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Quote1 I am not leaving until the Daggers are destroyed. My husband seeks audience with them all. Quote2
Katana src

Tatsu Yamashiro is Katana, a Japanese sword-wielding superhero who has been a member of the Suicide Squad, the Outsiders, the Justice League of America and the Birds of Prey. Her primary weapon is her sword, "Soultaker," which is said to capture the souls of anyone killed by it, including her husband.

Origin

Tatsu Toro grew up in Japan, where she was an Olympic-level martial artist. Eventually, she met and fell in love with a man named Maseo Yamashiro, and the pair had two daughters, Yuki and Reiko. Tatsu soon retired from the Olympics and for a time, she lived a happy life with her family. However Maseo's brother Takeo, a member of the Yakuza, soon grew jealous of his brother's relationship with Tatsu. Fearing Takeo's wrath, Tatsu fled to the countryside in a vain attempt to avoid the murderous brother.[1]

In the end, Takeo found Tatsu and her family and burnt their home down to the ground. Using the sentient Soultaker Sword, a mystical Japanese artifact, Takeo butchered Tatsu's husband and two daughters. In an attempt to avenge her family, Tatsu attacked the murderer. However with the Soultaker, Takeo was able to overpower Tatsu with relative ease, before he could strike a killing blow, the Soultaker had a change of heart and chose Tatsu as its new wielder. With the blade, Tatsu killed her brother-in-law, avenging her family.[1]

Tatsu soon realized that her husband's soul rested within the blade, along with all its other victims. With the burden of the souls on her back, Tatsu was reborn as the anti-hero Katana, who would hunt the Yakuza down in an attempt to avenge all those who had been killed by Takeo.[1]

The Next Batman Second Son Vol 1 4 Textless Variant

Katana training Jace Fox

At some point, Katana would save Tim Fox's life in Markovia, taking it upon herself to train him with the assistance of a man named Vesey. Though Tim declined to be her apprentice, she was present in Kyoto when he took on the nom de guerre of Jace.[2]

Birds of Prey

Katana was asked by Black Canary to join the Birds of Prey. She was also recommended by Barbara Gordon together with Starling and Poison Ivy, who joined the team even though Katana wasn't very happy about it. The team found out that, on a train, three people had bombs in their heads. The four of them went on to the train and stop it, after learning that Black Canary also had a bomb in her head.

After the bombs were removed, they learned where the person who had been doing this was and, with the help of Batgirl, they broke into the building, only to get sent outside again with no memory of what happened and without Batgirl.

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Justice League of America

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Suicide Squad

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Doomsday Clock

 Main article: Doomsday Clock Vol 1

After Superman is framed and rendered comatose, Katana joined the group of heroes heading towards Mars to confront their mysterious enemy. The heroes meet and engage Doctor Manhattan, but they are easily defeated.[3]

Infinite Frontier

During the rise of the Magistrate, a friend of Jace's named Vol informed Katana that he needed help. She would save his life, defeating Eabha O'Roark, and remind him to let go of his guilt before departing.[4]

Powers

Abilities

  • Acrobatics
  • Bilingualism: Katana is fluent in her native language Japanese as well as English.[1]
  • Martial Arts: Tatsu was trained in various Japanese-styled martial arts from an early age, and is a master martial artist. She is able to combat multiple enemies, fight metahumans and adapt to situations with ease. She was once able to defeat Killer Croc with a single strike by distrupting his nerves with one swift attack.[6]
  • Stealth: Katana was able to easily sneak up on Red Hood.[7]
  • Swordsmanship: Having been trained in the art of swordsmanship under various samurai sensei, Yamashiro is able to use her fabled sword "Soultaker" with expert proficiency. She is most skilled with katana.
  • Investigation: Katana managed to track down The King's criminal empire center of power to Seattle.[8]


Weapons

  • Soultaker Sword: The Soultaker, along with its non-powered twin, was forged in the 14th century by Muramasa, whose swords were said to be cursed and make those who were evil commit evil acts. It sometimes takes the souls of those it kills, storing them inside the sword, where they can engage in limited communication with whoever wields it. Due to its magical properties, the sword is able to penetrate the skin of Kryptonians as well as deflect heat vision.[1]


Related

Footnotes


Birds of Prey 0008
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Birds of Prey member
This character is or was a member of the Birds of Prey, a team of female super-heroes that go on special missions across the world, in any of its various incarnations. This template will categorize articles that include it into the "Birds of Prey members" category.

Justice League 0002
Justice League member
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This character has been a member of the Justice League of America, or the Justice League in any of its various incarnations, sworn by a duty to act as guardians of America and the world by using their skills and/or superpowers to protect Earth from the clutches of both interstellar and domestic threats.
This template will categorize articles that include it into the "Justice League of America members" category.

Outsiders 0001
Outsiders member
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This character is or was a member of one or more of the teams known as the Outsiders. This template will categorize articles that include it into the "Outsiders members" category.

Suicide Squad Vol 4 8 Textless
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Suicide Squad member
This character is or was a member of the Suicide Squad, a team of imprisoned super-villains who perform high-risk missions for the U.S. Government in exchange for commuted sentences, in any of its various incarnations. This template will categorize articles that include it into the "Suicide Squad members" category.

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