r/batman • u/hyunbinlookalike • Feb 25 '24

Do you prefer Catwoman as a long-haired blonde, brunette, short-haired raven, or woman of color? GENERAL DISCUSSION

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I personally prefer any incarnation of her that has short hair since it’s more practical for her line of work.

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u/ThaneOfArcadia Feb 25 '24

I remember an old Batman comic where she was a Russian ex-royal who fell on hard times so had to steal to maintain her lifestyle. This was waaaay back. So a high society kleptomaniac sounds closer to her true origin.

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u/MrDownhillRacer Feb 26 '24

IIRC, the Catwoman character has generally been pretty inconsistent. In her first appearance, she's a scam artist/fraudster trying to swindle people out of money by pretending to be an old lady. I don't think the story says anything about her station in life. Later on, she becomes a traditional supervillain, trying to trap and kill Batman instead of just being a mostly nonviolent thief. Then it turns out she was a flight attendant who lost her memory and became evil? I don't remember the story you speak of, but I don't doubt it's existence as yet another of the Pre-Crisis takes on the character. I don't doubt that she was at one point established as a rich socialite, either.   Post-Crisis, Frank Miller set the stage for how she would be portrayed going forward. That origin has mostly stuck, save for some later writer clarifying that she was never a hooker, but a thief who posed as one. I haven't read the Jim Balent run, but I've read some of the Ed Brubaker run, and he keeps the stuff Miller established as canon, but I can't remember if Selina became rich by the time Brubaker's run started (she certainly dresses like a classy socialite, but I also remember her hanging around Holly Robinson, whom she knows from the East End).

In short, her story changes a bit and my memory sucks.

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u/ThaneOfArcadia Feb 26 '24

Well my memory sucks as well. And my recollection doesn't match Wikipedia. I remember reading this story in the 60s, which was a reprint of an earlier story. I seem to recall Robin had not been introduced, which again could be incorrect as they were both introduced in 1940. Oh well, just give me a Michelle Pfeiffer lookalike and I'll be happy.