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Comic book character

Catwoman is a character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane, she debuted as "the Cat" in Batman #1 (spring 1940). She has become one of the superhero Batman's most prominent enemies, belonging to the collective of adversaries that make up his rogues gallery, as well as Batman's best known and most enduring love interest, with many stories depicting their complex love–hate relationship. Since 1993, Catwoman has had her own ongoing series, Catwoman. Catwoman is the alter ego of Selina Kyle, a burglar in Gotham City who usually wears a skintight bodysuit and uses a bullwhip for a weapon. She was originally characterized as a supervillain and adversary of Batman, but has been featured in an eponymous series since the 1990s that portrays her as an antiheroine, often with a utilitarian moral philosophy. The character thrived in her earliest appearances, but she took an extended hiatus from September 1954 to November 1966 due to the developing Comics Code Authority in 1954. These issues involved the rules regarding the development and portrayal of female characters that were in violation of the Comics Code, a code which is no longer in use. In the comics, Holly Robinson and Eiko Hasigawa have both adopted the Catwoman identity, apart from Selina Kyle. and 51st on Wizard magazine's "100 Greatest Villains of All Time" list. Conversely, she was ranked 20th on IGN's "Top 100 Comic Book Heroes of All Time" list.

Batman co creator Bob Kane was a great movie fan and his love for film provided the impetus for several Batman characters, among them, Catwoman. Kane's inspiration for Catwoman was drawn from multiple sources to include actresses Jean Harlow, Hedy Lamarr, and his cousin, Ruth Steele. Kane and Finger wanted to give their comic book sex appeal, as well as a character who could appeal to female readers; they thus created a "friendly foe who committed crimes but was also a romantic interest in Batman's rather sterile life." Catwoman was meant to be a love interest and to engage Batman in a chess game, with him trying to reform her. At the same time, this character was meant to be different from other Batman villains like the Joker in that she was never a killer or evil. As for using cat imagery with the character, Kane stated that he and Finger saw cats as "kind of the antithesis of bats".

Catwoman, then called "the Cat", first appeared in Batman #1 (spring 1940) as a mysterious burglar and jewel thief, revealed at the end of the story to be a young, attractive (unnamed) woman, having disguised herself as an old woman during the story and been hired to commit a burglary. Although she does not wear her iconic cat suit, the story establishes her core personality as a femme fatale who both antagonizes and attracts Batman. It is implied Batman may have deliberately let her get away by blocking Robin as he tried to leap after her. She next appears in Batman #2 in a story also involving the Joker but escapes Batman in the end. In Batman #3 she wears a fur mask and again succeeds in escaping Batman. Batman #62 (December 1950) reveals that Catwoman was an amnesiac flight attendant who turned to crime after suffering a prior blow to the head during a plane crash she survived. She reveals this in the Batcave after being hit on the head by a piece of rubble while saving Batman while he was chasing her. However, in The Brave and the Bold #197 (April 1983), she later admits that she made up the amnesia story because she wanted a way out of her past life of crime. She reforms for several years, helping out Batman in Batman #65 (June 1951) and 69 (February 1952), until she decides to return to a life of crime in Detective Comics #203 (January 1954), after a newspaper publishes stories of Batman's past adventures and some crooks mock her about it. However, Catwoman prevents her thugs from murdering Batman once he is later found knocked out, but quickly claims she wants him as a hostage. Catwoman appears again as a criminal in Batman #84 (June 1954) and Detective Comics #211 (September 1954), which were her two final appearances until 1966. This was mostly due to her possible violation of the developing Comics Code Authority's rules for portrayal of female characters that started in 1954.

Catwoman made her first Silver Age appearance in Superman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane #70 71 (November–December 1966); afterward, she continued to make appearances across the various Batman comics. Several stories in the 1970s featured Catwoman committing murder, something that neither the Earth One nor Earth Two versions of her would ever do. This version of Catwoman was later assigned to the alternate world of Earth B, an alternate Earth that included stories that could not be considered canonical on Earth One or Earth Two.

