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Dec 29, 2009, 7:31pm

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Catwoman
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Joined: Nov 2006
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Catwoman
« Thread Started on Nov 17, 2006, 9:31pm »

Name: Selina Kyle

Codename: Catwoman

Age: 29

Height: 5'9"

Weight: 115 lbs

Abilities:
- Above-average agility and dexterity
- Expert burglar
- Steel spring-loaded climbing pitons
- Razor-sharp retractable nails allow her to scale vertical surfaces
- Wields an assortment of bullwhips and cat o'nine tails as gymnastic equipment
- Peak human level athlete

History: A revision in Catwoman's origin, and the introduction of the modern version of the character, came in 1986 when writer Frank Miller and artist David Mazzucchelli published Batman: Year One, a revision of Batman’s origin. In the course of the story, the origin of Catwoman was also re-envisioned. A 5'7" Selina Kyle is reintroduced as a cat-loving prostitute/dominatrix who is inspired to become a costumed cat burglar when she sees Batman in action.

The 1989 Catwoman limited series (collected in trade paperback form as Catwoman: Her Sister's Keeper) by writer Mindy Newell and artist J.J. Birch expanded on Miller's Year One origin. Her Sister's Keeper explores Selina's early life as a prostitute and the start of her career as Catwoman. This is a dark and tragic period which culminates with Selina's former pimp Stan abducting and violently abusing her sister Maggie. Selina kills Stan to save her sister, and is able to do so with impunity.

Batman: Dark Victory, the sequel to The Long Halloween, implies that Catwoman suspects she is the long-lost illegitimate daughter of Carmine Falcone, although she finds no definitive proof of this. Selina's connection to the Falcone family is further explored in the miniseries Catwoman: When in Rome. Though more circumstantial evidence is added to the theory of Selina's Falcone heritage, no definitive proof is provided.

Portions of Her Sister's Keeper remain canonical to Catwoman’s origin, while others have been dropped. (Various writers and editors have posited that Selina never was a prostitute and that events in the earlier stories never occurred.)[citation needed] However, the situation is nuanced and complex, since characters introduced in those stories, such as Selina’s young friend Holly from Batman: Year One, and her sister Maggie (from Her Sister's Keeper) appear regularly in the Catwoman series.

Selina is the older of two sisters (Maggie being the younger) born to Brian and Maria Kyle. (Catwoman v.1 #0 provides details on Selina's early life. In this book Selina was considered an only child, and details relating to Maggie are missing from the story.) Maria Kyle was a distant parent who preferred to spend her time with cats and committed suicide when Selina was very young. Brian Kyle, a drunken layabout angry at his wife for killing herself, disliked Selina for resembling her mother and eventually drank himself to death.

Selina took to the streets for a time (Maggie's fate at this point is unclear), before being caught and sent first to an orphanage then later a Juvenile Hall (Catwoman v.1 #0), "where Selina began to see how hard the world could really be." (Catwoman Secret Files and Origins.) When she was thirteen Selina discovered that the Hall's administrator was embezzling funds and confronted her. In an attempt to cover up the illegal activities, the administrator put Selina in a bag and dropped her in a river to drown (like a cat). Selina was able to escape (Catwoman v.1 #0), and eventually found herself in "Alleytown - a network of cobblestone streets that form a small borough between the East end and Old Gotham." (Catwoman v.2 #12).

Selina was taken in by "Mama Fortuna", the elderly leader of a gang of young thieves, and was taught how to steal. Fortuna treated her students like slaves, keeping their earnings for herself. Selina eventually ran away, accompanied by her friend Sylvia. However, the two had difficulty surviving on their own, and in desperation tried to support themselves by working as child prostitutes. Sylvia attracted at least one client; Selina apparently never did. The two drifted apart afterwards, with Sylvia blaming Selina for her negative experiences; she hated Selina for not inquiring about what had happened to her at the hands of her abusive first client.

In the Catwoman: Year One story (Catwoman Annual #2, 1998), Selina (now an adult) achieved some success as a thief. Following a disastrous burglary, however, she accepted an offer to "lay low" by posing as a dominatrix in the employ of a pimp named Stan. Their plan was to trick men into divulging information that might be used in future crimes. According to this storyline, Selina trained under the Armless Master of Gotham, receiving education in martial arts and culture. This version of her life story was tailored to complement her appearance in Batman: Year One, while rendering the 1989 Catwoman limited series non-canonical. Batman editor Dennis O'Neil later stated that in the post-Zero Hour continuity, Catwoman has never been a prostitute.

« Last Edit: Nov 17, 2006, 9:32pm by Catwoman »

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