THE BETTY/BETTE KANE TOUR

I started my comic reading and collecting hobby back in 1971 when I was just seven years old. It was a fantastic time for it because reprints were everywhere, either in their own titles or stuffed into those big giant-size issues. I loved it. It was the perfect way to catch up on all the history I’d missed.

Within my first year of reading, I already knew about Batwoman (Kathy Kane), the Silver Age Bat-family member who used to team up with Batman. But it wasn’t until my parents gave me the book Batman: From the 30s to the 70s for Christmas a few years later that I discovered there had also been a Bat-Girl! Not Barbara Gordon’s Batgirl... this was a totally different character, a spunky young girl who was basically the Robin to Batwoman’s Batman. I was instantly hooked and started digging around for every scrap of info I could find on her.

This tour is all about the original Bat-Girl, Betty Kane, a character who’s been reinvented several times over her 60+ years of publication history.

After the publication of Seduction of the Innocent and the subsequent Senate Comic Book Hearings (1954), DC got nervous about any hint that Batman and Robin might be... you know... more than just crime-fighting partners. So they introduced a love interest for Batman: Kathy Kane, a wealthy heiress and former circus performer who became Batwoman in 1956. She was a solid part of Batman’s world for years. Four years after her debut, readers met her niece, Betty.   Let our tour begin!  This one is actually much longer than you might suspect, so bring some snacks!

Bat-Girl/Betty Kane
Created by:  Bill Finger and Sheldon Moldoff

Betty Kane rolls into Gotham in Batman #139 (April 1961) to visit her Aunt Kathy and wastes zero time playing detective.  She straight-up figures out that her aunt is the one and only Batwoman in no time. Inspired, and perhaps a little starstruck, she throws together her own costume in classic Robin reds and greens, then leaps right into the fray.

In her debut, she makes a very dramatic entrance by swinging in on a curtain rod to rescue Batman, Robin, and Batwoman from King Cobra. (Look, I love the energy, but let’s be real, very few curtain rods are rated for a swinging teenage girl. Structural integrity was not her top concern that day.) Pretty lucky debut!

Of course, Batman and Batwoman immediately bench her enthusiasm and tell her she needs actual training before she can officially join the crime-fighting club. And just like that, the career of Bat-Girl officially begins.

Bat-Girl turns up for her second outing just two issues after her debut. In Batman #141 (August 1961), Betty heads back to Gotham, suits up, and plays a big role in taking down the costumed villain known as the Moth. This story also marks the moment where Bat-Girl starts getting publicly recognized as part of the whole Batman family of heroes... pretty cool milestone for a brand-new sidekick.

The Moth breaks out of jail soon after, and Batman, Batwoman, and Robin get worried he’ll come after her for revenge. They have Robin keep her distracted (which she does not appreciate at first), but she eventually catches on that all the subterfuge was just to keep her safe. Oh, and this issue also makes it pretty clear she’s got a big ol’ crush on Robin. 

Three issues after her last appearance, Bat-Girl returns in Batman #144 (December 1961). Commissioner Gordon needs to send Batman and Batwoman out of town on a special mission, so, being the absolute crackerjack public official that he is, he calls in two teenagers to monitor the crime in Gotham while they’re gone. What could possibly go wrong?

Betty is thrilled about the solo patrol time with Robin and figures it’ll finally bring them closer. She doesn’t waste any time making her romantic interest pretty obvious… only for Robin to gently (but firmly) shut it down. Turns out he’s already committed to another girl. Oof.

Enter Bat-Mite, who decides to play matchmaker by helping Bat-Girl become a better crimefighter and making Robin jealous with attention from other boys. Eventually Robin comes clean... the woman he’s devoted to is the Statue of Justice. Bat-Girl realizes she just can’t compete with that kind of dedication. 

It took over a year for Betty to make it back to Gotham and suit up as Bat-Girl again. And what a return it was. In Batman #153 (February 1963), our Bat-quartet runs into an evil alien who hits them with a wild ray gun device. Robin and Bat-Girl seemingly disintegrate on the spot, while Batman and Batwoman are left too weak to function.

This full-issue, three-part tale follows Robin and Bat-Girl as they get transported to another world and have to fight even more aliens to survive. It turns out the ray worked differently on Batman and Batwoman because they were standing on a metal manhole cover... their life energy got zapped to the alien planet while their physical bodies stayed behind on Earth, slowly fading.

Robin and Bat-Girl eventually defeat their captors, allowing Batman and Batwoman to reintegrate and get everyone back home safely. The story ends on a sweet note with Robin and Bat-Girl celebrating their victory over evil aliens by taking a nice hand-in-hand walk in the park. Silver Age romance at its finest!

In Batman #159 (November 1963), Batman and Robin are out for a casual stroll in the Batmobile and just happen to roll right past Kathy Kane’s home. (Because nothing says “subtle investigation” like parking the Batmobile in front of your colleague’s house... Kathy’s secret identity was clearly in great hands!) While the grown-ups do their thing, Robin and Betty happily reignite their budding teenage romance.

