Broken Frontier

The rooftops of Gotham City are a crowded place. Between the Dark Knight and his wards and the myriad other vigilantes, sidekicks, and avenging angels, Gotham never seems to lack for heroes. All these Kevlar-clad do-gooders can at times dilute the Batman brand but there is one character who has truly earned her place among the cape set. The Huntress is one of the most compelling heroines outside of Batman’s immediate circle and this is made all the more apparent in Ivory Madison’s Huntress: Year One, recently collected in trade paperback by DC Comics.

Daughter of a murdered Gotham crime family, Helena Bertinelli saw her loved ones gunned down by a hitman at the age of eight. But unlike Bruce Wayne, Helena spent her remaining childhood with a surrogate family of Sicilian assassins, learning their craft and bent on only one goal—revenge. When she comes of age, she is in for another set of surprises, as the Italian mafia tries to steal her rightful inheritance and her foster brother Sal is seemingly killed in a prison fight. Spurred by these events, Helena is determined to no longer be a victim and to make the men responsible for her tragic past pay.

Ivory Madison is a writer new to the comic book industry but she shows an impressive gift for storytelling and characterization in this miniseries. At first, I questioned the necessity of this story, as Greg Rucka had already fleshed out the Huntress’ past in the brilliant Batman/Huntress: Cry For Blood. However, Madison shows that there are still many gaps to be filled in Helena’s history and much fertile territory for drama.

Madison develops many of the characters surrounding Helena in these early days. Among these are her foster brother Sal Asaro, a repentant killer hoping to provide a better life for his little "huntress," Tomaso Panessa, Helena’s patronizing Mafioso uncle, Nino Angelo, gangster and child molester, and the charismatic Tony Angelo, a man with whom Helena imagines a future before he is taken down a darker path. This attention to detail and character makes for a wonderful mob/crime drama with a superhero touch. It also transforms the Huntress’ origin into something far more fascinating than the requisite "scarred by parents’ murder" backstory of most vigilante characters. Helena’s chafing relationship with the corrupt, patriarchal atmosphere of the mob gives her a chance to shine as the strong, vivacious, take-no-crap woman that she is. And the development of the other characters adds forbidden love and questions of faith and family loyalty to the Huntress’ world.

Of particular note is Madison’s take on Sal Asaro. She builds off of Rucka’s reveal that Sal died in prison and crafts an absolutely fascinating fate for the character. To say more would spoil it but Sal emerges as one of the more complex and surprising members of the cast.

Madison is clearly well-versed in the Huntress’s continuity as she incorporates not only the story details of Cry For Blood but also elements of Helena’s earlier history, such as the masked assassin Omerta. She tweaks the DC timeline a bit to allow an early meeting between Helena and Barbara Gordon, still in her Batgirl days. This is a fun shout-out to Birds of Prey fans and a clever foreshadowing of their rocky friendship in that series. Also amusing is Catwoman’s interest in a fellow anti-heroine outside the Bat’s jurisdiction.

Huntress: Year One is illustrated by Cliff Richards, whom I previously found to be a solid if fairly straightforward penciller. On this series however, Richards turns in some of his best work to date, capturing Helena Bertinelli in her fiery Valkyrie-like glory. Both in and out of costume, Richards’ version of the character radiates power and poise. Whether taking on the mob or gutting a slain deer, this is truly a warrior woman not to be messed with. Richards beautifully redesigns the Huntress’ original costume, wisely avoiding the bare legs and ridiculous neckline of her 1980s design and the Daisy Dukes of more recent years. Jim Lee, take note. This is what a mob-fighting, body-armored vigilante should look like. The design work in this book makes me wish DC would adopt this as the Huntress’ official new look.

With a page-turning plot, an expanded cast, and themes of feminism, patriarchal conflict, and faith, Huntress: Year One proves there is room on the Gotham rooftops for one more.

Huntress: Year One is available now from DC Comics priced $17.99.