Selina Kyle: Catwoman Appreciation 2018

[tbgo]

What do you mean?

For the past fifteen years, it's been demanded that the character be covered up and desexualized.

[BatGlamorous]

For the past fifteen years, it's been demanded that the character be covered up and desexualized.

I think it's more a concern of the type of sexy she's portrayed as. There's a difference between Audrey Hepburn and Pamela Anderson. Selina should always lean more towards the former. It just seems to work better for her. She has her roots in the old femme fatale trope from the 30s and 40s, casting her as some leather-clad sex kitten with a plunging zipper isn't a good look.

[Thirteen]

I'm okay with her taking a break, actually.

She can come back when DC actually knows what to do her. The book was meandering almost from day one.

THIS.
I'd rather rebuild the Catwoman mystique as a member of Batman's Rogues Gallery with Rebirth and launch a solo when there is a proper creative pitch for one.
Make her fans miss her and thirst for more...

[TsukiSentinel]

I think it's more a concern of the type of sexy she's portrayed as. There's a difference between Audrey Hepburn and Pamela Anderson. Selina should always lean more towards the former. It just seems to work better for her. She has her roots in the old femme fatale trope from the 30s and 40s, casting her as some leather-clad sex kitten with a plunging zipper isn't a good look.

Ehhhh . . . yes and no. She is a femme fatale, but she's not the type of femma fatale you're thinking off. She was a former sex worker after all. Her idea of sexy is very much grounded in the leather dominatrix archetype.

[BatGlamorous]

Ehhhh . . . yes and no. She is a femme fatale, but she's not the type of femma fatale you're thinking off. She was a former sex worker after all. Her idea of sexy is very much grounded in the leather dominatrix archetype.

That origin was a product of Frank Miller and Year One, it's not definitive. I'd be alright if they Rebirth'd a brand new non-sex-worker origin, it seems like the New 52 was tip-toeing around whether it was still cannon or not.

That's one things I've always held against DC since the New 52. Selina's book wandered aimlessly for so long that we never even got a definitive origin. Is that too much to ask?

[godisawesome]

I think it's more a matter of creativity, color, and (I can't believe I'm going to say this) "pizazz" in looking at Catwoman's current suit and finding it wanting in function and grace in some forms (mostly the completely unzipped cleavage-happy look) and wanting in dynamism in another (the fully zipped up and goggles down look) when in lesser artist's hands.

Darwin Cooke could rock his design. So can other artists. But the current suit's simplicity also leads to some seeing it as "cheap" if it goes for raw sex appeal over style, and there's been plenty of artists who just can't seem to make the biker-look look like a distinctive costume. I think it's the opposite problem of the old purple suit; the more colorful and spandex design of that thing somehow made it seem more consistently "playful" in most artists' hands, but it was so much a "sexy" suit that others could never take it seriously.

[TsukiSentinel]

That origin was a product of Frank Miller and Year One, it's not definitive. I'd be alright if they Rebirth'd a brand new non-sex-worker origin, it seems like the New 52 was tip-toeing around whether it was still cannon or not.

That's one things I've always held against DC since the New 52. Selina's book wandered aimlessly for so long that we never even got a definitive origin. Is that too much to ask?

I would rather that aspect of Selina's life be cemented in canon. Wouldn't even mind if she were both a sex worker and Catwoman at the same time, instead of her becoming Catwoman after she quit her former job. It makes her far more interesting IMO.

[BatGlamorous]

I would rather that aspect of Selina's life be cemented in canon. Wouldn't even mind if she were both a sex worker and Catwoman at the same time, instead of her becoming Catwoman after she quit her former job. It makes her far more interesting IMO.

Eh, different strokes. I've always found her Earth 2 "wealthy heiress turned to crime" origin much more compelling. Linking Selina directly to the sex industry just continues to box her in as Bruce's sexy little plaything imo. She has more depth than that.

In short, I just think it's a better idea and makes for a more interesting character if her sexuality stands alongside her other traits, not as a crux.

[TsukiSentinel]

Eh, different strokes. I've always found her Earth 2 "wealthy heiress turned to crime" origin much more compelling. Linking Selina directly to the sex industry just continues to box her in as Bruce's sexy little plaything imo. She has more depth than that.

In short, I just think it's a better idea and makes for a more interesting character if her sexuality stands alongside her other traits, not as a crux.

I wasn't advocating that it be a "crux."

Bruce's plaything? Selina would be a sex worker, not a stepford wife. I don't imagine too many men claiming ownership over the former.

As for the "wealthy heiress turned to crime." I wouldn't be able to respect a character like that unless she was a Robin hood type of character.

[vasir12]

Eh, different strokes. I've always found her Earth 2 "wealthy heiress turned to crime" origin much more compelling. Linking Selina directly to the sex industry just continues to box her in as Bruce's sexy little plaything imo. She has more depth than that.

In short, I just think it's a better idea and makes for a more interesting character if her sexuality stands alongside her other traits, not as a crux.

I get what you're trying to say but I just don't see how being a sex worker in the past removes someone of depth, makes them someone's plaything, and leaves someone to be defined just by sexuality alone.

[oasis1313]

Eh, different strokes. I've always found her Earth 2 "wealthy heiress turned to crime" origin much more compelling. Linking Selina directly to the sex industry just continues to box her in as Bruce's sexy little plaything imo. She has more depth than that.

In short, I just think it's a better idea and makes for a more interesting character if her sexuality stands alongside her other traits, not as a crux.

The thing is, we don't get stories about male prostitutes. I like the bored-heiress-wants-more-pearls-and-catnip. What was the point of making her a prostitute?

[TsukiSentinel]

The thing is, we don't get stories about male prostitutes. I like the bored-heiress-wants-more-pearls-and-catnip. What was the point of making her a prostitute?

It added a respectable and interesting aspect to her origin story.

[Osiris-Rex]

I think it's more a matter of creativity, color, and (I can't believe I'm going to say this) "pizazz" in looking at Catwoman's current suit and finding it wanting in function and grace in some forms (mostly the completely unzipped cleavage-happy look) and wanting in dynamism in another (the fully zipped up and goggles down look) when in lesser artist's hands.

Darwin Cooke could rock his design. So can other artists. But the current suit's simplicity also leads to some seeing it as "cheap" if it goes for raw sex appeal over style, and there's been plenty of artists who just can't seem to make the biker-look look like a distinctive costume. I think it's the opposite problem of the old purple suit; the more colorful and spandex design of that thing somehow made it seem more consistently "playful" in most artists' hands, but it was so much a "sexy" suit that others could never take it seriously.

I want to see Catwoman back in the purple evening gown and green cape.

CATWOMAN.jpg

/joke/ Maybe?

[BatGlamorous]

I'd actually unironically love if she returned to the purple slit-dress. I was disappointed that Valentine decided to put her in a drab pantsuit when the Pre-Crisis costume would have worked so well instead.

It added a respectable and interesting aspect to her origin story.

It wasn't lacking either of those things before Miller, though.

It just always seemed a little sleazy to me, almost like fan service. Yes, we know Selina is sexy. You don't have to literally turn her into a sex worker to drive that point home.

[signalman112]

I want to see Catwoman back in the purple evening gown and green cape.

CATWOMAN.jpg

/joke/ Maybe?

I for one would LOVE to see that and have Catwoman turn back into her villainous ways, sparring with Batman.