Alias: Calico Kitty
Real Name: Karen “Ma” West
Age: Only she knows for sure
Height: 5’11″
Hair: Blonde
Occupation: Farmer, Retired Crimefighter
Abilities: Energy Absorption, Enhanced Healing and Vitality, Expert Marksman
Karen “Ma” West is the mother of Kitty, Kathy, and Kandy West, as well as Kelly West, the famous heroine Ms. Metrobay, and the grandmother of Alpha Woman.
Karen is a tough and hardy woman born and raised in the Old West era of Hooter County. From virtually nothing she built a life for herself and her family. She is one of the oldest known metahumans on record, far outliving any normal human being and, while not quite as limber and agile as she once was, she still has the appearance of a woman in her prime, a trait her daughters inherited as well.
Despite her age, she continues to run the family farm with conviction, as she has done for decades. After several years, and after fending off countless suitors, she settled down with Duke West, a moral man of strength and virtue, albeit with a bit of a charming reckless and naughty side. He became (in)famous for his specially brewed moonshine, which is one way he’s kept up with his old lady all these long years.
During the lawless, six-shooter days of Hooter County, Karen enforced law and order as the masked vigilante and legendary gunslinger Calico Kitty. Often touted as the “first heroine” of the era, her adventures alongside her faithful companion Paw-Paw, as well as her frequent collaborations with the mysterious Nightengale, inspired legions of future heroines and created a larger-than-life mythic heroine all heroines aspire to be. Years later, her many adventures were recounted in books, radio, television, and film.
Karen’s famously buxom and ageless physique has led her to be the target of many a depraved villain, like when the Dairy King made her one of his “human cows”, or Papa Voodoo drained her soul and turned her into a mindless sex-zombie, or Frank Einstein’s experiments with dark magic transformed her into his obedient “Frankenbride.” In each case, her powers helped her to overcome transformations that may have been more permanent for a normal human.
Recently, Karen’s exposure to her daughter Kelly’s career as the legendary heroine Ms. Metrobay has rekindled that itch to fight crime and help her fellow citizens. She has been known to come out of mothballs and take an assignment now and then, like when she volunteered to accompany fellow retirees Dean Butler (her son-in-law) and Trudy Goodheart on an undercover mission to The Funhouse to find out what had happened to Alpha Woman and Valient Grrl. This led to her temporarily becoming a “Faceless” drone of the cyborg Chrome, through her healing powers allowed her to recover rather quickly.
She also agreed to snoop around Gothikka’s mausoleum in an effort to locate Crissy Tanner, whose mind and body were separated in an accidental confluence of magic and science. Karen was accosted by the mischievous duo of Blackout and Voltara and transformed into the “Frankenbride” for a second time.
Notable Appearances: The Chrome Virus, Voodoo County, Sex Pets of the Wild West, Hooter County Holdup, Halloween Havoc: Frankenbride, Cell Block XXX, Halloween Havoc: Blackout & Voltara