Tigress (DC Comics)

Tigress is the name of three different comic book supervillains, all of whom have appeared in various series published by DC Comics.

Publication history

The first Golden Age Tigress was a thief/spy and foe of Zatara in the late 1930s. She debuted in Action Comics #1 (June 1938), and was created by Fred Guardineer. She wore tiger-striped sweaters and ran gangs of thieves and murderers. She apparently had no powers.

The second Tigress is Paula Brooks, who was a member of the Young All-Stars, who later became a villainess named the Huntress.

The third Tigress is Artemis Crock, the daughter of the second Tigress, and is a member of the Injustice Society. She debuted in Infinity Inc. #34 and was created by Roy Thomas and Todd McFarlane.

Fictional character biography

Zatara foe

The original Golden Age Tigress.

The original Tigress appeared as Zatara's primary foe throughout eleven issues of Action Comics, including issues 1, 3, 6, 7, 9, 10, 22, 23, 30, 35 and 42. In her initial appearance, she battles Zatara and his assistant Tong while attempting to rob a freight train. She escapes and later resurfaces in stories using various methods in attempts to kill wealthy men, including using an attacking airplane, poisoning their drinks and infecting them with a disease from a rare South American insect. She also uses her influence as a mob boss to pressure other criminals into assisting her in crime sprees, which usually involve bank robberies and thefts of other valuables.

The Artemis entry in Who's Who Update '87 #1 states that the Golden Age Tigress is the mother of Paula Brooks (the second Tigress and original Huntress) and the grandmother of Artemis Crock (the third Tigress). However, Who's Who Update '87 #5 states that neither Paula Brooks or Artemis Crock are related to her.

Paula Brooks

The second Tigress is Paula Brooks. She was a member of the Young All-Stars and later became the villainous Huntress. She later married the Sportsmaster, and had a daughter, Artemis Crock, who becomes the third Tigress.

Artemis Crock

Artemis Crock is the daughter of the Golden Age villains Paula Brooks and Crusher Crock. She had taken up a career in crime, modeled after that of her parents, but only after some years did she take on the mantle of Tigress.

In other media

Television

• Tigress appears in Batman Beyond, voiced by Cree Summer. This version of the character is a human spliced with tiger DNA by a villainous genetics expert named Dr. Abel Cuvier.
• Both Artemis Crock and Paula Brooks make a small cameo in the Batman: The Brave and the Bold episode "Aquaman's Outrageous Adventure!". They are seen taking a family vacation with Sportsmaster.
• A teenaged version of Artemis Crock appears as one of the main characters in Young Justice. This version is a superhero voiced by Stephanie Lemelin. In the second season episode "Depths" she is "killed" by Kaldur. However it's later revealed her death was faked so that she could join Kaldur as a mole and go under cover to learn more about the mysterious organization known as the Light and their new partner. In "Darkest", Artemis joins Kaldur on a strike team (which also includes Icicle and the Terror Twins) in an attack on Mount Justice, disguised as a new villain called "Tigress". In the episode "Before the Dawn," Miss Martian, who had no idea Aqualad wasn't a traitor or that Artemis wasn't dead, discovers the truth after launching a telepathic attack that renders Aqualad comatose, and she and Artemis speak for a brief moment before she carries Aqualad's body away. Artemis then accompanies Aqualad in his semi-catatonic state to protect him from the Light. Kaldur's father Black Manta attempts to heal his son by recruiting Psimon, and Artemis is forced incapacitate him to maintain their cover; she passes off the incident as result of a mental booby-trap left in Aqualad's mind by Miss Martian. She then assists Deathstroke in kidnapping Miss Martian to rebuild Kaldur's mind, and later assists her friend in escaping, despite the untimely intervention of Sportsmaster and Cheshire. Her ruse is discovered in "Summit" by Ra's al Ghul. In "Endgame" she rejoins the team as Tigress.
• Tigress appears in the second season of Gotham portrayed by Jessica Lucas.^[1] This version of the character is a villain named Tabitha Galavan, sister and lead enforcer of Theo Galavan (portrayed by actor James Frain), both members of the Dumas family and the step-relatives of Silver St. Cloud. The action Tabitha takes to help Theo in their family vendetta causes chaos in Gotham City, with various Batman villains able to gradually emerge overtime.^[2] She first appeared in "Rise of the Villains: Damned If You Do..." where she breaks six inmates (consisting of Jerome Valeska, Barbara Kean, Aaron Helzinger, Robert Greenwood, Arnold Dobkins, and Richard Sionis) prior to kidnapping Mayor Aubrey James as the first phase of her brother's plan. From the shadows, Tabitha used her skills as a sniper to ensure none of the Maniax's activities could be traced back to Theo. But after her hired assassins failed to kill Gordon for Barbara's condition, Tabitha falls out of Theo's favor during the fight between James Gordon's allies and the Order of St. Dumas in their mission to rescue Bruce Wayne where she escapes with Silver St. Cloud. In the episode "Wrath of the Villains: Mr. Freeze," Tabitha meets up with Butch Gilzean where she proposes a partnership in running the criminal underworld. Butch agrees to Tabitha's offer as both of them start a relationship. In the episode "Wrath of the Villains: Azrael," Butch Gilzean questions Tabitha about Barbara Kean staying with them. Both of them then notice the news where they see that Theo Galavan is alive as Azrael and are surpised by this revelation. In "Wrath of the Villains: Unleashed", Tabitha is stabbed by Azrael via the Sword of Sin. As a result, she is critically wounded and is later hospitalized.

References

External links

• Comic Book Database: Tigress I
• The Unofficial Tigress I Biography