Selina Kyle is the Catwoman, a mostly reformed cat burglar with an on-again, off-again, romantic relationship with the Batman, who she now knows is Bruce Wayne. She is shown as Strong willed, independent and a little tempermental, Catwoman is one of the greatest female characters in comics.
Golden/Silver Age Selina Kyle
When the Silver Age happened DC created the parallel Earth named Earth-Two. It was decided that Earth-Two will be where the Golden Age heroes reside and continued. Therefore Golden Age Selina continued her life on Earth-Two where it would be revealed that she reformed in the 1950s and marries Bruce Wayne. Selina would soon give birth to a baby girl named Helena Wayne (Helena would grow up to become Huntress . Later the real reason Selina turned to a life of crime is because Selina had been previously married to an abusive husband. When Selina left her husband, he kept her jewellery in a locked vault. Selina decided she would steal her jewels back and became addicted to the adrenaline rush that she gained from the robbery, she decides to continue her life as a criminal. Living happily with Bruce and their new daughter, the Golden Age/Earth-Two Selina would be blackmailed into returning to a life of crime as Catwoman and eventually dies.
Silver Age Selina Kyle was a consistent murderer. She would kill people on some of her appearances. However, this Catwoman would be moved to Earth-B, this Earth contains the characters and stories that were out of place. Since Catwoman was not a murderer, this was the only solution to getting rid of her Silver Age stories.
Modern Age
After the Crisis on Infinite Earths, Selina’s history was finally revised in Frank Miller’s Batman: Year One story arc. This Selina Kyle was a 5 foot 7 inch cat lover, she worked as a prostitute and would eventually become a Cat Burglar when she sees Batman for the first time. Selina would soon meet a young runaway named Holly Robinson (who would later become the next Catwoman . She took her in and they became roommates. Selina’s prostitution job would later get her in deep trouble when her former pimp named Stan, kidnapped her sister Maggie and beats her. Selina kills Stan and saves her sister. Later Selina would believe that she is the daughter of Carmine Falcone but cannot prove it is true. This part of Selina’s life would be explored more but there would never be a definite proof of her connection to the Falcone family.
Later DC comics would object to Frank Miller’s idea to make post-crisis Selina a prostitute. They decided to reveal that Selina was not really a prostitute, but instead pretended to be a prostitute and steal men’s money. When Catwoman finally got her own series, it finally fully explored the post-crisis life of Selina Kyle. Selina’s parents are Brian and Maria Kyle. Her mother was never close to Selina or her sister Maggie and would often rather spend time with her cats then her children. Her mother eventually committed suicide, and her father began drinking heavily after his wife’s suicide. Selina’s father hated Selina because she looked like her mother, eventually he drank too much and was subdued to alcohol poisoning. Selina ran away and lived on the streets while Maggie was taking to an orphanage right away. Eventually Selina was caught and sent to an orphanage. She caused so much trouble that she would be sent to Juvenile Hall. When Selina was 13 years old she was sent back to an orphanage, but she soon discovered that the place was embezzling money. They would confront her and attempt to cover it all up by drowning Selina in a bag dropped into the river. Selina escapes and returns to the orphanage. She steals documental proof that they were embezzling money and also stole money to live on her own, she sent the documents to the police to expose them.
Early Life finally Revealed
Eventually the money Selina stole would not last forever. Selina would be taken in by an old thief gang leader named Mama Fortuna. Fortuna taught Selina and other runaways how to steal, however used them as slaves when she would keep all their work. Eventually Selina would run away with a friend she met while in the gang named Sylvia. They could not survive on their own and always had a shortage of money. They decided to become prostitutes and Sylvia would be able to attract men, but Selina would not attract anyone. Eventually Sylvia grew to hate Selina for everything that has happened. When Selina finally becomes a successful thief, she continued to steal. During one of her jobs, she made a mistake and had to lay low for awhile. Selina was trained by the Armless Master of Gotham in martial arts and would earn her trademark whip. Her comics were eventually canceled.
The Jim Balent Era
Catwoman was given a new on-going series after the success of the Batman Returns movie. The series was primarily pencil drawn by Jim Balent and written by Chuck Dixon. In this series, Catwoman had don a new costume which was a skintight purple color catsuit, finished with a curly long hair and her signature whip. The issue told many adventures of the Catwoman traveling around the world, stealing precious treasures, seeking vengeance and many other agendas. Batman only made few appearances.