Catwoman's origin—and, to an extent, her character—was revised in 1987 when writer Frank Miller and artist David Mazzucchelli published Batman: Year One, a revision of Batman's origin. She worked as a dominatrix for the pimp Stan to survive and also sheltered a child prostitute named Holly Robinson working for him. Selina got into a fight with a disguised Bruce after he grabbed Holly, who had stabbed him during a fight with Stan, but was knocked out. As the story progresses, Selina decides to leave prostitution and takes Holly with her. She gets into burglary to make money and starts robbing the rich and powerful men of Gotham, donning a catsuit costume while committing her heists. While trying to rob Carmine Falcone, she gets rescued by Batman but is irked of being thought of as his sidekick by the media. The 1989 Catwoman limited series, written by Mindy Newell and with art by J. J. Birch, expanded upon Miller's Year One origin. This storyline, known as "Her Sister's Keeper", explores Selina's early life as a dominatrix and the start of her career as Catwoman. The story culminates with Selina's former pimp, Stan, abducting and beating her sister Maggie, who, in contrast to Selina, is a nun. Selina kills Stan to save her sister, and gets away with it. Most of this is revealed in the former series, but is expanded upon in "Her Sister's Keeper". Catwoman (vol. 2) #69 provides details about Selina's childhood and neglects Maggie's existence. Maria Kyle is a distant parent who preferred to spend her time with cats, and commits suicide when Selina is very young. Her alcoholic father, Brian, is cold to Selina for resembling her mother, whom he resents for dying, and eventually drinks himself to death. To survive, Selina takes to the streets for a time before getting caught and sent first to an orphanage, then juvenile detention center, "where Selina began to see how hard the world could really be". Maggie's fate at this point in the timeline is not alluded to. However, when Ed Brubaker reintroduces her into the comic, he implies that Maggie may have directly entered an orphanage and promptly been adopted. When she is 13 years old, Selina discovers that the detention center's administrator has been embezzling funds, and she confronts her. In an attempt to cover up her crime, the administrator puts Selina in a bag and drops her in a river to drown (like a cat). She escapes and returns to the orphanage, where she steals documents exposing the administrator's corruption. She uses these to blackmail the administrator into erasing "Selina Kyle" from the city's records, then steals the administrator's diamond necklace and escapes from the orphanage. Selina is taken in by Mama Fortuna, the elderly leader of a gang of young thieves, and is taught how to steal. Fortuna treats her students like slaves, keeping their earnings for herself. Selina eventually runs away, accompanied by her friend Sylvia. However, the two have difficulty surviving on their own, and in desperation try to support themselves by working as prostitutes. The two drift apart afterward, with Sylvia coming to resent Selina for not inquiring about what had happened to her at the hands of her abusive first client. In the Catwoman: Year One story, Selina, who is now an adult, achieves some success as a thief. Following a disastrous burglary, however, she accepts an offer to "lie low" as a dominatrix employed by a pimp named Stan. They plan to trick men into divulging information that might be used in future crimes. According to this storyline, Selina trains under the Armless Master of Gotham City, receiving education in martial arts and culture. During this time, a client gives her a cat o' nine tails, which Selina keeps as a trophy. Batman: Dark Victory, the sequel to Batman: The Long Halloween, implies that Catwoman suspects she is the illegitimate daughter of Mafia boss Carmine Falcone, although she finds no definitive proof. Selina's connection to the Falcone crime family is further explored in the miniseries Catwoman: When in Rome. Though the story adds more circumstantial evidence to the theory of Selina's Falcone heritage, establishing that the Falcones' second born daughter was put up for adoption in America, it also supplies no definitive proof. During Batman: The Long Halloween, Selina (out of costume) develops a relationship with Bruce Wayne, even leading her to save Bruce from Poison Ivy. However, this relationship appears to end on the Fourth of July when Bruce rejects her advances twice; once as Bruce and once as Batman. She leaves him for good and also leaves Gotham for a while in Batman: Dark Victory, after he stands her up on two holidays. When the two meet at an opera many years later, during the events of Batman: Hush, Bruce comments that the two no longer have a relationship as Bruce and Selina. Catwoman also appears in the Batman: Knightfall saga, where she is approached by Bane's henchmen while robbing a house. Bane asks her to work for him, but she refuses, as she is repulsed by the criminal who "broke" Batman. Later in the story, she boards a plane with Bruce Wayne to fly to Santa Prisca. She next appears in the Batman: Knightquest saga, where Azrael is masquerading as Batman. She is one of the few to recognize that this Batman is an impostor, later being present when the true Batman returns to the fold as he struggles against his successor, his willingness to save even criminals confirming his true identity for Selina.

