Selina Kyle (Burtonverse)

Selina Kyle


Alias(es)	Catwoman
Appeared in	Batman Returns
Status	Alive
Actor	Michelle Pfeiffer

"Life's a bitch, now so am I."

―Selina Kyle^[src]

Selina Kyle is a schizophrenic anarachist that operates in the streets of Gotham City under the alias Catwoman. After her boss, Max Shreck attempted to murder her for discovering his plans for an illegal power planet she took inspiration form the local alley cats that she fed from her nearby apartment window as well as a chance in encounter with the Batman himself.

Biography[]

Batman Returns[]

Shreck pushed her out a window at the top of Shreck Tower. With incredible luck, Selina fell through a long series of red awnings adorned with the Shreck Cat logo, saving her life. When she hit the snowy street, she had only had a minor head injury and she awoke a short while later to find herself surrounded by all the local alleycats she fed from her nearby apartment. Selina Kyle's repressed rage allowed her to transform into the chaotic troublemaker Catwoman. She joined forces with the Penguin, who she initially thought to be a misunderstood outcast until he tricks and betrays her. With Cobblepot showing his true colors and turning out to be allied with Shreck, Selina plotted to stop them and watches satisfied when Cobblepot's crimes gets exposed in front of the city thanks to a registration from Batman, which destroys his plans of becoming mayor.

As a masked figure operating under the guise of a theatrical public identity, Catwoman found a reflection of herself in the Batman. On December 21st, the pair dance to Siouxsie & the Banshees' "Face to Face" at masquerade ball hosted by her boss. Selina revealed that she brought a small Deringer with her so she could put a bullet in Shreck. Bruce talked her down out of violence. She fell in love with both Batman and Bruce Wayne, not initially realizing they're the same person. The two unmasked vigilantes, Batman and Catwoman, dressed as their alter-egos, Bruce and Selina, discovered their dual personalities. When Penguin showed up to threaten high society, they went their separate ways. Selina had to trackdown Penguin to his hideout so she could finally kill Shreck like she had planned.

During the final battle, when Shreck tries to kill both Selina and Bruce. Selina self-sabotages and rejects Bruce Wayne's offer to live with him, instead hellbent on taking the the life of Shreck. Selina yanked a large cable on a transformer, causing a power overload on Penguin's massive generator. As it started sparking she placed a stungun under Shreck's chin as she kissed him goodbye. She vanished in the explosion, Batman never found her body, only Shreck's charred remains.

After Bruce found her black cat, Miss Kitty, on Christmas night a week later, he drove away sadly. Perched atop a rooftop nearby was Catwoman, who rose to look at the Bat-Signal in the sky and it is also revealed that she has survived and her costume is also repaired in a week's time.

Batman Forever[]

A couple years later, Dr. Chase Meridian revealed to Batman that she had learned of the attraction between himself and Catwoman, noting that he liked "strong women with skin-tight vinyl and a whip".

Catwoman[]

When Patience Phillips, chosen as the new Catwoman, does some researches on the previous women who shared the identity, she also looks at a picture resembling Selina Kyle in her costume, implying that she too had the same magical abilities that Phillips has. But the neighborhood alleycats that Selina feeds dont stand on her chest and breathe magical soul dust into like the cat Midnight does. All of the cats in Batman Returns were played by real live cats and only did things that cats can do in the real world.

Crisis on Infinite Earths[]

Despite not physically appearing, it was revealed by Alexander Knox in a newspaper that she eventually reunited with Bruce and they got married in that particular pocket reality.

cancelled Batgirl movie[]

In the cancelled Batgirl movie, Barbara Gordon gets a Michelle Pfeiffer Catwoman cowl out of the police evidence storage and customizes it into the purple Batgirl cowl. Selina's romantic status with Bruce is unclear in this future.

