Strix (comics)

Strix
Publication information
Publisher	DC Comics
First appearance	Batgirl Vol 4 #9 (July, 2012)
Created by	Gail Simone Ardian Syaf
In-story information
Alter ego	Mary Turner
Team affiliations	Court of Owls Birds of Prey Secret Six
Abilities	Expert melee combatant Mastery of stealth and concealment

Strix is a fictional character appearing in DC Comics publications. She was created by writer Gail Simone and artist Ardian Syaf. The character is a former Talon, a breed of reanimated assassins in the service of the Court of Owls, a secret society that has secretly existed since colonial times in Gotham City. She mostly appeared in the Birds of Prey comic book shortly after her debut appearance in Batgirl, and subsequently became a founding member of The Secret Six in the New 52 continuity.

Fictional character biography

Born Mary Turner, she was horribly disfigured as a child by a bomb attached to a balloon sent by Emperor Hirohito, meant to cause panic in the United States during World War II. As such, her attack on Gotham City as a Talon involved the use of similar devices. As a Talon, she would follow the Court's orders and serve until she is deemed unfit for service due to age or failure, at which point the Talon would face their chosen successor. Talons would remain in suspended animation deep within an inner sanctum until the Court decides to have them deployed.

During the Night of the Owls event, she was sent by the Court of Owls to coerce Commissioner Gordon into letting his police force handle the Talon attacks ineffectively, and into inadvertently lighting a modified Bat-Signal which filleds the sky with the symbol of the Court of Owls, thereby killing hope that the Batman would save Gotham. She would later face Batgirl, but despite her superior fighting skills, she let Batgirl go, feeling kinship because they both wore masks. Later, Catwoman broke Mary out of Blackgate Penitentiary having been hired by a prominent member of the Court. When she realized his motivations, though, she turned on him, and with Batgirl, they defeated his Talons - including Mary, who turned on her master in the name of friendship with the two women. In order to protect Mary, Catwoman faced the police alone, leaving Batgirl to get Mary out. Batgirl's solution was to find a place for Mary with the Birds of Prey, giving her the codename "Strix" - which is Latin for "owl". She would remain as a loyal member of the group until its disbandment following a fall out between Batgirl and Black Canary.