Before long, Bat-Girl and Robin are going up against the Joker… except it’s not the Joker. It’s Clayface impersonating him. Bat-Girl, who previously handled King Cobra and the Moth like a pro, suddenly plays up some delicate sensibilities after the encounter, batting her eyes and stroking Robin’s masculine ego. Peak Silver Age flirting.

Things escalate when the real Joker gets mad about someone stealing his look and starts a vendetta against Clayface. Batwoman and Bat-Girl get shuffled to the sidelines for a bit while Batman and Robin cook up a plan. But the ladies don’t stay benched for long; they swoop in to save the day (expertly piloting some borrowed Whirly-Bats) and help wrap up the chaotic battle against both villains. In the end, Bat-Girl and Robin walk away feeling more secure in their feelings for each other than their mentors ever seem to manage.

Up to now, all of Bat-Girl’s appearances had been in the pages of Batman. But in December 1963, she finally branched out with a solo spotlight (well, sort of) in Detective Comics #322. And for the first time, she does it without Batwoman around.

In this wonderfully convoluted tale, Batman gets turned into a genie by some magic powder, and a bunch of crooks try to use him to grant their three wishes. With Bat-Girl’s help, Robin tracks down the lamp housing Batman-genie and manages to snag the third and final wish for himself. How does he make the wish? Telepathically, of course... because he was underwater at the time and couldn’t speak. Silver Age logic at its most unhinged!

In Batman #163 (May 1964), Alfred sits down to type out yet another one of his many future-based imaginary tales. This time, Dick Grayson has grown up and taken over as Batman II, while Bruce Wayne Jr. (the son of Bruce Wayne and Kathy Kane-Wayne) becomes the new Robin II.

In this particular story, Betty Kane returns to Gotham City and takes up the mantle of Batwoman. She and Dick Grayson finally solidify their love for each other… and, miracle of miracles, everyone’s secret identities get revealed and cleared up with no drama. A happy ending for the whole Bat-family!

Betty Kane's adventures as Bat-Girl wrapped up their original Silver Age run with that charming imaginary tale. After just seven appearances, her legacy was established, yet her story seemed destined for the scrap heap. DC Comics was shifting gears into the Bronze Age, and the new Batman editor, Julius Schwartz, had big plans for a "new look" Batman. He wanted to modernize the character, lean back into his detective roots, and ditch the campy 1950s sci-fi and space creature antics that had started to feel played out.

In mid-1964, Batwoman, Bat-Girl, Bat-Mite, and even Ace the Bat-Hound were quietly dropped from the books. No big farewell, no explanation for their sudden disappearance, and no future references to their histories. One day they were swinging through Gotham, the next they were simply gone, erased from the active continuity as if they had never existed.

Batwoman eventually made a quiet comeback twenty-two years later in 1976, popping up as a guest star in a Batgirl story in Batman Family #10. That issue tried to explain why an adult Barbara Gordon was still running around as Batgirl instead of taking the Batwoman name. It was a small crack in the wall of continuity, but it opened the door. If Batwoman could return, then maybe Bat-Girl had a shot too. And sure enough, her tale was far from over!

Betty Kane made her long-awaited comeback in a three-issue arc running through Teen Titans #50 to #52, starting in October 1977. After more than a decade in comic book limbo, the original Bat-Girl was back in action. This time around, she had traded in her teenage sidekick days for life as a professional tennis player, though she apparently still packed her Bat-Girl costume whenever she traveled. Old habits die hard, I suppose.

While visiting California, Betty joined forces with a group of other young heroes, including Lilith Clay, Hawk and Dove, Beast Boy, and Golden Eagle. Together they formed Titans West, a West Coast counterpart to the main Titans team. When trouble brewed, the two groups teamed up to take on the villainous Mister Esper. Bat-Girl held her own alongside the newer generation, proving she still had the skills and the spirit that first impressed everyone back in 1961.

Betty was officially back, and it was clear her crime-fighting career was far from over. After years of being erased from continuity, the original Bat-Girl had returned to remind everyone that she belonged in the Bat-family.

Betty Kane popped up again just a few months later in Batman Family #16 (March 1978). While Dick Grayson and Barbara Gordon were busy discussing one of their own ongoing cases, a breaking news report flashed across the television in the background. There was Bat-Girl in full costume, taking down a villain who had decided to crash a beauty contest. Through some quick detective work based on what they saw on screen, Dick and Barbara realized this was the very same criminal they had been tracking.

It was a fun, albeit very brief, crossover moment that showed Bat-Girl still operating on her own terms and getting the job done. She handled the situation with the same energetic style fans remembered from her earlier adventures. Sadly, this would be her last sighting for quite some time. Following this short appearance, Betty disappeared from DC Comics stories for another seven years.

