Helena Bertinelli's True Fate SPOILERS

[beetlebum]

Has she clicked her heels together yet?

God bless you for this post and for making me laugh out loud.

[shark]

Has she clicked her heels together yet?

No red slippers. :(

[CaptCleghorn]

No red slippers. :(

Ummmm, let's call that the second major problem with Kara's new costume.

[Captain Jim]

I disagree. It's clear that the majority of DC's writers, artists, and editors grew up reading comics in the 1960s and 1970s and are nostalgic for the characters from their childhood. This explains everything from Helena Wayne to Barbara Gordon to Hal Jordan to Barry Allen.

I'm sorry, but this is just nonsense. You can disagree with their actions all you want but, bottom line, these are businessmen. They're doing what they believe makes the best business sense. To suggest that this is motivated by nostalgia from their childhood is being naive to the extreme.

Bertinelli was not as much a revamping of the original Helena Wayne but rather an entirely new character whose only common trait was the same codename. This change is a reversion to the original character, though an update of that basic Helena Wayne concept for a modern era similar to Barry, Hal, or Kara.

History says you're wrong. Helena Bertinelli was created after Crisis on Infinite Earths made the previous concept untenable for the new continuity. We no longer had an older Batman with a daughter, so if there was going to continue to be a Huntress, she had to be revamped. They changed as much as they had to, but she could still be recognized as essentially the same character. It wasn't just the codename that was the same; the costume was still by and large the same and so were her abilities. The origin had to change by necessity. They did not set out to create a new character; they set out to revamp an existing one.

As far as the new Helena Wayne, you don't know what she's going to be like; we haven't seen that much of her yet. Though it's interesting that she was enough like Bertinelli in the mini-series that people had no trouble accepting her as such.

it was even stated that this mini would conclude with a tie-in to the new BOP. That was a horrible way to treat readers.

That's simply not true. Nor was it ever said that she would join the BOP despite all the times I saw people say that on the forums. All that was ever said was that she would be making a guest-appearance at some point.

[Xarcon]

As far as the new Helena Wayne, you don't know what she's going to be like; we haven't seen that much of her yet. Though it's interesting that she was enough like Bertinelli in the mini-series that people had no trouble accepting her as such.

To be fair, it would have been crazy, before the announcement, to believe that the Huntress in the mini was anyone other than Bertinelli. Bertinelli had been Huntress for the past twenty-ish years, the mini took place in Italy, where Huntress stated that she was returning to, and she spoke fluent Italian. All signs pointed to Huntress being Bertinelli. The references to Wayne could have just been passed off as an homage to the original version.

On top of that, from the preview of World's Finest, it's apparent that Wayne was using Bertinelli as an alias. Wayne was supposed to act like Bertinelli because that's who she was masquerading as. That's why people, for the most part, didn't have much trouble accepting her as Bertinelli.

[Scott Taylor]

Helena Wayne is more interesting than Helena Bertinelli, to me. Not due to nostalgia, but because she has the Wayne name.

[Mr. Holmes]

Helena Wayne is more interesting than Helena Bertinelli, to me. Not due to nostalgia, but because she has the Wayne name.

Well that's a pretty superficial reason to find a character more interesting.

[Scott Taylor]

Well that's a pretty superficial reason to find a character more interesting.

Admittedly. I'm just getting into the Huntress character, and the Wayne connection appeals to me more, even if its "only" the Bruce Wayne from an alternate earth. With few exceptions, I prefer bat-characters who have some kind of direct connection with Batman. But I respect those who are upset by the loss of the other Helena, and sympathize.

[Sunbird]

I'm sorry, but this is just nonsense. You can disagree with their actions all you want but, bottom line, these are businessmen. They're doing what they believe makes the best business sense. To suggest that this is motivated by nostalgia from their childhood is being naive to the extreme.

To imagine that writers aren't motivated to write what appeals to them is naive. Everyone has favourites that they pull for, even if they don't always get what they want from editorial. And for a lot of people what they read when they first started is going to have a strong place in the heart. That is why you still have readers who are desperately happy to have characters back we haven't seen since Reagan was in office.

And yes business intrudes as well. It's not an either-or situation. A lot of factors are at play.

[coveredinbees]

Admittedly. I'm just getting into the Huntress character, and the Wayne connection appeals to me more, even if its "only" the Bruce Wayne from an alternate earth. With few exceptions, I prefer bat-characters who have some kind of direct connection with Batman. But I respect those who are upset by the loss of the other Helena, and sympathize.

