Catwoman (Selina Kyle)

Catwoman

Mainstream Universe‎‎, 2011‎-present

Gallery

Real Name

Selina Calabrese (The New 52)
Selina Kyle (DC Rebirth)

Main Alias

Catwoman

Other Aliases

Catbird
Holly Robinson
The Cat
Janice Tessworth^[1]

Relatives

New 52:
Lorna Kyle (ancestor),^[2]
Rex Calabrese (father),
Aiden Mason (brother),
Nick Calabrese (cousin),
Antonia Calabrese (cousin)
Rebirth:
Brian Kyle (father · deceased),
Maria Kyle (mother · deceased),
Maggie Kyle (sister),
Simon Burton (brother-in-law · deceased)

Affiliation

Formerly Batman Family,
Batman Incorporated,
Birds of Prey,
Justice League of America,
Injustice League,
Calabrese Crime Family,
Suicide Squad^[3]

Base Of Operations

Gotham City · formerly Villa Hermosa, California

Status

Characteristics

Gender

Female

Height

5' 7"

Weight

128 lbs (58 kg)

Eyes

Green

Hair

Black

Origin

Universe

Prime Earth

Creators

Bill Finger · Bob Kane

First Appearance
Catwoman Vol 4 #1 (November, 2011)

I have to admit... I've missed this. The adrenaline rush. The action. The knowledge that money stolen is always better than money earned.

— Catwoman ^src

Selina Kyle is Catwoman, a Gotham City expert thief who crossed paths with Batman on many occasions. Having largely left behind her villainous ways, she now operates as a frequent ally of the Batman Family.

History

Origins

New 52 Origin

Selina and her brother Aiden were separated into different foster homes after their father was imprisoned. She ended up in Oliver's Group Home, where Miss Oliver taught the children in her care to steal for her. After getting caught stealing, years later, she was hired at the Mayor's Office, and used her clearance to look at her own file in the hopes of finding her brother. Instead, she discovered that her identity was not what she thought it was, and when she pursued it, someone shoved her off a roof to keep her from the truth. She survived, realizing that she must have been someone important enough to want dead. Months later, after deciding to become Catwoman, she learned that the files she'd seen were wiped in the interim.^[4]

Following the cosmic upheavals of the Rebirth period, this character's history was revised.

Rebirth Origin

Selina was raised alongside her sister Maggie by a drunken father who habitually mistreated her mother, the latter committing suicide when Selina was young. During her childhood, she stole costumes and a gun, which she used to threaten a bunch of bullies threatening a boy.^[5]^[6]^[7]

In truth, Selina was not the biological daughter of Brian Kyle, but rather Rex Calabrese. Selina first encountered a disguised Bruce Wayne while on the street. Later, she took to thieving and eventually became the Catwoman around the time Bruce first debuted as the vigilante "Batman".^[7]

Early Career

During what would be known as the "War of Jokes and Riddles" in Batman's second year, most criminals picked a side of either Joker or the Riddler against the other. Catwoman was among the few criminals to explicitly refuse joining, saying she saw the war as a fool's errand for "unsuccessful criminals". Because of this, Catwoman wasn't seen as much of a criminal threat to Batman, though she managed to escape him with a kiss while she robbed the Maroni Crime Family. ^[8]

At some point, Selina attempted a heist aboard a boat, where she was foiled by Batman and his new sidekick, Robin. Catwoman would later consider this their first true meeting, as Bruce had fully realized himself as Batman.^[7]

Catwoman, as well as Joker, Riddler, and Penguin, was contacted by the Designer - a new criminal in Gotham who volunteered to make their wildest schemes a reality. Catwoman agreed to the deal and asked the Designer for a plan to steal Bruce Wayne's fortune. However, the Joker caused the whole deal to fall apart and seemingly killed the Designer, and the villains burned down his base to leave no trace. ^[9]

Later, Catwoman would abandon her career as Catwoman, attempting to reform. However, a series of newspaper articles ran detailing Batman's greatest cases, and a frustrated Catwoman would return to a life of crime, opining that a leopard can't change its spots.

Her sister, Maggie, however had led a happy settled life though she tried to keep in contact. Black Mask while chasing Catwoman fed Maggie her husband Simon Burton's eyeballs and turned her insane, which Selina watched in horror. In turn, Selina shot Black Mask in the head, believing him dead.^[10]

New 52

Dollhouse

After years of thieving as Catwoman, Selina had crossed one too many bad people and had gotten her close friend and fence Lola MacIntire killed by the gangleader Bone, which devastated her.^[11] At Lola's funeral, she encountered her old friend Gwen Altamont - another fence - and, despite some initial hesitance from the cat burglar, the two began working together.