Betty Kane made her tenth appearance in Tales of the Teen Titans #50 (February 1985). She showed up as a guest at the wedding of Donna Troy and Terry Long, looking every bit the confident professional athlete she had become. During the festivities, she chatted about the idea of reviving Titans West, but the team never quite got off the ground again. It was a pleasant, low-key cameo that gave longtime fans a nice little reunion with the original Bat-Girl.

This turned out to be her final appearance before Crisis on Infinite Earths hit. Sadly, unlike many other heroes, Betty did not receive even a single-panel mention or cameo during the massive 1985-1986 maxiseries that rewrote so much of DC continuity.

Her aunt Kathy, the original Batwoman, had been killed off years earlier in a 1978 story. In the post-Crisis universe, things changed even more dramatically. The new continuity declared that Kathy Kane had never operated as Batwoman at all. Betty herself, on the other hand? Well, stick around!

The Crisis on Infinite Earths wrapped up in March 1986, and for a while it looked like Betty Kane and her entire Bat-Girl career had been wiped clean from the DC Universe. Whole swaths of pre-Crisis history got streamlined or erased, and sidekicks tied to heroes who no longer existed (hello, Batwoman) were obvious casualties. Then, in May 1989, Secret Origins Annual (vol. 2) #3 dropped, taking a fresh look at the post-Crisis history of the Teen Titans. And somehow, Betty slipped through the cracks after all.

In this issue, a villainous alien energy being called the Antithesis comes back for an encore. Fans might remember him from Teen Titans (vol. 1) #53 back in 1978, where he helped retcon the team's origin to include Speedy. Now, a decade later, he is once again the perfect narrative device to update the Titans' past with a post-Crisis sensibility. As the Antithesis starts messing with Dick Grayson's dreams, we meet Elizabeth "Bette" Kane. This version had a brief early career as the heroine Flamebird before stepping away. She later returns to action alongside Hawk, Dove, Lilith, and other ex-Titans, putting together a West Coast squad known as Titans West. It is basically a revised take on the events from Teen Titans #50-52, but without the old Batwoman connection. This Bette was never anyone's Bat-Girl sidekick.

The "Who's Who" entry included in the Annual cemented the details for this updated character. And the codename choice was a nice touch. Back in the Silver Age, Superman and Jimmy Olsen would shrink down to the bottle city of Kandor and become Nightwing and Flamebird, Kandor's answer to Batman and Robin. By 1984, Dick Grayson had already claimed the Nightwing mantle in the main continuity. So it only made sense that his on-again, off-again girlfriend from the old days would pick up the complementary Flamebird identity. It felt like a respectful nod to history while giving Bette her own fresh start.

Not every pre-Crisis character got to keep even a shadow of their legacy after the Crisis. Betty/Bette managed to hang on in a reimagined form, trading the yellow-and-purple Batsuit for something new. It was not quite the same, but it kept the spirit alive just enough for fans who had followed her from the very beginning.

Two months after her updated reintroduction as Flamebird, Bette Kane turned up in The New Titans #56, cover-dated July 1989. The issue focuses on former Titans Karen Beecher-Duncan (Bumblebee) and Mal Duncan (Herald) as they sit down with Sarah Charles from STAR Labs. The conversation turns to an old adventure from the team's earlier days, specifically the first time they encountered Gnarrk, a Neanderthal pulled out of his proper time and thrust into the modern world.

Gnarrk had been a minor supporting character during the 1970s run of the Teen Titans, more of a curiosity than a core member. In this retelling, Karen and Mal walk Sarah through those events, helping weave the post-Crisis continuity together. Bette appears here as part of the broader circle of former and occasional Titans, still operating under her Flamebird identity and staying connected to the West Coast crew. It is a quieter showcase for her compared to the big Antithesis story, but it keeps her visible in the shared universe without forcing her back into the old Bat-Girl mold.

These little flashbacks and team reunions were common in The New Titans at the time. They let writers honor older stories while gently adjusting them for the new status quo. For longtime readers following Betty's journey, seeing Bette Kane pop up again so soon after the Secret Origins Annual felt like confirmation that she had survived the Crisis in her own small way. Flamebird was not headlining books, but she was still in the mix.

Just three months later, Bette Kane stepped into the spotlight again in Hawk and Dove Annual (vol. 3) #1, cover-dated October 1990. This time she was not just a background piece or a flashback. The story gave readers a real sense of who this post-Crisis Bette actually was. Overconfident, cocky, liberated, and very assertive, she also showed a charming cluelessness about how other people saw her. It made for a fun, personality-driven issue that finally let Flamebird breathe in the present day.