Read No Man's Land! It's one of my favorite Batman stories, and Huntress was exciting in it. It used a lot of Batman's supporting cast really well.

[The Lucky One]

No red slippers. :(

Silver, my man. Silver. Only ruby in the movie.

-D

[CagedLeo730]

I'm sorry, but this is just nonsense. You can disagree with their actions all you want but, bottom line, these are businessmen. They're doing what they believe makes the best business sense. To suggest that this is motivated by nostalgia from their childhood is being naive to the extreme.



History says you're wrong. Helena Bertinelli was created after Crisis on Infinite Earths made the previous concept untenable for the new continuity. We no longer had an older Batman with a daughter, so if there was going to continue to be a Huntress, she had to be revamped. They changed as much as they had to, but she could still be recognized as essentially the same character. It wasn't just the codename that was the same; the costume was still by and large the same and so were her abilities. The origin had to change by necessity. They did not set out to create a new character; they set out to revamp an existing one.

As far as the new Helena Wayne, you don't know what she's going to be like; we haven't seen that much of her yet. Though it's interesting that she was enough like Bertinelli in the mini-series that people had no trouble accepting her as such.



That's simply not true. Nor was it ever said that she would join the BOP despite all the times I saw people say that on the forums. All that was ever said was that she would be making a guest-appearance at some point.

I think that her appearance in BOP was based when she was still Bertenelli. Then again when Huntress was tied to Earth 2 (still called Justice Society back then) and Mr. Terrific, she was still tied to BOP. Things in comics are fluid until they've been sent to the printers.
A lot of times DC is accused of lying, but at the time of the announcements the plans could have been true (for example Cass Cain, Marvel family, Speed Force book). They're allowed to change their minds, but they really are bad at updating that to fans.

[Lemurion]

I think that her appearance in BOP was based when she was still Bertenelli. Then again when Huntress was tied to Earth 2 (still called Justice Society back then) and Mr. Terrific, she was still tied to BOP. Things in comics are fluid until they've been sent to the printers.
A lot of times DC is accused of lying, but at the time of the announcements the plans could have been true (for example Cass Cain, Marvel family, Speed Force book). They're allowed to change their minds, but they really are bad at updating that to fans.

What I've bolded the really important part here. Just because plans change doesn't mean people were lying.

In the case of the Huntress mini, it's been repeatedly mentioned that they originally planned to use Bertinelli, and then changed their minds while the mini was being written. While that understandably angered people, it doesn't mean that they were lying when they originally mentioned Helena Bertinelli.

As it is, Helena Wayne makes more sense for a buddy book with Power Girl.

It may not be many readers' preference, but it's the alternative that fits best with DC's publishing plans.

[Xarcon]

In the case of the Huntress mini, it's been repeatedly mentioned that they originally planned to use Bertinelli, and then changed their minds while the mini was being written. While that understandably angered people, it doesn't mean that they were lying when they originally mentioned Helena Bertinelli.

Just out of curiosity, was it ever mentioned exactly when the decision to make the change was made? We know it was sometime after part of the mini had already been written, but how much? Was the decision made before issue 1 came out? I was just wondering how long exactly it was for them between deciding to make the change and actually announcing it.

As I recall, the announcement was made around when issue 5 came out (does someone want to double check that? I couldn't find the announcement). If they made the decision after issue 1 or 2 came out, then intentionally waited 3-4 months until the mini was almost over before revealing that information, then that's a pretty devious and deceptive thing to do. It's even worse if they actually made the decision before issue 1 came out.

[Lemurion]

Just out of curiosity, was it ever mentioned exactly when the decision to make the change was made? We know it was sometime after part of the mini had already been written, but how much? Was the decision made before issue 1 came out? I was just wondering how long exactly it was for them between deciding to make the change and actually announcing it.

As I recall, the announcement was made around when issue 5 came out (does someone want to double check that? I couldn't find the announcement). If they made the decision after issue 1 or 2 came out, then intentionally waited 3-4 months until the mini was almost over before revealing that information, then that's a pretty devious and deceptive thing to do. It's even worse if they actually made the decision before issue 1 came out.

I don't think we'll ever know exactly when the decision was made, but my guess is that it probably wasn't a case of one day everyone was on the Helena Bertinelli page and the next day they'd shifted over to Helena Wayne. What probably happened was that they told Paul Levitz fairly early in the process that they were thinking of making it Helena Wayne instead of Helena Bertinelli, but the confirmation may not have come until somewhat later. So he would have had to write most of the mini in such a way that it could be either. Then once the decision was set, then they probably waited a short while because people were asking before releasing the information because that's just standard marketing procedure.