Batwoman



Batwoman was an enigmatic crime fighter that abruptly appeared in Gotham City, and disappeared shortly after.

History

The Batwoman persona was created by three women—Sonia Alcana, Rocky Ballantine and Kathy Duquesne—to take down the weapons manufacturing and smuggling ring operated by the Carlton Duquesne, Penguin, and Rupert Thorne. Each of them carried their own grudge against those gangsters; Sonia's life was ruined when Thorne set fire to her parents' store, Rocky's fiancé Kevin was serving time because of the Penguin, and Kathy blamed her father, Carlton Duquesne, and his mobster lifestyle, for the death of her mother. Sonia brought the team together. Rocky was her old roommate at State University, and she knew Kathy from art classes they took together. With Kathy's resources and Rocky's ingenuity, Sonia set it all up. She had planned it out for years, and despite Rocky's initial reservations, they decided to spin their superhero alter ego off of Batman. They set up their base in an old sewer tunnel underneath 166th Street. Rocky created special gliders, which were maintained there. Batwoman's arrival was quickly caught by the media, who immediately linked her to Batman. Commissioner Gordon was quick to deny any link with Batman and the Gotham Police Department. Batman's attention was similarly attracted. Though they wanted to get back at the Penguin and Thorne, the Batwoman team had no idea where the factories were. Kathy was able to obtain shipping schedules, so they began by taking out truck convoys. They found out where the weapons were made when Sonia's partner, Harvey Bullock, found a keychain with the logo of Beak's Bric-a-brac. Kathy infiltrated the factory and set charges in the munitions room, but found herself cornered by thugs on her way out. She managed to take down the thugs with the help of Batman and Robin, and barely escaped the explosion. Batman confronted Batwoman with her hazardous and careless behavior, which she shrugged off. She was only concerned with permanently crippling the black market. Batman tried to take her into custody, but she fended him off before disappearing into the night. Batman was a better detective than the women had anticipated. It wasn't long until he suspected Kathy's involvement, and he alerted Commissioner Gordon to watch her. Sonja used her connection to Gordon to track Batman's investigation, while they continued their own. After an unsuccessful break-in in one of the Penguin's offices, Rocky decided to break into the Iceberg Lounge. She forced the Penguin into revealing who they had hired to replace Duquesne and take her out: Bane. Unfortunately for Rocky, she had left a clue for Batman. She pressured the Penguin with a constricting alloy she made for Wayne Enterprises. Batman confronted Rocky with this at her apartment, but she denied any involvement. Sonia continued her investigation, and found out Penguin planned to move the remainder of the weapons to Kaznia under the cover of a cruise ship. However, when she returned to their hideout, both Rocky and Kathy informed her that Batman was on to them. It did not matter to Sonia: with the destruction of the cruise liner, their plan would be complete. Kathy flew off to the cruise ship, while Rocky stayed behind to monitor the mission. Sonia returned to the police headquarters. Batman confronted her with his investigation: he had found out Batwoman was a union of multiple women, and that she was connected to both of his prime suspects. She broke down, ranting against Thorne, basically confessing to being Batwoman. She received a call from Rocky that Kathy had failed to respond, and there were no reports of a ship in trouble. Kathy had been captured and Batman and Robin went to investigate, with Rocky and Sonia hot on their heals. Batman helped Kathy and her father escape from Bane, while Rocky and Sonia went after Thorne and the Penguin. Sonia's glider was taken down by the explosion, so she had to retire from the fight. Robin helped her aboard the Batboat. Rocky used a grappling hook to stop the Penguin's boat. After it snagged behind a buoy, both crime bosses were catapulted into the bay. With Kathy and Carlton safe, Batman took on Bane. He did not fare well; Batman only managed to win because the boat crashed into a bridge. Holding on for dear life, Batman was saved by Sonia, who had recuperated. With the smuggling ring taken down, all three women retired the Batwoman persona. Rocky was reunited with Kevin, Sonia had to quit the force, and Kathy reconciled with her father who testified against the Penguin and Thorne.

Abilities and equipment

All three women had roughly similar build, size and weight. But coming from different backgrounds, all three women had different abilities. Rocky had taken self defense classes, Sonia had police training, and Kathy was a successful athlete, with training in tennis, polo and athletics. Like Batman, the Batwoman relied on gadgets. Most of them came from the mind of Rocky Ballantine, though they also used a grappling hook similar to Batman's, along with pink batarangs. Rocky's morphing alloy was also used as a weapon to restrain and pressure a target. Rocky designed Batgliders for transportation. Each glider was operable via a remote located into the utility belt, and had two small missiles and a grappling hook.

Appearance

Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman