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Catwoman is the alternative name for two characters in DC Comics. The first and most popular Catwoman, Selina Kyle, made her debut in Batman Vol. 1 #1 "The Cat" Spring 1940. The second Catwoman, Holly Robinson, is Selina's friend who received the Catwoman mantle from Selina for a short period of time. Selina Kyle is most famous for her on-off love-hate relationship with Batman. She has made more appearances than any other Batman enemy, appearing numerous times in the comics, television, film and video games.

Several actresses portrayed/voiced the character in television, films and video games such as Julie Newmar, Eartha Kitt, Jane Webb, Melendy Britt Adrienne Barbeau, Gina Gershon, Nika Futterman, Lee Meriwether, Michelle Pfeiffer, Anne Hathaway and Eliza Dushku. Halle Berry portrayed Patience Phillips in Catwoman though the character bears no resemblance to Selina and is considered "Catwoman-in-name-only". Camren Bicondova will portray a teenage Selina Kyle in Gotham.

The character is the most famous female comic book character, gaining a wide fan base over the years. She was ranked #11 on IGN's Top 100 Greatest Comic Book Villains and #20 on their similar list for heroes.

Golden Age
Selina Kyle made her debut in Batman Vol. 1 #1, Spring 1940. Here, she was called "The Cat", not "Catwoman", appearing in the disguise of an old woman though Batman unmasked her. In 1945, she took on the name "Catwoman". After years of tangling with Batman and Robin, she convinced the Dynamic Duo she was a flight attendant who took up a life of crime after a plan crash gave her amnesia. She reformed for several years before returning to her criminal ways. In The Brave and the Bold Vol. 1 #197, she tells Batman she made the amnesia story to experiment with reformation. Her true backstory is that she had an abusive husband who divorced her. However, he kept her precious jewelry in his safe, so, she had to break in to retrieve them. She enjoyed the thrilling experience so much that she decided to become a professional thief. She reveals her true name as Selina Kyle. She and Batman marry, having a daughter called Helena Wayne aka The Huntress. However, one of Selina's former henchman blackmail her into becoming Catwoman using evidence of her murdering an innocent policeman, leading to her death. Fortunately, Huntress avenged Selina by bringing him to justice. However, Bruce and Helena learnt that Selina had never killed anyone.

Silver Age
After Catwoman took a long hiatus from comic books since 1954 due to her possible violation of The Comics Code Authority, she returned in Superman's Girlfriend, Lois Lane #70. The character encountered more superheroes like Superman, and Wonder Woman,. Her revival was partially inspired by the Batman television series, since Julie Newmar's performance received acclaim.

Bronze Age
Several stories featured the character committing murder; something neither the Earth-Two nor the Earth-One would do. This version of the character was assigned to Earth-B, a universe where its stories were non-canonical to the mainstream DC Universe. In Crisis on Infinite Earths, Catwoman aids Batman and Robin against two villains. During the battle, Catwoman is struck by lightning but manages to survive. When Anti-Monitor merged the Multiverse into New Earth, all versions of Selina Kyle were erased from history and a new Catwoman was created in its wake.

Modern Age
Selina's mother committed suicide before her father drank himself to death. She ran away from home, successfully surviving through petty crime. She was arrested and incarcerated in Juvenile Prison. When she gains evidence of the administrator's crimes, she blackmails her into erasing "Selina Kyle" from every database on Earth. Afterwards, she releases everyone, escaping into Gotham. She is recruited by Mama Fortuna, a crook who takes what her students steal although she escapes with her friend, Sylvia. The two friends drift apart, going their own separate ways. During Catwoman: Year One, Selina is now an adult. She is a dominatrix in the employ of a pimp named Stan. They plan to trick men into divulging information to be used in future robberies.