While Catwoman took jobs stealing cars for Gwen, encountering a metahuman named Spark in the process, someone began kidnapping prostitutes from her neighborhood.^[12] After a failed attempt to stop the kidnapper in the act, Selina turned to Det. Carlos Alvarez for help, despite the fact that he had been trying to catch her - but because he was the only clean cop she knew. Selina tracked the kidnapper to a mansion and discovered Matilda Mathis - calling herself Dollhouse - had been keeping her victims and harvesting their organs before turning them into lifelike dolls. Batman soon interrupted their fight, allowing both Catwoman and Mathis to escape and making Selina question her fitness for vigilantism.

The Black Diamond Probability

After a puzzling run-in with the Joker,^[13] Selina received a new job from Trip Winter to steal the contents of a safe in A.R.G.U.S.' Black Room. Disguising herself as a cardiologist, Selina gained access to the room and tricked a scientist to open the safe the safe for her, revealing the black diamond inside it.^[14] The magical diamond began controlling Selina's actions, and her contact with it woke many of the mystical objects in the room. Before long, she returned to Trip and passed off the diamond, warning him not to give her any creepier jobs like that one.^[15]

Gotham Underground

Catwoman Vol 4 23 Textless — Dragged into a war under Gotham

Afterwards, Selina decided to rob the Cobblepot Family crypt, drawing the ire of the Penguin, who declared war on her.^[16] He further took Gwen Altamont prisoner and attempted to get Catwoman's real name out of her.^[17] When the Penguin, in his effort to catch Catwoman, caused a sinkhole in Gotham, sending one of the Cat's allies named Rat-Tail hurdling into the depths below, Catwoman decided to enter in search of him, aided by technology provided by inventor Alice Tesla. While in the Gotham Underground, Catwoman ran afoul of Doctor Phosphorus, who requested she deliver his daughter Princess Tinderbox to the rival colony's leader's son for a political marriage.^[18]

Catwoman and Phosphorus' daughter were captured by the gang—the Warhogs—who had been developing a biotoxin to release on the world above them. The gang refused Phosphorus' offer of peace, and, before leaving, Catwoman stole the biotoxin to prevent it from being used.^[19] While escaping, Catwoman found her friend Rat-Tail, disguised as a Warhog member. With a war between Charneltown and the Warhogs bound to cause trouble for Gotham, Rat-Tail and Catwoman sabotaged the battle between the two colonies, escaping to the surface and leaving the others to perish or survive as they would.^[20]

Justice League of America and Forever Evil

Justice League of America Vol 3 2 Textless — Catwoman, among the "Justice League"

When Amanda Waller decided that there needed to be a new Justice League of America to act as a counterbalance to the Justice League, Steve Trevor suggested that Catwoman be included on that team as a foil for Batman. He located her and convinced her to join by promising that he would give her the name of a woman who had stolen her identity.^[21]

With the JLA, Catwoman was assigned to infiltrate the Secret Society of Super-Villains,^[22] and was incarcerated at Arkham Asylum as a hoax to get their attention.^[23] Her actions in escaping earned her an audience with the Society.^[24] Though Catwoman's cover was blown and the mission was a bust, the JLA gained insight into the Society's motivations and power.^[25]

After witnessing the death of Dr. Light at the hands of Superman, Catwoman followed her heart and joined Batman in his search for a scientific explanation that would exonerate his friend. This search led to the discovery that Pandora's Box was a gateway between universes, and the attack by the Crime Syndicate - which only she and Batman managed to escape intact.^[26] Together, she and Batman brought the human remains of Victor Stone to his father at the Red Room for repair.^[27] While there, they witnessed the Syndicate's broadcast revealing the identity of Nightwing. Batman felt responsible, and Selina accompanied him to search for his friend.^[28] To that end, he took her for the first time into the Batcave. While searching for supplies, they encountered Lex Luthor and his followers, and reluctantly allied with him in a plan to save the world and Nightwing.^[29]

After Nightwing was rescued, Batman successfully saved the League, and Luthor successfully subdued the Syndicate, Selina confronted Batman, suggesting that they follow through on the promise of their relationship. He refused, however, and she left him in anger.^[30] Following these events, Catwoman abandoned the Justice League of America - which had all but disbanded already - and broke into her A.R.G.U.S. file, replacing it with junk information so that she could get a clean slate.^[31]

Gothtopia

Catwoman Vol 4 27 Textless — Selina Kyle as Catbird

The Scarecrow attacked Gotham with a gas that made everyone believe that the city had become a utopia, protected by the Batman and his sidekick Selina, who, in this delusion, was known as Catbird. However, Batman's will allows him to have glimpses through the delusion, which made Selina assume he was the crazy one.^[32] Those few who also saw through the illusion began to question their own sanity, and the city suffered a rash of suicides as a result, though the crime rate had gone down.

