DCU Comic Book Reviews

CATWOMAN #82

Final Jeopardy, Part 03

October 2008

Written by Will Pfeifer

Pencils by David Lopez

Inks by Alvaro Lopez

Cover by Adam Hughes

Synopsis

Catwoman has just jumped off a tall building, taking Batman with her.  He wants to know what has gotten into her.  She doesn’t answer.  Instead she takes his utility belt and runs from him.  Batman gives chase.  He follows her through the East End and eventually catches up to her.  He tells her that he can’t allow her rash of thefts to continue.  She doesn’t like being told what to do.  She beats on him, then tries to smoke him out with capsules from his utility belt.  It doesn’t work.  He grabs her to keep her from running.  She then kisses him.  He wants to know what is going on.  She is not sure.  All she knows is that she loves the rush of what she does, something she hadn’t felt when she had Helena.   And if she had Helena, she wouldn’t miss it.  Batman doesn’t believe that.  She had the chance to escape, leave the life with Helena, but she didn’t take it. Selina then realizes that Batman is right.  Selina is Catwoman.  That is who she is.  She is Catwoman. 

Review by Binkley (e-mail)

As an ending to this series, I liked it.  It seems appropriate that the final issue features a run-in with Batman, but more importantly I liked the fact that Selina came to the realization of who she is on her own, without anyone telling her what she obviously knew.  It makes sense that Batman would be the on to goad into that realization, but she did it on her own.  I also liked the way Pfeifer reasserted the role of Catwoman and who she is within the DC universe, while at the same time providing closure on the past several years worth of stories that saw a lot of changes in the character.  In one sense it is a soft re-boot, setting the character back to her roots so that when she goes into play for other writers (like Paul Dini in Detective Comics) there is no need to worry about a convoluted continuity.  She is Catwoman.  There is nothing else that is needed.  Like a lot of characters in the DC universe just saying the name allows the reader to create their own image of the character and as long as the immutables are in place (she lives in Gotham, likes to steal things, and has a complicated relationship with Batman) nothing else is really needed. 

Having said all that, I am a little perturbed at Selina’s realization that her life as Catwoman is more important to her than being a mother to Helena.  On one level I can accept this decision; there certainly are a lot of people out there who are parents who walk out on their kids for whatever reasons.  But on the other hand, Selina is not saying she is a bad parent or doesn’t like being a parent.  I get the sense that she loves her child and loves being her mother.  But being Catwoman means more.  And that is where I have trouble.  Perhaps a lot that has to do with the fact that I am a father and I could not imagine giving up my child or choosing a lifestyle (or my job) that would force me to lose the child.  Yes, there are circumstances to Selina’s choice (such as safety for Helena) that are different for “real world” parents, but ultimately it still comes down to the same thing:  her job is more important than her child.  Is this a good thing? 

 

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