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| Tigress | |
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| Publisher | DC Comics |
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Tigress is the name of three differentcomic book characters, all of whom have appeared in various series published byDC Comics.
The original Tigress debuted inAction Comics #1 (1938) during theGolden Age of Comics as an enemy ofZatara. The second Tigress was Paula Brooks, who first appeared inSensation Comics #68 (1947) as the originalHuntress and later reintroduced as Tigress inYoung All-Stars #6 (1987) following theCrisis on Infinite Earths (1985–1986)crossover series. The third character to assume the Tigress name was Artemis Crock, who debuted inInfinity, Inc. #34 (1987). Artemis is the daughter of Paula Brooks andCrusher Crock, initially pursuing a criminal career modeled after her parents. Followingthe New 52 (2011–2016)continuityreboot, Artemis officially took on the identity of Tigress inThe Culling (2012) crossoverstory arc, where she assists theTeen Titans.
An originalincarnation of Tigress calledTabitha Galavan appeared in thelive-action seriesGotham (2014–2019), portrayed byJessica Lucas. Additionally, the Paula Brooks incarnation of Tigress appeared in the live-actionDC Universe /The CW seriesStargirl (2020–2022), portrayed byJoy Osmanski. A teenage version of Artemis Crock appeared inYoung Justice (2010–2022) as one of themain characters, voiced byStephanie Lemelin. Her mother, a character inspired by Paula Brooks named Paula Nguyen, also appeared in the series, voiced byKelly Hu. A character inspired by Artemis, namedEvelyn Sharp, appeared as asupporting character inArrow (2012–2020), portrayed byMadison McLaughlin.
The first Tigress appeared during theGolden Age, whosealter ego is unknown and who also went by the alias Miss La France, was a thief and spy who served as an enemy ofZatara in the late 1930s.
She debuted inAction Comics #1 (June 1938), and was created byFred Guardineer. She wore tiger-striped sweaters and ran gangs of thieves and murderers. She appears throughout twelve issues ofAction Comics, including issues #1–3, 6, 7, 9, 10, 22, 23, 25, 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 inWho's Who Update '87 #1 states that the Golden Age Tigress is the mother of Paula Brooks (the second Tigress and originalHuntress) and the grandmother of Artemis Crock (the third Tigress). However,Who's Who Update '87 #5 included a retraction of that information and stated that neither Paula Brooks nor Artemis Crock is related to her.
| Paula Brooks | |
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 Paula Brooks as the Tigress. Art by Michael Bair, Howard Simpson, and Brian Murray | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | As Huntress: Sensation Comics #68 (August 1947) As Tigress: Young All-Stars #6 (November 1987) |
| Created by | Huntress:Mort Meskin Tigress:Roy Thomas |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Paula Brooks |
| Species | Human |
| Team affiliations | Injustice Society Young All-Stars All-Star Squadron |
| Partnerships | Sportsmaster (husband) Artemis Crock (youngest daughter) |
| Supporting character of | Artemis Crock |
| Notable aliases | Tigress,Huntress |
| Abilities | Skilled hand-to-hand fighter with sharpened claw-like fingernails |
Paula Brooks is a fictional comic book character published byDC Comics. She is one of many characters to use the namesTigress andHuntress. Paula Brooks is married toSportsmaster and the mother of Artemis Crock.
Paula Brooks appeared as Tigress on theDC Universe streaming service showStargirl played byJoy Osmanski. The show also appeared onThe CW Network.
Brooks first appeared inSensation Comics #68 as the Huntress where she was created by artistMort Meskin and an uncredited writer. Later, it is retroactively revealed that she was a heroine named the Tigress before becoming a criminal where this alias was created byRoy Thomas.