For the first time, we see her active as Flamebird in a modern setting instead of through old memories. Bette is back on the tennis circuit when she spots Hank Hall in the stands. She immediately pounces, flirting and enthusiastically rehashing the glory days of Titans West. A photo in the Annual even confirms that Bumblebee and Herald had been part of that West Coast lineup at some point, tidying up the team's post-Crisis history. When the new Dove, Dawn Granger, learns that Hank spilled the beans about her secret identity, she is not thrilled. Bette's response is pure gold. She casually suits up right there and tells Dawn to chill because she is a hero too. Dawn, of course, has zero idea who Flamebird is supposed to be. The whole exchange is packed with light humor that plays perfectly off Bette's bold personality.

Before long, the old Titans West crew reunites, joining forces with the new Dove and Chris King (of Dial H for Hero fame). Together they work to rescue some STAR Labs scientists who are being pulled into a literal hellish dimension. It is a solid team-up tale that gives Bette actual action beats while showing how she fits into the larger superhero community now. No Batwoman, no yellow-and-purple costume, just Flamebird carving out her own little corner. For fans who had followed Betty from the Silver Age, it was nice to see her surviving and thriving with a fresh attitude.

After a solid four-year gap, Bette Kane made her way back into comics in Team Titans #22 (July 1994) and stuck around through the series finale in issue #24. The Team Titans book had launched with a high-concept premise of young heroes from a dystopian possible future. Over time though, the series lost focus and grew increasingly convoluted. What started as one tight team splintered into several different "Team Titans" groups, with corporate interests stepping in to seize control and scatter the original members across the country.

As the corporate machine tightened its grip, the suits decided to bring in veteran heroes for support and legitimacy. Past Teen Titans, including Bumblebee, Herald, Flamebird, Aqualad, and others, got the call. Bette returned once again as Flamebird, stepping into this chaotic late-run storyline alongside her old West Coast teammates. It was not the most elegant chapter in Titans history, but it gave Bette another chance to appear in costume and interact with the larger legacy cast.

By this point, Flamebird was clearly positioned as one of the reliable "old guard" alumni rather than a headline character. The corporate takeover plot and multiple team shenanigans made for a messy ending to the series, yet seeing Bette show up again felt like a small win for continuity. She had survived the Crisis, rebranded successfully, and kept popping up whenever the Titans needed extra hands. Not every Silver Age sidekick managed to stick around this long. 

For the sake of brevity, we will begin to glide past the issues where Bette shows up only as a background face or in group photos recapping Titans history.

The next time Flamebird actually got to join a real adventure came in the JLA/Titans miniseries, issues #1 through #3 (December 1998 to February 1999). When Cyborg is infected by an alien entity known as Technis, he begins rounding up every hero who had ever been a Titan. His ultimate goal is to transform the moon into a new home for the Technis collective. This puts the JLA and the Titans on a collision course. The League views Cyborg as a clear global threat that must be stopped, while the Titans refuse to give up on their friend and fight to save what remains of Victor Stone's human consciousness.

Bette holds her own among the gathered alumni but does not exactly shine in combat. She comes up short against the Huntress in their matchup, though she still earns a very cool cover spotlight in issue #2. It was a big, event-style story that brought together Titans old and new, giving Flamebird another chance to stand with the extended family. 

While the JLA/Titans crossover gave fans a somewhat satisfying team-up moment for Bette, the late 1990s leaned heavily into a lighter, more comedic Justice League International vibe. DC was embracing humor and characters who did not always take themselves too seriously. Flamebird slid comfortably into that tone.

In Titans Secret Files #1 (March 1999), the team is recovering from the Technis Imperative and preparing a major membership overhaul. The original Titans return to the fold while the book signals that a handful of new or returning heroes will join the core roster.  Bette waits to be called up! 

The running gag of Bette's second-string status carries on without much fuss. She is there, she is game, but the spotlight stays on the bigger names. For a character who started out in the Silver Age chasing the limelight next to Robin, it was a quietly funny continuation of her new place in the hierarchy. Flamebird remained part of the extended Titans family, but never a major player.

Five months after the Titans failed to call her back for the roster rebuild, Flamebird turned up at a big open audition for heroes run by Cadmus in Superboy (vol. 4) #65 (August 1999). The event packed the place with all kinds of hopefuls, from promising newcomers to obvious long shots. Bette did not see much real action, but she stole several scenes with her classic oblivious energy.

Looking over the crowd of applicants, she loudly remarked on how many second-stringers had shown up, completely missing that she was one of them. Most of the people around her had no idea who Flamebird even was, which only made the moment funnier. It was peak post-Crisis Bette: cocky, outspoken, and cheerfully unaware of her place in the pecking order.

At the same time, the issue quietly highlighted her better qualities. Beneath the bluster, Bette genuinely wanted to be a hero for the right reasons. She showed up ready to help and contribute, even if the spotlight rarely landed on her. Small appearances like this kept her in circulation and reminded readers that the original Bat-Girl had not given up on the life.

January 2000 kicked off a fun four-issue Beast Boy mini-series, and Bette Kane popped up toward the end of the first issue. Her pro tennis career got a nice shout-out, which was a welcome nod to what she had been doing with her life. Even better, she made it crystal clear that she was still all in on the idea of reviving Titans West. Some things never change.

