Lady Shiva

Lady Shiva (real name Sandra Woosan, or more recently Sandra Wu-San) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was co-created by Dennis O'Neil and Ric Estrada, and first appeared in Richard Dragon, Kung Fu Fighter. Over time, she has become more closely associated with Batman and related characters, both as an enemy and an ally. She is a martial arts grandmaster and one of the most skilled combatants in the DC Universe. She is an assassin-for-hire, who specializes in killing her targets with her bare hands.

Fictional character biography

Becoming Lady Shiva

Pre-crisis

Sandra Woosan is first introduced as an antagonist to martial artist Richard Dragon, believing him to be a spy responsible for the murder of her sister Carolyn. In reality, Carolyn's murder was orchestrated by Guano Cravat, a corrupt businessman whose criminal ambitions had been foiled by Dragon. Cravat convinced Woosan that Dragon killed Carolyn, deliberately pitting her against Dragon in an act of revenge.

Birds of Prey (TV series)

Birds of Prey is a television drama series produced in 2002. The series was developed by Laeta Kalogridis for The WB and is loosely based on the Birds of Prey DC Comics series. Despite the series debut garnering ratings of 7.6 million viewers (at the time, the network's largest premiere in the 18–34 demographic), the series was canceled after ratings fell sharply in subsequent weeks. Thirteen episodes were produced in total.

Plot outline

The series is set in New Gotham City, several years after it has been apparently abandoned by Batman. In his absence, Oracle (Barbara) and the Huntress (Helena) have taken over his war on crime. The two are joined by Dinah (after she assists them in defeating Larry Ketterly, a telepath with abilities similar to Scarecrow); Alfred Pennyworth, who serves Helena as she is heir to the Wayne estate; and Detective Jesse Reese, a police officer confronted with crimes and abilities he cannot explain.

A central feature of the series is the concept of metahumans: individuals born with powers that cannot be explained. No two metahumans have the same abilities (unless hereditary), and there exists a whole subculture of metahuman society that the outside world knows nothing about.