In 1993, Catwoman was given her first ongoing comic book series. This series, written by an assortment of writers, but primarily penciled by Jim Balent, generally depicted the character as an international thief (and occasional bounty hunter) with an ambiguous moral code. Story lines include her adoption of teenage runaway and former sidekick, Arizona; aiding Bane, whom she later betrays to Azrael; and a stint as a reluctant government operative. The series also delves into her origin, revealing her beginnings as a young thief, her difficult period in juvenile incarceration, and her training with Ted "Wildcat" Grant. Selina flashes back three years to when Talia al Ghul requested her presence in Tibet. There, Talia made it so that Selina would not relinquish the true identity of Batman under any circumstances. After the interrogation is over, Selina sees Harley with Bruce Wayne on TV. Selina tells Ivy that she knows it is Hush in disguise.

During the events of Blackest Night, Selina is attacked by Black Mask after he has been reborn as a member of the Black Lantern Corps. After he tells her that he plans on getting an emotional response before killing her, Selina steals a car and heads to the mental institution where Maggie is held, believing Black Mask is coming for her. Black Mask attacks the institution, and somehow awakens Maggie from her coma. Selina arrives in time to help her sister flee into the sewers. While on the run, Maggie angrily tells Selina that she ruined both of their lives the day she decided to become Catwoman. Devastated by her sister's statement, Selina fails to realize they have both been heading into a trap. Just as Black Mask is about to gouge Maggie's eyes out and shove them down Selina's throat, Harley and Ivy arrive and defeat the Black Lantern by trapping him in the stomach of a man eating plant. Selina is helped to her feet by her friends, who tell her that Maggie has fled the scene. The next day, the staff members of the mental institution are shown discussing Maggie's escape, also mentioning that a nun that works at the hospital had been found beaten and stripped of her uniform. Maggie is then shown in the depths of the Gotham City sewers clad in the bloodied nun robes, muttering about her plan to kill Catwoman in order to free Selina's soul. Now calling herself Sister Zero, Maggie attempts to kill Selina, but ultimately flees after being defeated by the Sirens. She is last seen going over her options, now realizing that she cannot murder her own sister, and therefore must personally exorcise the "cat demon" from within Selina's body.

In the build up to The Return of Bruce Wayne, the Sirens help Zatanna put out a massive fire at a local park near their home, only for them to be ambushed by a creature made of mud. After being dragged underneath the soil by the creature, Catwoman awakens bound and gagged on the floor of a dark room, and is quickly forced into an illusion by her unseen captors. Back in reality, Talia reveals to the Sirens that just a few hours prior, an unknown benefactor had offered up a massive reward to whoever could kidnap and deliver Catwoman to him, with the hopes that he could penetrate her mind and learn Batman's secret identity. Before the knowledge can be ripped from her mind, Selina's captors (revealed to be the Shrike and a new villain named the Sempai), are eventually defeated by the other Sirens. Once Selina is freed, Talia orders Zatanna to wipe Bruce's identity from her memory, reasoning that her kidnapping has proved that the knowledge is too dangerous for her to handle. The two women initially restrain Selina and attempt to remove the knowledge from her, but Zatanna refuses at the last moment and ends up fighting Talia in order to protect Selina. Talia tries to kill Selina before vanishing, but she survives and ultimately reunites with Bruce, who had recently returned to the present. After stealing the contents of a safe belonging to the Falcone crime family, Selina returns home to find Kitrina, a teenaged escape artist and Carmine Falcone's long lost daughter, breaking into her room. She attacks and subdues Kitrina, who tells Selina that she had unknowingly stolen a map that details the location of the new Black Mask's underground bunker. Realizing that she could use the map to capture Black Mask and claim the 50 million dollar bounty on his head, Selina leaves Kitrina bound in a locked room so that she can keep the map for herself. She later calls Batman to her house in order to turn the would be thief over to the police, but discovers that Kitrina had managed to free herself and steal back the map. This impresses Selina, who mentions that she had tied up the child using an "inescapable" knot that Bruce had shown her years earlier. Following a battle with Black Mask and his henchmen, which ends with neither woman being able to claim the bounty, Selina agrees to take on Kitrina as her new sidekick, Catgirl. Once Bruce Wayne returns from his time in the past, he establishes Batman Incorporated, a global team of Batmen. Selina accompanies Batman on a mission to break into Doctor Sivana's armory, and later travels with him to Tokyo in order to recruit a Japanese representative for Batman Inc. Catwoman teams up with Batman to stop Harley Quinn from breaking the Joker out of Arkham Asylum. After defeating Harley and the Joker, Catwoman tells Poison Ivy that they are no longer friends, this after Ivy drugged her in an attempt to uncover Batman's secret identity. Shortly afterwards, Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn have escaped and set off to pursue revenge on Catwoman for leaving them behind. The two of them found Catwoman and fought her. While they were fighting, Catwoman says that she saw good in them and only wanted to help them. Batman was about to arrest them, but Catwoman helped the two of them escape.

