All throughout November, guest writers will be weighing in on fandom, specifically guest writers who identify strongly with characters, teams, or franchises online. Each piece will feature a personal look at why a writer gravitates to a character, what keeps their interest, and — most importantly — a set of reading recommendations for folks looking to better understand that character.

Today, Diane Darcy of HelenaWayneHuntress.com writes about none other than Helena Wayne Huntress…

We all have a favorite character. We even have multiple favorite characters. Some of us even have long-lasting favorite characters we revisit over and over again, sometimes without understanding why that is.

What is it about fictional characters that draws us to them? Why do we resonate strongly with some characters and not with others? Is it shared life experiences? Does that character embody traits we ourselves wish we had? Do those characters empower us in any meaningful way or help us find our inner strength? Maybe it’s all of the above. It certainly is for me when it comes to DC’s Helena Wayne as the Huntress.

My journey with Helena Wayne is a bit of an interesting one. To start with, I had two different opportunities to become acquainted with the character earlier in my life, but missed them both times. The first time I nearly became aware of Helena Wayne’s existence was in 2002, back when I was into WBTV shows like Charmed, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Angel.

In 2002, the Birds of Prey television show made its debut, which featured the first live action version of the Huntress since 1979. Unfortunately, however, I missed that debut due to Charmed killing off my favorite character, Prue Halliwell, earlier that year. As such, my fandom shifted from WBTV shows to manga and anime, which ironically, started my comic book collecting hobby.

The second time I had my near brush in with Helena Wayne was in late 2006 when I first started reading DC comics at the age of 20. Coincidentally, that was the same year DC Comics recanonized her character as the original Huntress in the event, Infinite Crisis. DC also collected her solo stories from 1977 to 1982 in a trade paperback called Huntress: Darknight Daughter, which was released in December of 2006.

As fate would have it, I did not start my DC collecting hobby with Infinite Crisis as I did not want a continuity-shaking event to be my starting point as a new reader. This also meant not being aware of the Huntress: Darknight Daughter trade until a few years later. Stll, not all was in vain. The first DC Comics character I invested in, Harley Quinn, still set me on the path to becoming a Helena Wayne Huntress fan. As it turned out, Harley was the antagonist of the 2002 Birds of Prey television series that also introduced me to Helena Wayne as the Huntress when I finally watched it in 2007.

While the Birds of Prey television series may have introduced me to the concept of Helena Wayne as the Huntress, it was actually Justice Society of America Annual #1 from 2008 that made me fall in love with the character. What was it about Helena Wayne in that annual that made me want to check out Huntress: Darknight Daughter, and all of her other pre-Crisis appearances leading up to her death in Crisis on Infinite Earths? In short? She was very much her own character, with her own identity, and her own narrative. She was so much more than just the daughter of Batman and Catwoman, and she wasn’t just filling a seat on the Justice Society round table.

The first thing that appealed to me about Helena Wayne was her being able to exist as her own character without relying on the rich legacy of her iconic parents. Part of what made her stand out was the fact she chose her own identity as the Huntress instead of going the easy route of becoming another Batman or Catwoman, which would’ve placed her squarely in the shadow of her parents. Being the Huntress allowed Helena to honor her family legacy on her own terms while forging a legacy that was uniquely her own. As the Huntress she had a familiar, yet distinct look, and her choice of weapons consisting of knives and a crossbow befitted her name while avoiding using lethal force.

Consistent with the idea of Helena Wayne being her own character was her individual storyline. As a new heroine existing in a Gotham City that has moved on from its legendary Dark Knight, Helena had to prove herself as a viable threat to organized crime in Gotham, while at the same time maintaining the trust of the general public. By the time Helena Wayne became the Huntress in the late 1970s and early 1980s, Gotham citizens had by this point grown distrustful of the Justice Society of America (who were based in the city), and at one point tried to ban vigilantes like the Huntress from operating in the city. One of the proponents of that movement was Helena Wayne’s own boyfriend, District Attorney Harry Sims.

Being a female vigilante in a post-Batman Gotham presented its own unique challenges that impacted Helena Wayne in both her civilian and costumed identities. As a civilian, Helena Wayne quickly learned that she couldn’t have it both ways. She couldn’t be both the Huntress and an ordinary woman at the same time, inevitably sacrificing one aspect of her identity in favor of the other. As Helena Wayne, she wanted more varied life experiences, including the freedom to pursue romantic relationships and friendships outside of the Justice Society. She quickly learned the dangers of letting others in on her secret as it made those individuals easy targets for enemies she made as the Huntress. This was most definitely the case for her romantic interest, Harry Sims.

