To You, Who Is Catwoman?

[DrNewGod]

Comics greatest femme fatale has had a lot of interpretations. Her story has been muddled by a great many takes on page and film. A few elements shine thru:

• Master Burglar
• Elite Acrobat
• Martial Artist
• The Closest Thing There Is To A Woman Batman Can't Resist

My personal ideal Catwoman is very close to Timm's BTAS version. A feminine version of the Gentleman Thief trope, with a thing for cats and who steals less for the money than the thrill.

To you, who is she?

[j9ac9k]

For me, the cat burglar aspect has to be first and foremost. And part of her appeal is that she's a burglar because she doesn't care about rules, valuing personal freedom above all else. She steals because she can and she's good at it and this is how she lives up to her potential, regardless of the law. We've seen it play out in a bunch of iterations, but the tension between Batman and her isn't simply "hero v. criminal", it's "dedication to others v. self-fulfillment." It's why their tension works as well as it does. (most of the time)

[godisawesome]

To me, her most important characteristics are that she’s a Master Thief - more than just a Classy Cat Burglar, she’s a master conwoman, pickpocket, and can be a frighteningly effective in just mugging someone if she has to. She’s an excellent acrobat, boxer, and adrenaline junkie… but her personality is basically “In Denial About Her Hidden Heart Of Gold.”

I enjoy the idea that she sees herself as a bluntly self-serving and hedonistic, and most often acts on those ideas, but frequently finds herself in a situation where she has to begrudgingly drop the act and show compassion, virtue, and heroism, which she will almost immediately ignore if she can, and sometimes even try to “cover up” by doing something more amoral. And sometimes… she just drops most of the act and plays an anti-hero thief and vigilante, very akin to a Robin Hood character.

As for her and Batman’s relationship, I kind of like the idea that her issues with her morality play into it, and annoy her sometimes. She wants their tension to be built off “bad girl makes the wild side look good,” he wants it to be that they both ultimately are good guys… and their both right and wrong, but favoring Bruce’s POV a bit, since it’s her heroic side that makes it easier for him to compromise and allow her to run around.

Basically, she knows she can rob the rich and expect him to never go 100% after her at all… and while she likes to think it’s because he finds her a sexy bad girl, it’s likely because Bruce just generally doesn’t care that much and knows she’ll never go too far, and she’s just as liable to do so for heroic reasons than not.

[Frontier]

She's a thief. She's someone who grew up with nothing or lost everything and as a result seeks to obtain anything she wants or desires, feeling that she's owed that much (whether she really does or not),

She's tough, she's wild, she's physical, but she also has a strong core femininity and despite growing up in poverty and without a silver spoon has class, wit, and charm for miles.

She is not afraid to use anything at her disposal (her body, her skills, her connections) to get what she wants either for herself or others.

Deep down she has a strong moral core that she hides well but she also isn't someone who goes out of her way to be a hero, it just comes as a matter of course to other stuff going on in her life. She cares, even when she doesn't want to. But also on some level she's inherently selfish.

She's fine with fooling around or going from lover to lover but deep down she craves The One and the one person who can understand and accept her, even if she can't be with them. She can still be with other people, but she'll never love anyone like she loves them. And she enjoys the chase, the dance, the most.

She doesn't need to be overt with her sexuality because she just oozes it naturally from her demeanor and physique, though she has no qualms about flaunting herself in her outfits.

[marhawkman]

I see her as professional thief first, whatever else second. I see the "morally grey" thing as a defense mechanism for evading the Bat. She doesn't steal from people Batman actually wants to protect.

[j9ac9k]

I see her as professional thief first, whatever else second. I see the "morally grey" thing as a defense mechanism for evading the Bat. She doesn't steal from people Batman actually wants to protect.

Or, she could operate anywhere other than Gotham. But of course, she doesn't.

[Frontier]

I don't like her leaning too far into being a hero, I feel like it takes a little from her mystique and what makes her unique.

Or, she could operate anywhere other than Gotham. But of course, she doesn't.

Though she can totally pull off the jet-setting international thief if she wanted to.

[marhawkman]

Or, she could operate anywhere other than Gotham. But of course, she doesn't.

She actually has commited crimes outside Gotham it's just.... she never leaves Gotham for long.

