Alternative versions of Catwoman

Last updated
Alternate versions of Catwoman
Publisher DC Comics
First appearance Batman #1 (Spring 1940)
Created by Bill Finger
Bob Kane
See also Catwoman in other media

As a fictional character originally characterized as a supervillain and adversary of Batman, but has been portrayed since the 1990s as an antiheroine, Catwoman has been represented in a variety of different stories that redefine elements of the characters appearance and personality. Each work typically establishes its own continuity, and sometimes introduces parallel universes, to the point where distinct differences in the portrayal of the character can be identified. This article details various versions of Catwoman depicted in works including various alternative universe stories.

Contents

Possible futures

The Dark Knight Returns

Selina Kyle appears as an aging and somewhat overweight madam in Frank Miller's Batman: The Dark Knight Returns four times; all are brief. The first time is in a phone message to Bruce ("Selina. Bruce, I'm lonely."). Next, she is attacked by the Joker, who uses a mind control drug to convince her to send one of her prostitutes to use the same substance on a governor. [1] The Joker then beats her, ties her up, gags her, and dresses her in a Wonder Woman outfit, leaving her for Batman to find. Selina's final appearance in the book is at Bruce Wayne's funeral, where she yells at Superman, telling him that she knows who killed Bruce. [1] She does not appear in Batman: The Dark Knight Strikes Again , Miller's follow-up story, although she is referred to in the prologue written for the trade paperback version, but in the book, Carrie Kelley's moniker of "Catgirl" is an homage to Catwoman.

Kingdom Come

Catwoman also made a small cameo in Kingdom Come , mostly accompanying the Riddler; she is predominantly seen, but not much heard in the series. She is not dressed in costume, but appears in the very dress she first wore in Batman #1 as The Cat. According to the novelization by Elliot S. Maggin, she runs a multibillion-dollar cosmetics company. An armored, metahuman successor called "Catwoman II" is also featured in the story as one of the "new heroes" who follow the new "Man of tomorrow" Magog's anti-heroic, violent example. [2]

Batman Beyond

A futuristic Catwoman appears in the Batman Beyond comic series. Like the current Batman, Terry McGinnis, the new Catwoman sports a high-tech costume complete with advanced gadgetry. [3] The new Hush hires her to plant a tracking device on Batman, only for Hush to begin strangling her after "paying" her with a box full of playing cards, regarding her death as a continuation of his efforts to destroy Batman's "family" by killing his rogues gallery. [4] Bruce Wayne saves her with 'Bat-Wraith' robots. [5] She is revealed to be the daughter of the villain Multiplex; she inherits her father's ability to self-duplicate, but can only create nine copies of herself, explaining her adoption of the Catwoman moniker. [6] She is later revealed to be intimately involved with Dick Grayson. Selina Kyle is also briefly mentioned in the TV show that inspired the comic series, when Bruce Wayne begins to tell Terry about her after Terry has a short-lived relationship with a member of the Royal Flush Gang.

Flashpoint

In the alternate timeline of the Flashpoint event, Selina Kyle becomes Oracle having been apparently paralyzed under unspecified circumstances. [7]

Batman: Digital Justice

In the all-digital graphic novel Batman: Digital Justice , which is set some time in the future long after the original Batman has died, Sheila Romero, also known as the hit pop music star Gata (the Spanish female noun for "cat") and daughter of the Mayor of Gotham City, is jealous of the new Batman, James Gordon, because media coverage of his activities have been cutting into her airtime. Setting out to learn as much about Batman and his enemies as she can, Gata becomes the new Catwoman. Near the end of the story, Gata and her followers face off against Batman, but the two later fall in love, and Maria Romero, also known as Madame X, tells Sheila that she is really a clone of Maria. Maria confesses that she had planned to transfer her brain into Gata's body, but she could not bring herself to do it because she loved her "daughter" too much. Maria then dies in Sheila's arms.

Elseworlds

Elseworlds titles are stories that take place in their own separate continuities and often feature different interpretations of mainstream continuity characters.

