Helena Kyle (Birds of Prey)

Helena Kyle was born and raised in the city of New Gotham. Her mother was the metahuman Selina Kyle, the legendary "queen of the criminal underworld" who went by the pseudonym Catwoman. Years ago, Catwoman had an affair with her greatest adversary, New Gotham's guardian, the Batman. Selina (presumably retired from crime), raised Helena on her own, and Batman was unaware that he had sired a child with her. Growing up, Helena became close friends with one of the Batman's protégés, Barbara Gordon. Helena never knew that Barbara was also the costumed crime-fighter known as Batgirl.

When Helena was a teenager, another of Gotham's many metahumans, Clayface (disguised as the Joker), decided to avenge himself against the Batman by murdering those he loved. He learned of Batman's affair with Catwoman and fulfilled his need for vengeance by pushing her from the roof of a tall building. Helena watched in horror as her mother died before her eyes. Months later, Barbara Gordon petitioned the courts and became Helena's legal guardian. It was at this time that she learned that her father was not only the Batman, but also Bruce Wayne, one of the wealthiest men in the world.

Helena never truly recovered from her mother's death, and the revelation of her father's identity did not serve to bring the two closer together. Batman, still mourning the death of Selina, left New Gotham leaving behind instructions for his butler Alfred to watch over his daughter.

Over the course of the next seven years, Helena began to develop her own unique metahuman abilities. She possessed enhanced strength, agility and reflexes. She could leap from rooftop to rooftop with catlike grace, and even possessed a mysterious "sixth sense" that warned her of potential attacks. Like her parents, Helena decided to take up the family business and became New Gotham's latest nocturnal guardian – the Huntress.

By this time, Barbara Gordon was no longer using the identity of Batgirl. Around the same time that the "Joker" murdered Selina Kyle, he also learned Batgirl's true identity. He came to her apartment and shot her through the spine, crippling her while cackling "Batgirl – past tense!" Since then, Barbara committed herself to fighting crime in New Gotham from behind a computer screen. Using the alias Oracle, she worked alongside the Huntress and the two became known as the Birds of Prey. Alfred Pennyworth split his time between upkeep at Wayne Manor and supporting Oracle and Huntress at their base of operations – the Gotham Clock Tower.

Although she gained some satisfaction prowling the streets as the Huntress, Helena still had deep-rooted psychological issues. She began taking anger management therapy from a local psychiatrist named Doctor Harleen Quinzel. Little did she know however, that Harleen was once a gun moll for the Joker and desired nothing less than the complete destruction of anything having to do with the Batman. Through her sessions with Helena, she learned about the Birds of Prey.

As the Huntress, Helena remained mostly in the shadows, taking down small-time criminals and anonymously leaving them on the steps of the New Gotham police precinct. She began developing her own reputation as some kind of "urban legend". Although there was a healthy metahuman population in New Gotham, most officers of the New Gotham PD placed little stock in this so-called urban legend. One detective however, Jesse Reese, believed the stories that he had heard and was determined to solve the mystery of this strange new hero. While investigating a string of high-profile suicides, he finally came face to face with the Huntress. The Huntress attempted to explain to him that they were both on the same side, serving the cause of justice, but Reese was reluctant to believe her. He tried to bring her in, but the Huntress always evaded capture. The two crossed paths on several cases, and over time, Reese began to trust her and value her commitment to fighting metahuman crime in New Gotham.

Powers and Abilities

Powers

Animal Mimicry: Helena can manifest physical attributes similar to that of a jungle cat. When ready to enter battle, the pupils of her eyes narrow into vertical ellipses like a feline. Occasionally, the sound of a cougar's roar also accompanies her actions. Whether Helena produces this sound herself, or whether it is another reflection of her powers remains unknown. Her animalistic metahuman qualities also bestows upon her certain physical enhancements. She is several times stronger than one would expect from a woman her size, and she can leap vast distances with minimal effort. Helena can dive from the window of a skyscraper and land on her feet without suffering injury from the impact.

Enhanced Senses

Hyper-Reflexes

Precognition
Abilities
Escapology: Helena is a master of detecting and avoiding traps, as well as picking locks. She has demonstrated the ability to pick the lock on a pair of New Gotham issue handcuffs without even looking at her hands. ^[1]
Weaknesses

Helena's righteous anger and lust for justice may adversely affect her judgment.

Paraphernalia

Equipment

Helena wears a pair of bat-shaped earrings which are actually micro-transceivers that enables her to keep in contact with Barbara. Helena also wears a signal device fastened to a collar that she wears around her neck.

Weapons

Helena does not employ any conventional weaponry. In her own words, "I am the weapon".

Notes

The role of Helena Kyle was played by actress Ashley Scott on the Birds of Prey television series.

Character height is based on the height of actress Ashley Scott.

Trivia

Helena is unique from other super-heroes in that she is classified as "half-metahuman". In comic book continuity, there is no such thing as a half-metahuman. A person is either a metahuman or they are not.

Links and References

Footnotes

↑ Birds of Prey Episode: Pilot

This character is exclusive to the continuity of the Birds of Prey television series. This template will categorize articles that include it into Birds of Prey (TV Series) Characters.

[0] Birds of Prey Episode: Pilot

[1]

Helena Kyle (Birds of Prey)

From DC Database

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