In the meantime, Selina looked into the criminal Steeljacket, a villain that had attacked her and also had been convinced their reality was an illusion and tracked him down. He explained that the suit he'd been wearing was keeping him alive, and he needed her thievery skills to get him the money to repair it. Selina helped Steeljacked, finally awakened to her real identity as the master thief Catwoman.^[33] After Batman managed to free the city from the Scarecrow's toxin, Catwoman caught up with him, reminding of how they had shared both a partnership and a romantic relationship. Despite the fact that the toxin had shown them both what they wanted to see, his denial soured her.^[34]

Race of Thieves

Tiring of seeing her life ruined by her role as Catwoman, Selina burned her catsuit. But this bold move meant absolutely nothing because, after being contacted by a woman named Roulette about a competition of thieves that threatened the lives of children, Catwoman was given another suit and joined the race to save them.^[35]

After completing several challenges during the Race of Thieves, Catwoman realized that there never were any children in danger and that Roulette had actually been hired by a man named Hunt Stone to steal evidence that implicated his ancestors in a famous murder - unaware that he was actually destroying evidence that bequeathed him a huge fortune.^[36]

Wanting to get back at obsessive-compulsive Roulette for tricking her, Selina began systematically sabotaging every aspect of her strictly regimented and planned out day, until Catwoman forced Roulette to declare her the winner of the Race of Thieves.^[37]

Batman Eternal

When a mysterious malefactor came to Gotham with a yearlong plan to ruin Batman's life, Catwoman became entangled in the plot when she began investigating into the turf war between the Penguin and the newly returned mobster Carmine Falcone.^[38] Having caused him grief years ago, she was captured by Falcone and almost killed but was luckily saved by the maniac Professor Pyg, who had a vendetta against Falcone himself. When she had the chance to get revenge on Falcone and finally kill him, Catwoman was stopped by Batman, arriving just in time.^[39]

Sometime later, while trying - and failing - to stop a deal to sell a baby snow leopard for its fur, Selina was located by a street kid named Jade, who - at the request of Selina's father - had come to escort her to Blackgate Penitentiary for a meeting. Her father was, in fact, Rex "The Lion" Calabrese - the crime boss from whom Falcone had taken power. Selina was, therefore, the heir to the Calabrese Crime Family.^[40] Though Selina initially declined, after the young girl sent to get her before Jade was killed by chaotic gang violence, Selina returned to her father and asked for his guidance in becoming a mob boss herself, to combat those that had gone unchecked.^[41]

Catwoman Vol 4 35 Textless — Selina Kyle, mob boss

Along with leadership of the Calabrese Family came ownership of the Egyptian Nightclub - the legal front for her family's income, which she found somewhat boring. Having learned about a group of Arkham escapees still on the loose, Catwoman told Batman what she knew about them as a means of demonstrating her good intentions, despite heading up a crime family.^[42] After being invited to a secret weapons sale - the weapons in question being from Batman's own supply - Catwoman began to research high bounties in Gotham, and was tipped onto Stephanie Brown.^[43] Before long, Selina found and kidnapped her for a short time before "Spoiler" was rescued by Batman and Bluebird.^[44]

While Batman was captured by his nemesis, Lincoln March,^[45] rioting broke out across the city, and Selina insisted that her people help prevent the riots - while secretly making strategic thefts to further her causes. After finally defeating March, Batman confronted Selina, only to tell her that their partnership / relationship was over. With a smirk, she responded that she'd decided it was over long before he had.^[46]

Keeper of the Castle

Now the leader of the Calabrese crime family, Selina stopped wearing her Catwoman costume as she had passed the title on to Eiko Hasigawa, the heir to the rival Hasigawa family.^[47]

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Rebirth

Batman Vol 3 24 Textless — The Cat and the Bat

After returning to her role as Catwoman, Selina was arrested and sent to death row at Arkham Asylum for the murders of over two hundred terrorist soldiers.^[48] Determined to prove her innocence, Batman recruited her to a team of criminals he was putting together to retrieve the Psycho Pirate from Bane in Santa Prisca to save a girl who was stuck under the spell of the Pirate's mask. Batman also knew that getting Catwoman off death row would buy him time to investigate her case as well.^[49] The mission was a success and, after looking into the murders, Batman discovered that Selina had taken the punishment for her good friend Holly Robinson, who had really committed the murders. Catwoman explained that she knew if she took the fall for the crime Batman wouldn't let her die on death row, therefore saving Holly's life. Having freed her from Arkham, Bruce and Selina finally caved into their long-standing mutual attraction and became romantically involved.^[50]

After meeting a version of his father, Bruce was inspired to pursue happiness in his life. He and Selina met on a rooftop and debated the circumstances in which they met for the first time. Bruce told Selina that he kept the diamond she stole in their first encounter, knowing he would need it one day. He took off his mask, and Catwoman's, and proposed marriage with a ring made from that diamond.^[51] Before Bruce let Selina give her answer, he told her something he had never told anyone: that he had attempted to kill the Riddler at the climax of the War of Jokes and Riddles. Selina responded that she and Batman are both damaged individuals, and the tragedies of their pasts mean nothing compared to their feelings for one another, and tearfully accepted his proposal.^[52]