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Catwoman
Catwoman Infobox.jpg
Textless cover of Catwoman (vol. 3) #59. Art by Adam Hughes.
Publication information
Publisher DC Comics
First appearance Batman #1 (cover-dated spring 1940; published April 25, 1940)
Created by Bill Finger
Bob Kane
In-story information
Alter ego Selina Kyle
Team affiliations Justice League
Batman Family
Outsiders
Gotham City Sirens
Birds of Prey
Injustice League
Partnerships
Notable aliases The Cat
Selina Calabrese
Irena Dubrovna
Abilities
  • Expert burglar
  • Master martial artist and hand-to-hand combatant
  • Skilled gymnast and acrobat
  • Utilizing whips, sharp retractable claws, and climbing pitons
Catwoman&Catgirl
Selina with her then-sidekick, Catgirl (2010); art by Tony Daniel

Catwoman is a fictional character associated with DC Comics' Batman franchise and created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane.

Catwoman, initially known as The Cat, is the alter ego of Selina Kyle, a Gotham City burglar who usually wears a tight, one-piece outfit and uses a bullwhip for a weapon.

She was an adversary of Batman. Since the 1990s, Catwoman has been featured in an eponymous series that cast her as an anti-hero rather than a villain. The character has also been written as one of Batman's possible love-interests, even helping him on occasion.

Recently, Selina Kyle has stepped out of the role of Catwoman, and her confidante, aide and protégé Holly Robinson has taken up the mantle. How long before Selina resumes the role, if ever, remains to be seen.

One of the most popular Batman characters, Catwoman has been featured in most other media adaptations of the character. In film, the casting of Lee Meriwether introduced Catwoman to a large audience in Batman (1966), Michelle Pfeiffer portrayed the character in Batman Returns (1992), Halle Berry in Catwoman (2004), Anne Hathaway in The Dark Knight Rises (2012), and Zoë Kravitz in The Batman (2022), after previously voicing her in the animated film The Lego Batman Movie (2017). In live-action television, Julie Newmar and Eartha Kitt gave alternate performances in Batman, and a young version of Kyle was portrayed by Camren Bicondova in Gotham (2014–2019), with Lili Simmons playing an older Kyle in the series finale.

Catwoman was ranked 11th on IGN's list of the "Top 100 Comic Book Villains of All Time", 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.

Creation

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 create a character who could appeal to female readers. 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.

Images for kids

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Catwoman para niños

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