Nocturna
is a fictional character in the DC Comics universe. She first appeared in Detective Comics
#529 (August 1983), and was created by Doug Moench and Gene Colan.
|
NOCTURNA TICKETS
|
Fictional character biography
Pre-Crisis
Natalia Knight
had a hard childhood. She grew up on the streets as a beggar. She was eventually found and taken in by Charles Knight, who adopted her and provided her with a life of luxury.
She has a passion for
astronomy and the night and eventually found a job at
Gotham City Observatory. While working there one night, she became victim to a
radioactive laser, which drained her skin of all
pigment. It also rendered her sensitive to light.
After Charles Knight was murdered, she discovered that her lifestyle was funded by criminal activity. It was then that she met Charles' son, Anton Knight, who fell in love with her. They both decided to keep the inheritance and took it upon themselves to keep them in their accustomed lifestyle through burglary, since Natalia needed expensive medical equipment to treat her pigmentation.
Anton, having spent much time in
Asia, proved to be a highly capable
martial artist. He and Natalia entered a life of crime together, he as the
Night-Thief, and she as "Nocturna", Mistress of the Night. However their burglary soon brought them into conflict with
Batman.
After several clashes with Batman, Anton was captured and sent to prison. Nocturna remained free and continued her life of crime along with a new ally, Nightshade. Nocturna would conceive the plans of robbery and theft, Nightshade and his people would carry out the crimes. Once the scheme had run its course, Nocturna called it quits. During this time, she became an intimate friend of both Bruce Wayne and the Batman, something that made both lives more complicated. She also became a
surrogate mother to
Jason Todd, the second
Robin, and even adopted him.
Anton Knight finally escaped and, after being rejected by his beloved Nocturna, changed his style and became the murderous
Night-Slayer
. He killed Nightshade, even trading identities with a delirious Batman. After being betrayed one time too many by Nocturna, Anton vowed to kill her. However, it never came to that, as Night-Slayer was captured by
Catwoman. Nocturna, having been stabbed, was last seen being put into a balloon by Jason Todd which he then set off into the air.
One Year Later
Recently, Nocturna returned in the
Black Canary/Green Arrow Wedding Special
#1 as a member of the
Injustice League. She was then seen in
Salvation Run
as a member of
Vandal Savage's camp, her appearance in this title borrowing from Bruce Timm's concept artwork for an episode featuring the character that was ultimately never produced. Recently, she appeared in
Trinity
as an opponent to
Hawkman, appearing in an updated version of her classic appearance and using a hot-air balloons as transportation. She then had a cameo in
Gotham Gazette: Batman Dead?
1 shot.
Other media
thumb
- Nocturna was scheduled to appear in an episode of Batman: The Animated Series
as a vampire, but the episode was canceled after Fox censors objected to the storyline, which would have involved Batman being turned into a vampire and craving human blood. Producer Alan Burnett later recounted the events by saying "We also wanted to do a Nocturna story – Bruce had drawn a hot model of her - but she’s a vampire, which would’ve involved bloodletting, which was a huge no-no for kids TV.
"
See also
- List of Batman Family enemies