Biography of Selina Kyle aka Catwoman [translation]
"My world is just shades of gray, Batman. That's why you'll never understand me."
— Catwoman
Real Name
Selina Kyle
Current Alias
Catwoman
Other Aliases
Cat, Irena Dubrovna, Elva Barr, Sadie Kellewski, Madame Modern, Margarita Town
Relatives
Brian Kyle (father, deceased), Maria Kyle (mother, deceased), Maggie Kyle (sister), Helena Kyle (daughter)
Affiliations
Batman's Family, Outsiders; formerly Birds of Prey, Injustice League, Secret Society of Super Villains
Place of Operations
Gotham
Status
Alignment
Hero
Identity
Secret
Citizenship
American
Marital Status
Single
Occupation
Crimefighter, thief, vigilante
Characteristics
Gender
Female
Height
5 feet 9 inches
Weight
134 lbs
Eyes
Green
Hair
Black (brunette)
Origin
Universe
New Earth
Place of Birth
Gotham
Creators
Bill Finger, Bob Kane
First Appearance
Batman #1 (spring, 1940)
Selina's early life was marked by tragedy. When she was just a girl, her cruel mother Maria committed suicide and her father Brian, soon after, began drowning his sorrow in alcohol until he died. Selina was separated from her younger sister Magdelena and returned to Sprang Hall Juvenile Detention Center, an institution for orphaned and delinquent girls, but instead sought her fortunes on the streets of Gotham. Amidst the crime and corruption of the poor East End, she survives by petty thefts. Her sharp intellect and excellent gymnastics skills make her the nimblest thief that Gotham's police can never catch. To protect herself, she learns martial arts. Later, former heavyweight boxing champion Ted Grant (Wildcat) trains her in boxing. For a time, Selina was the most skilled thief, unknown to anyone. She was also very generous, giving her loot to the downtrodden and underprivileged of the East End. She would continue to steal unpunished if not for Batman. Spying on the Caped Crusader from her window, she watched Batman in action and was inspired to create her own costume for roaming the night in Gotham.
Although initially Catwoman was presented as Batman's equal opponent, her status as a hero or villain is ambiguous; she has her own moral code (she doesn't tolerate murder but ultimately kills Black Mask) and occasionally teams up with Batman and other superheroes to combat larger threats and even once saves the lives of all Justice League members. She represents a gray area in Batman's black-and-white life, where the line between good and evil is blurred, and his attraction to her stems from the sense that Selina is his female counterpart: the same dark beautiful creature who roams at night.
Shortly after the events of The Long Halloween, Selina visits Carmine Falcone's grave, where she speculates that she is Carmine's illegitimate daughter but finds no proof. Around this time, Selina meets Mario, the son of Carmine Falcone, who later becomes the head of the Falcone crime family.
During the events of Crisis of Conscience, Catwoman becomes an ally of Batman and the Justice League, fighting against the ancient Secret Society, of which Selina was a member for a short time. Batman carries the injured Selina to his cave, where she recovers. When Despero and his group brainwash the Justice League members, infiltrate the cave, and successfully do the same to Batman, Catwoman sends a distress signal to the League members who were not brainwashed. After a fierce battle, Despero is defeated. However, it was an empty victory, as all League members acknowledge that Despero managed to turn them against each other, relying on the existing distrust and hostility within the group. In response to Batman's inquiry about Selina's injuries, she leaves the cave, briefly telling Bruce that he has already "done enough."
Catwoman appears fully redeemed and her love for Batman is genuine (although sassy and unpredictable). However, it remains unclear whether her redemption was a result of Zatanna's memory wipe, a procedure with deep effects that sometimes incapacitate its victims. Selina had no idea that any villain could be subjected to this procedure until Batman tells her about the events of Identity Crisis, and now she worries that her rehabilitation is tied to mental manipulations.
At the beginning of a new storyline (The One You Love), a group of supervillains takes control of the East End, leaving Selina with no choice but to join a new incarnation of the Secret Society. Despite her intentions still being murky, Selina shares her plans with Batman to destroy the East End villains together with him.
Selina makes a deal with a former criminal who has abilities similar to Clayface's, and he promises to help her in exchange for his freedom. This man takes on Selina's appearance and allows several villains to shoot and dismember him, creating the impression that Catwoman is truly dead (like Clayface, he survives but is severely injured). Using the benefits of her "resurrection" (the villains believed that she miraculously escaped death), Catwoman begins to fight against the criminal elements in the East End, dealing with a new villain each time. After Catwoman has done everything, Zatanna appears before her and informs Selina of some "bad news," hinting at important revelations about her past.
This story ends with Catwoman killing Black Mask while he was making a deal with East End criminals.
A Year Later
After the events of Infinite Crisis, the DC universe moves forward in time. "A year later", Selina Kyle is no longer Catwoman, she leaves the East End and gives birth to a daughter whom she names Helena (nothing is known about the father). Holly Robinson becomes the new Catwoman, while Selina, living under the alias Irena Dubrovna, dedicates all her attention to caring for her daughter.
Although Selina seriously takes on the role of a mother, she has to don her costume again just days after Helena's birth. Having gained a few pounds after childbirth, Selina realizes that the costume is tight for her. Additionally, she is easily confused by a regular criminal. Although this situation resolves itself, thanks to Holly's timely appearance, the fact that there are two Catwomen in the city is caught on video. Selina returns home after a stroll and discovers that a mysterious cinephile, the Cinemaniac, has tracked her down and kidnapped Helena along with his accomplice, the Coalman.
