect sense since Huntress returned to Gotham to find and kill her family’s murderers, and if she was going around and telling everybody around it, she’d probably end up dead in just a few days.
Huntress simply likes to keep to herself and it’s difficult to tell what she thinks until she acts. That creates an intriguing contrast between her and other Birds of Prey characters, especially Harley, who likes to keep things in the open pretty much all the time.
Distrust Toward Others
This aspect of Huntress’s character is especially prominent in the comics but also shows in the film. In the now-legendary comic book storyline Cry for Blood, Huntress has the option to work with other heroes, namely Nightwing, but chooses to walk her path alone and only joins forces with other people when it’s absolutely necessary.
Huntress has trust issues and she tends to expect the worst from people, at least until they prove her otherwise. In the film, she’s also wary towards Harley, Dinah, and Renee, but she eventually overcomes her distrust, and once she does, she works well with them.
Morally Ambiguous
Huntress is in many ways a complex character. It’s no wonder so many people like her and consider her to be one of the most intriguing female heroes in the DC universe. The simple fact is that Huntress isn’t a 100 percent heroic person.
Her motivation for fighting the crime is questionable at first, she can be overly violent, and, above all, she has no problem with killing her enemies, which is a big no-no for most major DC players (Superman, Wonder Woman, The Flash, even Batman). Unlike other heroes, Huntress often walks the line between a superhero and an antihero, as she also proves by killing people in Birds of Prey.
A Strong Person
Whatever you might think about Huntress as a character, there’s one thing everybody has to give her - that she’s not a loser. Other people in her situation would give up, but Helena Bertinelli never does that. Even when she loses all of her close family as a child, she still manages to push through and come out stronger in the end.
In the comics, it takes years of nightmares and subsequent training before she’s ready but she eventually is. If you’re, therefore, looking for the one DC character who never gives up, no matter how dire the situation is, both the comic book and the film Huntress are a good example.
Utter Conviction
Another thing one has to find impressive about the Huntress or even admire is her utter conviction to her cause. Even if some heroes may perceive it as wrong, such as Batman who often considers the Huntress to be too violent and highly unpredictable, there’s no denying that Helena Bertinelli’s resilience is impressive.
As said above, she goes through years of hard training before she’s ready to go back to Gotham and start her revenge against those who had wronged her. And even though she does have her doubts sometimes, since she’s still only a human, she never stops believing that she’s serving rightful justice to the criminals of Gotham.
Team Co-Fonder
Finally, despite everything said above, Huntress is also a surprisingly good team player. She proves it multiple times both in the comics and the films, like when she helps Harley to get to the Black Mask so that Harley could save Cassandra Cain from the Black Mask’s grasp.
Her powers also complete others well, since she can fight from a distance, just like Black Canary with her Canary Cry, while others prefer close combat. And finally, Huntress is the one who helps to set-up the Birds of Prey team, since she uses her family money to finance it. Without her, it’s possible there would be no team in the film’s end.