In 2011, DC Comics relaunched its main line of superhero titles under the umbrella The New 52, which revised and updated the fictional history of its superhero characters. Catwoman's new monthly title now focused on Selina's earlier days as Catwoman, though not the identity's origins. The series begins with Selina frantically escaping from unknown masked men who are invading her apartment. After flitting from rooftop to rooftop, Selina looks back just in time to see her apartment blown apart by explosives. She turns to her informant, Lola, who often supplies Catwoman with information and various jobs. In this instance, Lola tips Selina off to an unoccupied penthouse where Selina can lie low for a few weeks, as well as a job stealing a painting from Russian mobsters. For this job, Selina infiltrates a Russian club by posing as the bartender. There, she recognizes a man who murdered a friend of hers, and she takes her revenge. Once her cover is blown, Selina dons her Catwoman outfit and fights her way out of the club. It is revealed through Selina's inner monologue that she and Batman are lovers, and the premiere issue ends with the first sex scene between the two. Her revised origin in Catwoman (vol. 4) #0 draws from Batman Returns. Catwoman is later confronted by Steve Trevor, who offers her a spot on Amanda Waller's new Justice League of America. Selina initially refuses, but accepts the offer after Trevor promises to help her track down a woman who has apparently been posing as Selina. It is later revealed that Catwoman was chosen specifically to take down Batman should the JLA ever need to defeat the original Justice League. The teams eventually come into conflict in the publisher's "Trinity War" crossover. In the Earth Two continuity, Selina Kyle and Bruce Wayne are married, and their daughter, Helena Wayne, is that universe's Robin. In this universe, either Selina has reformed or was never a supervillain in the first place. It is revealed in issue #0 of Worlds' Finest that this Selina was killed while trying to stop what she believed was a human trade ring.

From 2014 to 2015, science fiction writer Genevieve Valentine took over the series and penned a 10 issue story arc focused on Selina Kyle's reign as a Gotham City crime boss. Following events from Batman Eternal and preceding those in Batman #28, Selina takes over control of the Calabrese crime family, after being revealed as the daughter of Rex Calabrese. During this time she stops wearing the Catwoman costume, prompting Eiko Hasigawa, heir to the rival Hasigawa family, to replace her in the role. The women confront each other several times, discussing Eiko's motivations to dress as Catwoman and whether Selina's plans for Gotham and the families are worth the sacrifices required. During one of their encounters, Selina and Eiko kiss, establishing their relationship as a romantic one.

