Katana (DC Comics)

Katana
Katana as depicted in The Other History of the DC Universe #3 (March 2021).
Art by Giuseppe Camuncoli (pencils), Andrea Cucchi (inks), and Jose Vallarrubia (colors).
Publication information
PublisherDC Comics
First appearanceThe Brave and the Bold #200 (July 1983)
Created byMike W. Barr (writer)
Jim Aparo (artist)
In-story information
Alter egoTatsu Yamashiro (山城 タツ)
Team affiliationsSuicide Squad
Justice League
Outsiders
Birds of Prey
Justice League United
Partnerships
Abilities
  • Master swordswoman
  • Master martial artist and hand-to-hand combatant

Soultaker Sword grants:

  • Ability to capture the spirit of every being it kills and communicate with it, including that of her deceased relatives and husband

Katana (Tatsu Yamashiro (山城 タツ, Yamashiro Tatsu)) is a superheroine appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. First appearing in 1983, Katana is a samurai warrior whose skill with a sword allows her to fight for justice as a superheroine. Her tragic backstory includes the death of her husband, Maseo, whose soul becomes trapped in her blade, the Soultaker.

Katana has been part of various DC Comics superhero teams, including the Justice League and Birds of Prey, but is most commonly associated with the Outsiders, a team of heroes hand-picked by Batman to act as his personal black ops team, handling riskier missions. Of the character's first appearances, one critic has noted, "The idea that a superhero would wield a sword which caught the souls of the wielder’s victims was not very superhero-y. But Katana was from the start a rough and tumble character happy to use throwing stars as weapons (even if she usually used the flat of her sword otherwise)."[1]

In the 2010s, DC began to feature the character much more extensively in media adaptations of its comic books, including a recurring role in the animated series Batman: The Brave and the Bold and a starring role in the series Beware the Batman. The character was portrayed by Rila Fukushima in the Arrowverse TV series Arrow and by Karen Fukuhara in the 2016 DC Extended Universe film Suicide Squad. Katana has also been featured in direct-to-video animated films and a number of DC Comics video games.

  1. ^ Stewart, D.G. (February 3, 2023). "Happy 40th anniversary, Batman and the Outsiders". World Comic Book Review. Retrieved October 17, 2023.