Yes she is. But towards the end she was acting far more like Batgirl. At least I thought so. And the fact that she never was called anything but Selina makes me think that the connection is ambiguous at best.
They seemed to be trying to keep her “realistic.” Because, you know, it’s much harder to swallow a chick who dresses up in a cat suit while committing crimes than some gigantic muscle man with a face mask that gives him this bizarre plummy accent.
I read somewhere that it was a conscious decision on the part of the movie makers not to refer to her as “Catwoman” per se, but her choice of attire and the name of Selina Kyle is clearly meant to suggest “Catwoman” to all the fanboys who regularly follow the Batman stories. I, at least thought that she was pretty sexy, although I found her change of attitude throughout the movie a bit puzzling and unlikely.
A. This assumes that you know this from somewhere else going in. If all you know of this Batman universe are the 3 most recent movies, the name means nothing. Dragging in info from other Batman sources is not going to work. Just look at what trying to match up the bio of the Joker from the previous movie with the Joker of most of the comics is going to get you.
“Selina Kyle” is not a unique name. Just checking online, I find that there are at least 5 and possibly as many as 15 distinct "Selina Kyle"s living in the US right now.
Even knowing the significance of the name, maybe this is just another Selina Kyle. Maybe a relative of the true Catwoman that we just haven’t seen.
III. Catwoman is a concept. Look at Batman Returns. Catwoman dies (even using up her ninth life) killing/kissing Max Shreck. Yet there is a shot of a Catwoman’s head from behind at the end. The Catwoman concept exists outside of a given person. Selina Kyle is not necessary for there to be a Catwoman.
It’s the same as Two-Face in Dark Knight. They make a couple references to him being called Harvey “Two-Face” Dent by the cops, but they don’t go around calling him Two Face.
They tried to keep her realistic, and Batman realistic, while not really keeping Joker or Bane realistic. IMO. Joker’s plans alone, while I love Ledger as Joker, were crazy. He was more prepared than the Bat. Honestly, the only reason Batman won in that movie was because he is the designated hero.
Huh? Not in the movies. And actually, not even in the comics. Catwoman is a pretty neutral character, out only for herself. There are plenty of comic arcs where she develops a conscience and works with Bruce. There seems to be a pretty heavy misunderstanding that Catwoman=villain (it probably stems from the 60s TV show).
If all you know of this Batman universe are the 3 most recent movies, why is it important that they identify a character as a Catwoman you are not familiar with?
The “she’s not Catwoman” crowd is really grasping at straws. She’s Selina Kyle (who has ALWAYS been Catwoman in pretty much every Batman story ever). She’s a cat burglar. She starts out a villain and at the end turns into a hero (something also common to Catwoman in many Batman stories). She gets the cat-ear look from the goggles. These are all things that tie her to being Catwoman. Just because no one actually utters the moniker “Catwoman” in the movie doesn’t mean that she’s not the Nolan’s universe Catwoman. (And saying she’s Batgirl instead? wtf?)
…because…um, because she rode the Batpod? That’s about it. Are there any other Batgirl specific(ish) characteristics that could not also apply to Catwoman.
Because reluctant hero and love interest for Bats aren’t at all Batgirl qualities.
It seems reasonable to call Hathaway’s character Catwoman. Her being allied with Bruce Wayne doesn’t matter, because Catwoman hasn’t been a straight-out villain in the comics in decades (if she ever was). Even as a villain, she is never written as a murderer of the Joker’s stripe. She’s a thief with scruples who loves Batman, though she can just barely stand him sometimes; and though she generally is in in for themoney, there are many things she just won’t do. She’s stopped in the middle of a jewel heist to rescue innocent bystanders from muggers & rapists. Woe betide any crook who tries to harm a child, a helpless woman, or a cat in her eyeline. Even when she’s a Bat-antagonist she doesn’t want him or Robin dead.
Reluctant hero, no; Batgirl’s an ascended fangirl. But love interest? Yeah, Barbara Gordon has been that. Which makes sense on account of Bruce Wayne being a perv.
Frankly, Catwoman is Batman’s ally at least as often as she is his enemy. Even when she’s a straight-up antagonist, there’s the sexual tension between her and Bruce that complicates the matter.
In multiple continuities, they’re even married (pre-Crisis and New 52, the Huntress is their daughter).
