Katana is a DC Comics fictional character, a superhero. She first appeared in the The Brave and the Bold #200, and became a longterm member of the Outsiders. DC Comics is an American comic book and related media company. ... In comic books, first appearance refers to first comic book to feature a character. ... The Brave and the Bold was a DC Comics superhero comic book which was published from August 1955 to July 1983. ... Mike W. Barr, also referred to as Mike Barr, is a notable writer of comic books, mystery novels, and science fiction. ... Jim Aparo James N. Jim Aparo (1932-July 19, 2005) was a comic book artist best known for his work on various Batman stories for DC Comics. ... The Outsiders are fictional characters, a DC Comics superhero group. ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... DC Comics is an American comic book and related media company. ... Alice, a fictional character based on a real character from the work of Lewis Carroll. ... [[ For the bands, see Superheroes (band) and Super Heroines. ... The Brave and the Bold is a DC Comics comic book that is currently in monthly publication in a second volume. ... The Outsiders are fictional characters, a DC Comics superhero group. ...

Detailed history

Becoming Katana

Tatsu Yamashiro was an average Japanese girl, save for her proficiency in the martial arts. Two brothers, Maseo and Takeo Yamashiro, both proclaimed their love for her. While she liked both, she chose Maseo. This angered Takeo, who refused to attend the couple's wedding. By this time, he had joined the Yakuza, receiving a large dragon tattoo across his chest to mark himself as such. As a result, his family disowned him. Hawaiian State Grappling Championships. ... Yakuza ), also known as gokudō (極道), are members of traditional organized crime groups in Japan. ... For other uses, see Tattoo (disambiguation). ...

After the deaths of Tatsu's parents, (cause unknown) she and Maseo started a family of their own, and she gave birth to twins, Yuki and Reiko. Meanwhile, Takeo rose in rank of the Yakuza, and one of his exotic tastes included ancient weapons. He was presented with a pair of matched swords by General Karnz, one of which Takeo favored due to its mystical properties, which would come to be known as the Soultaker.

One night, Takeo took both swords to the Yamashiro residence. Tossing the non-powered sword to his brother and demanding he duel for Tatsu, he quickly struck Maseo down. In the course of the fight, Takeo accidentally started a fire, and while distracted by his children, Maseo was slain with the Soultaker.

Tatsu arose just in time to see her husband die, and engaged Takeo, gaining the upper hand and disarming him. When she attempted to go after her children, she heard her husband's voice telling her to turn back- coming from the sword. She listened, and watched as her house burned.

Tatsu began training as a samurai under a master called Tadashi. After much time she graduated from his tutorship and left for America where she intended to use her talents to fight for justice. She took the codename Katana after the sword that she wielded.

Becoming an Outsider

Eventually Tatsu journeyed to Markovia, a small Baltic state, where she had tracked down Karnz, and she was successful in killing him. After the fight she encountered an unconscious young girl who she named Halo. The two would encounter Batman afterwards, and the duo assisted Batman in rescuing his employee Lucius Fox from his captor, Baron Bedlam. The fictional campaign setting of Ravenloft for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game is divided geographically into a number of domains. ... Population density in the wider Baltic region. ... Halo, Gabrielle Doe, Violet Harper or Marissa Baron, is a fictional superheroine whose adventures were published by DC Comics in The Outsiders in the 1980s and 1990s. ... Batman (originally referred to as the Bat-Man and still referred to at times as the Batman) is a DC Comics fictional superhero who first appeared in Detective Comics #27 in May 1939. ... Lucius Fox is a fictional character appearing in Batman comic books by DC Comics. ... Baron Bedlam is the name of a DC Comics supervillain. ...

Batman resigned his membership in the Justice League when they refused to help Batman in his pursuit of the Baron, and he decided instead to form the Outsiders, who were meant to be more pro-active against threats. Katana and Halo became founding members of the team, alongside Black Lightning, Geo-Force and Metamorpho. The Outsiders are fictional characters, a DC Comics superhero group. ... Black Lightning is the first major African-American superhero to have been published by DC Comics. ... Geo-Force is the superhero alias of Brion Markov, a fictional character from DC Comics. ... Metamorpho (Rex Mason) is a fictional character, a superhero appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. ...

The team managed to end the Baron's tyranny in Markovia and moved to Gotham City, where they set up their headquarters (a former penthouse of Bruce Wayne, secretly the Batman). Tatsu became Halo's guardian and the two moved into the penthouse. This article is about the fictional place. ...