Prior to theCrisis on Infinite Earths, she battlesHelena Wayne (who had become the new Huntress) and is defeated.[1]
During this time, anEarth-1 Huntress and Sportsmaster are revealed. They fightBatgirl andRobin inBatman Family and then challenge the Earth-1 superheroes to a baseball game between heroes and villains. When the heroes win, the Earth-1 Huntress and Sportsmaster reform and are not seen again.[2][3]
After theCrisis on Infinite Earths, the Earth-1 pair cease to exist and the Golden Age versions become the dominant version in the new unified universe.
In the pages ofYoung All-Stars, Paula Brooks wasretroactively given the codenameTigress. These stories took place prior to her villainous career as the Huntress.
At this point, the young Paula Brooks (approximately age 18-19) is a superheroine, and fights bothNazis and criminals alongsideIron Munro, the firstFury,Neptune Perkins,Tsunami andDan the Dyna-Mite. During these stories, Paula expresses a fan worship of Paul Kirk, theManhunter.[4] She frequently makes a play for Iron Munro as well. During a battle with the Nazi warriors known asAxis Amerika, Tigress is attacked and seemingly killed by the Valkyrie known as Gudra. She was revived (it is unclear if she really was actually dead) with a new attitude, which eventually leads to her becoming the villainous Huntress. In the late 1990sJSA Returns mini-series, Tigress has yet to fully embrace her villainous attitude and was still operating as a heroine and companion of Manhunter.
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Upon donning a tiger-skin costume and becomingHuntress years later, Paula Brooks tracked downWildcat and trapped him in her private zoo as part of her plan to capture people who would throw people in prison. Wildcat became the first person she caught to break out.[5]
Huntress returned, plotting to capture Ted Grant and replace him with a double so that she would bet on his opponent and get money when the double lost. When Huntress captured "Stretch" Skinner, she drew the attention of Wildcat. Huntress and Wildcat fought to a draw as Wildcat and Skinner escaped her ship. When Ted won, a disguised Huntress watched the match and later slipped away.[6]
Due to her reputation for fighting Wildcat, Huntress is invited to join theInjustice Society. In a competition to see who would lead the group, Huntress manages to stealPlymouth Rock and nearly defeatsAtom andFlash.[7]
Huntress and Sportsmaster are later engaged and have a daughter named Artemis, who goes on to become a criminal like them.[8]
In 2016, DC Comics implemented a relaunch of its books called "DC Rebirth", which restored its continuity to a form much as it was prior to "The New 52" reboot. Tigress appears as a member of the Injustice Society.[9]
Brooks has no powers or unusual technology, but she did utilize various types of wild beasts in committing her crimes. She is also a skilled hand-to-hand fighter whose nails were once sharpened liketalons.
She also used a small crossbow and a steady supply of crossbow bolts. She has also been known to use throwing nets and bolos to trap her prey.
Paula Brooks appears inThe Golden Age, which takes place in an alternate universe. In August 1948, Brooks is granted amnesty for her crimes in return for her allegiance toTex Thompson's newly created anti-communism force.[10] In 1950, after learning that Thompson is actually the ruthlessUltra-Humanite, Brooks joins other heroes in opposing him and his allies.[11] Traumatized by the deaths of her lover,Lance Gallant, and friends such asMiss America and Sportsmaster in the ensuing conflict, Brooks returns to crime.[12]
Paula Brooks / Tigress makes a cameo appearance in theDC Super Hero Girls episode "Welcome to Super Hero High".
Michael Eury and Gina Misiroglu characterized the original Huntress Paula Brooks as "a relatively obscure Golden Age villainess", whose title was borrowed for the character of Helena Wayne.[14]
Sophie Bonadè found that Paula Brooks, like a number of villainesses of the time, falls under the "Dating Catwoman" cliché of being in a romantic relation to the hero she fights.[15]
| Artemis Crock | |
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 Artemis Crock as Tigress, as depicted inJSA #17 (December 2000). Art byStephen Sadowski. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | Infinity, Inc. #34 (January 1987) |
| Created by | Roy Thomas Todd McFarlane |
| In-story information | |
| Species | Human |
| Team affiliations | Injustice Society Dead Hero Club Secret Society of Super Villains |
| Notable aliases | Tigress |
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Artemis Crock is afictionalcomic book character, appearing inAmerican comic books published byDC Comics. First appearing inInfinity, Inc. #34 (January1987), she has appeared as both asupervillain and superhero, knownmononymously asArtemis.[16] Artemis is also one of many characters to use the nameTigress. In addition, she is also the daughter ofSportsmaster and Paula Crock.
