Alter Ego: Mary Elizabeth ("Bette") Kane
Occupation: Professional tennis player, aerobics instructor, and adventurer
Known Relatives: None
Group Affiliation: Titans West
Base of Operations: Titans Tower: San Luis Obispo, CA; Van Nuys, Ca
Height: 5'6''
Weight: 120lbs.
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Blonde
History
When Bette Kane entered a tennis court, the stands always echoed with wolf-whistles, cheers, and other expressions of admiration. Blonde, blue-eyed, and beautiful, Bette was used to adulation-so used to it, in fact, that it sometimes bored her. As a champion tennis player while still in her early teens, a beauty pageant winner since five and a Olympic gymnast and swimmer, Bette quickly found no worlds left to conquer. Fiercely competitive, she needed a new challenge.
That challenge was Robin (Dick Grayson), the Teen Wonder. Ever since she was a child, Bette had had a crush on Robin, but her many fan letters to him had gone unanswered-which just made her more determined to get to him.
By the time she turned sixteen, Bette vowed that she would meet Robin--on his own terms. She put together a bright red and gold costume and adopted the name Flamebird. But despite high level exploits she still received no response from Robin.
Frustrated, she returned to normal high school in California. After graduation, Bette just kept looking for more exciting challenges. Skydiving, windsailing, mountain climbing - all provided her with rushes of adrenaline but it couldn't match being a crime fighter.
So Bette Kane resumed her Flamebird career and, after a few minor escapades, she became a founding member of Titans West. Unfortunately, the glory was short-lived. Although she finally got to meet Robin, the sparks didn't fly. The West Coast Titans proved to be a dismal failure and eventually disbanded.
But Bette didn’t abandon her pursuit of Robin (whom she discovered to be Dick Grayson) and found excuses to keep in contact with him. She retired from super-heroics for a while, concentrating on her pro-tennis career. Later, when she learned Dick had become Nightwing, Bette came out of retirement and donned the red and gold costume with the fiery cape and let Flamebird fly again. She appeared briefly around California, stopping small crimes, but never really made a name for herself.
Later, Titans West were again to reform, and again disband after a failed mission against Hybrid-Krypto-Murlan forces occupying mainland China--on that mission Flamebird was seriously injured and hospitalized; after recovering she returned to the Titans on a part-time status.
Then, after a confrontation with Nightwing, Bette was forced to re-examine herself and her role as Flamebird. A fire ignited inside Bette that she had never felt before - - the fire of a hero. As a member of the current reincarnation of Titans West, Bette hopes to spread this passion burning within her to others in need of confidence and motivation. Along with a new outlook and costume, Bette has amped up her arsenal. Electrifying bolas and gloves, tracking devices, and flare-emitting contact lenses as well as a strong backhand make Flamebird one of the most under-estimated heroines today.
Powers and Weapons
Flamebird is an Olympic-level athlete, acrobat, and swimmer, trained for strength and endurance. She has also trained in several forms of martial arts, with kick-boxing as her specialty.
Like the caped crusader who inspired her, Flamebird has a utility belt containing the following: grappling hook with line, gas grenades, gas mask, flares, flashlight, radio/transmitter, handcuffs, throwing discs, and an emergency medical kit.