In June 2016, the DC Rebirth event again relaunched DC Comics' entire line of superhero comic book titles with partial revisions of their characters' fictional histories. Catwoman assumes a prominent role in the third volume of Batman. In December 2017, DC Comics ended the DC Rebirth branding, opting to include everything under a larger DC Universe banner and naming, and Catwoman continues to be featured in the third volume of Batman. The series reveals Selina Kyle's origin through a series of flashbacks and letters exchanged between her and Bruce. Selina's parents died when she was young, and she hardly remembers them. She is sent to the Thomas and Martha Wayne Home For the Boys and Girls of Gotham, and even after being placed in various foster homes, Selina would escape to return to the orphanage. Eventually, Selina takes on the Catwoman persona. During one of her heists, she is approached by the Kite Man to aide the Joker in a gang war against the Riddler, which she refuses. She later aides Batman, with whom she already has a romantic relationship, to spy on the Joker. She is shot from a window, but is unharmed. At some point in the future, her childhood orphanage is bombed by a terrorist group called the Dogs of War. Batman reluctantly arrests Catwoman after all 237 of them are killed, despite Catwoman's insistence on her guilt. Catwoman's first appearance following the start of DC Rebirth is in Batman (vol. 3) #9, where she is revealed to be imprisoned in Arkham Asylum for the alleged murders of the Dogs of War. Batman is determined to prove her innocence, and makes a deal with Amanda Waller to get her off death row in exchange for her help on a mission to Santa Prisca. The mission to find the Psycho Pirate is a success, and Batman and Catwoman return to Gotham City. Before Batman can return her to custody, she escapes. Batman investigates the murders of the terrorists that she has been charged with, and deduces that it was in fact Holly Robinson who committed the murders after the terrorists burned down the orphanage she and Selina were raised in. After being attacked by Holly Robinson, Batman is rescued by Catwoman. Bruce proposes to Selina at the end of Batman (vol. 3) #24. In issue #32, Selina asks Bruce to propose to her again, to which she says, "Yes". The two leave Gotham for Khadym to where Holly Robinson has fled to in order to clear Selina's name, ultimately facing Talia al Ghul. Batman Annual (vol. 3) #2 (January 2018) centers on a romantic storyline between Batman and Catwoman, beginning with their initial meetings and acceptance of their shared mutual attraction towards one and another. Towards the end, the story is flash forwarded to the future, in which Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle are a married couple in their golden years. Bruce receives a terminal medical diagnosis, and Selina cares for him until his death. Subsequently, Selina leaves Gotham and starts a new life in the city of Villa Hermosa, California (Catwoman (vol. 5) #1). She faces opposition from the power hungry Creel family who run Villa Hermosa, specifically First Lady Raina Creel. She reappears in the "City of Bane" storyline, reuniting with Bruce following his defeat against both Bane and his father Thomas Wayne from the Flashpoint reality. They proceed to go to Paris for Bruce to recover, before going to disrupt a shipment of Venom under the jurisdiction of Bane's lieutenant, the Magpie. During this, they reconcile and finally determine when they actually first met (Batman believed it to be on a boat when they first met under their alter egos; whilst Catwoman believed it to be in the streets as their true identities, reminiscent of their meeting in Batman: Year One). They subsequently go back to Gotham and defeat all of Batman's enemies who had sided with Bane before taking on and defeating Bane himself, at which point the two are taken by Thomas who, in an attempt to finally break Bruce's spirit, shows him the corpse of the recently murdered Alfred. However, both Bruce and Selina then defeat Thomas utilizing both Scarface and the Psycho Pirate.

Although Catwoman has been historically portrayed as a supervillain, Batman and Catwoman have worked together in achieving common goals and are frequently depicted as having a romantic relationship. Batman has had many romantic relationships with female characters throughout the years, but while these relationships tend to be short in duration, Batman's attraction to Catwoman is present in nearly every version and medium in which the characters appear. In an early 1980s storyline, Selina and Bruce develop a relationship, in which the closing panel of the final story shows her referring to Batman as "Bruce". However, a change in the editorial team brought a swift end to that storyline and, apparently, all that transpired during that story arc. Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle (out of costume) develop a relationship during Batman: The Long Halloween. The story sees Selina saving Bruce from Poison Ivy. However, the relationship ends on the Fourth of July when Bruce rejects her advances twice; once as Bruce and once as Batman. In Batman: Dark Victory, he stands her up on two holidays, causing her to leave him for good and to leave Gotham City for a while. When the two meet at an opera many years later, during the events of the 12 issue story arc called Batman: Hush, Bruce comments that the two no longer have a relationship as Bruce and Selina. However, Hush sees Batman and Catwoman teaming up as allies against the entire rogues gallery and rekindling their romantic relationship. In Hush, Batman reveals his true identity to Catwoman. After the introduction of DC Comics' multiverse in the 1960s, DC established that stories from the Golden Age star the Earth Two Batman, a character from a parallel world. This version of Batman partners with and marries the reformed Earth Two Catwoman, Selina Kyle (as shown in Superman Family #211). They have a daughter named Helena Wayne, who, as the Huntress, becomes (along with Dick Grayson, the Earth Two Robin) Gotham's protector once Wayne retires from the position to become police commissioner, a position he occupies until he is killed during one final adventure as Batman. Batman and Catwoman are shown having a sexual encounter on top of a building in Catwoman (vol. 4) #1 (Nov. 2011), and the same issue implies that the two have an ongoing sexual relationship. In the third volume of Batman, Selina and Bruce are in a romantic relationship, and flashbacks to the past reveal their history together. Bruce proposes to Selina, to which she says, "Yes". The two schedule a wedding but Selina calls it off. Yet the two finally marry with Clark Kent and Lois Lane as witnesses.