Catwoman: Guardian of Gotham

In the Elseworlds title Catwoman: Guardian of Gotham, [8] Selina Kyle is the daughter of millionaires Thomas and Martha Kyle. Walking home after seeing the film Cat People, the young Selina chases after an alley cat and watches in horror as her parents are gunned down by a robber. Selina learns that the crook has stolen a ring she found in a Cracker Jack box and had given to her mother. Years later she becomes Catwoman, the defender of Gotham City, operating out of a Catcave beneath Kyle Manor, aided by a young maid named Brooks (this universe's version of Alfred Pennyworth). Her major enemy is a psychopathic criminal named Batman, who beats her entire rogues gallery half-to-death to get rid of the competition. [9]

Batman: Nine Lives

In the Elseworlds tale, Batman: Nine Lives , where Batman and his supporting characters are re-invented as a Pulp noir detective story, an African-American Selina Kyle is a murdered owner of the bankrupt Kit Kat Club who was blackmailing many of the city's most powerful figures. She is nicknamed "The Catwoman". [10]

Batman/Tarzan: Claws of the Catwoman

In the Elseworlds tale Batman/Tarzan: Claws of the Catwoman, set in the 1930s, explorer and adventurer Finnegan Dent is revealed to be stealing the sacred artifacts of an African tribe. During an encounter with Batman and Tarzan, a female thief, dressed as a cat, is revealed to be the princess of the tribe, as well as priestess of its cat-cult, trying to reclaim the artifacts. [11]

JLA: The Nail

In the Elseworlds story JLA: The Nail , featuring a world where costumed heroes have no symbol of inspiration as Superman was never recovered by the Kents, Catwoman is diagnosed by the head warden of Arkham Asylum as not being a true "criminal", but simply enjoying playing a "cat-and-mouse" game with Batman, donning her costume simply to attract his attention. [12] During her time in Arkham, the Joker attacks the asylum armed with Kryptonian gauntlets provided by the story's secret villain, forcing the inmates to fight each other—Catwoman being the last one standing—before Batman arrives. Although the Joker uses his gauntlets to brutally murder Robin and Batgirl while forcing Batman to watch, Catwoman distracts him long enough for Batman to escape Joker's hold and destroy the gauntlets. He then proceeds to kill Joker in a trauma-induced rage, taking the gauntlets and Catwoman back to the Batcave. With Selina and Alfred having broken through Batman's grief, Selina becomes Batwoman and joins Batman in rescuing the JLA from captivity. [13] Although Batman resigns from the League after he is cleared of the Joker's murder, even Catwoman's support cannot help him past his grief until the events of JLA: Another Nail , where the two briefly travel into the afterlife to investigate recent supernatural disturbances with the aid of Deadman, Batgirl, and Robin's spirits appearing to forgive their mentor for his failure to save them before he returns to life. [14]

Batman: In Darkest Knight

In the Elseworlds story Batman: In Darkest Knight , featuring a world if Bruce Wayne discovered the body of dying alien Abin Sur, instead of Green Lantern Hal Jordan, also features familiar Batman characters mixed with some of Green Lantern's enemies. Selina Kyle (recognized by Bruce as "that night in the East End", a reference to Batman: Year One "), along with Harvey Dent are corrupted by Sinestro, who absorbs the mind of the Wayne's killer Joe Chill and became crazed. The two known as Star Sapphire (Selina) and Binary Star (Harvey) team with Sinestro to take out Green Lantern, but are stopped. [15]

Other universes

Prose novels

Two 1990s prose novels feature Catwoman: The Further Adventures of Batman: Volume 3 Featuring Catwoman, [16] a short story collection by various authors, and Catwoman: Tiger Hunt. [17] Both novels portray a Batman: Year One-influenced Catwoman who wears a gray cat costume and was once a prostitute.

Batman: Bloodstorm

In Batman: Bloodstorm, the sequel to Batman & Dracula: Red Rain , where Batman was forced to become a vampire to save Gotham from an attack by Dracula, Selina is turned into a werecat after being bitten by one of the remaining vampires. Hunting for the monster that transformed her, Selina encounters Batman as he hunts for the remaining vampires, the two subsequently joining forces to eliminate the vampire horde. As they fight together, Batman finds that Selina's selfless love for him allows him to control his thirst for blood that had begun to consume him. She sacrifices herself to save him from the Joker, who had become the leader of the remaining vampires after Dracula's death, taking a crossbow bolt to the heart that the Joker had fired at Batman. Batman's grief and rage over her death causes him to finally lose control of his bloodlust as he drinks the Joker's blood. In the second sequel, Batman: Crimson Mist, the corrupted Batman reflects grimly that he can no longer understand Selina's noble sacrifice after his psyche has become increasingly corrupted by his surrender to his vampire side.