Selina adopts a teenage runaway named Arizona. Selina would train Arizona to be her sidekick for a brief time. She also becomes a government operative for a brief time. The series also reveals more of her origins from her start as a young thief to her time in Juvenile Hall, and also revealed she was trained by Wildcat. Selina would eventually move to New York and gained a CEO position at Randolf Industries when she blackmails them. She had planned to run for mayor in New York but her plans were ruined when the criminal Trickster was able to connect Selina to Catwoman publicly.
The comic book series went on a very successful run but after the 77th issue, Jim Balent left DC Comics to form his own comic book company- Broad Sword Comics. The Catwoman series ended in issue no. 94.
Return to Gotham
Selina returns to Gotham City in time for the Earthquake and Gotham being labeled as No Man’s Land. She would aid Batman during No Man’s Land against Lex Luthor and help him rebuild the city, only to be arrested by Commissioner James Gordon soon after wards. Eventually she escapes but would soon be a suspect for another murder. Selina was later cleared but was clearly annoyed by the allegations and disappears for awhile. She was appeared to be killed by an assassin when her comics got canceled again. However, Catwoman would make several appearances in Batman’s comics and a sub-story would be written to explain what happened to Selina. In this sub-storyline, it follows a private detective named Slam Bradley who is determined to find out what happened to Selina. Eventually Selina was discovered alive and this would re-launch her on-going series. Selina now teams up with the runaway Holly and Slam Bradley to protect the East side of Gotham. During the Hush storyline, Catwoman works with Batman together and they began a romantic relationship. Batman would reveal his alter-ego Bruce Wayne to Selina. However, Batman quickly broke off their relationship when he suspects that this was all a manipulation from Hush.
Catwoman has seemed to be reformed and truly loves Batman. Selina soon discovers that she is reformed because Zatanna had mind-wiped her with some other JLA members. Selina throws Zatanna out of a window when she discovers the truth. Later Selina is faced with the decision to kill a criminal. The criminal was the Black Mask, he had threatened to kill the people Selina cares for. Selina quickly kills Black Mask by shooting him in the head.
One Year Later
One year after Infinite Crisis, Selina has given up being Catwoman, she has left East End Gotham and is currently living under the name Irena Dubrovna. She recently gave birth to a baby girl who she named Helena, the father was not mentioned yet. Holly has taken the Catwoman mantle while Selina raises her daughter, however Selina eventually returns to East End Gotham. Selina could not resist the thrill of being Catwoman and would eventually don the costume again. Film Freak and Angle Man would team up to try and beat Catwoman. They would catch the two Catwoman on film and was able to deduce and find out where Selina lives. When Selina finally returns home, she discovers Film Freak and Angle man in her home and have abducted Helena. Selina would easily rescue her daughter and would contact Zatanna to mind-wipe the two criminals. Angle Man turned himself over to the police but Film Freak goes on a murder rampage.
Later Wildcat reveals to Selina that Holly was arrested for the murder of Black Mask. Selina would break into the police station and free Holly. Selina would tangle with Film Freak again and would defeat him finally. She returns home to find Slam at her place. Slam reveals that he has figured out who the father was, and it was actually Slam’s son, Sam Bradley. During Amazons Attack Batman had Selina pose as a criminal so she could gain the trust of the Bana Amazons and she was able to stop an attack on Gotham City. After Amazons Attack is over Holly and a reformed Harley Quinn were both in Athena's Women Shelter after the attack and both Holly and Harley have become Amazons after a series of trials. Selina starts to doubt whether she should be a mother with her adventures and has Batman fake her and Helena death's and then set Helena up for adoption. Once Helena is adopted Selina asks Zatanna to erase her memories of being a mother, but she refuses telling her it isn't fair to her or Helena and she can't change Selina's mindset because she became a hero on her own. Catwoman joined Batman's new team of outsiders, but she left in the second issue while fighting a modified OMAC not being able to handle the idea of fighting villains on that level.
During Salvation Run she revealed that Blockbuster was actually the Martian Manhunter.
Batman R.I.P
During Heart of Hush, Catwoman was attacked by Hush. He surprised her by showing her his face, which he had surgically altered to look like Bruce Wayne's. He then took her heart, leaving her on life support. Batman got her heart back, and Zatanna gave her a cream that would help her heal faster. Catwoman took revenge by stealing all of Hush's money, leaving him a video telling him that he was now penniless, and that she had survived.