In Beast Boy #2 the following month, Gar found himself framed and stuck in jail. Naturally, he reached out to his old teammate for help. Bette suited up as Flamebird and showed up ready to spring him, even flashing her expired Teen Titans membership card like it was still valid ID. Needless to say, this bold move did not actually get Beast Boy out of jail. Classic Bette energy!

In Beast Boy #3, Bette stayed fully committed to clearing Gar’s name and getting him out of prison. In one panel, she mentioned reaching out to her Aunt Kathy for help raising some money. This marked the first time post-Crisis continuity acknowledged that she even had an Aunt Kathy, a nice little family detail slipped into the story.

She also put her detective skills to work and figured out there was a second shapeshifter behind the crimes, pinning everything on Beast Boy. When word spread that Nightwing was in town, Flamebird jumped at the chance to team up and share what she had uncovered. Sadly, things did not go smoothly. Her efforts ended up causing more harm than good during the encounter.

Nightwing bluntly told her that he believed she should give up on being a superhero. Bette was clearly upset by his lack of support, but the final panel showed her resolve. She made it plain that she was not done protecting people or fighting crime. Her determination stayed strong even after the setback.

Bette refused to let Nightwing’s harsh words discourage her. Instead, she channeled that lack of support into even stronger motivation to prove herself as a hero. In Beast Boy #4, she made some noticeable changes. She updated her Flamebird costume, cut her hair, and worked hard to move past her old ditzy persona. She also added new light-based gadgets that gave her attacks a fiery flair.

With her fresh look and upgraded gear, she came in swinging. Bette teamed up with Beast Boy to take down Gemini, the shapeshifting daughter of Madame Rouge who had been pulling the strings. Her timely help proved crucial in clearing Gar’s name and wrapping up the case.

It was a solid ending to the mini-series for both characters, and a clear turning point for Bette. She showed she was serious about growing as a crime-fighter and ready for whatever came next.

Just a couple of months after her renewed commitment and costume upgrade, Flamebird made a quick appearance in Young Justice #20 (June 2000) before taking a much bigger role in issue #21. She joined several other heroes as part of a temporary new Young Justice lineup. The group’s main task was stepping in to break up a chaotic feud between Lobo and Klarion.

The team had their hands full, but it was ultimately Bette who came up with a clever plan to trick Lobo into dropping the fight and leaving the scene. Her quick thinking helped de-escalate the situation without things spiraling further out of control. There was also a fun little panel where she seemed to lightly acknowledge her past as Bat-Girl, a nice wink to longtime readers.

Following her Young Justice adventure, Bette returned two months later in The Titans Annual #1 (August 2000). She and Gar were in Japan for a tennis competition she was competing in. When a demon started causing major havoc, both suited up as Flamebird and Beast Boy. We also learned in this story that Bette could speak some Japanese, which came in handy during the chaos.

With Beast Boy possessed by the demon, Bette reluctantly teamed up with the local hero Bushido to handle the threat. Things got even more intense when the rest of the Titans showed up to lend a hand. Arsenal and Flash both took notice of Flamebird’s new level of drive and dedication, giving her some well-earned recognition for how hard she had been working on herself. It would have been nice for Nightwing to do the same.

It only took one month for Flamebird to appear again, this time in Titans Secret Files and Origins #2 (October 2000).  Back in the U.S., Bette was still working hard to convince Gar to help put together a new West Coast version of the Titans. Their conversation about the old days also included another nod to team history.

The issue featured a humorous open audition process that led to the official launch of the newly rechristened Titans L.A. The roster came together with Flamebird, Beast Boy, Bushido (fresh from the Japan adventure), Captain Marvel Jr., Terra, Hero Cruz, Bumblebee, Herald, and Matt Logan. It was an eclectic mix that felt full of potential.

Bette finally got the revived West Coast team she'd been pushing for!  This team had been organized with the intent that they would be given a mini-series, but publication never came to be.

Flamebird’s next notable outing came in The Titans #35 and #36 (Jan/Feb 2002). She and Beast Boy helped the main team on two fronts. Along with assisting the D.E.O. kids, they worked together to take down the Wildebeests in some solid action sequences.

At the same time, they pitched in to help solve the mystery surrounding Liberty Belle’s murdered fiancé. It was a good showing that mixed teamwork, investigation, and combat, giving Bette a chance to contribute meaningfully alongside old and new allies alike.

Flamebird returned in the fall of 2002, appearing across Birds of Prey issues #70, 72, and 73. Huntress stumbled upon a warehouse full of unconscious heroes hooked up to strange machines. As she read off the names, Barbara grew alarmed because they were all metahumans. Bette stood out as the odd one in the group since she is not a metahuman, which left a bit of a question mark about why she had been targeted.  No explanation was ever provided.

