Clinical psychologist Robin S. Rosenberg considers Catwoman to be a “straightforward criminal” who “in many stories is motivated to acquire feline-themed objects.” Another perspective, offered by comic book author Ivory Madison, considers Catwoman to emerge from a complex tradition to “depict strong female characters […] as villains or harpies or anything but heroic” to ultimately become a “strong and respectable hero.” Here, we have two descriptions of the singular figure, Catwoman (Selina Kyle). Yet, these different conceptions are not mutually exclusive, nor do they coalesce into one character of contained meaning. One might assert that these competing iterations are merely versions from differing diegetic multi-verses, composed of parallel media forms. But this would diminish the context of their continued production and interpretation, especially when “These heroes retain their cultural significance precisely because they are open to reinterpretation by different generations.”
To understand the development of Catwoman over 80 years, as Madison points out: “Catwoman was originally written as a villain, but her appeal to readers, and to Batman, evolved as our culture evolved.” Created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane, Catwoman first appears as a master thief known simply as The Cat in Batman #1. In her early appearances, Catwoman’s villainess-turned-anti-hero identity was still being developed. In Batman #2 the jewel thief became “Cat-Woman,” and in Batman #3 Cat-Woman started wearing a cat mask disguise which became an outfit in green and purple, the archetypal color-code of villains, in Batman #35. After a series of robberies and conflicts, in Batman #62 Catwoman was given a sympathetic backstory: following a plane crash, she had been amnesic. This revelation, which paused her criminal behavior, has long since been retconned, but the plot is a critical turning point for Catwoman in the Golden Age (1938-1956) as she increasingly found reasons to assist Batman. In return, there are issues such as Batman #65, where he looks for excuses that redeem Catwoman. It is perhaps because of this moral ambiguity that during the Silver Age (1956–1970), Catwoman’s presence was diminished, with her not appearing in comics between 1954 and 1966. Following her catsuit-led cultural revival, due to the commercial success of ABC’s Batman television series (1966-1968), the Bronze Age (1970-1985) comics encroached upon more mature terrain. Across a series of alternate Earth-2 stories, Catwoman’s connection with Batman blossoms as they fight crime together in Batman #324. Explained in “The Autobiography of Bruce Wayne” in The Brave and the Bold #197, their relationship turns into marriage, a child, and a happy retirement. However, so that Batman may become more in tune with the repressed emotions of Bruce Wayne, this Catwoman is killed at the close of the story.
Over time, Catwoman has evolved to become what Peter Coogan calls one of the “early examples of inverted-superhero villains,” making her an “innovation in villainy” as she frequently demonstrates the potential to change. Catwoman’s career appears to be formally recognized as anti-heroic when Commissioner Gordon accepts her vigilantism in Batman #392, but the female representation of Catwoman at the outset of the Modern Age (1985-) shifts towards….
The full 5,500 word version of this article is published in Batman’s Villains and Villainesses: Multidisciplinary Perspectives on Arkham’s Souls, edited by Justin Martin and Marco Favaro, published by Lexington Books, 2023.
Carl Wilson 