Förnäm Painting

Catwoman, a.k.a. Selina Kyle. The original and most widely known Catwoman, Selina Kyle, first appeared in Batman #1 (Spring 1940) in which she was known as The Cat. As an adversary of Batman, she was a whip-carrying burglar with a taste for high stake thefts. Modern writers have attributed her activities and costumed identity as a response to a history of abuse. So why do I love her so much? Catwoman is one of the few characters in superhero comics that have experienced a true progression throughout the years. She’s evolved from a simple cat burglar villain to one of the most complex characters in comics. She’s overcome a life of prostitution to become a figure of inspiration for young girls (Holly Robinson) while earning her keep in the Bat-family, oftentimes much to the chagrin of Batman himself. Not to mention their on-again off-again relationship that, when exploited correctly (see Paul Dini and Dustin Nguyen’s Batman: Heart of Hush) is the source of great drama. She’s been a CEO, she’s been a mother, she’s lost and subsequently battled her sister, she’s been a murderer, and she’s got a thing for older men. The important thing is that despite all of these crazy happenings, they’ve successfully built on top of each other throughout the years – perhaps not with flawless continuity, but the emotional effects have continued to shape Catwoman into the character she is today; she’s got many complex layers. She plays the game by her own rules, and the only winner she ever sees is herself. She’ll drop Batman in a second if he’s in the way of her objectives; at the same time, Selina acts as the perfect shade of grey to assist in Batman’s war on crime. She’s willing to bend morality more than most. While in the modern era she’s typically been depicted as the reluctant hero, it’s the fact that she’s so difficult to pin down that makes her interesting. Which leads to the next point: Catwoman’s versatility. Much like Batman, her unique characteristics make her primed for a wide variety of storytelling possibilities. Whether you go the noir-ish route of Darwyn Cooke and Ed Brubaker, the high sci-fi of Salvation Run, the supervillain showcase of Heart of Hush, the deeply personal angle of Her Mother’s Keeper, or the stylish crime caper that is When in Rome, the character’s inclusion feels fitting and true.