Gotham: Is Silver St. Cloud The Show’s Huntress?
By Steve Lam
Ever since Silver St. Cloud was introduced in the world of Gotham, I’ve been questioning what her ultimate purpose was. Sure, she was groomed by her creepy and murderous Uncle Theo to seduce and manipulate Bruce Wayne, but was that all? In “Worse Than A Crime” — the mid-season finale of Gotham — we may have had the biggest hint as to why she’s part of the show. My theory is that Silver St. Cloud is Gotham‘s incarnation of Huntress.
With DC’s propensity to not have a consistent history with their characters, a little sleuthing was needed for evidence of this revelation. So let’s start with the character of Tigress — because that’s where this theory is rooted. Tigress, in the comics, is the name of three different super-villains. The original Tigress battled Zatara, famous DC magician hero and father of heroine Zatanna. The next Tigress was named Paula Brooks who is said to be the daughter of the original Tigress. Paula would later become the supervillain Huntress. In even later stories, she marries Crusher Crock, a.k.a. Sportsmaster, and the two have a daughter named Artemis Crock. Artemis would later become the third Tigress.
It seems that Gotham may be basing the Tabitha Galavan version of Tigress on the one who battled Zatara. So how does this connect to Silver St. Cloud? Well, we all know that Gotham has taken some massive liberties in its storytelling and source material. And we know that villains and heroes are not appearing when they should. So it stands to reason that Silver takes the place of Paula Brooks from the comics, and will be trained by Tabitha to become another Tigress and, eventually, Huntress.
The mother/daughter relationship is most evident in “Worse Than A Crime” when Tabitha is seen defending Silver from Theo. Though the writers could’ve started this dynamic much earlier — to make it not seem out-of-the-blue — it’s pretty blatant that they were trying to convey Tabitha’s maternal instincts coming into play. Tabitha’s final act of knocking Theo out for the purposes of saving Silver solidifies that Tabitha sees Silver as family.
Next: Catch up on Gotham with a Recap of 'Worse Than A Crime'
It’s only a matter of time before Silver St. Cloud and Tabitha Galavan both resurface. And when that time comes, I’m willing to bet that Silver will have some new skills taught to her from her new mother — Tabitha.
Fox’s Gotham returns with new episodes on Monday, February 29, 2016 at 8:00PM EST.