The heroes had been captured and brainwashed by a cult leader named Sovereign Brusaw. When Brusaw sent his controlled team against Huntress and Vixen, a solid fight broke out. There was a nice panel where Huntress gave credit to Flamebird’s strong backhand, a nod to the dedicated hero Bette had become through her recent training and growth.

Eventually, the brainwashed heroes were all freed and sent on their way. It was another team-up that showed Flamebird holding her own, even if the story had a frustrating continuity quirk.  Huntress acts as though she doesn't know who Flamebird is, even though the two had previously sparred four years prior in the JLA/Titans mini-series.

Three real-world years after her last sighting, Bette pops up again in Teen Titans (vol. 3) #17-19. The current Titans are heading home after a team-up with the Legion of Super-Heroes when they overshoot their return trip and land in a possible future timeline. This is the "Titans of Tomorrow" story, and things have gone pretty dark.

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In this version of events, we meet an older Bette operating as Batwoman, not Flamebird. Her role stays pretty minimal. She had been killed by Duela Dent (Joker's Daughter), only for future Tim Drake (now calling himself Batman) to resurrect her with a Lazarus Pit. She becomes his partner and more, but when the future Titans turn into authoritarian rulers over the western U.S., Bette breaks away and helps form Titans East to fight back alongside the more heroic holdouts.

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It's a brief glimpse of what could have been for the original Bat-Girl, showing her stepping into a heavier legacy role, even if only in one possible future. The story gives her just enough presence to remind readers she is still around in the DCU's back pages.

Between 2005 and 2008, Flamebird made a handful of small background appearances. You could spot her in Teen Titans (vol. 3) issues 22, 23, 32, and 52 through 54, plus Infinite Crisis and some of its tie-ins. These were mostly the classic "hey look, all the Titans ever" group shots rather than real story moments. Nice to know she had not been completely forgotten, but nothing substantial.

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Then came a fun pit stop in Ambush Bug: Year None #1 (September 2008). I have been a longtime Ambush Bug fan, so I was happy to see him drag Bette into his fourth-wall-breaking nonsense. This one sits way outside normal continuity, which is perfect because it gives us something rare: Bette actually throwing down in a fight instead of just posing for a team photo. And in true Ambush Bug fashion, we get the bombshell that Bette Kane is the illegitimate daughter of the Phantom Stranger. Yes, really. LOL. It is crazy town, but it is the fun kind of crazy town!

It was a great silly breather, but now it is time to get back to the more serious chapters in Bette's history.

Bette's next notable showing brings her back again as Bat-Girl, not Flamebird. The issue is Detective Comics #853, part of a story where Batman experiences a looping near-death vision of his own funeral. Various heroes and villains keep offering their versions of how he died, and in a nice callback to classic Batman history, Bat-Girl appears among those paying respects to her old mentor.

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It is a quiet but respectful moment that feels like a proper tip of the hat to the original sidekick before everything changed. The story landed right on the cusp of another of DC's big continuity resets, giving readers one last look at the pre-reboot world and its layered history.

This tribute had a nice sense of closure, even if it was brief. Bette got to stand with the rest of the Bat-family one more time before the universe hit the refresh button yet again.

Following the Infinite Crisis continuity reboot in 2005, DC Comics introduced a brand-new Batwoman in 2006. This updated take was Kate Kane, established as the cousin of Bruce Wayne. Specifically, Kate’s father and Bruce’s mother were siblings, tying the Kane and Wayne families together in a fresh way for the modern era.

Three years later, Detective Comics #856 (October 2009) clarified the family tree even further. Our beloved Bette Kane was now positioned as a cousin of this new Batwoman (and also a cousin of Batman), rather than a niece as she had been in earlier continuity. With that shift locked in, Bette’s journey as a hero was about to start over yet again.

As we move forward, we will continue not covering every single Bette appearance, since she settles in as a regular supporting character in the Batwoman corner of the Bat-universe. Instead, we will stick to the issues that mark real turning points in her path. Across Detective Comics #856 through #862, we learn that pieces of her earlier continuity still hold: she once had a career as a tennis pro, and she previously operated as Flamebird. Now she is enrolled in college, where a villain called Cutter is terrorizing the campus by abducting young women to harvest specific body parts. Bette reconnects with Kate during this stretch and reaches out more than once, looking for support with “moving on” and the struggle of “not being able to let go.” Detective Comics #862 officially confirms that in this post-Infinite Crisis landscape, Bette still carries a past as Flamebird, and it is clear she is not ready to leave that identity behind. Later in the same issue, she steps in to defend another student, much to Batwoman’s frustration. The fight ends with her friend wounded and Bette herself kidnapped by Cutter, who, unknown to her, has singled her out specifically for her ears.

