Staton recalled, "I think Paul [Levitz] realized that I felt my involvement with Helena had been abruptly cut short [by the events of Crisis on Infinite Earths], so I was always in line to be a part of any reworking of the character.

In this iteration of the character, she was kidnapped as a child (aged 6) and raped by a rival mafia Don purely to psychologically torture her father and is a withdrawn girl.

[5] Huntress' origin was revised in 2000 in the six-issue Batman/Huntress: Cry for Blood limited series written by Greg Rucka, art by Rick Burchett and Terry Beatty.

In an extended retreat with Richard Dragon and Vic Sage (The Question), she tries to achieve better emotional balance, returning to Gotham to confront her true father and learn more about her family's murder.

Huntress is briefly involved with the Justice League International when she happens upon a brainwashed Blue Beetle attempting to murder Maxwell Lord.

She also helps the League defeat foes like Prometheus and encourages Green Lantern to fight Queen Bee's hypno-pollen during her invasion of Earth.

Batman and Nightwing intervene in time and Huntress is taken to a field hospital operated by forces who want to rebuild Gotham City.

She is made one of Oracle's full-time agents in Birds of Prey #68, after responding immediately to Barbara's intercepted call for help (intended for Dinah Lance).

With two active agents on rotation, the lighter workload allows for Oracle to set up day jobs for Huntress and Black Canary; as an elementary school teacher and florist, respectively.

For a time her straightforwardness continues to put her at odds with Barbara and even the accommodating Dinah, but eventually, her selflessness and desire to help her colleagues without hesitation win their trust, and she becomes a valued and integral member of the team.

During the Birds of Prey "Hero Hunters" arc, Huntress realizes Oracle has been manipulating her psychologically to make her "behave" properly, in the same way, a teacher attempts to reform a troubled child [16] and leaves the group.

Upon Black Canary's departure of the team in Birds of Prey #99, Huntress becomes Oracle's most senior and trusted operative and field commander.

Joined by Lady Blackhawk and Grace Choi, Huntress later assists her then love interest Catman and his team the Secret Six in a massive supervillain battle to steal Neron's Get Out of Hell Free Card.

This incarnation of the character is a dark skinned Italian-American woman to keep readers from confusing her with Helena Wayne of Earth 2 according to Grayson series writer Tim Seeley.

She rescues Leslie Thompsons from a raid by the Der Faust Die Kane (translating to "The Fist of Cain"), a depopulation terrorist cult made up of serial killers and hitmen.

[26] Minos sends Helena and Dick to retrieve Paragon's brain, which holds Martian Manhunter's telepathic abilities, but they are too late.

Dick later disappears and Helena learns that the Fist of Cain took the Brain and plans to attack a peace rally in Tel-Aviv and force people to kill each other.

As she makes her way to Tel-Aviv, she later learns of her partner's fate with the use of Spyral's immense technological capabilities with Hypnos and informs them to send the current plans to Midnighter.

[28] This however put her at odds with Grayson, who after Batman's disappearance after his battle with the Joker in "Endgame", began dismantling Spyral with the help of Agent 1, the Tiger.

Grayson and Bertinelli were pawns in the twisted mind of Dr. Otto Netz, who used his two daughters to play the world's super-espionage agencies against each other in a bid to take over the body of someone he considered a worthy receptacle.

In the aftermath, and as part of the DC Rebirth event, Helena left Spyral and assumed the mantle of Huntress, appearing in Batgirl and the Birds of Prey.

[29] At the beginning of the DC Rebirth era, Helena takes the name of Huntress and crosses paths with Batgirl (Barbara Gordon) and Black Canary (Dinah Lance) in Gotham City.

[30] Among her strongest skills is her ability to disguise herself, her mastery allowing her to portray herself as a wide range of people and personalities and is capable enough to convince a serial killer of being their relative in one instance.

[31] Huntress's New 52 incarnation retains similar skills and abilities with some newer ones: a former agent of Spyral, she possess extensive espionage training with ties to a network of spies and informants.

[44] Sophie Bonadè characterized Helena Bertinelli is an ambiguous female character since, unlike the other members of the Bat-Family, she does not hesitate to kill.

Together with her predecessor Helena Wayne she is at the forefront of a very marked increase in the number of female characters in the catalog of the publisher DC Comics in the second half of the 1980s.

[45] Marc DiPaolo called Helena Bertinelli's story a "retreat from psychological darkness into the light" and saw her "as a commentary on the Punisher" and "corrective to his pernicious influence": While she was initially also motivated by revenge, "she was ultimately rehabilitated" and "renounced murder" as a means in her crime fighting.