[godisawesome]

One thing that I’d add - I see Catwoman as having two, maybe three “phases” of her career:

- There’s “Young and Hungry” Catwoman, who’s got a bit of an edge and a grudge against the authorities and elite of Gotham, and who genuinely “needs” much of the money she makes, or is still on the “come up” in terms of budget. She’s fiercely protective of her friends, but also a bit mean and ruthless as times. She and Batman have a more belligerent relationship here, with them both being a little shocked at how hot they find each other, but also very quick to hold a grudge, and they cooperate more out of necessity than anything else whenever grudgingly allied.

- Then there’s “Queen of Thieves” Catwoman, who’s exchanged some of her earlier bite for more of a fun-loving and confident sense of fun, presumably as a result of having gotten away with enough robberies to no longer be desperate. She’s maybe not quite rich here, but she’s clearly got enough cash, connections, and financial security that much of her thieving has become more for the “love of the game,” for the chalk he, or to help others while still feeding her ego. Here, she’s long since come to know that Batman is unlikely to waste time trying to take her down, so she’s more of an outrageous flirt for the sheer fun of it - but she can also, oddly enough, be hired by Batman, and counted on when the Chios are down, which makes her feel mildly embarrassed.

- Finally, there’s “Anti-Hero” Catwoman, where she’s come to mature a bit into a veteran presence in Gotham, and is honest with herself about how she cares about some of the city and has an open alliance with Batman, but isn’t necessarily going to play ball either. She also, by now, knows who Batman is, and the possibility of a serious relationship sort of haunts her.

[Alan2099]

Catwoman is first and foremost, a thief. She takes things from other because she wants to. She's not a thrill seeker, she's not a hero, she's not even a anti-hero. That doesn't mean she can't have some morals, but at the end of the day if you don't have something for her, then she doesn't have anything for you.

While she may be attracted to Batman, and he's attracted to her, the two of them are poison to each other. They could never last because each one wants to pull the other to their own side and neither will give in.

Catwoman is a bad person. She may have some sympathetic characteristics, but she's a villain. I hate how when a female villain becomes popular they have to be redeemed. It seem to be pushing the idea that just because she's cute and she's a girl that means she can't be bad. No. If she show sympathy for Catwoman, she'll take advantage of you.

[DrNewGod]

... part of her appeal is that she's a burglar because she doesn't care about rules, valuing personal freedom above all else...the tension between Batman and her isn't simply "hero v. criminal", it's "dedication to others v. self-fulfillment"...

I don't like her leaning too far into being a hero, I feel like it takes a little from her mystique and what makes her unique...

These are both great points, and something that had been rolling around in my noggin that I hadn't been able to articulate before reading your takes. She's selfish, but one of those people who manages to be charming about it. She'll never heel to the Batman because it would get in the way of doing what she wants, when she wants, how she wants (and, of course, b/c that's so very cat-like). She'd never set out to hurt anybody (who didn't have it coming in her obviously correct opinion), but isn't taking any guff. Not even from handsome-old-pointy-ears.

[marvelprince]

For me, the cat burglar aspect has to be first and foremost. And part of her appeal is that she's a burglar because she doesn't care about rules, valuing personal freedom above all else. She steals because she can and she's good at it and this is how she lives up to her potential, regardless of the law. We've seen it play out in a bunch of iterations, but the tension between Batman and her isn't simply "hero v. criminal", it's "dedication to others v. self-fulfillment." It's why their tension works as well as it does. (most of the time)

Yeah this is kinda how I see it. Its why I think her and Bruce are fascinating cause he tends to have a black and white view on crime while she doesn't (which is why Gotham War COULD have such potential to explore this nuance cause characters like Nightwing fall into a similar category so you could have had some interesting drama instead we got what we got).

[phonogram12]

She's Brubaker and Cooke's version. I think it was from Catwoman Secret Files and Origins where Holly described her as someone who grew up poor from the wrong side of the tracks and once she earned a bit of success reveled in it, rubbing it in the world's face. But once she realized how empty and hollow her life had become, came home to protect the people she loves and the neighborhood she grew up in the only way she knew how - as a criminal.

[Captain Britain of Earth 20]

I always thought of her as a thief, who on an alternate Earth would be a great mother to Huntress & maybe someday be a member of the Birds of Prey or an operative of an intelligence agency

[Frontier]

She's Brubaker and Cooke's version. I think it was from Catwoman Secret Files and Origins where Holly described her as someone who grew up poor from the wrong side of the tracks and once she earned a bit of success reveled in it, rubbing it in the world's face. But once she realized how empty and hollow her life had become, came home to protect the people she loves and the neighborhood she grew up in the only way she knew how - as a criminal.

Also she just loves stealing stuff :P.