At the same time, Takeo was still at large and had followed Tatsu to Gotham City. Secretly he switched swords with her and left for Tokyo with the Outsiders on his tail. Takeo took the sword to his master, the godfather of the Yakuza, known only as the Oyabun. Performing a specific ritual, the Oyabun and Takeo managed to recall the souls that inhabitated the sword, who proceeded to take corporeal form. Among them were legendary mercenaries and assassins, but also Maseo, who was now a slave to the Oyabun. Katana had to fight them all and after a long battle that took its toll, Katana was able to reclaim the Soultaker and kill Takeo, and she could finally put an end to some of her ghosts. By undoing the ritual however, her husband returned into the sword as well. Oyabun is a Japanese word meaning father figure or boss. It is traditionally used by yakuza members to describe their boss or Godfather. ...

At one point the Outsiders split from Batman's leadership and took up residence in Markovia where they were funded by the Markovian crown (Geo-Force is a prince of the royal family). They became the official agents of Markovia and moved to the city of Los Angeles where they made their headquarters in the Markovian embassy, while retaining another secret HQ just off the shore. Although Tatsu had left her past behind, the Oyabun returned in her life and sent a tengu after, with which he captured her. Her teammates in the Outsiders, namely Halo and Looker were able to save her using other tengu and the tengu leader, who aided them in battle. Flag Seal Nickname: City of Angels Location Location within Los Angeles County in the state of California Coordinates , Government State County California Los Angeles County Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa (D) Geographical characteristics Area     City 1,290. ... Tengu and a Buddhist monk, by Kawanabe Kyōsai. ... Looker (Emily Briggs) is a fictional character, a female superhero in the DC Universe of comic books. ...

Family debt

After a while, the team disbanded after various tragic events surrounding Geo-Force's parents and Markovia. Nonetheless the Outsiders were forced to defend Markovia against the Manhunters, but during the fight Halo was knocked into a coma, saving Katana's life. Bounded by giri-ninjo (a debt of honor even unto death), Tatsu left the team so she could tend to Halo's wounds. During that time however, she was approached by a family member of her husband, who wished her to accompany the Suicide Squad on a mission to destroy a large horde of weapons that was about to be sold to the Yakuza. She declined on the basis of her giri-ninjo, although she was willing to help if the need was truly desperate. Suicide Squad is a name for a number of fictional organizations created for and owned by DC Comics. ...

That family member was later killed, and she went after the killer, the Daichi-Doku's Oyabun (of which her relative was a member), who did not wish to see the weapons destroyed and tried to stop the Suicide Squad. During that adventure, she saved the life of Bronze Tiger and Manhunter (Mark Shaw), making them honor-bound to her by giri-ninjo. Mark Shaw then assisted her in taking down the Daichi-Doku's Oyabun. The Oyabun committed ritual suicide and Katana stood by as his 'second', ready to help with a blade strike so he could keep his honor. Bronze Tiger (Ben Turner) is a fictional character in the DC Universe. ... Secret Origins #22 outlined the history of the Manhunters, as to tie in with Millennium. ...

Returning to the Outsiders

Eventually though the Outsiders re-form and return to Markovia. Instead of a peaceful reunion however, the team become trapped in a web of public relations that brands them outlaws. Although the charges would be dropped eventually the team was fractured. Halo dies from an assassin's blast but was reborn in a new body, which put an immense strain on Tatsu's relationship with Halo.

Katana joins a team with Geo-Force and Technocrat, taking the lead. During a lone mission, Tadashi, her old mentor sends Lady Shiva to claim Katana's Soultaker sword. Shiva confronts Katana, who had been battling a gang of drug dealers. Katana had slain many, but refuses to kill the youngest member, something Shiva insults her for. Technocrat is a superhero in the DC Comics and a former member of the Outsiders. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this comics-related article or section may require cleanup. ...

Shiva, being world-renowned as the world's greatest assassin and fighter, was able to kill Katana with her own sword. Katana returnes to life after a trial by combat within her sword, which includes confronting many of the souls of the people she had killed. Afterwards, she manages to find her old mentor and take his life.

The two splinter teams would eventually reunite, to take on more supernatural threats focused around the new team member Faust. Katana and her friends suffer through the mental and physical tortures that Faust's father, Felix, puts them through. Halo eventually frees them by destroying several of Felix's items of power. Soon after, the group breaks apart. After disbanding, Tatsu has kept her association with her old allies among the Outsiders (such as Black Lightning, Geo-Force and Halo), and although they did not operate as an official team, were always seen alongside each other during major crises.

