Hello members of the @CharactersOfDC and welcome to our first session of 2022. This month is Woman’s History Month and few of the clubs here at DCUI’s community have banded together to explore some of the great female characters in the DCU. Be sure to check out what the other clubs have going on.
To join CHARACTERS OF DC hit the link.
Here at C of DC we will be taking a look at the history and a few stories featuring a character who has been a part of the Batverse almost from the start. She is without a doubt a character on the same level as Batman himself and holds the same level of importance in the mythos as Joker does being that she was created around the same time.
CHARACTERS OF DC PROUDLY PRESENTS:
CHARACTER CHRONOLOGIES
FIRST APPEARANCE
Batman Vol. 1 #1 (Spring 1940)
CREATORS
Bob Kane & Bill Finger
Selina Kyle has been a mainstay character of the Batman Universe since the very first issue of Batman hit the shelves back in 1940 and she has also had a lot of screen time in various tv and movie adaptions spanning decades. She has the distinction of being Batman’s first and longest running love interest . On Earth Two she was even married to Bruce Wayne and they had a daughter, Helena, who became a hero in her own right. (If you want to check out some of Helena’s adventures on Earth Two head on over to the JSA Book Club. We will be having a session later this month that will cover a few of the stories that feature the Dark Knight’s Daughter.)
So lets get started exploring this Queen of the BatVerse
Batman Vol. 1 #1 has a lot of firsts attached to it:
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First issue of the first Batman solo comic book
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First appearances of Batman, Robin and Commissioner Gordon outside of Detective Comics
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First appearance of Joker, who becomes a recurring and important adversary for Batman, as well as Joker’s first time escaping death, which becomes a recurring theme with the character.
But the first I want to concentrate on here is:
- The first appearance of Catwoman (or ‘The Cat’ as she was known at the time) who would become a recurring adversary, foil and sometimes love interest for Batman.
I always feel that the best way to understand a character is to go back to the beginning and see where and how they got their start. So the first thing we will be discussing this month will be Selina’s first appearance in a story called “The Cat” as well as a few other Golden Age appearances:
- “Batman vs Cat-Woman”, from Batman #3
- “Princess of Plunder” from Batman #10
- “Nine Lives has the Catwoman” from Batman #35
So hold onto your valuables and lets get started!
GOLDEN AGE CATWOMAN READING
* Batman Vol. 1 #1
* Batman Vol 1 #3
* Batman Vol 1 #10
* Batman Vol 1 #35
Discussion Point
Judging by her very first appearance would you have thought she would have become a mainstay in the Bat mythos or do you think she was more of a one off type of character?
Next week we will take a look at and discuss Catwoman’s appearances on the small screen and which of those have been our favorites. Anything about Selina Kyle’s small screen appearances is up for discussion next week but save her big screen appearances for later this month. I promise we will get to them as well.
Happy reading and have a great week!