Faces of Evil
Catwoman finds Hush in the jungle. She captures him, and beats him up (using him as a "punching bag for a rhinoceros". She then releases him to distract the poachers she is traveling with, giving him two guides, who were actually Nightwing and Robin, and then she frees all the animals. Nightwing and Robin capture Hush, and lock him up.Final Crisis
Catwoman is one of the Female Furies in Final Crisis.Gotham City Sirens
After the events of Final Crisis, when the new Batman takes back control of Gotham City, Catwoman remains despondent at the loss of Bruce Wayne. While contemplating her loss, and her unexplained physical weakness despite being fully recovered from her physical heart trauma, she rescues two bystanders from a new supervillain-wannabe who calls himself Boneblaster. However, her physical weakness becomes obvious when she fails to fight Boneblaster effectively. Before Boneblaster can cause her permanent harm, she is rescued by the sudden appearance of Poison Ivy. Concerned at how weak Catwoman had become, Ivy takes Selina to where she'd been staying, the home of Eddie Nigma (the reformed Riddler). Selina discovered that Ivy had apparently seduced and drugged Eddie with her plant pheromones. She also discovered that Ivy had similarly taken Harley Quinn into her new sanctuary.Selina then offered the idea that all three of them stay together to better survive in the new Gotham City. Before accepting Selina's idea, Ivy secretly paid a visit to Zatanna through her plants, to find out if she had anything to do with Selina's weakness. Zatanna suggested that the weakness was likely psychological in nature. But before Ivy and Selina can discuss the matter any further, Boneblaster returns and tries to once more make a name for himself by attacking Ivy, Harley and Selina. While Ivy and Harley distract him, Selina ends Boneblaster's threat by shorting out his gauntlets with a live electrical conduit, deducing that the villain had yet to get used to the technology, and had failed to properly insulate his gloves. As a result of the fight, Eddie Nigma's apartment is wrecked.
Selina then obtains an abandoned animal shelter as their new home from a man calling himself The Broker. Ivy and Harley move in, but before Ivy makes a final acceptance of Selina's offer, she surprises Selina and drugs her with truth serum-like spores. While Selina falls into a stupor, Ivy says that she wants total honesty between all of them if they are to trust one another. She then asks Selina to reveal the identity of the original Batman. Selina, using a mental discipline taught to her by Talia al Ghul, avoids the interrogation and gives Ivy and Harley a fabricated story about there being multiple Batmen over the years, and that she's had a personal relationship with more than one of them.
Ivy and Harley accept this answer for the moment, and Ivy tries to make amends by growing all manner of exotic fruits for Selina. Meanwhile, Harley goes shopping. Later, Selina receives a message on her phone which shows Harley posing with Bruce Wayne. Knowing that the real Bruce is dead, and that the man with Harley is really Thomas Elliot (Hush), Selina takes Ivy to the restaurant where the picture was taken. She is shocked to see a Harlequin doll at the table, its head stabbed through with a knife. Harley's phone is next to it.
Skills
She has been taught stealth, athletics, hot-wiring, lock-picking, thieving, acrobatics and the martial arts. She was trained by the Armless Master in martial arts and by Wildcat in boxing and street-fighting. She excels at low- and high-tech heists and is the best cat-burglar in Gotham. Catwoman has an Good affinity for cats. They often help automatically if she needs it and instantly know that she is a friend. Additionally, Selina was an effective seductress, a talent she employed to remove herself from treacherous situations.
Weapons and costumes
Like all Batman villains Catwoman has had many themed weapons and gadgets.In her early years cat-themed car called the "cat-illac". Catwoman's favoured weapon is a 12 foot long whip carried on her person either in her boot or in a small backpack, she has a cat-o-nine-tails, lastic ties for binding hands and feet, and a roll of duct tape used to gag her targets.
Jobs Through the Ages
Selina Kyle has held many jobs including: jewel thief, beautician, magazine publisher, maid, prostitute, stewardess, secretary, animal rights activist and pet shop owner.
