The CONFUSING HISTORY Of THE HUNTRESS! 

Hi there! Thanks for giving me a mention on your vid! I really enjoyed your video and you did an amazing job at breaking down the Huntress’ confusing history in a ways that’s easy to follow! 🙂 Just one small correction on the New 52 version of Helena Wayne: Worlds’ Finest #9 and #22, along with Secret Origins #7 established Helena Wayne originated the Huntress identity, and the Helena Bertinelli identity she stole was actually the main Earth Bertinelli. There was never an Earth-2 Bertinelli in the current continuity. Other than that, solid vid! 😉 (PS. Please do a video on Ric Grayson. I have strong thoughts about that as well and would love to know your thoughts, haha!)

I really liked her in the Justice League Animated Series when she was with The Question. They had a strange but cute relationship.

June 2020 update - Selina is pregnant in the Catwoman 80th anniversary issue and the chapter featuring this storyline is called “Helena”.

Why not combine all of her origins into one? Salina gets pregnant, doesn’t tell Bruce, and puts Helena up for adoption. Helena is then adopted by the Bertinellis, witnesses their deaths, discovers she is adopted, finds her birth mother, and learns that her birth father is Bruce Wayne. That’s what I would have done, anyway.

I would love to see a version of Helena Wayne who exists in the future of the main earth. Like imagine Helena Bertinelli died saving the world and Bruce and Selena named their future daughter fatre her, then she takes up the mantle. She could work alongside the Terry McGinnis batman...it would be awesome

The most disturbing thing DC did with the huntress character was in Batman: Brave and the Bold animated series. She was Helena Bertinelli but was dressed in the original Helena Wayne costume. She kept flirting hard with Batman. It felt so cringy.

"Erasing history just because it's not hip is never a good look." I like that line.

"Bette Kane, love interest for Robin, because no homo, seduction of the innocent" God, you've really already talked so much about it, thanks for keeping it brief :,D

I grew up with Helena Wayne. I never understood why DC thought infinite universes were difficult to understand because my child aged brain totally got it. Now I'd love to hear you cover Infinity, Inc. But also maybe the Legion of Superheroes.

The whole Huntress arc in Young Justice was handled extremely well, paralleling the complexities of her backstories with a refined interpretation of her upbringing.

I'm old enough to be in the "Helena Wayne" camp. I will admit, I thought the Earth 2 and World's Finest titles were stand-out highlights of the New 52,

My favorite iteration of the character has always been her pre-Crisis version. I always enjoyed her backup stories in Wonder Woman, many of which included Power Girl and there was a palpable melancholy in her dealings with the Earth-1 Batman especially after the death of her father. I even remember a story arc where the original Huntress challenged her for the right to use the name. They have done so many changes and retcons but now with the multiverse existing again they really need to find a way to bring back a version that is as close to her pre-Crisis version as is possible for modern writers to manage.

I was in high school when Helena Wayne/Huntress showed up and never had a problem with DC continuity. Its harder to deal with all the freaking recons that have occurred than it was to deal with Earth one and Earth two.

I prefer Bertanelli, but I’d like to see Wayne come back if they make her more interesting. Maybe she can be Damian Wayne’s partner when he’s the future Batman. Maybe she can be the Huntress of the future, and Bertanelli trains Wayne. Also some Mafia humor “Frank Bertanelli is the ruler of the Gotham mafia.” Carmine Falcone: “I’m about to end this man’s whole career.”

I remember being a 8th grader, heartbroken over the death of Selina Wayne and excited about the birth of the HUNTRESS! She was such a cool new superhero!

I am partial to Helena Wayne as The Huntress, although I did grow up too with the Bertinelli version, but the Nu52 version, who was with Spyral, can go take a hike to nowhere.

Watching Batman and Harley Quinn clips the scene where Harley and Nightwing get it on she actually refers to Seduction of the Innocence saying she had to write a paper on it.

Hell yeah, Helena Wayne! The daughter of Selena Kyle and Bruce Wayne.

I got to know Huntress in Simone's Birds of Prey run, so I enjoyed that version of the character. I also liked the Huntress mini-series that ran near the beginning of the New 52. As I recall, it seems that the original intention was for her to be Bertonelli, but before it ended, DC began an Earth 2 series, and that was when they switched her to being Wayne and had Power Girl show up at the end. Worlds' Finest was decent when it started, like a lot of the New 52 in my opinion, but like a lot of the New 52, it started to run off the rails after a while. And of course, anything in Justice League Unlimited is automatically awesome.

