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.
In live action, Tigress debuted as original character Tabitha Galavan starting in the second season of the series Gotham, played by Jessica Lucas. Paula Brooks‘ version of Tigress appears on the DC Universe streaming service show Stargirl played by Joy Osmanski. The show also appears on The CW Network.
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, 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 Tigress appeared as Zatara's primary foe throughout twelve issues of Action 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 in Who's Who Update '87 #1 states that the Golden Age Tigress is the mother of Paula Brooks and the grandmother of Artemis Crock. 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.Other Versions
Tigress (Earth-S)
An unknown woman nicknamed Tigress appears in Spy Smasher #2. This version is an enemy of Spy Smasher.Tigress (Quality Universe)
An unknown woman dubbed The Tigress or Tiger Lady appears in Blackhawk #11. She is the leader of a gang of international criminal fugitives, who had fled the civilized world and holed up in a well-hidden fortress, in a jungle, in a mountainous, tropical part of the world. She organized this rabble into a tiger-masked team of deadly spearmen, mainly in order to keep the local natives at bay. A chance encounter with the Blackhawk Squadron, and a few bad decisions on her part, led to the Tigress' being killed by arrow-shooting natives, and her thugs being killed by the pistol-packing Blackhawks.In other media
Animation
- Tigress appears in the Batman Beyond episode "Splicers", 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 ' 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, voiced by Stephanie Lemelin. This version is a superhero and uses the superhero identity of Artemis'. Her identity is a mystery to the characters in the show, but has been revealed to viewers via a letter she received in the eighth episode which contains her full name, Artemis Crock. She first appears in the episode "Infiltrator", where she is introduced as Green Arrow's niece and new sidekick, who is brought in to join the team following the departure of Green Arrow's original sidekick, Roy Harper. In "Darkest", Artemis joins Kaldur on a strike team in an attack on Mount Justice, disguised as a new villain called "Tigress". She appears in the comic book continuation of the series and in season 3.
- Tigress makes a cameo in first episode of DC Super Hero Girls''.
Live-action
- A different kind of Tigress appears since the second season of Gotham portrayed by Jessica Lucas. This version of the character, an original creation for the series, is named Tabitha Galavan, sister and lead enforcer of corrupt billionaire Theo Galavan. They are both members of the Sacred Order of Saint Dumas, an ancient secret society bent on taking over Gotham City. She kidnaps Oswald Cobblepot's mother Gertrud to force him to kill the other mayoral candidates; after Cobblepot does Theo's bidding, however, Tabitha kills her anyway. Tabitha eventually falls out of favor with her brother, and so forms an alliance with Cobblepot's enforcer, Butch Gilzean. Theo is killed by Cobblepot and detective James Gordon, but is eventually revived by Hugo Strange as the warrior Azrael. As Azrael, Theo stabs Tabitha with a sword, critically injuring her. After Theo is killed yet again by Cobblepot and Gilzean, Tabitha recovers and becomes small-time gangster Barbara Kean's right-hand woman. She has an uneasy truce with Cobblepot, who is now Mayor of Gotham City. Cobblepot's chief adviser Edward Nygma blames Gilzean for the death of his girlfriend Isabella, and so he kidnaps Gilzean and Tabitha and imprisons them in an elaborate torture device that will kill Gilzean unless Tabitha pulls a lever that will sever her hand. After Gilzean declares that he loves her, Tabitha sacrifices her right hand to save him. Gilzean and Kean rush her to a hospital where her hand is reattached. Once Cobblepot falls from power, Tabitha and Barbara take over Gotham. However, when Barbara begins to work with Nygma Tabitha is disappointed. Butch and Tabitha plan to kill her. When Barbara finds out she shoots Butch in the head and fights with Tabitha who manages to electrocute her to death, with her quick whip. Now alone, Tabitha takes up a mentoring role to a young Selina Kyle. When Butch is revived as Solomon Grundy, Tabitha ends up placed against him in an underground fighting ring in The Narrows, where she is dubbed "Tabby the Tigress" by Nygma. When Kean takes over the League of Shadows, she turns against Tabitha, but the two once again join forces to help Cobblepot stop psychopathic criminal Jeremiah Valeska from destroying the city. In return for their help, Cobblepot cures Butch of his condition - only to shoot him dead in front of Tabitha as revenge for Tabitha killing his mother. She swears revenge and joins Barbara's women-only "Gotham City Sirens" to take over Gotham once and for all, and kill Cobblepot in the workings. Three months later, Tabitha attempts to kill Cobblepot in revenge for Butch, but her use of a defective bullet allows Cobblepot to kill her instead.
- A unnamed woman who uses the alias appears on Arrow, which is set in the "Arrowverse".
- The Paula Brooks version of Tigress appears in the DC Universe series Stargirl, portrayed by Joy Osmanski. Similarly to the comics, this version as a member of the Injustice Society, the wife of Sportsmaster, and works as a gym teacher for Blue Valley High in her civilian identity.
Video games
- Tigress from Young Justice appears as a playable character in Lego DC Super Villains