Manhunter
Manhunter is a comic book character that first appeared in Police Comics #8
Kate Spencer is the eighth DC Comics character to assume the mantle of Manhunter, defending Los Angeles from metahuman threats, not hesitating to kill. The first Manhunter, Donald "Dan" Richards, appeared in Police Comics #8 (March 1942.)
Dan Richards
He was the first Manhunter. Richards took-up the idenity to clear a close friend, who was framed for murder. He was also a member of the Freedom Fighters.Paul Kirk
Kirk was a independent investigator who helped the police solve crimes. He first took-up the idenity when his good friend inspector Donovan was murdered. He was a member of the All-Star Squardron. Kirk would later be revived after his death by a secret council. After finding out that the council had made several clones of himself, he would sacrifice his life to stop them.Mark Shaw
A public defender who joined the ancient sect of Manhunters. Shaw killed his shape-shifting enemy named Dumas. He would have a break-down and take over this Dumas's persona. While in this persona he killed Dan Richards, Chase Lawler, and Kirk Depaul. He has been recently approached by the Order of Saint Dumas to take over the mantle of Azrael.Chase Lawler
A musician who summoned the Wild Huntman to save himself and his girlfriend from harm.Kirk Depaul
The last surviving clone of Paul Kirk. He was a member of Power Company.Kate Spencer
Origin
Kate first appeared as a Manhunter in the October, 2004 issue of the Manhunter vol. 3, #1.
Kate was a federal prosecutor, Kate quickly tires of guilty criminals evading punishment. Angered that the super villain Copperhead escapes from custody after killing two prison guards, she steals equipment from an evidence room, hunts him down and kills him.
She then blackmails a former criminal, now in the Witness Protection Program, to build and maintain her weapons and armor. As a divorced mother of a young boy, she finds it difficult to balance both life as a Manhunter with her career and family life. However, during DC’s Infinite Crisis series, Barbara Gordon aka ( Oracle) offers a chance to join the fight in Metropolis with her team, the Birds of Prey.
Her first appearance as a team member came in issue #100, along with Big Barda, leader of the Female Furies. While Kate is not imbued with super powers, her suit keys in to her bioelectrical signature, supplying her with increased strength, agility and endurance. Her staff was once carried by the Manhunter, Mark Shaw.
Powers & Abilities
Though Kate has no innate superhuman powers, she has proven to be a skilled fighter and possesses three distinct battle weapons. When Kate pursued Copperhead, she snuck into an evidence room to steal some items she can use against him. She continues to use these three items:- Darkstar's Exo-Mantle - The suit comes from a member of the Darkstars who died in battle and fell to Earth to rot. A drifter found it and used it to defend himself against a group of attackers. Successfully defeating them, he robbed them and left the suit in a dumpster. The Controllers apparently programmed an instinctive hatred of Reach scarabs into the suits including the one currently worn by Kate Spencer. Her suit reacts adversly to the scarab currently bonded to Blue Beetle Jaime Reyes. The Controllers' agents wore such suits of armor called an "exo-mantle" which granted the wearer incredible power. These powers include superhuman strength, speed, and agility, a personal force-field, flight, twin laser units, and a laser cannon.
- Azrael's Gauntlets - A small-time crook found the gauntlets, originally worn by Azrael during his stint as Batman, in Gotham City. The crook used them in an unsuccessful burglary, but when the police arrived, the crook fell to his death, leaving the gauntlets still dug into the side of the building. These gauntlets are clawed, and may or may not conceal two retractable daggers that completed Azrael's original costume.
3. Manhunter's Staff - After an attack on Eclipso several heroes died; among them was a man programmed to believe that he was Mark Shaw. The staff was recovered with the body and hidden in storage. Mark Shaw's power staff allows her to fire bolts of energy. The staff in also incredbily durable, if not indestructible.
| Super Name: | Manhunter |
| Real Name: | Kate Spencer |
| Aliases: |
Dan Richards Paul Kirk Mark Shaw Chase Lawler Kirk DePaul Kate Spencer Manhunter |
| Publisher: | DC Comics |
| Gender: | Female |
| Character Type: | Human |
| 1st Appearance: | Police Comics #8 |
| Appears in: | 257 issues |
| Birthday: | |
| Died: |
a list of 85 items by scottman
a list of 49 items by DHU
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