Evelyn Crawford

* Starling
* Evelyn Crawford

## Background

### 1980 - 1998: Evelyn Crawford

Evelyn grew up living a pretty normal childhood in Metropolis. She was loved for by both of her parents & her older brother doted upon her. Eve becamea star gymnast at Midvale High School & went on to become an remarkable student. She was even elected to be class president during her junior year. And just as things got so good for Eve, they came crashing down just as fast.

Eve's parents had went to go pick up her brother Vincent from his college, Hudson University, for the summer break. It was the last day of classes so they were holding parties in the classrooms when she was called to the principal's office. Everyone had their eyes on her & as she walked to the office, she thought of anything she did that could have been perceived as wrong. Walking into the office, she saw the principal with two officers. Evelyn doesn't remember hearing much after they said her whole family died in car accident. A drunk driver had hit them on their way to get her.

Following the death of her family, Evelyn decided to get emancipated but instead, she taken in by her Uncle Earl. Evelyn made it quite clear that she wanted to be on her own so they agreed she could do what she wanted as long as she kept in contact so he knew she was okay. She debated what to do with her life but couldn't think of anything. Instead of taking herself to college in the fall, Evelyn picked up a job across the bay at the Iceberg Lounge as a waitress that September. She's pretty sure the Penguin hired her because of her looks as he kept calling her "pretty bird."

### 1998 - 2001: Evelyn Crawford

Upon starting her job, Evelyn was taken in under the wing of a signer at the Lounge, Dinah Lance. She became somewhat of a surrogate big sister to her as they both understood having to provide for themselves. Evelyn eventually got involved with one of the workers at the lounge named Wendell Sharp. Dinah told her to not fall too fast but Evelyn did the complete opposite. After dating for some months, Evelyn & Wendell got married in the spring. It was complete bliss.... for the first week. Evelyn & Wendell began fighting constantly & when it carried to their workplace, the Penguin threatened to fire both of them.

Dinah eventually became concerned & after she confessed that Wendell was hitting her, Dinah handled him herself. Let's just say he doesn't have the best posture anymore. After getting her divorce, Evelyn continued to work as a singer at the lounge. When Dinah quit after she began dating Oliver Queen, Evelyn decided to stay on her own. Dinah begged her to come with, explaining there was more to life then working for scum like Cobblepot but Evelyn stuck to her guns.

### 2001 - 2005: Starling

Evelyn continued working at the Iceberg Lounge, using all her money on rent & giving whatever was left over to pay her uncle's medical bills. He had been diagnozed with Alzheimer's months prior & she was unable to care for him full-time so she had to place him in assisted living. Seeing all the extra shifts she was picking up, the Penguin offered her a loan to help ease her financial woes. When asked when she had to pay him back, he simple said she would owe him a favor in the future.

Evelyn probably should've thought the deal through a bit more because a few months later, he asked for his payback. Evelyn was to work as the getaway driver for a string of robberies he had set up in the city. After completing the first one without a hitch, the Penguin began to blackmail Evelyn into completing more illegal tasks for him & his criminal associates. After about a year of this, Evelyn realized she was in way too deep & reached out to Dinah. Dinah got Oliver to pay off what Evelyn owed & she threatened the criminal to leave her friend alone. Feeling that she owed them, she came to Star City & begins working a low-level job at Queen Industries. After some months, Dinah let Evelyn into her dual lifestyle believing that Evelyn could benefit from a healthy outlet. Taking on the name Starling, she began accompanying Team Arrow.

### 2005 - Present: Starling

However, the team did not due much to improve Evelyn. She went through some rough times & somehow ended up on the radar of none other than Amanda Waller. Sensing the woman was in a dark place & could easily be persuaded, she recruited her into the Suicide Squad to have her work a few missions. She even had her help a different organization discreetly on the side but Evelyn has remained pretty tight-lipped about the latter. Eventually, Evelyn got her head on straight & cut ties with Waller after realizing she was using her just like Cobblepot was. Using her former skills as a gymnast, she became a gymnast coach at a local high school & focused all her time on helping the children she mentored.

When The Cataclysm hit Gotham, Evelyn travelled across the country to help Dinah clean the streets of her former home. While she did not expect the trip to Gotham to be nothing more than a temporary stay until the government saction was lifted, Evelyn found that she had missed the east coast. Dinah soon recruited her into the Birds of Prey, making her one of the first recruits. Along with the team, she worked to clean up the streets from the local gangs, escaped inmates & any other criminals in their path. When the dust settled a year later, Evelyn decided to stick to crimefighting & Gotham full-time.

## Romantic Relationships

* Wendell Sharp: Boyfriend (1998 - 1999); Married (1999)

## Powers & Abilities

* **High Level Intellect:** Evelyn was noted to be a star pupil at her high school & being excellent in her studies. Combined with her intellect & hardworking nature, she even rose to become a highly regarded in the academic decathlon.
	+ ***Engineering*:** She is knowledgeable enough in mechanics to help the Birds' inventions.
	+ ***Multilingualism*:** She is fluent in English, Spanish & Italian.
* **Above Average Human Condition**
	+ ***Acrobatics*:** As a former gymnast, Evelyn can move gracefully over obstacles & fluidly scale fences. She is also adept in parkour, capable of scaling her surroundings in battle & even flipping off of moving vehicles without injuring herself.
	+ ***Hand to Hand Combat/Martial Arts*:** She was trained by Black Canary & even took some classes under Ted Grant.
* **Firearms:** Evelyn is highly skilled in the use of firearms. She was able to shoot three men down before they could respond.

### Ratings

* **Intelligence:** 5 - High / Exceptional
* **Strength:** 4 - Trained / Learned
* **Speed:** 3 - Average / Basic
* **Occult:** 1 - Nonexistent
* **Weapons:** 4 - Trained / Learned
* **Range:** 4 - Trained / Learned
* **Strategy:** 5 - High / Exceptional
* **Combat:** 5 - High / Exceptional
* **TOTAL:** 93 - Threat Level 2 / Low Threat

## Trivia

* Evelyn didn't attended her high school graduation. Instead, they mailed her diploma as they understood the circumstances.
* She has a tattoo of flowers stretching from her neck to her wrist.
* Her personality is described as headstrong, confident, sarcastic & crass but classy.
* Evelyn has a sailor's mouth. She probably curses in 85% of her statements.
* She is very religious. She once drove her car through a church & said that she had no idea where to even "start to confess a sin like this."
* Her Uncle Earl was diagnosed with Alzheimer's & lives in assisted care living. She covers all of his expenses.

## Notes

* The name Evelyn Crawford Sharp is a nod to her portrayal in the *Arrowverse.*
* Her address is a nod to her first comic appearance, *Birds of Prey*Vol 3 #1 (November, 2011) & one of her creators, Duane Swierczynski.
* Her birthday is also a nod to her first comic appearance.
* In the comics, Wendell Sharpe is Supergirl's (Linda Danvers) agent.