Katana (Karen Fukuhara)
In the source material, the character of Katana is most closely associated with the superhero team The Outsiders – which was founded by Batman when he began to struggle with the membership of the more conventional Justice League. As such, she first appeared in The Brave And The Bold #200 in 1983.
Her origin story is a particularly brutal one. As Tatsu Yamashiro, she was a talented Japanese martial artist who was courted by two brothers – Maseo and Takeo Yamashiro. Marrying Maseo, Tatsu endured the deaths of both of her parents, while her brother-in-law joined the Yakuza. Tatsu and Maseo welcomed twins, while Takeo – armed with mystical swords – arrived to ‘claim’ Tatsu for himself.
The ensuing battle resulted in the murder of Maseo and the twins, and the soul of Maseo being temporarily confined to the mystical sword – the ‘Soultaker’ – with which Tatsu escaped. She went on to train under a samurai and pledged to fight for justice. Her involvement with Amanda Waller – according to The New 52 re-launch – came from her desire to source information about her husband’s murderers, having waged war on the Yakuza for a lengthy period. Waller enlisted Katana for missions, in exchange for details of the bad guys she seeks to settle a score with.
The character of Katana has appeared in animation, and in live-action – most notably on the TV show Arrow. That version is played by Rila Fukushima, while in animation she has been voiced by Vyvan Pham, Kim Mai Guest and Sumalee Montano.
Published: Jul 15, 2015 01:12 pm