This Magnificent Baddie was Headlined on February 2024.
“
I'm a hell of a long distance from any kind of altruist- but as far as I know, I haven't resigned from the human race.
„
~ Catwoman to Batman.
“
I'm a thief - and stealing is what I do. Not so much for the prize or the possession or even the profit… but for the art of doing it… because I can… and because I'm good.
„
~ Catwoman explaining why she's a thief.
Catwoman, real name: Selina Kyle, is a major character in the DC Universe, specifically serving as the deuteragonist of the Batman franchise and the titular main protagonist of the franchise of the same name. She is Batman's main love interest and on-and-off ally/enemy.
Although typically thought and reproduced as a villain, Catwoman repeatedly in a heroic capacity, and, in the most modern comics, is a hero as often as a villain, and even when a villain shows consistent moral standards and far more restrictions and scruples than any of Batman's other great enemies. Since Selina Kyle's origins are obscure, she can also be portrayed as based in Gotham's red light district, implying a history of prostitution. She spent most of her life training herself to be a professional thief, stealing only high-level targets instead of petty assaults.
She is easily one of the most iconic and recognizable Batman characters, to an extent that rivals even with his arch-nemesis the Joker. She made her debut in the very first issue of Batman back in 1940 (albiet under the name of "the Cat" rather than Catwoman), and has been a consistent character since then. She has also appeared across the majority of Batman adaptations outside of comics since then.
As a morally grey Chaotic Neutral type of character, she is the trope namer of "Dating Catwoman", going back and forth between being Batman's enemy, ally, and even lover. As a hero, she has genuinely saved lives for the greater good. Even as a villain, she is consistently honorable and has standards, rarely doing anything particularly heinous.
She's a professional thief, as well as an expert martial artist.
She has used her charisma, sex appeal, friendliness, and many more to aid in her crimes.
She has a tragic backstory, having once been an underage prostitute after escaping her orphanage by robbing and blackmailing the director into deleting her name from the city records. Also her biological parents killed themselves.
Earth-Two[]
In her debut in Batman (Vol. 1) #1, the Cat disguised herself as the elderly "Miss Peggs," stole a $500,000 emerald necklace, and almost getting away with it had it not been for Batman's intervention.
In Batman (Vol. 1) #65, Silena Kyle decided to become Catwoman again, joined gang leader Whale Morton, trapped Batman and Robin, but revealed in the end that she was on Batman's side the whole time and manipulated Morton into doing his crimes while the police were watching.
New Earth[]
During the Batman: Knightfall storyline, she manages to outwit Bane of all people, hiding jewelry from him and even covering her tracks to evade him after an assassination attempt.
She also manipulates the man behind said assassination attempt into getting himself (unwittingly) killed by Bane, which is 100% deserved. This also helped facilitate Bane's imprisonment since he murdered someone in prison.
In Catwoman (Vol. 3) #11, she successfully steals the Bast Emerald, even though the Emerald was being used to lure her into a trap, and escapes unharmed.
She kills Black Mask in the Catwoman: Backward Masking storyline, avenging all the innocent people that got tortured and/or killed by him, including her loved ones.
Prime Earth[]
In Batman (Vol. 3) Annual #2, she sneaked into the Batcave, stole the Batmobile, and crashed it through a restaurant window for fun. She then broke into Bruce Wayne's house to crack open a safe of his.
What Makes Her a Baddie?[]
Unlike Batman, she has zero qualms killing criminals.
Though usually heroic in the current era of comics, she is still on & off as a member of Batman's rogues gallery.
More often than not, she steals for the sake of thrills rather than needs.