In Batman: Year One, Selina lives with Holly Robinson, a young runaway, as a dominatrix in Stan's employ. She sees Batman in action, inspiring her to become Catwoman. She attacks Carmine Falcone's men, scratching Falcone's face before Batman takes out the others. In Batman: The Long Halloween, the sequel to Year One, Selina develops a romantic relationship with Bruce Wayne, Batman's alter ego. When they are Catwoman and Batman, respectively, they have an on-off partnership. She helps him hit Falcone where it hurts most - his money. In Batman: Dark Victory, the sequel to Long Halloween, Selina breaks off her relationship with Bruce Wayne, leaving Gotham with The Riddler. This leads to Catwoman: When in Rome, which runs parallel to Dark Victory. In When in Rome, Catwoman attempts to discover who her real parents are. All the while, trademark weapons of Batman's villains are used to attack her. She discovers Riddler betrayed her, in an attempt to find out who was Batman. Catwoman defeats him, leaving Rome for Gotham. When in Gotham, Selina visits Carmine Falcone's grave, confessing that she knows he was her father although she cannot prove it.

In 1993, Catwoman gained her own series. This series featured multiple storylines which crossed over to Batman and other series.

During the Knightfall saga, Bane asks Catwoman to work for him. She refuses because she is repulsed by "the villain who broke Batman". When Azrael masquerades as Batman's replacement, she is the only villain apart from Joker who recognizes he isn't Batman. Later, she is present when Batman takes back his mantle from Azrael, his willingness to save criminals confirming his identity for her.

Selina moves to New York, becoming CEO of Randolf Industries, a mafia-influenced company. She uses this to run for mayor. However, her hopes are dashed when The Trickster connects "Selina Kyle" to "Catwoman".

She returns to Gotham during No Man's Land. As Catwoman, she assists Batman in Gotham's reconstruction after the massive earthquake. However, Commissioner Gordon arrests her. .

During the Officer Down storyline, Catwoman is the chief suspect in Gordon's shooting. Although she clears her name, she displays increasingly erratic behavior throughout the story. Afterwards, she disappears, with everyone believing Deathstroke killed her.

In The Trail of the Catwoman storyline, Slam Bradley tries to discover what really happened to Catwoman. He finds out Selina's duo personality troubled her, making her leave Gotham to recuperate.

This storyline leads to a new Catwoman series. In this series, Selina becomes the official protector of Gotham's East End. Her supporting cast includes Holly and Slam.

During the Hush storyline, Catwoman teams up with Batman, attempting a relationship, during which he reveals his secret identity to her. At the end, Batman breaks off their relationship, suspecting that Hush manipulated it.

Selina appears reformed although she finds out Zatanna windwiped her (erased her memories). In retaliation, Selina throws her out of a window (Zatanna survives the fall) afterwards laying her bed with previous versions of her catsuit. Still unbalanced, Selina is forced to murder a supervillain when Black Mask threatens her friends (from Slam Bradley to Holly Robinson). The villain previously made Maggie, Selina's sister, eat her husband's eyeballs. Selina shoots him in the head, killing him for good.

After Infinite Crisis, the DC Universe jumps forward one year in time. During this storyline Selina has a daughter named Helena Kyle. She gives up being Catwoman to Holly Robinson. One night, she dons another Catwoman costume for a run through Gotham City. She notices her costume is more tighter and she is distracted by criminals. Fortunately, Holly saves her but the sight of two Catwomen is caught on camera. Returning home, Selina finds out Film Freak deduced her identity, teaming up with Angel Man, kidnapping Helena. Selina defeats them, rescues Helena, convincing Zatanna to windpipe them. Following the procedure, Angel Man turns himself in while Film Freak rampages throughout Gotham. Wildcat informs Selina Holly is arrested for Black Masks's murder. Selina breaks into the prison, frees Holly and defeats Film Freak. Returning home, Slam Bradley informs her that Helena's father is his son, therefore, she is his granddaughter. Realizing her life is too dangerous for Helena, she asks Batman to help fake her's and Helena's deaths, giving her up for adoption. A month after a new family adopts Helena, Selina asks Zatanna to erase her memories of her child, reverting her mindset back to "criminal mode". However, Zatanna refuses, saying that Selina is on the path to reformation and a mindwipe would prevent that.

