Catwoman (comics): Difference between revisions

'''Catwoman''' is a fictional character associated with [[DC Comics]]' ''[[Batman (Comic Book)|Batman]]'' franchise. Historically a supervillain, the character was created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane, partially inspired by Kane's second cousin by marriage, Ruth Steel. Kane, a frequent movie goer also mentioned that Jean Harlow was a model for the design. The character first appeared as '''The Cat''' in ''"Batman''" #1 (Spring, 1940). The code name Cat-Woman (sic), and the first of her cat-suits were introduced in issue #2. Her civilian identity of Selina Kyle was introduced in subsequent appearances.

The character had regular appearances in the Batman titles for much of the Golden Age, as both as a villain, and as a reformed criminal (or at least attempting to reform.) She disappeared from the franchise for over a decade in ''"Detective Comics''" #211 (September, 1954), for fears that her depiction violated the recently introduced [[Comics Code]]. In 1966, over a decade later, the character was revived for the ''[[Batman (TV series)|Batman]]'' television series.

The character turned popular again and revival in the comic books soon followed. Starting with ''"Superman's Girl Friend Lois Lane''" #70 (November, 1966). Where she uses magic to turn ''[[Superman (Comic Book)|Superman]]'' into a cat. [[Lois Lane]] then gets to fight Catwoman to rescue her love interest. Regular adventures of this version continued to the [[The Eighties|1980s]]. With an Earth-One version of Catwoman firmly established, the DC staff then reintroduced the original as part of the Earth-Two [[Alternate Universe]]. Or at least its backstory. According to ''"DC Super-Stars''" #17 (November, 1977), the Golden Age Catwoman eventually married Batman. She was killed while performing [[One Last Job]]. Her daughter Helena Wayne, donned the cape of the [[Huntress]] to avenge her death.

[[Post-Crisis]], Catwoman got a revamp in the [[Batman: Year One]] storyline (1987), which established a new background for Selina. As a former prostitute who learned martial arts and the art of burglary to improve her life. She got a mini-series of her own in 1989. Then a regular Catwoman series started in September, 1993. From the [[The Nineties|1990s]] until 2008, Catwoman featured in an eponymous series that cast her as an anti-hero rather than a supervillain. In 2009 this was replaced with a ''[[Gotham City Sirens]]'' title that put her in a morally-ambiguous team with Poison Ivy and [[Harley Quinn (Comic Book)|Harley Quinn]]. In 2011 this was dropped and a new ongoing ''Catwoman'' title began as part of the [[New 52]] universe-wide revamp.

* [[Go-Karting Withwith Bowser]]: It's arguable that the entire ''[[Gotham City Sirens]]'' series is this. Either that or her relationship with Batman... or both.

* [[Hooker Withwith a Heart of Gold]]: An element of her past that has been in and out of continuity since Frank Miller added it.

* [[Most Common Superpower]]: [[Depending Onon the Artist]]. She was one of the ''most'' exaggerated examples at one point, but has since gone back to something more realistic.