Katana (DC Comics) Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids 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
Publisher	DC Comics
First appearance	The Brave and the Bold #200 (July 1983)
Created by	Mike W. Barr (writer) Jim Aparo (artist)
In-story information
Alter ego	Tatsu Yamashiro (山城タツ)
Team affiliations	Suicide Squad Justice League Outsiders Birds of Prey Justice League United
Partnerships	Batman Black Lightning Geo-Force Cassandra Cain Halo Metamorpho The Signal
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 (whose real name is Tatsu Yamashiro (山城タツ, Yamashiro Tatsu)) is a brave superheroine from DC Comics. She first appeared in comic books in 1983. Katana is a skilled samurai warrior who uses her amazing sword skills to fight for justice.

Her story is quite sad. Her husband, Maseo, died, and his spirit became trapped inside her special sword, called the Soultaker. Katana has been a member of many famous superhero teams. These include the Justice League and the Birds of Prey. However, she is most known for being part of the Outsiders. This team was chosen by Batman himself for important and sometimes secret missions.

In recent years, Katana has become much more popular. She has appeared in many TV shows and movies. You might have seen her in the animated series Batman: The Brave and the Bold or Beware the Batman. She was also played by Rila Fukushima in the TV show Arrow. Later, Karen Fukuhara played her in the 2016 movie Suicide Squad. Katana has also been in animated films and several DC Comics video games.

Katana's Comic Book Story
Powers, Skills, and Weapons
Katana in Other Media
Images for kids
See also

Katana's Comic Book Story

Katana first appeared in a comic book called The Brave and the Bold #200 in July 1983. She was created by writer Mike W. Barr and artist Jim Aparo. She often works with other heroes in team comics. These include Batman and the Outsiders, Birds of Prey, and Suicide Squad.

In 2013, Katana even got her own comic book series. It was written by Ann Nocenti and drawn by Alex Sanchez. This series lasted for ten issues.

Powers, Skills, and Weapons

Katana is a very skilled fighter. She is excellent at hand-to-hand combat and is a master with a sword. She learned martial arts when she was a child. Later, a samurai named Tadashi trained her even more. Working with the Outsiders and Batman helped her become a strong leader and planner.

Katana's main weapon is her special sword, the Soultaker. It was made in the 14th century by a famous sword maker named Muramasa. His swords were said to be cursed. The Soultaker can sometimes capture the spirits of those it kills. These spirits are then stored inside the sword. Katana can even talk to these spirits, including her husband's.

The Soultaker is incredibly sharp. It can cut through very tough materials. Besides the Soultaker, Katana often carries other weapons into battle.

Katana in Other Media

Katana has appeared in many different types of media.

Television Shows

Animated Series

Katana as she appears in the first season of Batman: The Brave and the Bold.

A character like Katana, named Tsukuri, appeared in Justice League. She was part of a group of villains.
A younger Katana appeared in Batman: The Brave and the Bold. She was a member of the Outsiders. She rarely spoke to honor her master's lessons.
Katana was a main character in Beware the Batman. In this show, she was a CIA agent. She worked with Alfred Pennyworth and became Bruce Wayne's bodyguard.
Katana also appeared in Young Justice: Outsiders. She was first a member of the Justice League.
In DC Super Hero Girls (2019), Katana was a tough hero. She learned to work with others, especially Diana Prince (Wonder Woman).
Katana made a brief appearance in the Harley Quinn animated series.
Katana will also appear in an upcoming anime series called Suicide Squad Isekai.

Live-Action Series

Tatsu Yamashiro and her husband Maseo appeared in the TV series Arrow. Rila Fukushima played Tatsu. She helped Oliver Queen (Green Arrow) on his adventures. She had to fight her husband, Maseo, who joined a villainous group.
Tatsu's ancestor, Masako Yamashiro, appeared in the spin-off series Legends of Tomorrow.

Movies

Katana had a small role in the animated movie Superman/Batman: Public Enemies.
A different version of Katana, named Sai, appeared in Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths.
Katana was a main character in the 2016 live-action movie Suicide Squad. Karen Fukuhara played her. In the movie, she was Rick Flag's bodyguard. She wanted to get revenge for her husband's death.
Katana also appeared in several DC Super Hero Girls animated movies.
She was also in Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths - Part One.

Video Games

Katana is a playable character in Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes and Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham.
She is also a playable character in Infinite Crisis and Lego DC Super-Villains.

Other Appearances

Katana appeared in the comic book series Smallville Season 11.
She was also in the DC Super Hero Girls (2015) series.
Katana appeared in the Injustice 2 prequel comic.

Images for kids

Katana's classic appearance
Katana from The Showcase: To The Hilt, on a comic book cover.
Katana with the Outsiders in 2009

Katana (DC Comics) facts for kids

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