Nocturna (DC Comics)

For the Moonspell song, see Nocturna (song). For the animated feature, see Nocturna (film).

Not to be confused with Nocturne (comics).

Nocturna
File:NocturnaDCU0.jpg Nocturna from Detective Comics #530 Artist Gene Colan
Publication information
Publisher	DC Comics
First appearance	Detective Comics #529 (August 1983)
Created by	Doug Moench (writer) Gene Colan (artist)
In-story information
Full name	Natasha Natalia Knight
Team affiliations	Injustice League
Notable aliases	Mistress of the Night
Abilities	expert tactician and burglar

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.

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 cameos in the Gotham Gazette: Batman Dead? and Gotham Gazette: Batman Alive? one-shots.

Batman: The Brave and the Bold

Nocturna recently appeared in the cold open to issue #16 of this book related to the animated series. She hypnotizes Teen Titans Kid Flash, Wonder Girl, and Speedy into fighting Batman, until he uses high-frequency sound to snap their trances.

Other media

Television

File:NocturnaDCAU.jpg

Concept art for Nocturna's proposed appearance on Batman: The Animated Series, by Bruce Timm

• 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."

Miscellaneous

• Nocturna appears in issue 16 of the Batman: The Brave and the Bold comics.

See also

• List of Batman Family enemies

References

• Nocturna at the Comic Book DB (archived from the original)

External links

• Nocturna at the DCU Guide