Prior to the New 52 line wide revision and relaunch of DC Comics superhero titles and characters, Selina had a relationship with Slam Bradley Jr., and she named him as the father of her daughter Helena. However, the father may still have been Bruce Wayne. In February 2015, a storyline by writer Genevieve Valentine shows Selina kissing fellow Catwoman Eiko Hasigawa.

During the Silver Age, Catwoman, like most Batman villains, used a variety of themed weapons, vehicles, and equipment, such as a custom cat themed car called the "Cat illac". This usage also appeared in the 1960s Batman television series. In her Post Crisis appearances, Catwoman's favored weapon is a whip. She wields both a standard bullwhip and a cat o' nine tails with expert proficiency. She uses the whip because it is a weapon that the user must be trained to use, and therefore it can not be taken from her and used against her in a confrontation. She can also be seen using a pistol against people if her whip is taken from her. Catwoman uses caltrops as an anti personnel weapon and bolas to entangle opponents at a distance. Catwoman has also been shown to have various items to restrain her victims, such as rope for binding hands and feet, and a roll of duct tape used to gag her targets, as she has done with various victims during her robberies over the years. Often, especially in the TV series, she uses sleeping gas or knockout darts to subdue victims. Catwoman's attractiveness and feminine wiles have also allowed her to take advantage of male opponents.

Catwoman, in her first appearance, wore no costume or disguise at all. It was not until her next appearance that she donned a mask, which was a theatrically face covering cat mask that had the appearance of a real cat, rather than a more stylized face mask seen in her later incarnations. Later, she wore a dress with a hood that came with ears, and still later, a catsuit with attached boots and either a domino or glasses mask. In the 1960s, Catwoman's catsuit was green, which was typical of villains of that era. In the 1990s, she usually wore a mostly purple, skintight catsuit before switching to a black catsuit similar to Michelle Pfeiffer's costume in Batman Returns, except not haphazardly stitched together. In recent years, artists have typically depicted Catwoman in some variation of a tight, black bodysuit. Ed Brubaker, the writer behind the 2001 revamp of the character, has stated that Selina's current costume was inspired by Emma Peel's iconic leather catsuit in The Avengers television series. It has a more high tech look, with domino shaped infrared goggles on her cowl. Many of her costumes have incorporated retractable metal claws on the fingertips of her gloves and sometimes on the toes of her boots. On rare occasions, she has also sported a cat's tail. On May 21, 2018, DC Comics unveiled Selina's revamped Catwoman costume designed by comic book writer and artist Joëlle Jones. The new costume is black with openings under her arms and shoulders for mobility along with reinforcement in the middle. Gone are the goggles in favor of a cowl and sleeker, more stylish gloves and boots. Jones, who had been drawing the covers and interior art for DC Rebirths Batman was announced as the writer and artist of a new solo Catwoman series (volume 5). Holly Robinson uses the same costume Selina used prior to Infinite Crisis.

In the 1970s comics, the Catwoman of Earth Two (the parallel Earth that was retroactively declared as the home of DC's Golden Age characters) has the same history as her Golden Age counterpart. Selina later reformed in the 1950s (after the events of Batman #69) and had married Bruce Wayne; soon afterward, she gave birth to the couple's only child, Helena Wayne (the Huntress). The Brave and the Bold #197 (April 1983) elaborates upon the Golden Age origin of Catwoman given in Batman #62, after Selina reveals that she never suffered from amnesia. It is revealed that Selina Kyle had been in a bad marriage, and eventually decided to leave her husband. However, her husband kept her jewelry in his private vault, and she had to break into it to retrieve it. Selina enjoyed this experience so much she decided to become a professional costumed cat burglar, and thus began a career that repeatedly led to her encountering Batman. The Earth Two/Golden Age Selina Kyle eventually dies in the late 1970s after being blackmailed by her former underling "Silky" Cernak into going into action again as Catwoman, as shown in DC Super Stars #17 (December 1977). She was killed when Cernak henchman's gun went off and hit her on the chest enough for her to fall from the fourth floor mezzanine. She died in Bruce's arms claiming "I did it all for you". This incident led to Helena Wayne becoming Huntress and bringing Cernak to justice.

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. The Joker then beats her, dresses her in a Wonder Woman outfit, ties her up and gags her, 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. a short story anthology with stories written by various authors, and Catwoman: Tiger Hunt, a novel. Both books feature a Batman: Year One influenced Catwoman who wears a gray cat costume and was once a prostitute.

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.

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 transplant 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.

