Tom King: Catwoman Is Batman With No Alfred
Catwoman is what Batman would have been if he had to grow up alone
Catwoman and Batman are often seen as opposites. After all, he’s a crime fighter, she’s a criminal. Batman would save even the worst person if he could (and has on numerous occasions). Selina Kyle would let somebody die. Hell, in this new Rebirth continuity, Catwoman is a mass murderer. Which Batman thinks would make her an ideal choice for his own version of a Suicide Squad in the current “I am Suicide” arc in the main Batman title. Though Batman writer Tom King thinks the two are very similar except for one important factor:
"To me, she’s Batman without Alfred. She’s someone who got broken as hard as Batman got broken – an orphan who had to raise herself – but instead of sort of relying on others, she had to do it with her own willpower and put herself back together.So I think her story is as powerful as Batman’s and maybe even more powerful, because she had to rely on herself in a way that Batman never had to. She’s not the rich kid, she didn’t have the privilege he had.But the truth of Catwoman is not to think of her in terms of Batman and how she foils Batman, but to think of her as a separate character on her own. At least I think so.And I think that makes her something special in the DCU, because when you build yourself up like that, you realize that you don’t have time for all the rules everyone else has.You have to cheat, or else you die.When there’s no food and you steal for food, you realize that some of the obstacles that are put in the way of you are obstacles of willpower and obstacles of law. And I think she sort of sees through the law and sees through that stuff, and she sees a more perfect justice than I think even Batman sees. That makes her a unique character."
Read the full interview with Tom King over at Newsarama, where he also talks about the relationship between Batman & Catwoman, and talks a little about Batman joining the Justice Society of America next year as well as picking up on the overall Rebirth storyline. Batman #12, which continues the “I Am Suicide” story arc, is available tomorrow.