I personally prefer Wayne as Huntress, but that’s probably because the New 52 version of the origin was the one I was introduced to. That and I’m a sucker for characters that are the children of other heroes like Jon and Damien. I like the other versions of the character too.

My Favorite ... Helena WAYNE ... she's my first, my last, my everything (Barry White voice).

It worked out for decades, 'everyone stays 32 forever', they never aged, and that was cool. it's a comic, and we accepted that.

Helena Wayne. That is all I have to say.

6:04 Im sorry come again? Don’t remember that, just spit out my drink. Every time I hear Ric Grayson I feel punched in the face btw.

The version of Huntress I like is from the Justice League Unlimited cartoon as most of my exposure to DC is through the awesome cartoon shows.

Huntress has always been my favorite DC lady. Thanks for this

Dammit, Barry...

I didn't know that Helena Wayne did actual exist in comics when I first heard of her was in the TV series Birds of Prey & when she was taking to her therapist who was a villain in disguise I think it was Harley Quinn she revealed her parents were Bruce & Selena I was like WFT? No, she's Helena Bertinelli but after seeing your video about her I now realized Helena Wayne really did exist I just never heard of her so thank you for clearing this up.

I got my cake, ate it, and kept it. Wayne on Earth 2, Bertinelli (a better version) on Earth 0. It was one of those rare Post Flashpoint wins.

Great work again! I just read Batman - Hush for the N'th time last night, where Huntress plays a minor role. I was going on my business today and saw the thumbnail of this video and something clicked. At the end of the 10th chapter (Batman 617), Huntress seems to be influenced by Scarecrow's fear toxin and picks a fight with Catwoman. Setting aside her motivation and/or manipulation (which I found off), the thing that I remembered was that the Huntress saw Catwoman as another version of herself (I think it's a previous uniform, full body suit) and Helena says this while getting attacked by a confused and inquisitive Selina (translated from spanish): "You can't take away what we are (now)" "No! We can stop fighting if we stop them." "You are what I used to be. That which I can no longer be." Each one of those lines could refer to anything you said on this video, but the third one is most engaging. One of those cosmic coincidences or RU-vid's omnipresent algorithms...

Always liked her best, along with Black Canary. I even used her--sort of--in a novel I wrote. Not close to the Helena Wayne or Helena Bertinelli character, but more or less a homage to her. Great vid, by the way.

To me, Huntress will always be a Wayne family member. What I hate is that Jade & Obsidian are gone.

"Erasing history 'cause it's not hip is never a good look" is one of the best sentences I have ever heard on a comic-book-themed video

Not an unreasonable fear. As a baby I got my tiny fingers caught in one of my Mom's hoops and subsequently ripped it out of her earlobe. 💫😰✨👂 EEYYOOWW Luckily it grew back. And, yes she did have to get it repierced. But no lasting/visable scars, or permanent damage.

Jesus, I was putting the Earth 2 PG and Huntress comic run on my reading list but did not realise how convoluted the whole thing was, knowing the countless crisis events going on. Great video in explaining all of it.

OMG. Totally here for the Huntress! Gail Simon Birds of Prey all the way! As for retcons... does Mayday Parker count? Confused me with that one!

I love both Helena Wayne and Helena Bertinelli however, Helena Wayne is by far my favorite. I was actually into the idea that the new 52 was going with, having Helena Wayne stuck on prime earth from Earth 2. I was excited to see that continue and hoped to eventually see her join the Birds of Prey. I don't hate Helena Bertinelli though, I think her backstory is intriguing. This version of the Huntress should even get her own Movie. I just love this character entirely. thank you for positing this video. new viewer and subscriber :)

you are really awesome in how you present things factually with no judgement, but I am curious if you liked any or all of the reboots and their changes

So, from what I remember, Earth 2 Helena Wayne is Batman as of "Earth 2: Society" A book with incredible art that DC didn't market at all. Story-wise It's... It exists. I don't hate it cause I'm a hardcore JSA fan so anything that gives me JSA vibes I'll give a chance, It's not nearly as bad as the other Earth 2 books. And yeah, Batman, and honestly I'm cool with that. Also, just discovered your channel today, I love it so far!! I'm always happy to see more down to Earth channels like this that delve into interesting histories and contexts of the topic they're talking about.

I like Helena Wayne (from her first appearance) costume best.