In the Elseworlds tale Catwoman: Guardian of Gotham, 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 just to get rid of the competition. 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". In the Elseworlds tale Batman/Tarzan: Claws of the Cat woman, 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 the priestess of its cat cult, trying to reclaim the artifacts. In the Elseworlds tale 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. 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 the Joker's hold and destroy the gauntlets. He then proceeds to kill the 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. 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, with Batgirl and Robin's spirits appearing to forgive their mentor for his failure to save them before he returns to life. In the Elseworlds tale 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 Waynes' 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.

In Batman: Bloodstorm, the first of two sequels 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 and final 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.

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.

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.

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".

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". Two issues later, however, Catwoman is found brutally beaten and cut, bleeding badly. She struggles to tell Batman, "Juh Juh It was Juh "

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 Batman: The Killing Joke.

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 (the Joker) against the English freebooter Captain Leatherwing (Batman), before turning to Leatherwing's side, and eventually marrying him.

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. 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. Bruce Wayne saves her with 'Bat Wraith' robots. 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. 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.

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

In the second volume of the Batman: Earth One graphic novel series, Selena Kyle appears and helps Batman tending his wounds after chasing the Riddler, pretending to be 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.

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.

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.

In 2011, The New 52 revised and relaunched DC Comics superhero titles, including revisions to the alternate universe stories and characters of "Earth Two"—renamed "Earth 2". The Earth 2 version of Catwoman is married to Batman and is the mother of Helena Wayne. Catwoman trained her daughter in crimefighting so that she can one day aid her father, who is busy protecting the world from bigger threats. Batman found out about the outing and got angry, only for Catwoman to calm him down and kiss him. Helena later came to her father's aid and found that soldiers from another world killed Catwoman as Batman mourns her death.

In 2021, DC announced that it would be releasing a comic book continuation of Tim Burton's first two Batman films, Batman (1989) and Batman Returns (1992), Batman '89, written by Sam Hamm, and illustrated by Joe Quinones. The book picks following the events of Batman Returns (1992) and includes the return of Michelle Pfeiffer's Selina Kyle / Catwoman.

Catwoman made her live action debut in the 1966 Batman television series, portrayed by Julie Newmar; she was also portrayed by Lee Meriwether in the film adaptation and Eartha Kitt in the third season. The character later appeared in Tim Burton's Batman Returns, portrayed by Michelle Pfeiffer. A solo Catwoman film was released in 2004 in which she was portrayed by Halle Berry. Anne Hathaway portrayed the character in Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight Rises. She was voiced by Zoë Kravitz in the 2017 animated film the Lego Batman Movie, and in 2022, she portrayed the character in Matt Reeves' live action film The Batman. Catwoman has also appeared in the television series Gotham (2014–2019), in which she was portrayed by Camren Bicondova and Lili Simmons (adult).