As a character, Harry was just as passionate as Helena about pursuing justice for individuals who have been wronged, and worked hard to put dangerous criminals behind bars. Where he didn’t see eye-to-eye with Helena was in operating outside the parameters of the written law as a means to that end. As a District Attorney, Harry was never able to understand Helena’s motivation to pursue a vigilante career as the Huntress, especially as a board-certified lawyer herself. It made no sense to him. Of course, Harry was also completely unaware of Helena’s parents being Batman and Catwoman and the legacy that accompanied that. All the same, Helena’s decision to pursue a vigilante lifestyle put a strain on their relationship, and eventually–after a few ups and downs–the two went their separate ways.

On Helena’s end of the spectrum, she quickly learned how isolating the life of a superhero really was, but continued pursuing this endeavor anyway because it brought her a high degree of satisfaction in life. Being the Huntress was never just about upholding her family legacy. It was also about utilizing all of her unique talents as a person to pursue the one thing she was always passionate about: justice. Specifically, justice for people who do not come from a place of power and privilege like herself.

While I am definitely not a wealthy person like Helena Wayne and can be best described as a starving artist, I do, however, connect very strongly with Helena’s internal conflicts. I especially relate to her desire for more varied life experiences and being held back by both life circumstances and the time-consuming nature of my own lifestyle. I also strongly relate to Helena’s inability to pursue romantic relationships with other people, in part due to the lack of time, but also largely due to not being able to connect with other people on a level that puts us on equal footing. In the same way that Harry and Helena had very different ideas about their passions and wanted very different things in life, that has also been the case for me and past romantic partners. We often shared the same passions but didn’t enjoy those passions the same way, or we simply wanted very different things in life.

On the subject of having a passion in life, that’s the other thing I have in common with Helena Wayne. In the same way Helena is passionate about pursuing justice for the disenfranchised in Gotham, uses all her unique talents, and teaches herself new skills to become a more effective crime fighter, I am also very passionate about creative arts. Like Helena, I am also constantly teaching myself new skills and utilizing all of my unique talents to grow my expertise in this area and create better work.

While my lifestyle can certainly make it difficult to pursue more varied life experiences, it has also allowed me to meet people who share my passions, some of whom have become my closest friends. Helena Wayne experienced this with the character of Kara Zor-L, aka Karen Starr, aka Power Girl. Helena Wayne’s friendship with Power Girl was at the heart and center of Justice Society of America Annual #1 from 2008, which was the other thing that appealed to me about her character. Despite Helena not having had successful romantic relationships for one reason or another, she did at least have one very close friend who knew her in both of her identities who could provide her with the emotional support she needed.

When people think of Power Girl, they often think of her as the impulsive member of the Justice Society who is also the tragic Earth-2 survivor of Crisis on Infinite Earths. But when Power Girl is written with the Huntress either for a superhero team-up or a slice of life story, they often bring out the best in each other. Power Girl prevents Huntress from falling off the deep end when she finds herself in a dark place in her life, and Huntress similarly inspires Power Girl to be more receptive of other people.

The Huntress and Power Girl friendship is a source of happiness for both women to the point where it pains them to not be in each other’s lives. This is a very profound take on a friendship between two women that, for me, surpasses any of the iconic romantic relationships of the DC Universe, including the one between Helena Wayne’s parents. More than I want continuous stories of Batman and Catwoman romancing each other on the rooftops, I honestly want more Huntress and Power Girl stories that continue to depict their friendship as an important part of their respective journeys. To me, that is something genuinely new and different, and a type of relationship we don’t see celebrated too much in the DC Universe, at least not with the same level of promotion as DC’s iconic romances.

If the goal of Dark Nights: Death Metal is to put all the pieces back on the table, then I hope this includes the long overdue reinstatement of the Classic Helena Wayne Huntress as a Justice Society character, complete with her original core mythology and history intact. I especially would like to see the character reunited with Power Girl and for storytellers to continue to build on that rich history in future stories with these characters. -Diane Darcy