Teen activist Willow ‘Whistle’ Zimmerman moves to Gotham City this September

Poison Ivy, The Riddler and Killer Croc have got a new hero to contend with: 16-year-old Willow Zimmerman, aka Whistle. The crime-fighting teenager is the newest member of the Batman universe and she’s the first Jewish superhero that DC has introduced for four decades. She’s joined on adventures by her trusty Great Dane, Lebowitz (named after sardonic US author Fran Lebowitz).

Already a keen activist, Willow is often on the streets protesting City Hall’s neglect of her run-down Gotham neighborhood Down River – a former all-Jewish district based on New York’s Lower East Side. When she’s not fighting injustice, she works nights at the local dog shelter and struggles to take care of her sick mother at home. One night, she and Lebowitz are attacked by Killer Croc and both emerge with superpowers. Now she must choose her fate: unimaginable riches or battle the bad guys?

Illustrations are provided by DC regular Manuel Preitano and the story of Whistle was created by New York Times Number One best-selling author E Lockhart, who was inspired by her own secular Jewish heritage and the concept of tikkun olam (repairing the world). "Willow is an ordinary person like you or me," says Lockhart, "who sees what’s wrong in her city and feels powerless to right it – until she isn’t. She’s also a teen social activist working to support her mother through sickness – all elements I haven’t seen so much in superhero comics.”

By Danielle Goldstein

Whistle: A New Gotham Hero by E Lockhart is published by DC Comics on Tuesday 7 September.