Selina Kyle (New Earth)



Real Name: Selina Kyle Nicknames: No known nicknames Former Aliases: The Cat Other Current Aliases: Irena Dubrovna

Status
Occupation: Cat burgler, Vigilante Legal Status: Citizen of the United States with a criminal record Identity: Secret Marital Status: Single Group Affiliation: Society of Villains; Formerly Injustice League, Formerly Secret Society of Super-Villains Base of Operations: Gotham City's East End

Origin
Selina Kyle's early life was defined in tragedy. When she was just a girl, her brutalized mother Maria committed suicide and her violent father Brian drank himself to death not long after. Seperated from her younger sister Magdalena and remanded to the Sprang Hall Juvenile Detention Center - an abusive state home for orphaned or delinquent girls - she opted instead to take her chances on the streets of Gotham City. Amid the crime and corruption of the poverty - stricken East End district, she survived through petty theft. Sharp wits and an amazing natural skill as a gymnastic led to her becoming the slickest and slipperiest cat burglar the Gotham City Police Department had ever to deal with. To protect herself, she studied martial arts. Later ex - heavyweight champ Ted Grant (Wildcat) taught her boxing. For a time, she was the most accomplished thief nobody knew. She was also one of the most generous, spreading her ill - gotten gains around the downtrodden and desttitute of the East End. She would have continued to rob with impunity if not for the Batman. Spying the Cape Crusader from her window on one of his first outings, she watched him in action and was suitably inspired to take up her own costume when prowling the Gotham night.

Although originally introduced as an opponent for Batman, Catwoman's status as hero or villain is ambiguous; she has her own moral code (she abhors killing, though has resorted to it at times) and has occasionally teamed up with Batman and other heroes against greater threats, even saving the lives of the entire Justice League on one occasion. She represents a gray area in Batman's otherwise black and white life where the line between good and evil blurs, and his attraction to her stems from this perception that, in her way, she's kind of a female version of himself: another dark, beautiful creature that prowls the night.

Catwoman, in her first appearance, wore no costume or disguise at all, and it was not until her next appearance that she donned a mask, which was a theatrically face-covering cat-mask that had the appearance of a real cat, rather than a more stylized face mask seen in her later incarnations. Later, she wore a dress with a hood that came with ears, and still later, a bodysuit with attached boots and either a domino or glasses-mask. In the 1960s, Catwoman's bodysuit was green in color, which was typical of villains of that era. In the 1990s, she usually wore a skintight purple bodysuit, before switching to a black leather outfit that recalls Michelle Pfeiffer's Catwoman costume in Batman Returns. In recent years, she has usually alternated between these two costumes. Ed Brubaker, the master-mind behind the 2001 revamp of the character, has stated that Selina's current costume was inspired by Emma Peel's iconic catsuit [1]. It has a more high tech look, with domino-shaped infrared goggles on her cowl.

Recently in the JLA story arc Crisis of Conscience, Catwoman further proved herself an ally when she fought alongside Batman and the League against the old Secret Society, of which she had once briefly been a member. Wounded, she was taken to the Batcave to recover. When Despero and a faction of brainwashed League members infiltrated the cave and succeeded in brainwashing Batman, Catwoman was able to send a distress call out to the unaffected League members. After a fierce struggle, Despero was subdued. However, this was something of a hollow victory, since all recognized that Despero was able to pit the JLA members against one another by drawing upon pre-existing animosities and distrust. In response to Batman's inquiry about her wounds, Selina departed the Batcave after curtly informing Batman that he had already "done enough."

Catwoman appears to be completely reformed, and her love for Batman true (although brash and unpredictable). However, it is now unclear if her reformation was the result of a mindwipe by Zatanna, a procedure known to deeply affect and, in at least one case, physically incapacitate its victims. Selina had no inkling that any villains had been mindwiped until Batman informed her of the events of Identity Crisis, and he now worries that her reformation may be due to mental manipulation.

At the start of the recent storyline ("The One You Love"), an influx of supervillains seized control of the East End, leaving Selina with no choice but to join the new incarnation of the Secret Society. While her initial intentions were unclear, Selina shared her plans to infiltrate and destroy the cadre of East End villains with Batman.

Selina made a deal with a former criminal who had powers similiar to Clayface's, who had promised to help her in exchange for his freedom. The man impersonated her, and allowed several villains to shoot and dismember him, giving the impression to the underworld that Catwoman was really dead (like Clayface, the man was able to survive what would otherwise be fatal wounds). Capitalizing upon the advantage which her "resurrection" provided her (the villains believing she had somehow managed to cheat death), Catwoman dismantled the new East End cadre of criminals, one villain at time. After she was done, Zatanna appeared at her side, informing her that she had some "bad news", hinting at an important revelation about her past.

Place of Birth: Place of birth unknown Known Relatives: Magdalene Kyle (sister) First Appearance: Batman #1

History
History of character unknown.

Characteristics
Height: 5'7" Weight: 133 lbs (60.327 kg) Eyes: Blue-Green Hair: Black

Powers
Known Powers: No known powers. Known Abilities: A natural skilled gymnastic. Trained in various martial ats disciplines. Trained in boxing by Ted Grant (Wildcat). Strength Level: Catwoman possesses the strength level of a healthy, adult female who engages in intensive regular exercise.

Miscellaneous
Equipment: No known equipment.

Transportation: Catwoman occasionally uses a motorcycle for long-distance transportation, but generally prefers rooftop prowling for short distances.

Weapons: Catwoman wields a variety of bullwhips and cat-o'-nine tails as offensive weapons and gymnastic accoutrements.

Costume: The skintight costume features retractable razor-sharp claws in her gloves and spring-action climbing pitons in her boots.

Trivia

 * Catwoman featuring Halle Berry in the title role bears no relation to the actual Catwoman of the comic book.

Recommended Readings

 * Catwoman (Volume 1)
 * Catwoman (Volume 2)
 * Catwoman (Volume 3)

Related Articles

 * Batman
 * Gotham City