The Batman has an interesting take on the character of Catwoman. We get to see Zoë Kravitz’s whole new take on the role and this is done on the basis of both the background of the character and her persona. It was interesting to see her join Batman in the latter’s crusade to solve the mystery behind the murders that were being committed by The Riddler. Director Matt Reeves added a lot of interesting changes to the characters that include how the entire character of the Riddler is different in the movie. Considering The Batman reveals a major change regarding Selina Kyle’s father in the movie, let’s take a look at who is the father of Catwoman in the comics.
Spoiler Warning!! Go Watch The Batman First.
Catwoman In The Batman
The narrative of the movie actually gives a lot of space to explore Catwoman’s character. While helping Batman out with the mystery, Selina herself ends up digging up a lot of her past in many ways. Reeves provided the character with an interesting arc and it actually helps the narrative. In an interview with Movie Maker, Reeves had stated regarding Selina Kyle’s role opposite Batman:
It takes a very special safety net to even be able to do what he’s doing. Yes, OK: He’s risking his life, but he’s risking his life in the way that only someone who has all the resources that he has can do. He absolutely has privilege, there’s no question. He was born with privilege. He is a descendant of city royalty.
I wanted him to have an awakening of sorts where he would question her about what she was doing. And she says, you know, I don’t know who you are. But whoever you are, you obviously grew up rich.
When the duo of the Cat and the Bat ends up running into Carmine Falcone, Selina reveals that the mob boss is actually her father. According to her, Falcone killed her mother when the latter was working at his club. Thus, an interesting part of Catwoman’s arc in the movie becomes about getting revenge on Falcone. This was primarily because of what he did to her mother and not taking responsibility for her even though he was aware of the relationship. That was not all as Falcone had killed Kyle’s friend Annika too and this was another reason to go against him.
Who is the Father of Catwoman?
Selina Kyle has been a part of the DC lore for quite a long time. Over the years, we have gotten a lot of interpretations of her for the live-action too. But even though The Batman clears up the detail about her father, it has been a bit of mystery in the comics. There have been quite a few renditions of the character with each one suggesting a different origin story. In the New 52 arc, Selina was born to Brian and Maria Kyle with Brian being a drunkard. But later we are told that she was the daughter of the Gotham City crime boss Brian Kyle. Later we would get the Rebirth era where the narrative would stick to Brian Kyle being her father.
The one that makes it really close to the way it was handled in The Batman is in 1999’s Batman: Dark Victory. Here we see Catwoman considering Carmine Falcone has her biological father. This connection was again explored in 2004’s Catwoman: When in Rome. Here we find that Falcone’s wife Lousia might have had a second daughter who was given up for adoption. Even though this actually remains till the very end of the narrative, we aren’t given any actual proof to support this claim. It is interesting to see how The Batman picked this narrative and gave a certain depth to Selina’s character.
Even though the character might not have a fixed father in the comics, some things have been the same about her arc. This includes the fact that Selina had a difficult childhood that saw her being raised in orphanages and foster homes as a child. It is not surprising to see the Falcone narrative being brought into the arc of Selina. Considering the movie was inspired a lot by Long Halloween which is a prequel to Batman: Dark Victory where the link was first hinted at. Since Falcone is now dead in the movie we might see some new developments for the character in the possible sequel.
The Batman is now playing in theaters near you.
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