Comparing Catwoman portrayals from the movies

[DarkKnight85]

So I saw the Batman last night and I liked it. It was pretty good. Probably for me a B+, maybe A-. I didn't think it better than any of the Nolan films, but I thought the whole production was worthy successor to the previous mantle.


What was everyone's thoughts of how Zoe Kravitz did as Catwoman in this movie? I hear a lot of positivity about her role, but to me the portrayal just came across as kind of good, but nothing special. I always loved Anne Hathaway's portrayal and felt she really captured some of the defining traits of Selina Kyle. I've read a good portion of Batman comics over the years and to me, Catwoman is a character that is very playful, sassy, sexualized, graceful, dangerous, and clever. A character that that is also a little unpredictable and clearly walks on both sides of the line. Doing what she pleases at times, but ultimately has a good heart.


Here in this movie I just felt Zoe's adaptation was pretty different than that. She comes across as vulnerable, angry, and apathetic even at times. I'm not sure if it's the way the character is written or just Zoe acting in general. I just hear a lot of people saying how she captured the true essence of the character, but I just keep scratching my head when I hear this.

Lol then we have Michelle phfieffer who did an incredible job, but ultimately doesn't really come off as something grounded and relateable. Great for that movie though. What I really like about that interpretation is that it is parallel to Batman and his own psychosis. She's just like Michael Keaton's Batman, where the costumed identity has completely taken over. There isn't a Selina anymore, not really. Again, I think it works for that movie specifically though.

[vitaminbee]

Comic accurate portrayals would be a tie between Hathaway and Kravitz. They seem to be ripped from the pages of the Ed Brubaker run with some hints of Jeph Loeb/Tim Sale's take on the character. Pffeifer is the most iconic but she's nothing like the comic version of Catwoman. Her being grounded or relatable only matters in the scope of Batman Returns and I think she fits perfectly. It's just not Selina Kyle from the comics. I'll include Halle Berry but only because she uses the name Catwoman.

Comic Accuracy Ranking
Anne Hathaway/Zoë Kravitz
Michelle Pffeifer
Julie Newmar
Eartha Kitt
Lee Meriwether

Halle Berry

Iconic Performances
Michelle Pffeifer
Eartha Kitt
Anne Hathaway
Julie Newmar
Zoë Kravitz
Lee Meriwether

Halle Berry

[phonogram12]

IMHO, Kravitz was straight out of Batman Year One and was very reminiscent of the way Ed Brubaker and Darwyn Cooke portrayed her in flashbacks to her early days. As far as Hathaway was concerned, while they had a lot of surface level stuff right, I don't feel they really gave her much substance and stuff to work with. Pfieffer was her own whole thing, but it was still amazing. Newmar, Kitt, and Merriweather I think were very accurate to the Catwoman that appeared in the comics at the time.

[vitaminbee]

I think most of Hathaway's failings fall more on the director and writers of that film and not on her though.

[bat39]

It's difficult to talk about ''comic accuracy'' with a character who's been reinvented as often as Catwoman has. I think every actress has portrayed with some degree of fidelity some version of Catwoman from the comics.

The three actresses from the Adam West show were a fairly accurate representation of Catwoman from the classic comics - a bonafide villain.

Anna Hathaway's Catwoman I think is reflective of the character from both her earliest Golden Age stories and more modern comics such as the Brubaker and Cooke runs - a slick and classy jewel thief who moves effortlessly amongst high society and who gradually becomes a vigilante in her own right.

Zoe Kravitz's Catwoman is straight out of the pages of Year One and similar stories from Catwoman's early years in modern continuities - a tough street-fighter and thief trying to survive in a harsh city, with tangential links to the underworld but with a core of decency underneath that hard exterior.

Michelle Pfifer's Catwoman is basically Burton's take on what Catwoman would be - probably the one version of the character who might belong in Arkham! Though the idea of Catwoman having a split personality comes from the Golden Age/Silver Age comics so there's that.

[HaveAtThee]

Kravitz did a fine job. Reeves gave the character some depth and drew a lot from Year One/Long Halloween. I hope she makes an appearance in the sequel. Hathaway is a good actress but the part she was given didn't have much substance.

[DarkKnight85]

See some of what you guys mentioned might actually be the problem for me, while also being true. I think saying Zoe did a good adaptation of the Year One graphic novel is actually true as well. But I guess for me, I never liked that portrayal of Selina really. It always fell flat for me and felt like another character. I get it that this was her early days, but I just didn't see that character evolving into the character I described earlier. Probably why I didn't respond so well to the performance.

Meanwhile I was immediately sold with Anne Hathaway's performance. That beginning scene as the innocent house maid, then with that quick turn of events where the cat is out of the bag (no pun) was just so perfect for the character. She had other stand out scenes as well like when she was at the bar and got into the shoot out, plus faking the damsel in distress scene.

[phonogram12]

I think most of Hathaway's failings fall more on the director and writers of that film and not on her though.

Agreed. I think she's capable enough of an actress, but I just don't feel they gave her enough to work with for the character to feel like a real compelling person.

[godisawesome]

Hathaway feels like an exaggeration of the “classy conwoman” version from some parts of the Bronze Age, Kravitz as a very Year One-era type of “anti-hero from hard knocks”, and Pfeiffer is a fever dream of Tim Burton with a great costume.

Personally, I eventually want to see a more “fun and flirty” version eventually.

[OBrianTallent]

For me, Pfeiffer was a quintessential Catwoman. She wasn't a very good Selina Kyle, which isn't her fault. She played the role amazingly well for what she was given as Selina. Her Catwoman though was exceptional. Hatheway was...ok, maybe a little too polished for the character. Zoe Kravitz as others have said was a spot on Year One Catwoman. She's rough around the edges, but shines none the less.
If I were ranking them
1-Pfeiffer/Kravitz
2-Hatheway






35- Halle Berry.

(I know there haven't been 35 actresses to portray Catwoman, but this gives others room to play the character and do a better job than what Ms. Berry was given. I mean, let's be honest here...that character was NOT Catwoman, she was a cat woman. Big difference.)

[phonogram12]

Hatheway was...ok, maybe a little too polished for the character.

Okay, yeah. I think this was my issue with the character. Again, not with the actress, but with the material she was given.