I miss her old outfits. Either the Batman Hush outfit with the open midriff or the Batman/Huntress outfit with the big cross. Makes her look like a sister in mourning yet also looking for retribution. The Rebirth outfit looks too mundane aside from the purple color and mask. Idk why but the “modern” redesigns of costumes like Batgirl and Huntress look more like cosplay than actual superhero outfits. Some work like Superboys’ t-shirt in Young Justice, Hawkeye’s modern outfit in his solo run, or Harley Quinn’s roller derby outfit. TLDR I miss her old outfits. And also wish comics were easier to keep track of. Lovely video❤❤❤❤

I'm more an Helena Bertinelly fan, but Helena Wayne is interesting too. I don't see why they can't coexist, could have a lot of fun with them working together from time to time. I kinda fell in love with the character during her time as a bird of prey pre-new52. I loved how she was the tough, strong, scary one but also very feminine, romantic, and how she really loved the shared friendship with Barbara and Dinah. Those 3 as they were back then were fantastic :)

Ric calling Alfred the butler after his death was so out of character for Dick.

I love all of the Huntresses. Although, after the JLU cartoon I really wanted to see a live action movie with her and the ? knocking boots. But, I think the new Birds of Prey: And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn cast might make that awkward for younger or more sensitive viewers. Oh well, love your stuff. Have a great day.

Helena Wayne became Batman of Earth 2 during Earth 2: Society

As a Sicilian, I love me some Bertinelli

I like the version of the Helena bertinelli backstory used in the birds of prey the fantabulous emancipation of Harley Quinn as a mob princess without having been a victim of csa but still having the deeply rooted trauma of witnessing the family members being shot down and smuggled out by a sympathetic goon when he noticed she miraculously survived by pretending to be disposing the body and raised her with the skill set to be the huntress. It has an almost fairytale like quality to it like how many people were convinced that the slaughter of the romanovs somehow managed to have princess Anastasia slip away from the massacre and restart her life somewhere else even though we all know that wasn't the case when they were finally able to get DNA from the secondary burial to confirm that she had died as well. With Helena b we get to have our cake and eat it too tragic backstory with allusions to famous historical events without having to reference real life and actual people who died *cough cough animated Anastasia cough cough*

I know you probably don't care about a comment from a video from 3 years ago, but I love when you explain the confusing continuity of DC's messy history, and I like both Bertinelli and Wayne

I am Wayne camp. I love legacy characters. It's such a pity they erase them.

DC can try and shift blame from Barry Allen, but I'll remember. I always remember all the stuff Barry Allen did to annoy me.

Honestly the idea of Helena Wayne could be soooooo interesting especially with the whole Super Sons thing going on. Just imagine a teen to 20 something Helena trying to deal with the whole Damian thing with the fact he was raised as an assassin but not just that there could be tons of cool conflict like the fact she's an older sibling to Damian. Another conflict being she has tons of step siblings who were adopted or just taken in as part of the family and there could be some resentment there from one of the Robins since they feel Bruce treats her different because she's his biological daughter. There could also be some conflict with the fact the Bat Family is kind of a sausage party (depending on which canon we're talking about of course). There could also be some conflict between her and Damian since they have different moms maybe Damian resents her a bit since she would have a relatively normal life with her rich dad (and I'd hope mom cause they don't NEED to kill off Selina) instead of being raised as an assassin by a single mom and a bunch of female assassin's. Like honestly Helena in the context of the Bat Family dynamic could just be super interesting just as long as they don't try having her date Dick again that's just frickin weird.

Thanks for the book. Someone in my home will enjoy this.

Best Comic Book Lore History Teacher EVER!

I prefer Helena Wayne, because I like the idea that every time there is a reboot, that the previous continuity continues on in its own world, and the superheroes get married and have children who grow up, and things happen to them too. I read a comic where Helena Wayne teamed up with Damian Wayne, and I thought that was great, and would buy a mini-series or ongoing series of that team up, Batman's daughter with Catwoman and his son with Talia.

I like the bronze age Huntress, This video has made me want to track down the bronze age Huntress, And Dan Didio never liked legacy characters which is why the New 52 wasn't liked by DC fans.

I’m partial to the Earth-2 pre-Crisis Helena Wayne Huntress. I first saw the character when I picked up a copy of Adventure Comics sometime in the 1970s. Seeing “Death of Batman” on a comics cover reeled me in. Obviously, this was the Earth-2 Batman. I read the Bertinelli version in the 90s but it just wasn’t the same.