During Salvation Run, Selina is transported to Prison Planet. There, she allies herself with Lex Luthor. She gets off the planet but finds herself in a world where Catwoman is a notorious criminal. However, she finds out she hasn't left Hell Planet and it was her mind's creation. Later, the villains accuse Selina for being a traitor. To prove her innocence, she reveals that Martian Manhunter is posing as Blockbuster. Finally, during the war against the parademons, Selina escapes back to Earth using Luthor's teleportation device.

Selina is uncertain whether to pursue her relationship with Bruce Wayne or not. She ask Zatanna for advice who tells her to do it. Hush eavesdrops on their conversation, targeting both women as a way to hurt Bruce Wayne. Later, at Selina's apartment, Hush attacks her, removing her heart. Bruce receives word of this, heading for a Gotham hospital where Selina is held. He leaves Selina in care of Doctor Mid-Nite while he leaves to fight Hush. After he defeats Hush, regaining Selina's heart, he breaks down beside her, admitting that she was the only women to have truly held his heart. Selina tells him she was awake the whole time, hearing his confession. Later, while still recuperating, she uses allies on both sides of the law to track down and empty every single one of Hush's bank accounts, leaving him broke.

A new villain named Boneblaster attacks Selina but Poison Ivy saves her. She takes Selina to her hideout, where Harley Quinn is revealed to be. Selina proposes that they stay together, protecting each other from the increasing dangers of Gotham City. Then, Ivy demands that Selina reveal Batman's true identity. Selina flashes back to when Talia al Ghul requested her presence in Tibet. She taught Selina a meditation to ensure that she won't reveal Batman's identity to anyone. After the interrogation, Selina and Ivy see Harley with Bruce on TV. She tells Ivy she knows it is Hush in disguise. Catwoman and Ivy ask Riddler for help (whose hideout Ivy took for their home) to rescue Harley from Hush but he refuses since he is on a case with Dick Grayson so, Catwoman and Ivy rescue Harley themselves. However, The Joker attacks them. He reveals that he isn't The Joker but one of his former henchmen, Garry. He wants to kill Harley for "replacing "him" with Bruce (Hush)". However, the girls strap the wannabe to a rocket, sending him into outer space. Afterwards, it is Christmas. Selina has drinks with Dick Grayson and Damian Wayne, Ivy decides to spend time in both the human and plant worlds, Harley visits her dysfunctional family and all three women spend the rest of Christmas together.

Selina finds Kitrina Falcone, Carmine Falcone's long lost daughter, robbing her house. She ties up Kitrina who tells Selina she has the map to the new Black Mask's hideout. Selina realizes she can claim the fifty-million dollar bounty on his head. She calls Batman (who returned from the past) to come and turn over the thief to the police. When they arrive at her apartment, they find Kitrina gone and stolen the map. Selina is surprised and impressed because she tied her using an "inescapable knot" which Batman taught her. Following a battle with Blask Mask and his henchmen (in which neither woman claims the bounty), Selina makes Kitrina her sidekick, Catgirl.

During the Blackest Night event, Black Mask is resurrected as a member of The Black Lantern Corps. He decides to kill Selina (to show her "shooting him in the head was a bad idea") but can't get an emotional response. So, he heads for Maggie's asylum although Selina beats him to it. She takes Maggie with her, escaping into the sewers. Maggie tells Selina she ruined both their lives the day she decided to become Catwoman, leaving Selina devastated. They are unaware they've been heading for Black Mask's trap, who almost removes Maggie's eyeballs and feeds it to Selina if not for Poison Ivy's and Harley Quinn's timely intervention. They trap him in a man-eating plant, the digestive juices digesting him faster than his power ring can regenerate his body. Ivy and Quinn help Selina to her feet, telling her Maggie left. Maggie has stolen a habit, calling herself "Sister Zero" and plans to kill Catwoman to free Selina. She attempts to kill Catwoman but Harley and Ivy save her. It ends with Maggie realizing she can "save" her sister through exorcism instead of murder.