Title Material collected Publication date ISBNCatwoman Catwoman: Her Sister's Keeper Catwoman #1–4 May 1991 Catwoman (vol. 2) Catwoman by Jim Balent Book One Catwoman (vol. 2) #1–13 September 2017 Catwoman by Jim Balent Book Two Catwoman (vol. 2) #14–24, #0; Catwoman Annual #2; material from Showcase '95 #4 March 2019 Catwoman: The Catfile Catwoman (vol. 2) #15–19 April 1996 Catwoman: When in Rome Catwoman: When in Rome #1–6 June 2007December 2005 SC: HC: Catwoman: Nine Lives of a Feline Fatale Catwoman (vol. 2) #54; Catwoman: Secret Files and Origins #1; Batman #1, 197, 210, 392; Batman: Gotham Adventures #4; Detective Comics #203; Superman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane #70–71 July 2004 Catwoman: The Movie and Other Cat Tales Catwoman: The Movie Adaptation; Catwoman #0; Catwoman (vol. 2) #11, 25 August 2004 Catwoman (vol. 3) old editions Catwoman Vol. 1: Dark End of the Street Catwoman (vol. 3) #1–4; back up stories from Detective Comics #759–762 September 2002 Catwoman Vol. 2: Crooked Little Town Catwoman (vol. 3) #5–10; Catwoman: Secret Files and Origins #1 December 2003 Catwoman Vol. 3: Relentless Catwoman (vol. 3) #12–19; Catwoman: Secret Files and Origins #1 February 2005 Catwoman Vol. 4: Wild Ride Catwoman (vol. 3) #20–24; Catwoman: Secret Files and Origins #1 September 2005 Catwoman Vol. 5: The Replacements Catwoman (vol. 3) #53–58 February 2007 Catwoman Vol. 6: It's Only a Movie Catwoman (vol. 3) #59–65 August 2007 Catwoman Vol. 7: Catwoman Dies Catwoman (vol. 3) #66–72 February 2008 Catwoman Vol. 8: Crime Pays Catwoman (vol. 3) #73–77 October 2008 Catwoman Vol. 9: The Long Road Home Catwoman (vol. 3) #78–82 March 2009 Catwoman (vol. 3) new editions Catwoman Vol. 1: Trail of the Catwoman Catwoman: Selina's Big Score, back up stories from Detective Comics #759–762, and Catwoman (vol. 3) #1–9 January 2012 Catwoman Vol. 2: No Easy Way Down Catwoman (vol. 3) #10–24, Catwoman: Secret Files and Origins #1 June 2013 Catwoman Vol. 3: Under Pressure Catwoman (vol. 3) #25–37 March 2014 Catwoman Vol. 4: The One You Love Catwoman (vol. 3) #38–49 December 2015 Catwoman Vol. 5: Backward Masking Catwoman (vol. 3) #50–65 May 2016 Catwoman Vol. 6: Final Jeopardy Catwoman (vol. 3) #66–82 January 2017 Catwoman of East End Omnibus Catwoman (vol. 3) Detective Comics #759 762; Catwoman #1 37; Catwoman Secret Files #1; Catwoman: Selina's Big Score #1 June 2022 Gotham City Sirens old editions Gotham City Sirens Vol. 1: Union Gotham City Sirens #1–7 April 2010 Gotham City Sirens Vol. 2: Songs of the Sirens Gotham City Sirens #8–13, Catwoman (vol. 3) #83 November 2010 Gotham City Sirens Vol. 3: Strange Fruit Gotham City Sirens #14–19 August 2011 Gotham City Sirens Vol. 4: Division Gotham City Sirens #20–26 March 2012 Gotham City Sirens new editions Gotham City Sirens Book 1 Gotham City Sirens #1–13 October 2014 Gotham City Sirens Book 2 Gotham City Sirens #14–26 May 2015 Harley Quinn & The Gotham City Sirens Omnibus Gotham City Sirens #1–26 and Catwoman #83 September 2022 Catwoman (vol. 4) Catwoman Vol. 1: The Game Catwoman (vol. 4) #1–6 May 2012 Catwoman Vol. 2: Dollhouse Catwoman (vol. 4) #7–12 February 2013 Catwoman Vol. 3: Death of the Family Catwoman (vol. 4) #0, 13–18; a story from Young Romance #1 October 2013 Catwoman Vol. 4: Gotham Underground Catwoman (vol. 4) #19–24, 26, Annual (vol. 2) #1 and Batman: The Dark Knight #23.4 Joker's Daughter May 2014 Catwoman Vol. 5: Race of Thieves Catwoman (vol. 4) #25, 27–34 and Catwoman: Futures End #1 November 2014 Catwoman Vol. 6: The Keeper of the Castle Catwoman (vol. 4) #35–40 and Annual (vol. 2) #2 July 2015 Catwoman Vol. 7: lnheritance Catwoman (vol. 4) #41–46 February 2016 Catwoman Vol. 8: Run Like Hell Catwoman (vol. 4) #47–52 October 2016 Catwoman (vol. 5) Catwoman Vol. 1: Copycats Catwoman (vol. 5) #1–6 April 2019 Catwoman Vol. 2: Far from Gotham Catwoman (vol. 5) #7–13 and Catwoman Annual (vol. 3) #1 September 2019 Catwoman Vol. 3: Friend of Foe? Catwoman (vol. 5) #16–21 June 2020 Catwoman Vol. 4: Come Home, Alley Cat Catwoman (vol. 5) #14 15, 22 28 and Catwoman 80th Anniversary 100 page Super Spectacular February 2021 Catwoman Vol. 5: Valley of the Shadow of Death Catwoman (vol. 5) #29–32 and Catwoman 2021 Annual November 2021 Catwoman Vol. 6: Fear State Catwoman (vol. 5) #34–38 July 2022 Catwoman Vol. 1: Dangerous Liaisons Catwoman (vol. 5) #39–44 November 2022 Catwoman Vol. 2: Cat International Catwoman (vol. 5) #45 50 May 2023