Cover of Catwoman #2, February 2002. Art by Darwyn Cooke.

Catwoman (Selina Kyle) is a DC Comics character, associated with the Batman franchise. Created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane, she first appeared in Batman #1 (1940).

Originally, Catwoman was a catsuit-garbed burglar and adversary of Batman, but as Batman grew darker and Catwoman sexier, the two shared an attraction and Catwoman has been written, quite seriously, as a romantic interest of her one-time foe.

Catwoman’s sexy mystique has meant an easy transition to live action adaptations of Batman. Several actresses, most notably Julie Newmar, portrayed her in the 1960s Batman television series and Michelle Pfeiffer played her in 1992’s Batman Returns.

In 2004, Halle Berry starred in a film titled Catwoman, a new adaptation that did not follow the traditional comic book character (see Catwoman (movie)).

Comic Book History

Although originally introduced as an opponent for Batman, Catwoman's status as hero or villain is ambiguous; she has her own moral code (she abhors killing) and has occasionally teamed up with Batman against greater threats.

She is often considered a potential romantic interest for Batman; in the 1970s DC Comics even ran an ongoing series set in a parallel universe in which Catwoman and Batman had married and had a daughter who fought crime as the Huntress.

Her costume at first appearance in the comics (at which time she known merely as 'The Cat') had a theatrically face-covering cat-mask. Later she wore a dress with a hood that came with ears, and still later a bodysuit with attached boots and either a domino or glasses-mask. In the 1960s, the bodysuit was green in color, which was typical of villains.

Occasional attempts have been made to feature Catwoman in her own comic book series. The most recent such series, written by Ed Brubaker, was launched in 2001 and as of 2004 is still running to great acclaim.

Adaptations in Other Media

Catwoman was at various times played by Julie Newmar, Lee Meriwether and Eartha Kitt in the Batman television series of the 1960s, by Michelle Pfeiffer in the 1992 movie Batman Returns, and by Adrienne Barbeau in Batman: The Animated Series. The character also appeared very briefly (and was actually killed off) in the first episode of the television series, Birds of Prey (where she was portrayed by Maggie Baird), which featured Catwoman's daughter, Huntress.

A Catwoman movie that was only very loosely based on the comic book character was released in summer 2004. It starred Halle Berry as a Catwoman - not Selina Kyle - with supernatural cat-like powers.