Outside of comic books, Artemis has appeared inYoung Justice, voiced byStephanie Lemelin, andStargirl, portrayed by Stella Smith. Additionally, a character inspired by Artemis namedEvelyn Sharp appears inArrow, portrayed byMadison McLaughlin.
Artemis Crock debuted inInfinity, Inc. #34 (January 1987) and was created by writerRoy Thomas and artistTodd McFarlane.
Artemis Crock is the daughter of the Golden Age villains Paula Brooks andCrusher Crock. She had taken up a career in crime, modeled on that of her parents, but only after some years did she take on the mantle of Tigress.
During the DC mini-seriesLegends, the people of America are turned against heroes, and law was made that no one could operate legally wearing a costume. This did not affect the villains much, as they are already lawbreakers. Known by themononym Artemis, Artemis Crock joins theWizard in his newInjustice Society, called Injustice Unlimited. The group overcomes the security at the International Trade Conference inCalgary, namelyInfinity, Inc. and a contingent of theGlobal Guardians. Their plan is thwarted whenHourman frees himself andSolomon Grundy is brought in from theArctic Circle. Grundy incapacitates Artemis and her parents, but they manage to escape.[17]
Weeks later, Injustice Unlimited plots to murder the members ofInfinity, Inc. to make a name for themselves. Artemis goes afterJade, who she apparently kills in combat. The members of Injustice Unlimited intend to bring all the remaining Infinitors to Stellar Studios and kill them, but this plan is thwarted by the unwillingness ofHazard to cooperate and the sudden reappearance of Jade andBrainwave.[18]
Artemis later changes her codename to Tigress and has anon-again, off-again relationship with the secondIcicle, with whom she has a daughter named Isabelle.[19] Artemis helps Icicle, Wizard, Solomon Grundy,Gentleman Ghost,Rag Doll, andThinker break into JSA headquarters and steal the Prometheus Key, a key that is used to open doors between reality and magic. The key allowsJohnny Sorrow, who normally exists in another dimension, to manifest on Earth.[20]
InThe New 52 continuity reboot, a new version of Artemis was introduced inThe Culling crossover event. She helps theTeen Titans get their bearings before the Culling begins and introduces them to othermetahuman teens captured by the villain Harvest. After the Titans are taken, a member of Harvest's crew tries to put Artemis in a state of rage. She fights back, but is killed. Her death helps motivate the Teen Titans and theLegion of Super-Heroes to work together to take down Harvest.[21] The Titans later discover that Artemis survived and was healed by the Colonel, a servant of Harvest.[22]
The original Artemis is reintroduced in theDC Rebirth relaunch.[23]
Tigress/Artemis possesses no superhuman abilities; however, she is an expert archer, swordswoman and markswoman. Artemis is also a highly skilled in hand-to-hand combat, along with the use of various gadgets (including her compact crossbow, knives, nets, and bolas).
An unknown woman nicknamed Tigress from Earth-S appears inSpy Smasher #2 (December 1941). This version is an enemy of Spy Smasher.
An unknown woman dubbed The Tigress orTiger Lady appears inBlackhawk #11 (June 1946). This version is the leader of a gang of international criminal fugitives who had fled the civilized world and hid herself in a jungle fortress within a mountainous, tropical part of the world before she is killed by island natives while her forces are killed by the Blackhawk Squadron.
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