Welcome to our five thoughts on Batman: The Animated Series second two part episode and the series’ introduction to Catwoman.
1. The Cat
This episode’s interpretation of Catwoman is going to throw off fans who were introduced to the character through the comics, however, that’s par for the course when it comes to Catwoman adaptations. As far as this one goes there’s an obvious influence felt from Batman Returns. The character retains a similar visual appearance and motivation in the series as she did in that film. She also retains what seems to be the most identifiable trait of the character across her diverse interpretations, which is her relationship with Batman. Adrienne Barbeau and Kevin Conroy have delightful chemistry as they flirt and banter throughout the episode. This really causes the viewer to buy into that relationship that serves as the crux of this whole story.
2. The Claw
Bruce Timm and team make a surprisingly neat, original villain in this episode, by the name of Red Claw. She’s a strong antagonist who challenges Batman and the GCPD without ever having to serve as anyone’s love interest, as even Batman’s most powerful female villains can be occasionally regulated to. She serves a great role in this episode of making the viewer see Catwoman as a shade of grey, by being the ultimate, nasty villain. It’s hard to see a cat-burglar as evil when another character is over here trying to unleash the plague. My only theory as to why this character has never come back in the comics is because she doesn’t have a great rapport with Batman himself. Their interactions were generally cookie cutter, to say the least.
3. Criminality vs Evil
There’s a really interesting and subtle observation of the difference between being a criminal and being evil in this episode. Red Claw is always obviously the villain because she’s trying to kill millions of people with the plague. Now while that’s going on it’s really easy to think if Catwoman is opposed to those guys then she’s a good guy, however, Batman says it himself, she’s on the other side of the law. Then in the sad ending to this episode he follows through with it and arrests her because she’s a criminal, but he doesn’t want to because she’s not a bad person.
4. The World
This episode, partially because of its extra length and partially because of the story it’s telling, has a scope that expands to a wider Gotham than we’ve seen in most episodes before. This episode gives the viewer glimpses of both the mob and the high socialites of the town. You see the GCPD fully at work and you see what the military does in Gotham. This expanded detailing of the show’s setting allows for the story they’re telling here to be more immersive than in episodes past.
5. The Romance
It was genuinely fun to watch the relationship between Selina and Bruce develop in this episode, but it was also sad as they were both pining after someone who wouldn’t return their affection. It’s honestly a trope that’s been done to death in Superhero stories, and even in this animated universe but the added element of Catwoman’s criminality gives this interpretation enough spice to honestly intrigue viewers.