With Batwoman’s help, Bette manages to break free from Cutter’s clutches. In the process, she learns the big family secret: the woman under the cowl is her cousin Kate. The revelation lands hard, but it also opens a door she has been trying to walk through for some time. Now that she knows the truth, Bette does not waste much time. In Detective Comics #863 (May 2010), she pays Kate a visit and makes her intentions clear. She wants back in the costumed game, this time fighting alongside her cousin as a full-fledged partner in crimefighting.

Okay, quick detour time. We left off with Bette asking Kate for help getting back into the costumed crimefighting game in May 2010. That particular storyline then got parked for more than a year, held up by production conflicts and creative delays, until Batwoman’s own ongoing title finally launched in late 2011. In the meantime, Batman Incorporated #4 (April 2011) drops something we cannot skip. The issue re-establishes that a yellow-clad Batwoman really did exist in Batman’s past. She is Kathy Kane (née Webb), who married Nathan Kane. She was much younger than him, and when he died at age 47, she was left a wealthy socialite widow who owned a circus. Chunks of the original Batwoman history get stitched right back in, including the detail that she had a sidekick named Bat-Girl. Just like that, the classic aunt-and-niece Batwoman/Bat-Girl relationship is restored to continuity. Bette once again operated as the sidekick to her aunt Kathy Webb Kane’s Batwoman. Though Kathy is established as older than Bruce, I still cannot wrap my head around him dating his aunt by marriage. But he did! There you have it. Bat-Girl is officially back in continuity.

Let's pull this tour back on track! Flamebird showed up in a small and insignificant way in Teen Titans (vol. 3) #99 and #100 as that series wrapped up. Not much to linger on there. Then in November 2011, Batwoman #1 picks up right where Detective Comics #863 left off back in May of 2010. Kate Kane has decided to mentor Bette. First order of business: she ditches the Flamebird costume entirely and hands Bette a very plain costume and mask. Until further notice, Bette will go by Plebe whenever she is suited up. (Plebe is the name given to new cadets in a military academy.)

After spending some time fighting alongside Batwoman, Bette starts getting frustrated by the lack of real challenge and her limited role as Batwoman's Plebe. The whole setup is starting to wear thin. In Batwoman #3 (January 2012), things shift. Batwoman gets shaken by an encounter with the Weeping Woman and by DEO Agent Cameron Chase closing in on her identity. She decides it is best not to encourage Bette any further. Rather than explain the truth, Kate simply tells her that she does not have what it takes to be a costumed crime fighter and that the training is over. Bette feels betrayed. She is hurt and angry, and decides she does not need Batwoman's training after all. She suits up again as Flamebird and heads out to protect Gotham on her own.

In Batwoman #4 (February 2012), Flamebird is back on the streets and runs into the head of the Chinese Tong Gang, a monstrous guy with a scythe hook for one hand. He overpowers her, slices his blade through her stomach, and leaves her to die. Nearly lifeless, she is discovered by agents of the DEO. They pull off her mask and try to figure out who she is (odd, given her previous status as a tennis pro), but her presence has been totally wiped from all public records. After preying on her, they eventually have her sent to a hospital. Bette spends the next seven issues unconscious in a hospital bed, visited by her cousins Kate and Bruce, and by her uncle Jacob.

Bette has been unconscious for months. Her uncle Jake places her Plebe mask on her face and tells her the doctors are saying she is not going to wake up. He vows to give her the hero training that his daughter Kate reneged on, if she will just open her eyes. It seems being a hero is truly a driving force for Bette, because those words are enough to bring her back to consciousness. This all goes down in Batwoman #11 (September 2012).

After returning to consciousness, Bette moved in with her Uncle Jake and his wife Cathy. She stayed with them for several months while her wounds healed. During that time, her uncle began training her in various forms of meditation, combat, and hand-to-hand skills. In Batwoman #16 (March 2013), Bette dons a new costume and sets out to take down The Hook, the villain who gutted her over a year earlier. When she confronts him, she hopes her training and plan will work. And if not, that he finishes the job this time.

In Batwoman #17, thanks to all that training with her Uncle Jake, Bette finally takes down The Hook. After everything he put her through, the win has to feel pretty good. She then teams up with Batwoman and Wonder Woman to help take down Bloody Mary as well. Once the dust settles, she lets the two of them know her new codename is Hawkfire.

In Batwoman #18 (May 2013), Hawkfire starts teaming up with Batwoman on a regular basis. The two of them are out there working together, but neither realizes the other is getting real-time instructions through an earpiece. Batwoman is taking orders from Cameron Chase at the DEO, while Hawkfire is getting hers from her uncle, Colonel Jake Kane. This issue also carries some extra weight because it marks the first time Batman interacts with Bette in her new identity.

Hawkfire calls an end to her partnership with Batwoman in Batwoman #19 (June 2013). She has a clear disagreement with Batwoman’s continued association with the DEO instead of siding with Batman.

After appearing in the background for several issues, Hawkfire takes center stage in Batwoman #22 (September 2013). Uncle Jake puts her through a series of staged training sessions against some of his highly skilled ex-military companions, a group he calls the Murder of Crows. Those specialists all agree that Bette handles herself well and has a lot of potential.