The Sirens help Zatanna put out a fire at a local park near their home when a creature made of mud kidnaps Selina. Talia arrives, informing the women a few hours prior to Selina's kidnapping, someone placed a large bounty for whoever brought Selina to him. The women find their friend and defeat her captors. Talia orders Zatanna to erase Selina's knowledge of Batman's identity. Zatanna refuses, realizing that Talia set up the kidnapping to erase Selina's knowledge of Batman's identity. The two women fight and Talia tries to kill Selina before escaping although Zatanna manages to save her. Afterwards, Selina tells Harley about Batman, making Harley remember Joker. Harley betrays her gal-pals, breaks into Arkham, swearing to kill The Joker.

Harley Quinn is about to kill The Joker but instead, she chooses to free him. The two orchestrate a breakout at Arkham but Catwoman teams up with Batman to stop Harley and Joker. After defeating the two "lovers", Catwoman tells Ivy they are no longer friends, (Ivy previously drugged her to discover Batman's identity) leaving her in Arkham Asylum with Harley. Ivy and Harley break out, reuniting to destroy Catwoman. During the battle, Catwoman said that she saw good in them, only wanting to help. When Batman tries to arrest them, Catwoman holds him off, helping them to escape. The series ends with the three women going their own separate ways.

The New 52
Following the events of Flashpoint, in The New 52 continuity, Selina's origin was completely revamped to mirror her origin in Batman Returns. She took up a job in a government agency which was a "second chance" for Selina to redeem herself after stealing as a child. She wondered where her brother was, so, she looked at the file on the computer about her. However, her name was Russian and the computer crashed. Her boss called her up to him, knowing she was complicit in it. Selina asked him whose name was that since it was not hers but he threw her out of a window. Fortunately, an awning broke Selina's fall, saving her life. When she landed on the ground, a swarm of stray cats licked her corpse. Months later, Selina became Catwoman. She used the awning's cloth as her costume. Determined to discover who she really was, she broke into the office, took the computer file to a computer expert. He claimed that her records were wiped with no record of the Second Chance Programme having existed.

In between her "death" and Catwoman beginnings, Selina had a deadly confrontation with a criminal. During the battle, she used his whip as her weapon. After winning the battle, Selina decided to keep it as a trophy, hoping that she could become an expert thief.

Now, in her new Catwoman series, Selina is 23-years-old, an expert thief (although she is starting her career) and has a sexual relationship with Batman. .

During Trinity War, Amanda Waller recruits her into The Justice League of America, a group of superheroes which was formed to combat The Justice League in case they went rogue. In the aftermath of Trinity War, Forever Evil, Catwoman was one of the many villains that resisted the Crime Syndicate, joining Lex Luthor's Injustice League.

Costume
Catwoman is the biggest character in comics for changing her look over time. In 1940, Selina didn't wear any costume except for an old woman disguise. . 2 seasons later, she wore a "cat head". In 1942, she wore a "cat body" to match her mask. In 1945, Selina wore a purple dress, a green cape and a purple mask. This look of the character became her most iconic look throughout her pre-crisis history. In 1966, the purple dress became a purple shirt and pants. In 1967, she wore a green outfit with a green domino mask and cat ears, resembling Julie Newmar's costume in Batman. In 1969, she wore a gymnastic suit which was black and white, a red domino mask, a black tail and short hair. In 1975, she reverted back to her mid-1940s to mid-1950s look. In 1987, she wore a grey catsuit with whiskers and a tail. In 1993, she wore a purple catsuit, black stockings on her arms and legs and exposed hair. In 2001, she wore a black catsuit with infrared goggles. This look of the character is her current look.

Weapons
During the Golden, Silver and Bronze Ages, Catwoman, like most comic book villains, wielded a variety of weapons. These ranged from knives to guns to bombs. However, during the Modern Age and presently, she wields two major weapons: metal claws in her gloves and boots and a bullwhip. She uses them not only for combat but also for travel; her claws help her to scale buildings and other structures while her whip helps her swing like Batman's Batrope.

Flashpoint
During the Flashpoint event, Selina Kyle is now Oracle. She aids the new Batman in tracking the new Joker.

Live-action

 * Catwoman made her television debut in Batman. Julie Newmar portrayed the character in the first and second seasons while Eartha Kitt portrayed her in the third season. Newmar's costume is on display at The Smithsonian Museum.