Her close ties to Batman also saw her fighting by his side, several times, notably during the Imperiex crisis and the Day of Judgement incident when hell invades Earth. The main battle against the villain, the rogue angel Asmodel, with the power of the Spectre, takes place in New York. Katana personally protects Madame Xanadu who is guarding the rest of Asmodel's power with a mystical shield. Katana's protection of Xanadu is assisted by Doctor Occult, Phantom Stranger and Alan Scott. Imperiex, also called the Devourer of Galaxies, is a fictional extraterrestrial supervillain featured in the Our Worlds at War crossover published by DC Comics. ... Day of Judgment was a DC Comics miniseries and fictional crossover event during the autumn of 1999. ... Madame Xanadu is a fictional character, a mystic in the DC Comics universe. ... Doctor Occult is a fictional magic user in the DC Comics universe. ... The Phantom Stranger is a fictional character of unspecified paranormal origins who battles mysterious and occult forces in various titles published by DC Comics, sometimes under their Vertigo imprint. ... Alan Scott is a fictional hero from the DC Comics universe and the first superhero to bear the name Green Lantern. ...

Later, Katana assists Batman when he and Superman were declared outlaws. Katana was also called upon by Black Canary, together with other female mercenaries, in order to rescue Oracle from Senator Pullman. After Oracle was saved, Katana received a card, together with the promise of a favor if required. Superman is a fictional character and comic book superhero , originally created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian artist Joe Shuster and published by DC Comics. ... Black Canary is a fictional character, a DC Comics superheroine. ... Barbara Gordon is a fictional character appearing in DC Comics and related media. ...

New Outsiders

Most recently, she has joined a new team of Outsiders, of which she is the only member that was a part of the original team besides Metamorpho who rejoined the team after Shift's demise. She assisted them in defeating a more powerful Sabbac and decided to join the team. In Outsiders 42, Katana donned a new costume, as she felt it innapropriate to wear a costume based on Japan's flag, when Japan revoked her citizenship due to her membership with the controversial team. Metamorpho (Rex Mason) is a fictional character, a superhero appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. ... Metamorpho (Rex Mason) is a fictional character, a superhero appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. ... Sabbac is the name of two comic book supervillains appearing in Fawcett Comics and/or DC Comics. ...

Katana summoned Sabbac to destroy Dr. Sivana's base with his Hellfire.

The Soultaker

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. These souls can be reincarnated by the means of a sacred ritual, under which they serve their summoner, even if it is against their will. The Muramasa school of sword-making at Ise province was famous for the extraordinary sharpness of their blades. ...

Suicide Squad

After the Outsiders had been cancelled, Katana went on a mission with the Suicide Squad. She left the squad after her mission ended, and did not return, even though fan response to her inclusion was heavy. Nine issues after her cameo though, the Suicide Squad title was cancelled. Suicide Squad is a name for a number of fictional organizations created for and owned by DC Comics. ...

Appearances in other Media

A character similar to Katana called Tsukuri appeared in Justice League in the episode Fury as an assistant to the villainness Aresia and later as a member of Grodd's Legion of Doom. It is generally believed that this is similar to how other villians in series like Aresia, Galatea, Hro Talak, and the Ultimen are loosely based on heroic counterparts Fury, Power Girl, Hawkman, and on several members of The Super Friends respectively. Justice League is an American animated television series about a team of superheroes which ran from 2001 to 2004 on Cartoon Network. ... Gorilla Grodd is a fictional character appearing in DC Comics, primarily as an opponent of The Flash. ... The Legion of Doom was a group of supervillains led by Lex Luthor that appeared in Challenge of the SuperFriends, a animated series that starred superheroes from DC Comics. ... Galatea Galatea (or Tea, for short) is the name of an age-accelerated clone of Supergirl created by Professor Hamilton and Project Cadmus on the animated series Justice League Unlimited. ... The Ultimen are a fictional superhero group featured in the animated series Justice League Unlimited. ... Fury was the codename of two DC Comics superheroines, who are mother and daughter. ... Power Girl (real name Kara Zor-L, also known as Karen Starr) is a DC Comics superhero, making her first appearance in All Star Comics #58 (January/February 1976). ... For other meanings of the term, see Hawkman (disambiguation) Hawkman is a fictional character in the DC Comics universe. ... Super Friends is an American animated television series about a team of superheroes which ran from 1973 to 1986 on ABC as part of its Saturday morning cartoon lineup. ...