Relationships[]

Unnamed parents
Bruce Wayne/Batman - Boyfriend.
Alfred Pennyworth - Friend.
Max Shreck - Ex-boss and archenemy; deceased.
Oswald Cobblepot/Penguin - Ally turned enemy; deceased.

Powers and Abilities[]

Abilities[]

Acrobatics: Selina did gymnastics as a student and is still able to do flips and cartwheels as an adult.
Hand-to-Hand Combat (Advanced): Selina seems to have some self-defense training, doing some basic karate kicks to a mugger and batman. The screenplay says she attends rape-prevention classes, which explains how comfortable she is using a stungun.
Crafting: Selina has a crafts nook in her apartment where she creates clothing alterations and detailed furniture for a dollhouse. She uses these skills to convert a vinyl raincoat into her catsuit. She created retractable claws for her gloves out of the supplies she had on hand.

Equipment[]

Bullwhip: It is never explained where Selina acquires the bullwhip
Retractratble Claws: These surpassingly advanced claws were handcrafted with found objects

Behind the scenes[]

Tim Burton originally cast Annette Bening for Catwoman. The batshop had created different looking cowls based on Bening's lifecast when she was forced to drop out when she became pregnant. Susan Sarandon showed great interest in the role of Catwoman, but eventually opted to take a leading role in Lorenzo's Oil, a role that was vacated by Michelle Pfeiffer. Cher, Bridget Fonda, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Demi Moore, Jennifer Beals, Ellen Barkin, Lena Olin and Madonna were considered for the role of Catwoman. Sean Young, who had been cast as Vicki Vale in Batman but ultimately replaced by Kim Basinger after Young broke her collarbone during filming campaigned heavily to get it (even turning up to Warner Bros. Studios in a homemade Catwoman suit).
For the role of Catwoman, Michelle Pfeiffer trained at the Steeleboxer kick boxing gym two hours a day for six months. She also practiced yoga, weight lifting and karate. Additionally, she spent three months training with a 12-foot bullwhip. Pfeiffer called that one of her most "challenging roles" and critics called it one of her most "iconic roles" that is famous forever.
Michelle Pfeiffer went through sixty catsuits during the six month shoot, at a cost of $1,000 apiece.
The catsuit was so tight on Michelle Pfeiffer that she often had trouble hearing her own voice. Tim Burton had to tell her to lower her voice register, because she would often shout her dialogue instead of just saying it.
During an A&E Biography, Michelle Pfeiffer said that her Catwoman costume was vacuum sealed once she was fitted into it for scenes, so she actually had only a short amount of time to perform before she would have to have it opened or she could become lightheaded and pass out. She also admitted that when she first was learning to use the whip, she accidentally cut her trainer's face with it, at which he acted as a complete gentleman and continued with their training.
When asked during a 2007 talk show appearance if she ever felt nostalgic and put on the cat suit to amuse her husband, Michelle Pfeiffer stated that once filming was over, she never wanted to see the costume again for as long as she lived.
Michelle Pfeiffer was considered to reprise her role as Catwoman for Batman Forever but she refused due to the absence of Keaton. For this same reason she didn't come back in Batman & Robin either.

Appearances/Actresses[]

Burtonverse (2 films)
- Batman Returns (First appearance) - Michelle Pfeiffer
- Batman Forever (Mentioned only)
Pitofverse (1 film)
- Catwoman - Michelle Pfeiffer (Photo only)
Arrowverse (1 episode)
- Crisis on Infinite Earths (Mentioned only)
Burtonverse (2 comics)
- Batman '89
- Batman '89: Echoes (Mentioned only)

Trivia[]

Bruce and Selina discovered their dual personalities, thus exposing one of Burton's main themes — duality — in the film.
Selina is depicted to have blonde hair and blue eyes while her mainstream counterpart in the comics has black hair and green eyes.
It's unknown if Selina ever existed in the Flashpoint timeline seen in The Flash, especially since it got erased when Barry Allen fixed the multiverse and the timeline, but it's likely she didn't since she never appeared nor she was mentioned.