By Phil Perich for Before the Bat: The Gotham Podcast

This week I’ll be continuing the Gotham series with a look at Catwoman. The character first appeared in Batman #1 (1940) and was only known as “the Cat” in that first story. She appears again in Batman #2 and #3, not wearing any of her famous cat costumes, but already the classic character, intriguing (attracting) Batman. In Batman #62 (December/January 1950), Catwoman claims to have turned to a life of crime after suffering amnesia and losing her memories of her former life as a flight attendant, but this story is later proved to be a lie she created when she decided she wanted to leave her criminal life.

Detective Comics #211 (September 1954) would feature the Final appearance of Catwoman for 12 years. This was believed to be because the character probably violated the new rules of the Comics Code Authority.

Catwoman returned in comics and television thanks to the Batman TV series (1966-1968) She was portrayed in the movie and TV series by actresses Julie Newmar, Lee Meriwether, and Eartha Kitt

Catwoman’s origin was revamped along with Batman’s in Frank Miller’s classic Batman: Year One storyline in 1987. In her new history, Selina Kyle is shown to be a prostitute and dominatrix until she encounters Batman and is inspired to create a cat costume and become a robin hood type burglar who gave to the downtrodden and kept the rest for herself. In 1992’s Batman Returns, Catwoman was portrayed by actress Michelle Pfeiffer.

And lest we forget the Halle Barry version...

A truer version of Catwoman, closer to the source material was portrayed in 2012’s The Dark Knight Rises by actress Anne Hathaway.

2014 saw the premiere of the Batman prequel show Gotham. In the series the pre-Catwoman Selina Kyle is played by actress Camren Bicondova. In the show, Selina Kyle is a 13 year old homeless thief who witnesses the murders of Thomas and Martha Wayne. The 2nd episode of the show was titled “Selina Kyle”.