Selina Kyle

* Selina Kyle
* Catwoman

**Selina Kyle** is **Catwoman**, a costumed adventurer who's been both a super-hero and super-villain. Beginning her career as a thief and enemy to Batman, she later turned to crime-fighting and became part of the Batman Family. Despite her villainous nature, she works hard to protect the East End of Gotham City.

Selina Kyle was a mild-mannered flight attendant. A terrible plane crash spared her life, but it left her in an amnesiac haze. All she had left of her old life were her memories of her father's pet store, and so she christened herself Catwoman, in tribute to the animals her dad taught her to love.

## Biography

### Early Life

Selina Kyle's early life was defined by tragedy. When she was just a girl, her brutalized mother Maria committed suicide and her violent father Brian drank himself to death soon after. Selina was separated from her younger sister Maggie when remanded to the Sprang Hall Juvenile Detention Center, an abusive state home for orphaned or delinquent girls. Eventually, she escaped the Center and tried pickpocketing the crowd at a carnival outside Gotham City but failed. She was caught by the man who ran the place and he offered her to join the carnival. Selina agreed and soon she learned the art of contortionism, gymnastics, magic and trickery. Using her new learned skills, Selina also improved her pickpocketing skills. When the owner of the carnival died in a tragic accident, Selina decided to take her chances on the streets of Gotham, surviving as a petty thief.

### Origins

Selina began working as a prostitute in the East End to get by. She watched over an underage girl named Holly Robinson while working for their abusive pimp Stan. After a particularly aggressive beating from Stan, Selina passed out near the Immaculate Virgin Mission, a nunnery where her sister Maggie served as a nun. She was sent to the hospital, where she was visited by Detective George Flannery. He took pity on her and told her of Ted Grant, a man who could teach her how to fight and defend herself. She met with Ted and he agreed to train her. Selina first met Bruce Wayne when he was walking through the East End and solicited by Holly. He rejected her advances and Stan berated Holly, causing Bruce to attack him. Fearing for Holly's safety, Selina approached and fought Bruce, but was knocked out. Later, she returned to Ted and asked him to train her in the use of the bullwhip.

One night, Selina was woken up by the news that the Batman was being cornered by police in Robinson Park. She and Holly decided to see for themselves, and Selina saw firsthand Batman making his escape. Seeing Batman in action gave her the idea that she could become a creature of the night like him. Selina returned the beating Stan gave her and left him, taking Holly with her and declaring that she was changing her line of work. She fashioned her own costume, inspired by her love of cats, and began operating as a cat burglar: the Catwoman. On one of her first heists she robbed the home of mob boss Carmine Falcone and decided that, to distinguish herself, she would claw the faces of her victims, starting with Falcone. It was here that Batman saw her in action for the first time, and he left without saying a word.

As Catwoman, she visited Maggie at the nunnery and the two sisters argued. After Selina left, Maggie was kidnapped by Stan, who was furious at Selina for defying him. Stan contacted Selina and told her that he had her sister. She tracked him down as Catwoman, finding him dangling Maggie off a ledge. Catwoman fought Stan and Maggie fell. Stan lost his balance in the struggle and fell to his death, while Maggie was rescued by Batman before she hit the ground. Some time later, Holly was beaten by a corrupt police officer, Ethan Strunk, prompting Catwoman to track him down. As she attacked Strunk she was stopped by Batman. He attempted to convince her to let the police deal with Strunk, but Catwoman retorted that Gotham's corrupt police force would never allow him to face justice. She kissed Batman before wounding his chest, allowing her to flee. Selina left Holly with Maggie to be raised with her in a convent.

Following a distortion of the time stream, Selina's history as a prostitute was erased. Instead, she continued to survive on the streets as a thief.

## Personality

Catwoman is a woman who is defined by **pride and temptation**. Being a high-profile burglar, she is skilled in espionage, so she is able to keep herself from being known. She also has a high interest for jewelry, particularly that of high value and rarity.

## Powers and Abilities

### Abilities

* **Acrobatics**: Selina is a gifted and accomplished athlete, with incredible acrobatic prowess.
* **Disguise**: To pull off her many escapades, Catwoman often resorts to disguises and aliases. She once posed as an old lady in order to steal a valuable piece of jewelry while on a cruise ship. Later, she posed as a night club goer in order to get acquainted with its owners and return later to rob them.
* **Feline Empathy**: Catwoman has a strong affinity for cats. Feline species tend to flock to her, accepting her almost immediately, recognizing somehow that she is not an enemy but a friend. This allows her to calm injured cats, train them, befriend them, and form strong bonds with them. These animals will even sometimes come to her defense when she is attacked. This has proved most beneficial, especially when it has involved big cats.
* **Martial Arts**: She was trained by the Armless Master, Richard Dragon in martial arts and by Wildcat in boxing and street-fighting. She is a dangerous, clever and resourceful fighter, known for precise, agile attacks and speedy getaways. Her formidable hand-to-hand combat skills are augmented by her cat-like speed, reflexes, balance, and flexibility. Even Batman and Bronze Tiger both have complimented Selina's combat skill. Catwoman has mastered the following martial arts styles:
	+ **Boxing**
	+ **Capoeira**
	+ **Dragon Style Kung Fu**
	+ **Hapkido**
	+ **Jujutsu**
	+ **Karate**
* **Seduction**: Catwoman often uses her feminine allure to distract or manipulate her male opponents. Her ability to seduce Batman has allowed her to evade his capture numerous times.
* **Stealth**: Selina is as stealthy as any large cat. She has easily been able to sneak up on large groups of people and even other vigilantes on patrol. She shows marked prowess in this ability while she's on the prowl for her next job.
* **Thievery**: Selina is a master thief, known throughout Gotham City for her burglary of cat-themed objects and/or gems and jewels of the highest quality. Hardly one to knock over a bank, Catwoman would rather break into the chairman's office and take his personal documents.
* **Fencing**

## Trivia and Notes

### Trivia

* Selina has a general education diploma that she got while living at the Wildcat Gym.
* Selina and Holly Robinson used to be lovers.
* Selina is not aware that her real father is Carmine Falcone.
* The alias Irena Dubrovna comes from a 1942 movie called *Cat People*.
* She was given a trustee status and a trustee housing.
* Her criminal activity falls under GCPD jurisdiction.
* She has some kind of connection with the Hoffman crime family.

### Notes

* Selina's Patient number (#40331) is a nod to her first comic book appearance: *Batman, Vol. 1 #1* in June 1940 in the third story.
* In the comics she's the daughter of Carmine Falcone. It might be a reason why he was surprised when he saw her unmasked in Earth-27.
* Selina used the 'Irena Dubrovna' alias after the *52* series.