After rescuing her daughter, Selina convinces Zatanna to erase the Cinemaniac and Coalman's memories to preserve the secrecy of her identity. After the procedure, Coalman surrenders to authorities, while the Cinemaniac becomes a deranged killer. Ted Grant informs Selina that Holly has been arrested for killing Black Mask; Selina infiltrates the police station and frees Holly. After defeating the Cinemaniac, Selina returns home and learns that Slam Bradley knows that Helena is the child of Sam Bradley, and therefore, his granddaughter.
Batman asks Catwoman to go undercover in the savage tribe of "Amazon Banes" during the crossover event "Amazon Attack". Posing as a criminal, she earns the trust of the Banes and thwarts a terror plot that was meant to result in mass casualties in Gotham. Shortly thereafter, Selina offers herself as a new member of Batman's Outsiders. Catwoman and Batman begin a romantic relationship that they both try to keep hidden, which sometimes leads to unusual situations.
Gotham Sirens
In fear of the dangers that Gotham poses, which Batman is leaving behind, Selina proposes to Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn to team up and live together under one roof. Ivy agrees with one condition: using homemade drugs, Pamela drugs Selina and demands that she reveal Batman's identity. Selina remembers events from three years prior when Talia asked her to come to Tibet. Talia ensures that Selina can never reveal Batman's identity under any circumstances. After the interrogation, Selina sees Harley with Bruce Wayne on television and tells Ivy that it is a disguised Hush.
Dark Nights
During the events of Dark Nights, Catwoman is attacked by Black Mask, who has been resurrected as a member of the Black Lantern Corps. Mask tells Selina that he plans to win her feelings before he kills her. Selina steals a car and heads to the psychiatric hospital where Maggie is, believing Black Mask will come there. Black Mask attacks the hospital and awakens Maggie from her coma. Selina appears in time and helps her sister escape into the sewers. During the escape, Maggie angrily tells Selina that she ruined their lives the day she decided to become Catwoman. Stunned by her sister's statement, Selina does not realize that she is heading into a trap with her sister. As Black Mask prepares to gouge out Maggie's eyes and shove them down Selina's throat, Ivy and Harley appear and defeat the Black Lantern, throwing him into the jaws of a man-eating plant. Selina helps her friends up, and they say Maggie has fled the scene.
The next day, the staff at the hospital discuss Maggie's escape, noting the fact that the nun working there was beaten and stripped. Maggie appears in the depths of Gotham's sewers, dressed in a bloody nun's garment and talking about her plans to kill Catwoman for the sake of freeing Selina's soul. Calling herself Sister Zero, Maggie attempts to kill Selina but is overpowered by the Sirens and flees. Maggie realizes she cannot kill her own sister, so believes she must personally exorcise the "cat demon" from Selina's body.
Return of Bruce Wayne
Preparing for Batman's return, the Sirens help Zatanna extinguish a major fire in a local park near their home, but it is a trap set by a clay creature. After the creature drags Selina underground, she wakes up bound, gagged on the floor in a dark room, and immediately enters a world of illusions created by her invisible captors. Returning to reality, Talia reveals to the Sirens that a few hours before, a mysterious benefactor had offered a large reward to anyone who would kidnap and deliver Catwoman to them, hoping to penetrate her mind and discover Batman's secret identity. Before knowledge could be extracted from Selina's mind, the captors are defeated by other Sirens. After Selina is freed, Talia asks Zatanna to erase Bruce Wayne's identity from her mind, claiming it is dangerous for Catwoman, and the kidnapping is evidence of that. The women grab Selina, but Zatanna refuses to erase her memory at the last moment and fights Talia to protect Catwoman. Talia tries to kill Selina, but she survives and finally reunites with Bruce, who has returned to the present.
After the safecracking of Falcone family assets, Selina returns home to find Kitryn, a runaway girl artist and long-lost daughter of Carmine Falcone, breaking into her room. She attacks Kitryn, weakening her, and Kitryn tells Selina that she thoughtlessly stole a map detailing the location of Black Mask's new underground bunker. Realizing she can use the map to capture Black Mask and earn a bounty of 50 million dollars, Selina leaves Kitryn tied up in a locked room and takes the map for herself. Later, she calls Batman to her home to turn in the potential thief to the police but finds that Kitryn has managed to free herself and steal the map back. This impresses Selina, who mentions that she tied the girl using the "inevitable" knot that Bruce showed Selina years ago. After a big battle with Black Mask and his henchmen, Selina agrees to take Kitryn on as her new sidekick, the Girl Cat. Once Bruce Wayne returns from his time in the past, he creates Batman Incorporated, an international team of Batmans. Selina accompanies him on a mission to infiltrate Doctor Sivana's weaponry and then goes with him to Tokyo to recruit the Japanese team for Batman Inc. Catwoman teams up with Batman to prevent Harley Quinn from freeing the Joker from Arkham Asylum. After defeating Harley and the Joker, Catwoman tells Ivy that they are no longer friends after the incident when Pamela poisoned Selina to pry for Batman's secret. Soon after, Ivy and Harley escape and plan to take revenge on Catwoman for leaving her friends. They find Selina and fight her. While they are fighting, Catwoman tells them she saw only good in them and only wanted to help them. Batman prepares to arrest them, but Catwoman helps them escape.
Art
Translation by the author
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