 * An uncredited actress portrays Catwoman in Birds of Prey. She appears in Pilot during Alfred Pennyworth's story and in the series's theme song. She married Batman and they had only one daughter, Helena Kyle. However, The Joker hired Clayface to kill her. Bruce left Gotham for unknown reasons, leaving Helena in Alfred's care. Helena followed her parents' footsteps, becoming The Huntress. Catwoman's story is clearly based on her golden age history.


 * She will appear in Gotham, played by Cameron Bicondova as a thirteen-year-old already committing robberies and associating with cats.

Animation

 * Jane Webb and Melendy Britt voiced Catwoman in Filmation's The Adventures of Batman and The New Adventures of Batman, respectively. Her look in the former is based on her 1967-1969 look while her look in the latter is unique to the series.


 * Adrienne Barbeau voices Catwoman in Batman: The Animated Series. She is an expert thief-turned-trustful ally of Batman but in Catwalk, she chooses to be "The cat who walks by herself", returning to her criminal roots


 * Gina Gershon voices Catwoman in The Batman. Her appearance was slightly revamped; she had long cat ears with red inner linings, the bottom of her gloves were red and the bottom of her boots were red too. She is an anti-hero like her comic book counterpart throughout the entire four seasons she appears in.


 * Nika Futterman voices Catwoman in Batman: The Brave and the Bold. Her appearance is based on her mid-1940s to mid-1950s costume design. She is a villainess who has an affection for Batman.

Live-action

 * Since Julie Newmar was unavailable for the tie-in film, Lee Meriwether portrayed Catwoman in Batman. Here, she has a romantic relationship with Bruce Wayne out of costume, leaving Batman heartbroken when he unmasks her. She is called "Miss Kitka", instead of "Selina Kyle".


 * Catwoman's arguably most famous characterization was in Batman Returns, portrayed by Michelle Pfeiffer. Her origin was completely revamped; she was a mousy secretary who was killed by her own boss but she was revived by cats. She returns home, suffering a psychotic breakdown, becoming Catwoman. Her costume is stitched vinyl and her claws are needles attached to thimbles. Pfeiffer's portrayal of the character was a nominated villain for AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes and Villains, along with Danny DeVito's Penguin and Jack Nicholson's Joker (He was #45 on the list). The character proved so popular, a solo film was planned but lingered in development hell for years, becoming the critically panned film starring Halle Berry which bears no resemblance to the comic book character.


 * Anne Hathaway portrayed Selina Kyle in The Dark Knight Rises. Here, she was known as "Selina Kyle", not "Catwoman". Her costume resembles her 1967-1969 costume, except for not being green and having cat ear-goggles. This portrayal of the character adheres most closely to her comic book personality;she is an expert thief who helps Batman only for her own agenda.

Animation

 * Catwoman appears in Chase Me, a short film without dialogue, only music and based on The New Batman Adventures. She steals money from Batman (as Bruce Wayne), gets chased by Batman, finally, getting apprehended by him. It was released as a bonus feature on the dvd for Mystery of the Batwoman.


 * Catwoman appears in Batman: Year One, voiced by Eliza Dushku. She also appears in DC Showcase: Catwoman, a short film featuring Catwoman as the protagonist, released as a bonus feature on the DVD. In the film, her appearance is based on her costume in the comic while in the short, her appearance is based on her current costume although they are the same character.

Video Games

 * Catwoman appears in Batman: Arkham City, voiced by Grey DeLisle. She is a playable character, having her own storyline which intersects with the game's main storyline at certain points. Her entire storyline is estimated to be 10% of the game's storyline.


 * Catwoman appears in  Injustice: Gods Among Us, again voiced by Grey DeLisle. Her normal version teams up with Lex Luthor to distract the heroes while The Joker sets up and detonates a bomb which will destroy Metropolis. Her regime version teams up with Superman's Regime, however, she reveals to Insurgency Batman she teamed up with Superman to misdirect him, leading him to other heroes instead of Batman, saving him. In the game's IOS version, she has three special moves.