Thrillkiller

In Howard Chaykin's Thrillkiller, Selina Kyle is a stripper in a cat-themed strip club. She acts as an informant for GCPD detective Bruce Wayne. [18]

Dark Allegiances

In Howard Chaykin's Dark Allegiances, Selina Kyle becomes a film star under the stage name of Kitty Grimalkin. Prior to becoming a star, she was an alcoholic whose actions during one of her "blackouts" were recorded into an underground porn film. The stills from the film are used to blackmail her into stealing information from Wayne Enterprises.

Batman: Shadow of the Bat

In Alan Grant's Batman: Shadow of the Bat Annual #2, Vikki Vale, a reporter for Wayne Media, is Catwoman. She is hired by Anarky to steal information, but she gets caught and is tortured by Jonathan Crane, whom she calls a "demented scarecrow".

All Star Batman and Robin the Boy Wonder

In Frank Miller's All Star Batman and Robin the Boy Wonder , Catwoman expresses interest when the Joker's invites her to join him in "some mischief". She may be involved in sadomasochism, as she first advises the Joker — who has just murdered his latest lover—that "I've heard rumors on how you handle women — and even I don't play it that rough". [19] Two issues later, however, Catwoman is found brutally beaten and cut, bleeding badly. She struggles to tell Batman, "Juh... Juh... It was Juh..." [20]

Batman: Two Faces

In Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning's Batman: Two Faces , Selina Kyle is a madame in 19th century Gotham, who defends streetwalkers in a mask, bustier, and fishnets and occasionally works with amateur detective Bruce Wayne. The Joker attacks and paralyzes her, much like he does to Barbara Gordon in The Killing Joke .

Batman: Leatherwing

In Detective Comics Annual #7 ( Batman: Leatherwing ) by Chuck Dixon, set in the 18th century Caribbean, Capitana Felina is a Spanish Contessa turned pirate, who rails against the chauvinism of her own crew. She initially teams up with the Laughing Man (Joker) against the English freebooter Captain Leatherwing (Batman), before turning to Leatherwing's side, and eventually marrying him.

Batman: Earth One

In the second volume of Batman: Earth One graphic novel series, Selena Kyle appears and helps Batman tending his wounds after chasing the Riddler, pretending as a single mother who lives in the apartment building where he was injured. Batman later discovers that she is neither the apartment's tenant or a mother, but a burglar who was robbing the building at the time.

Scooby-Doo Team-Up

During a crossover with the cast of Scooby-Doo , Catwoman poses as a ghost in order to con Harley and Ivy out of the Opal of Isis, a rare artifact. After the members of Mystery, Inc. unravel her scam, Catwoman tries to flee with the Opal. She is soon found bound and gagged, with Batgirl having managed to defeat her and reclaim the Opal off-screen. [21]

Injustice: Gods Among Us

In the Injustice universe (based on the video game of the same name), Catwoman is a co-founder of the Insurgency resistance with Batman, which was formed after the death of Dick Grayson. Though Selina supports Batman for five years, she eventually joins the Regime after losing hope that the Regime could truly be stopped. After Superman's defeat, she rejoins Batman's side and acts as his mole for Gorilla Grodd's new supervillain team, the Society.

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References

  1. 1 2 Batman: The Dark Knight Returns #4
  2. ↑ Kingdom Come #3
  3. ↑ Batman Beyond #2 (July 2010)
  4. ↑ Batman Beyond #3 (August 2010)
  5. ↑ Batman Beyond #4 (September 2010)
  6. ↑ Batman Beyond #5 (October 2010)
  7. ↑ Flashpoint: Batman – Knight of Vengeance #2 (July 2011)
  8. ↑ Catwoman: Guardian of Gotham #1
  9. ↑ Catwoman: Guardian of Gotham #2
  10. ↑ Batman: Nine Lives #1
  11. ↑ Batman Chronicles #11
  12. ↑ JLA: The Nail #1
  13. ↑ JLA: The Nail #2–3
  14. ↑ JLA: Another Nail #2
  15. ↑ Batman: In Darkest Knight
  16. ↑ Greenberg, Martin H., ed. (February 1993). The Further Adventures of Batman: Vol. 3 Featuring Catwoman. Bantam Books. ISBN   978-0-553-56069-5.
  17. ↑ Abbey, Lynn; Asprin, Robert (September 1992). Catwoman: Tiger Hunt. Warner Books. ISBN   978-0-446-36043-2.
  18. ↑ Batman: Thrillkiller #1–3
  19. ↑ All Star Batman and Robin the Boy Wonder #8
  20. ↑ All Star Batman and Robin the Boy Wonder #10
  21. ↑ Scooby-Doo Team-Up #23–24
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