I really don't care who calls herself huntress, both wayne and bertinelli have amazing background stories, and they are in great teams. I would love to see an interaction between them

Yo i love how passionately you over explain everything!

I just found this page today! Love it! Love everything about it!

I liked this episode. Ypur show is exceptional from what is out there. I'm a fan of yours. Please continue. I am partial to the Earth 2 Helena Wayne. I also love what Gail Simone did with her on Birds of Prey.

I want them to team up for a universe-hopping adventure!

The most confusing Huntress was the one in the Arrow TV show : clinically insane. 🦇

I love Beertinelli, but i like wayne idea too, i won't mind having a earth-2 series..they jsut need stop destroying the alternative universes so quicly

I liked that post crisis 18 issue run. Joe Staton did an interesting style on that run. She even joined the JLI. I didn't understand the need to reboot her 6 years later instead of having her just return. It just made post crisis continuity messy without having a crisis being responsible for the change.

So interesting. I remember when I got into comics as a kid I was all about Marvel, even though I came from a family (my uncle and grandfather) who read both Marvel and DC. That said, I bought Issue #1 of Huntress in 1989, making it the first DC comic I ever bought for myself (instead of just getting them from my uncle). I was struck as how great the art work was, and I bought a few more issues (I think...). At the moment, I have bins of comics from the 70s, 80s, and 90s sitting in a closet, so I am not sure how many issues of Huntress I have. That said, it means that I have a soft spot for the character, but did not know of all the confusing origin story stuff. Thanks for sharing, and reminding me of that Issue #1.

I love you, Sasha!!! Great delivery. Beautiful presentation. Excellent hostess. Exceptionally fine looking woman!!!

..I love how you go off script...makes your explanations more funny 🤓

8:40 - Damn it Barry!

Another great video!! Helena Bertinelli from the post Crisis (particularly her Cry for Blood/Birds of Prey era) will always be my favorite, but I have a serious soft spot for Helena Wayne too. Both were done dirty by the New 52 reboot sadly. Ah well. Love that you're highlighting so many characters that I love and that you've done so much research into them!

The reboot was tacked onto Flashpoint when it was originally just a Flash story

I really enjoy your sessions on characters like this whose continuity is so flubbed and bewildering (like poor Kara Zor-L or Donna Tory). I've been reading comics since the early 60s and it keeping all straight in my head is why I have constant migraines. :) On the plus side, it's assured me a retirement job in a comic shop! (Really!) :)

Easy solution. If there's an Earth Two with Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman being part of the Justice Society and living during WWII, then there should be an Earth 1 where they were active during the Vietnam War, and Earth 0 where they are active now. On Earth 1, Barry's mother is still alive in the 80s, and for some reason Wally becomes Flash, marries Linda, and has children. On Earth 0, Barry is still Flash. Earth 1 has both Helena Bertinelli Huntress, and later Helena Wayne Huntress adopting the mantle. And best of all, a 50 year old Ron Raymond is still Firestorm on Earth 1.

Helena Wayne and Kara are back in JSA. We don't know Kara's current origin, but Helena Wayne comes from an alternate future where Bruce is murdered and is currently on a timey wimey adventure.

I really and truly do love your videos because they are very informative to me and very enjoyable I love them

You did an excellent job with the video.

I love ric grayson, said no one ever

"She could never have the resonance..." I hate to break it to that guy Bertinelli did indeed resonate more for me

I recently found your channel with the episode on the origin of Power Girl's...assets. As an old Earth 2 fan who read the late 70s run of All Star when it came out I'm happy to see the two Power Girl episodes and this one. To answer your outro question, it should be no surprise I'm a fan of the original Helena Wayne iteration. While my first two DC loves are Wonder Woman and Legion, the JSA and its various legacies and spin offs (do you have an Infinity Inc. video or three yet?) are close to my heart as well. The fact that my first WW issue was #228 where the book transitioned from Earth 1 to Earth 2 a year after the return of All Star and monthly Earth 2 stories. Unlike All Star, though, this Wonder Woman run was set in WW2, I believe due to the ABC series starring Linda Carter running at the time (and the reason I bought the comic). I actually didn't start collecting JSA books until after this despite the year head start.