Bette tells her uncle it is time to keep running the mission over and over until she can get her time down and be fully prepared to infiltrate the DEO and extract her cousin Beth Kane.

Following her training with Uncle Jake, we get to see Bette not only as a dedicated hero with solid fighting skills, but also as someone who knows when intelligence matters more than throwing punches. Determined to take down the DEO, she helps abduct one of their higher-ups. When her uncle and his Murder of Crows fail to get any information on Beth Kane’s location through their usual torture techniques, Bette steps in. She appeals to the operative’s ego and ambition and walks away with the details Jake’s team could not extract. This issue sets Bette, as Hawkfire, up as a force to be reckoned with.

Hawkfire has trained hard; she is eager, and she finally makes her move to infiltrate the DEO and rescue Beth Kane. The infiltration begins in Batwoman #24 (December 2013). All those months of work with Uncle Jake pay off here. The combat drills, the hand-to-hand practice, the meditation focus, and even the smarter approach she showed when pure force failed have left her ready for something this big. She steps into the DEO with purpose and skill.

The tale of Hawkfire infiltrating the DEO to rescue her cousin Beth wraps up in Batwoman Annual #1 (June 2014). It ends up taking a large gathering of batfolk, including Batman, Nightwing, Batgirl, Batwoman, and Hawkfire, to finally free Beth and shut down Mr. Bones’s corruption. Hawkfire is ready to take on Bones herself when he is suddenly shot in the head by one of his own team. (No, he does not die.)

Following the rescue of Beth Kane, Hawkfire partners with Batwoman for a while. She even spends a couple of issues playing a sort of "junior Oracle" role for her. Then, after a meeting in a coffee shop between Bette and Kate, Bette unceremoniously disappears from the title following Batwoman #32 (August 2014). This volume of Batwoman kept going until issue #42. Fear not, Bette’s history is not quite finished!

Following her run as Hawkfire in the Batwoman title from 2011 through 2014, it took three years until we saw Bette again. Before her next appearance, another continuity reboot hit the DC universe. In 2016, DC rolled out DC Rebirth, yet another continuity overhaul.

In Detective Comics #967 (December 2017), Bette and Kate catch up. Bette is shown as attending a military academy, putting herself through much the same training as her revered cousin. She expresses interest in continuing to don a costume, but Kate makes it clear she thinks Bette needs more time honing her skills. It should be noted that Bette says she wants in as Flamebird. Sadly, her accomplishments and time as Hawkfire appear to no longer be part of DC continuity. Her days of holding her own with Batwoman, Batman, Wonder Woman, and other bigwigs are over. She is back to "proving herself". *Sigh* This is a sad regression that is only somewhat assuaged by the notion that she is receiving military training and still showing the gumption she had been fighting to have respected for fifty-six years so far.

The 2016 subplot of Bette attending a military academy has pretty much been ignored since the issue that revealed it. Much like her brief stint as Hawkfire, it got quietly dropped and never mentioned again. Bette then sat in the dustbin of forgotten characters for about seven years. In March 2023, she finally popped back up in DC Legion of Bloom #1 (May 2023), once again wearing the Flamebird costume. The short story “The Birds and the Bees” puts her on a revived Titans West team alongside Bumblebee and Dove. Their mission is straightforward: rescue Hawk from a brainwashing cult run by Queen Bee and shut the whole operation down.

As we slowly bring this tour to its conclusion, it is worth noting that the last entry marked the most recent time (to date) we have seen Bette actually suited up and in action. Next stop is some appendix material from The New History of the DC Universe #2 (September 2025). This bit of official timeline info matters for our purposes because it locks in that, in the post-Rebirth continuity, Bette was still originally Bat-Girl before she ever became Flamebird. And it was in that Bat-Girl identity that she first joined Titans West.

Next up is the final pitstop on this tour. Dated September 2025, Titans Annual (vol. 4) #1 delivers a wonderful story that finally reveals who Donna Troy’s father is. In the issue, Donna looks back over her life, and one of those memories has her reflecting on her feelings about the other women on the team while thinking about a gathering they all shared before her wedding to Terry Long.

That small moment suggests Bette and Donna shared more of a friendship than earlier stories had really shown us. It is a quiet, welcome nod that rounds out our look at the original Bat-Girl’s place in Titans history.

Sixty-plus years later, Betty/Bette is still out there somewhere, costume packed, ready for the next call-up. Whether DC remembers to dial her number anytime soon is anyone’s guess. But if history has taught us anything, it is that the original Bat-Girl does not go gently. She just waits, practices her backhand, and swings back in when the moment is right. Thanks for riding along! Bat-Girl, Flamebird, Hawkfire, and all Batman-related characters, names, and elements and the distinctive likenesses thereof are trademarks of DC Comics, Inc.