Helena Bertinelli is gone. She was a facade, masking a great deal of pain. Masking her feelings. Masking her fears. The old facade has cracked. The stoic, the sharp tongue... all broken down to provide fuel for a new self. Helena thought she was intimidating. She couldn't scare anybody. It's time to invent someone who can. To confront the ultimate killers, I must construct the ultimate alias. To combat the murderers who would destroy my family, crush my own life on their way to consuming everything. I must become a greater, more fearsome destroyer. To track down the animals who prey on the innocent, I must stalk them first... I am no longer their quarry. I am... the Huntress. 
Huntress #1 is an issue of the series Huntress (Volume 1) with a cover date of April, 1989.
Synopsis for "Code of Silence"
Helena Bertinelli is the Huntress. Swooping down into a dark alley, she saves a young woman, Helena Karabatsos, from being mugged. The incident causes Helena to reflect upon her own past.
Helena Bertinelli grew up in a mob family. As a child, she was kidnapped by a rival mobster and held for a short period of time. She was returned to her family unharmed, but the kidnapping sent a strong message to Guido Bertinelli. From that day forward, a bodyguard accompanied Helena wherever she went.
Years later, a masked assassin known as Omerta the Silencer raided the Bertinelli home. He opened fire on them during a dinner party, killing everyone except for Helena. Helena kept in close contact with her old bodyguard who taught her how to defend herself both with martial arts as well as firearms. Ultimately, Helena took on the masked guise of the Huntress.
Appearing in "Code of Silence"
Featured Characters:
- The Huntress (First appearance & origin)
Supporting Characters:
- Tony Angelo
- Carmela Bertinelli (Single appearance; dies)
- Freddy Caldone (Single appearance; dies)
- Guido Bertinelli (Single appearance; dies)
Antagonists:
- Omerta (First appearance) (Flashback only)
- Vince Panetti (Flashback only)
Other Characters:
- Donald Campbell (Flashback only)
- Tony "Fat" Angelo (Flashback only)
- Helena Karabatsos
Locations:
Items:
Vehicles:
See Also
Recommended Reading
- Huntress Recommended Reading
- Wonder Woman (Volume 1): 271– #321
- Birds of Prey (Volume 1)
- Birds of Prey (Volume 2)
- Huntress: Darknight Daughter
- Huntress (Volume 1)
- Justice League International Special #2
- Huntress (Volume 2)
- Huntress: Year One (Volume 1)
- Batman/Huntress: Cry for Blood (Volume 1)
- Batman: Huntress & Spoiler #1
- Nightwing/Huntress (Volume 1)
- Robin III (Volume 1)
- Huntress (Volume 3)