My love for the Superman character is that he is very layered. But u habe to peel the surface. On the surface, midwest farm boy. Deep inside, an Alien immigrant raised by farming parents where he experienced their death, and felt powerless to their death; "all these powers and I couldnt save them." Superman has a deep compassion for humanity's fragile nature and so is on a life long quest to protect humanity. And in some sense experiences loneliness cuz of this. This is why Darkseid is such a phenomenal villian cuz he represents death while Superman for life. I really hope the new Superman can at least capture the ethos of Superman. If Thor is on a journey into becoming a powerful king, then Superman is a powerful being trying to protect the fragile nature of humanity

Really love your videos.

Great video, Sasha...👍

Share a character retcon that you found yourself surprisingly taken aback by

I didn't know much about her. Great video!

Hey i loved the Helens from the Birds of prey tv show

Considering Catwoman is pregnant in the comics currently, we will be seeing Helena again. So Damien will be having a little sister this time around

I'm team Helena Wayne. Always thought it was pretty cool she was the daughter of Batman and Catwoman.

I love Huntress being the daughter of Batman and Catwoman. To me, Helena Bertinelli is in the same category as "Power Girl is an Atlantean"... poorly-fitting post-Crisis explanation for something that Crisis ruined.

I like the original Huntress, Helena Wayne. It was really cool to think she was the daughter of two such iconic characters as Catwoman and Bat Man.

Ric Grayson is a joke that’s not funny... like the Titans tv show. The Helena most of us love is Justice League Unlimited Helena with so many issues that it’s hard not to relate.

Your comic book knowledge>>>>

I *loved* New 52 Earth-2 Huntress. Her relationship with Damien was so weird and cute. Like are you siblings? Parallel versions? I loved it and when Damien died... 😭

I'm reading Gotham Central RN and she popped up so I did some diving. Thank you S💝

Love you! ❤️❤️❤️

The Helena Wanye, New 52, was originally the Robin on her world and Power Girl was the Supergirl. When the Trinity seemingly died fighting Darkseid's invading forces they went through a portal and ended up on Earth Prime. They do later return to their Earth to fight the returning Darkseid and team up with the heroes who come up after the Trinity is gone. The books are Earth 2 and Earth 2-Society.

I've always loved Helena Bertinelli and her backstory, but admittedly my only direct exposure to Helena Wayne was in Crisis on Infinite Earths. After watching your video though, I really want to delve deeper into the world of Helena Wayne.

Batman and Catwoman are probably the longest running and most committed relationship either of those two have had, so I'd usually push for anything that cemented those 2 actually getting together. I'd still go with Bertinelli if you were doing a rebooted or spin-off universe and only wanted to work with one for simplicity. First....I'm mostly Sicilian, so I like seeing names that you could name a brand of Romano cheese after. Second, Gail Simone is one of my favorite comic writers working right now, and if I were trying to do a version of Huntress, you know I'd just be reading through as much of her Birds of Prey run as I could. Like, that's the definitive Helena for me. And third....she's not really a legacy character. You could develop her as her own thing, and then maybe tie her fully formed into Batman later whether you wanted to or not. I could make her a solo run, a Bird, a Leaguer, a potential Batwoman or Robin, whatever the story needed. For Wayne to make sense without time travel, a multiverse, or a continuous decades long story like Earth 2 had....Bruce and Selena woulda had to have started their career, teased each other, danced around 20 to 50 other relationships each, either seriously dated/married or had one wild night without a Cat-Rubber, got a kid, trained a kid, let her reach a reasonable adulthood, and THEN let her be a superhero. That means in continuity you're looking at about 25, 30 years after Bruce first peed his pants telling Gotham's elites that they aren't eating so well anymore.

I remember reading one of the Batman Adventures comics in the 90s featuring Helena Bertinelli. I think it was actually called Night of the Huntress. When you were breaking down her reintroduction from the 00s, it reminded me A LOT of what was in that comic.

OMG! Thank you for this explainer. I never new this confusing convoluted history of the Huntress. Why don’t they just retcon her story again and make her Helena Wayne, daughter of Bruce and Selena who has a thing for bad boys, goes and marries a mob boss son whose name is Bertinelli against her parents wish and that disapproval and decision gets someone killed by accident like Selena or some other side character and she becomes the Huntress and would have both names, Helena Wayne Bertinelli. Problem solved lol Anyway keep up the good work.

I had the Helena Wayne Huntress origin comic when I was a little kid in the 70s. I fell in love with her. She had such a brilliant yet tragic backstory that really drew me in as a child. After that, I didn't start reading comics again until the mid 80s. I did read the post-Crisis Huntress, and was just happy to see her again, whether Wayne or Bertinelli.

I am More of a Fan Of Helena Bertinelli