The first Golden Age Tigress was a thief/spy and foe of Zatara in the late 1930s. She debuted in Action Comics #1 (June 1938), and was created by Fred Guardineer. She wore tiger-striped sweaters and ran gangs of thieves and murderers. She apparently had no powers.
The second Tigress is Paula Brooks, who was a member of the Young All-Stars, who later became a villainess named the Huntress.
The third Tigress is Artemis Crock, the daughter of the second Tigress, and is a member of the Injustice Society. She debuted in Infinity Inc. #34 and was created by Roy Thomas and Todd McFarlane.
Zatara foe
The original Tigress appeared as Zatara's primary foe throughout eleven issues of Action Comics, including issues 1, 3, 6, 7, 9, 10, 22, 23, 30, 35 and 42. In her initial appearance, she battles Zatara and his assistant Tong while attempting to rob a freight train. She escapes and later resurfaces in stories using various methods in attempts to kill wealthy men, including using an attacking airplane, poisoning their drinks and infecting them with a disease from a rare South American insect. She also uses her influence as a mob boss to pressure other criminals into assisting her in crime sprees, which usually involve bank robberies and thefts of other valuables.
The Artemis entry in Who's Who Update '87 #1 states that the Golden Age Tigress is the mother of Paula Brooks (the second Tigress and original Huntress) and the grandmother of Artemis Crock (the third Tigress). However, Who's Who Update '87 #5 states that neither Paula Brooks or Artemis Crock are related to her.
Paula Brooks
The second Tigress is Paula Brooks. She was a member of the Young All-Stars and later became the villainous Huntress. She later married the Sportsmaster, and had a daughter, Artemis Crock, who becomes the third Tigress.
Artemis Crock
Artemis Crock is the daughter of the Golden Age villains Paula Brooks and Crusher Crock. She had taken up a career in crime, modeled after that of her parents, but only after some years did she take on the mantle of Tigress.
Television
Tigress appears in Batman Beyond, voiced by Cree Summer. This version of the character is a human spliced with tiger DNA by a villainous genetics expert named Dr. Abel Cuvier.
Both Artemis Crock and Paula Brooks make a small cameo in the Batman: The Brave and the Bold episode "Aquaman's Outrageous Adventure!". They are seen taking a family vacation with Sportsmaster.
A teenaged version of Artemis Crock appears as one of the main characters in Young Justice. This version is a superhero voiced by Stephanie Lemelin. In the second season episode "Depths" she is "killed" by Kaldur. However it's later revealed her death was faked so that she could join Kaldur as a mole and go under cover to learn more about the mysterious organization known as the Light and their new partner. In "Darkest", Artemis joins Kaldur on a strike team (which also includes Icicle and the Terror Twins) in an attack on Mount Justice, disguised as a new villain called "Tigress". In the episode "Before the Dawn," Miss Martian, who had no idea Aqualad wasn't a traitor or that Artemis wasn't dead, discovers the truth after launching a telepathic attack that renders Aqualad comatose, and she and Artemis speak for a brief moment before she carries Aqualad's body away. Artemis then accompanies Aqualad in his semi-catatonic state to protect him from the Light. Kaldur's father Black Manta attempts to heal his son by recruiting Psimon, and Artemis is forced incapacitate him to maintain their cover; she passes off the incident as result of a mental booby-trap left in Aqualad's mind by Miss Martian. She then assists Deathstroke in kidnapping Miss Martian to rebuild Kaldur's mind, and later assists her friend in escaping, despite the untimely intervention of Sportsmaster and Cheshire. Her ruse is discovered in "Summit" by Ra's al Ghul. In "Endgame" she rejoins the team as Tigress.
Tigress appears in the second and third seasons of Gotham portrayed by Jessica Lucas. This version of the character is named Tabitha Galavan, sister and lead enforcer of corrupt billionaire Theo Galavan (James Frain). They are both members of the Sacred Order of Saint Dumas, an ancient secret society bent on taking over Gotham City. She kidnaps Oswald Cobblepot's (Robin Lord Taylor) mother Gertrude (Carol Kane) to force him to kill the other mayoral candidates; after Cobblepot does Theo's bidding, however, Tabitha kills her anyway. Tabitha eventually falls out of favor with her brother, however, and so forms an alliance with Cobblepot's enforcer, Butch Gilzean (Drew Powell). Theo is killed by Cobblepot and detective James Gordon (Benjamin McKenzie), but is eventually revived by Hugo Strange as the warrior Azrael. As Azrael, Theo stabs Tabitha with a sword, critically injuring her. After Theo is killed yet again by Cobblepot and Gilzean, Tabitha recovers and becomes small-time gangster Barbara Kean's (Erin Richards) right-hand woman. She has an uneasy truce with Cobblepot, who is now Mayor of Gotham City. Cobblepot's chief advisor, Edward Nygma (Cory Michael Smith), blames Gilzean for the death of his girlfriend, he kidnaps Gilzean and Tabitha and imprisons them in an elaborate torture device that will kill Gilzean unless Tabitha pulls a lever that will sever her hand. After Gilzean declares that he loves her, Tabitha sacrifices her hand to save him. Gilzean and Kean rush her to a hospital, where her hand is reattached.