Identity through the Ages
The Cat officially becomes Catwoman in 1942 in Batman No. 10 when the secret identity of high society woman Marguerite Tone was reviled. In Batman No. 15 (February - March 1943 , Catwoman goes by the name Elva Barr.She has red hair in Batman No. 35 (1946 , but starting with Detective Comics No. 122 (April 1947 , Catwoman has brunette/black hair. In recent comics, Catwoman's hair is cut short, virtually shorn, but most times artists have depicted Selina Kyle as a Caucasian with flowing, dark hair. Appearances in Batman: The animated Series featured a blond Catwoman. Catwoman calls herself Madame Moderne in the June-July 1948 issue of Batman No. 47. Her true alter ego is revealed as Selina Kyle in 1951 in Batman No. 62. By the 1960s, Catwoman wears a purple dress and mask with a green cape in the comics. She appeared in most issues in this costume up through the 1980s. She appeared in different outfits from 1967 through 1975, when she returned to the classic costume.
In the self-titled 1989 series,Her Sisters Keeper, Catwoman has a dark gray body suit with a tail on her bottom and whiskers on her mask. Selina Kyle has had variations of this costume in the comics since then. The most recent costume has no tail.
Possible Future
Although nothing is definite the headstone of Selina Kyle is seen in Teen Titans #18 making it possible that she is Batman's future wife. Tim Drake visited this cemetery when he accidentally found himself ten years in the future.Feline Love
Catwomen In other Continuities
Elseworlds
The Elseworlds story "JLA: The Nail" and "JLA: Another Nail" have Catwoman teaming up with Batman after his sidekicks are killed; in "Another Nail", she changes her m.o. to Batwoman to honor her new allegiance.
Batman Bloodstorm
Just Imagine Stan Lee
Television & Movie Appearances
Catwoman has been played by several actresses; in the campy 1960s Batman TV series, Julie Newmar spent the most time filling out the curvaceous catsuit, with Eartha Kitt purring her way through several episodes. In the movie based on the series, Lee Merrywether plays the role of Catwoman.
The most well-known portrayal of Catwoman was that of Michelle Pfeiffer in 1989's "Batman Returns". A timid secretary who undergoes a traumatic experience, she emerges as a sexy but psychotic criminal in a patchwork latex catsuit seeking revenge against her boss, Max Shreck. "Meow."
And then, of course, there's the film that bears her name, in which Halle Berry plays a completely unrelated character who gains mystical cat powers after being drowned by a villain selling defective cosmetics. This film was negatively panned by fans and critics alike for drifting so far from the source material. It has earned an Oscar-winner Berry a "razzie" award for Worst Actress (she accepted the "award" in person and publicly apologized for how bad the film was , and been featured on many worst-film lists).
Video Games Appearances
Batman Returns (Super NES)
This is a movie-based game created by Konami in 1993. Catwoman (Played by Michelle Pfeiffer in the movie) is one of the bosses in the game.
Catwoman (Game Boy Color)
Catwoman (PS2, XBOX, GameCube, PC, Game Boy Advance)
A movie-based game of the Catwoman movie of 2004 played by Halle Berry. The game received poor reception due to its lousy camera angles, and dumb AI.
Mortal Kombat Vs. DC Universe (XBOX360, PS3)
Here, she finds Sonya Blade, and requests to use the bases portal to return to Gotham. Sonya defeats her in battle however, and locks her away in a cell. She is eventually set free when Lex Luthor is also captured, and they aid each other in escaping. The two form an alliance, approaching both Deathstroke and The Joker and recruiting them for the battle against the invading warriors. With their help, she assists Batman and his allies in the battle against Dark Khan. Her Game Ending features her returning to her Gotham City and discovering that due to the magical essence of the worlds merging, she now has the ability to transform into a Black Panther at will, enhancing her speed and strength. She uses these new found powers to ensure she will never again be caged.
| Super Name: | Catwoman |
| Real Name: | Selina Kyle |
| Aliases: |
Holly Robinson Selina Wayne Sadie Kelowski Irena Dubrovna Elva Barr The Feline Felon The Princess of Plunder The Cat The Mistress of Malevolence Marguerite Tone Madame Moderne Belinda The Feline Fatal Joanie Jordan Jane Doe |
| Publisher: | DC Comics |
| Gender: | Female |
| Character Type: | Human |
| 1st Appearance: | Batman #1 |
| Appears in: | 670 issues |
| Birthday: | |
| Died: |
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Catwoman
A terrible adaption of Catwoman in many people's opinions.
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Batman Returns
A Tim Burton directed Batman film featuring Michael Keaton as Batman as well as the Penguin and Catwoman.
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Batman: The Movie
Based off of the campy 60s television series. Batman and Robin team up against all of Gotham's villains who are holding the world hostage.
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