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  1. #1
    Astonishing Member Timothy Hunter's Avatar
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    Default Does Anyone Think Catwoman Should Return to Her '40s' Look?

    I am currently rereading Mike Barr and Alan Davis's run on Detective when I realized how Selina Kyle's classic, purple and green costume from the 40s / early 80s was vastly superior, in my opinion, to her more streamlined attire she sports now more or less popularized by Ed Brubaker and Darwyn Cooke. While the contemporary design is that of a generic, tastelessly sexualized, "bad girl art" femme fatales that we have seen throughout that 90s and beyond, this Catwoman design of note is more grandiose and creative.

    This brings me to the main question of this thread: should the aforementioned costume worn by Selina, with the cape and everything, with maybe some modern touches, but basically intact, be brought back.

    If you have no idea what I am talking about here is an image that hopefully will give you a vizualization:
    https://usercontent2.hubstatic.com/7338631_f520.jpg

    It's practically impossible for me to upload an image on this forum with the phone I have, so hopefully someone could be kind enough make that jpg visible on this site.

  2. #2
    Astonishing Member Timothy Hunter's Avatar
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    In retrospect this should have been posted in the Batman forum, my bad.

  3. #3
    Ultimate Member Lee Stone's Avatar
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    And, yes, my favorite costume for her.
    Last edited by Lee Stone; 03-09-2019 at 10:13 PM.
    "There's magic in the sound of analog audio." - CNET.

  4. #4
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    I fail to see how the current costume is "generic and tastelessly sexualized" yet a costume showing off her cleavage and legs is classy and creative. In some images, she looks like she's a slight breeze away from flashing someone.
    Last edited by Agent Z; 03-09-2019 at 10:31 PM.

  5. #5
    Death becomes you Osiris-Rex's Avatar
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    I would love for Catwoman to at least have a cape. Just about everyone else in the Bat family has a cape still. I would accept a purple body suit with a green cape if the dress seems too retro or impractical.
    But so what if Catwoman flashes once in a while while wearing a dress. I'm sure she will be wearing underwear. Even on TV Supergirl, who wears a very short skirt, flashes occasionally. It's just part of the body
    suit under the skirt. You aren't seeing anything that a woman wearing just tights doesn't show.

  6. #6
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    CLASSIC look. Cover up the chest and legs more, though.

  7. #7
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    The green cape and purple gown do tug at the old nostalgia, and evoke words like 'elegant' or 'classy' more than the black leather sex-dungeon fetishwear she currently sports, but the S&M gear does seem a heck of a lot more practical (protecting her knees, for instance, while not having any loose flappy elements to snag on stuff when she's sneaking or leaping around, or to be grabbed and used to unbalance her when she's fighting).

    A compromise could be neat. A detachable cape, that she drops when it's go time, and wears purely for the look (when making an entrance, for instance, and the bondagewear could be worn underneath and not be immediately obvious that she's ready to steal some stuff and kick some face underneath the fancy 'opera cape') might be one approach. Another would be changing her catsuit to include an overskirt, that also can be torn away from the leather leggings (so that if someone tries to 'grab the cat's tail.' all they've got is a handful of cloth, and the 'cat' is across the room and getting away).

  8. #8
    Black Belt in Bad Ideas Robanker's Avatar
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    Actually, I don't think she ever looked better than the look she was rocking until just recently. I'm also partial to the '90s look when the right artist draws it.

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by Osiris-Rex View Post
    I would love for Catwoman to at least have a cape. Just about everyone else in the Bat family has a cape still. I would accept a purple body suit with a green cape if the dress seems too retro or impractical.
    But so what if Catwoman flashes once in a while while wearing a dress. I'm sure she will be wearing underwear. Even on TV Supergirl, who wears a very short skirt, flashes occasionally. It's just part of the body
    suit under the skirt. You aren't seeing anything that a woman wearing just tights doesn't show.
    She's a thief for one thing. They're not known for flashing people.

  10. #10
    Astonishing Member jetengine's Avatar
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    Not in the slightest. The current one has an air of practicality about it. The old one looks like she's going to a fancy dress party.

  11. #11
    Astonishing Member Dark-Flux's Avatar
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    The Cooke design is my favourite but i think Jones did a decent job too. I much prefer the sleeker, more practical look of Cookes design over the golden/silver-age look. I mean, it has its charm appropriate to the era, but it just doesnt have as strong a design, imo. Nor does it really jive with Selina's characterisation.

  12. #12
    Extraordinary Member kjn's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Timothy Hunter View Post
    I am currently rereading Mike Barr and Alan Davis's run on Detective when I realized how Selina Kyle's classic, purple and green costume from the 40s / early 80s was vastly superior, in my opinion, to her more streamlined attire she sports now more or less popularized by Ed Brubaker and Darwyn Cooke. While the contemporary design is that of a generic, tastelessly sexualized, "bad girl art" femme fatales that we have seen throughout that 90s and beyond, this Catwoman design of note is more grandiose and creative.
    To me, both the Cooke design and the purple gown design are excellent ones, but they tell very different things about the character.

    The purple gown emphasises the high society aspects of her character. She is a thief, but she moves in the highest circles and only steals what she wants to steal. She is an alluring and confident character, ready to move in and out of the shadows at any time.

    The Cooke design emphasises is much more noir, and puts practicality first. It fits with the girl of the street origin and mentality that Brubaker perfected. It puts her as a character that works in the shadows, but also someone who looks out for others. As used by Cooke, it's not sexualised at all, rather it calls back to action girls like Emma Peel. In a way, it is much more of a uniform than it is a costume, and I think Joėlle Jones's design clearly calls back to those aspects of Cooke's work. Note that you need to look at Cooke's design and how it was used; the attempts to put a cleavage in it should be best forgotten.

    Quote Originally Posted by Timothy Hunter View Post
    In retrospect this should have been posted in the Batman forum, my bad.
    You can ask the mods to move it (probably easiest via the "report post" function).
    «Speaking generally, it is because of the desire of the tragic poets for the marvellous that so varied and inconsistent an account of Medea has been given out» (Diodorus Siculus, The Library of History [4.56.1])

  13. #13
    Obsessed & Compelled Bored at 3:00AM's Avatar
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    I don't think capes and dresses are very cat-like. Batman's costume works because bats have wings. Cats are sleek and streamlined.

  14. #14
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    I do not like catwoman's current appearance. Not the suit or her short haircut. Actually, my favorite look for her is Jim Balent's take, which is a lot closer to the original.

  15. #15
    Incredible Member Slim Shady's Avatar
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    I do love that costume. Classic. But maybe a little dated for today? Maybe if they touched it up in some way. I’m not too big on her current look tbh, just kinda boring looking.

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