What better way to start off a Batman series than with Catwoman?
What They Say:
Batman encounters a new cat burglar, Catwoman, and around the same time, meets a woman named Selina Kyle (as Bruce Wayne), to whom he is visibly attracted. When Selina runs into trouble with a terrorist cartel known as The Red Claw (who wants the mountain lion sanctuary she was trying to protect), she decides to take matters into her own hands and investigate.
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
When this series first debuted back in the fall of 1992, having the first episode part of a primetime lineup was a huge moment even with the overall popularity of the character through the live-action films and nostalgia for what came in the past. While it didn’t last in that form we had a lot of episodes produced over the next few years and the format and styling of many DC Comics animated projects for years to come were influenced by it. With Warner Bros. finally bringing the show out on Blu-ray in a lavish box set with a great quality encode to it, I want to go through the series in a semi-regular form to go back to what once was. I haven’t seen the series since its original run and back then I missed a lot of episodes because it was all VCR recordings and a lot of missed moments. So I’m treating this as a new experience and one not to be rushed.
With this series establishing its visual style so thoroughly and in what feels like an easy way, it’s a great contrast from where the comics were at the time but its evolution overall. Introducing Catwoman and Selina Kyle in the start of things here made it more accessible than it might have been with a male villain as there’s something alluring about the character all around. I still have hugely fond memories of reading some of the 70’s incarnation Selina as a kid that sticks with me to this day. Going into an early part of her Gotham career here, we see the sensuality side of it – coming off the Batman Returns live-action film to be sure – but owing to something that feels like it comes from decades earlier with the gray costume. It’s sexy but it’s not like Halloween costume sexy burglar material. It’s simply lightly styled with a form fitting approach that allows her to do her job without any mistakes.
Her first encounter with Batman is delightful as well as she likes what she sees in his physique and presence, which is at the time was a welcome change from how cartoons would play things, and I really love the unhurried approach that Catwoman has even as she works to escape Batman within his own city through all the twists and turns of it all. While you do get a sense that Batman is going a bit easy on her since it’s early in his own career and he’s uncertain about what she’s capable of, it does work in just trying to get a feel for her methods. The playfulness side you know is something that he didn’t expect, as well as just how deep she can cut as well. It’s not a big action-packed overdone sequence for their first fight that will lead into future interactions it feels appropriate in a very low-key kind of way that works.
But there’s also some other moments where you can sense the writers were still figuring out who their characters were. When Selina bids and wins Bruce at a charity auction, she has no intent on going on a date as she just wanted to help the animals. But he’s smitten (or at least playing it to keep appearances up for the Bruce persona) and is fairly direct in wanting to get to know her – but in some less than pleasant ways, such as the level of persistence that’s only broken by a car chase going on that he has to lend a hand with. His grip on her arm is also pretty intense with the way Selina reacts. This is all stuff that you can easily put into the misogyny column fairly easily and even if you write some of it off as a part being played by Bruce it’ll still leave you cringing a bit. But there’s something about how Selina handles herself here, refusing to really give into much of it and making it clear that she’s just as intense as anyone else.
The foundation of a very long and complicated relationship between the Bat and the Cat is established here and it sets the tone well for the series. Selina’s intensity as she tries to get the land she needs for the mountain lion she’s seeking to protect is well-done as she doesn’t play the usual coy and quiet role women are often put into. It’s also in contrast to the affable persona that Bruce puts on while trying to figure out the bigger picture here. It’s also a great starter for the series because while Selina is a thief we get a “real villain” here in the form of Red Claw as she has her own goals in mind with the property. Everything does come together as you’d expect for the first half of this two-part storyline but it does it with some solid style to it
In Summary:
With it being about twenty-five years since I last saw this show I very much enjoyed reconnecting with it. There are things from the time and the way the characters act that will be problematic but that’s not the dominant factor of it all. There’s a lot to like in getting an opening episode that digs into dealing with Red Claw and Catwoman as the villains for Batman to deal with and having a mildly complicated storyline to deal with – all just in the first of two parts. The look of the show is great and I definitely have an affection for the Catwoman of this era that’s sexy but not sexualized in a way that the comics or the live-action films leaned heavily into. It makes her appealing to a wider audience and a lot more engaging with how she interacts with everyone here. It’s definitely a solid start that has me excited to spend time going through the box set release.
Grade: B+
