Top 10 Best Catwoman Moments

Tim Burton’s take on Catwoman’s origins is certainly…interesting. After Selina Kyle is pushed out of a window by Max Shreck, she’s revived by a cluster of stray cats that lick her wounds. She stumbles home in a daze, mindlessly making a mess in her apartment. A voicemail sets her off, and she begins a frantic home makeover. And Selina manages to create a killer catsuit from one jacket, which is the ultimate suspension of belief. Her villainous awakening is both haunting and comical, and completely transfixing. This lowly secretary turned deadly femme fatale is still one of our favorite transformations in cinematic history.

In the hilarious “Harley Quinn” animated series, Catwoman steals scenes as much as she steals jewels. Introduced in the second season, Harley and Ivy get Catwoman to help them break into Dr. Trap’s museum to get Firefly’s flamethrower. The fiercely independent and aloof Catwoman quizzes Ivy on her new romance with the sweet but idiotic Kite Man. While criticizing her life choices, Catwoman expertly avoids the museum’s slew of traps, saving Ivy numerous times in the process. She gets them to the flamethrower then bounces, but not before snatching the ring Kite Man just stole for Ivy.

Lavish parties are a staple in Gotham (even though a villain is bound to crash it). At one of the city’s many charity balls, Selina and Bruce share a dance, exchanging playful threats and failing to hide their curiosity (and attraction) for one another. In “The Dark Knight Rises”, Christopher Nolan pays homage to the equally captivating dance scene in “Batman Returns”. It’s just as flirty and intimate and filled with unmistakable sexual tension. This Selina and Bruce also talk about masks and the undeserved privilege of the elite. Both scenes perfectly capture the history of Bruce and Selina’s dangerous, romantic relationship.

The 1960s “Batman” series was shamelessly campy and over the top. Freshly out on parole, the Joker has Catwoman pretend to kidnap him at gunpoint. She rolls up in a ridiculous, pea green Catmobile (aka Kitty Car) and pulls out her gold-plated “catgun.” It’s all a part of a weird ploy to get Warden Crichton (CRITE-n) to think Joker’s been kidnapped. And the two villains’ grand plan is to find the stash of one million pounds of gunpowder hidden in Gotham by a famous thief. The elaborate scheme is really just a chance for Joker and Catwoman to toy with Batman.

Broadly based on the comic storyline of the same name, “Batman: Hush” shows Catwoman and Batman teaming up against Gotham City’s villains. There are several great moments between the two, but the Cat and Bat fighting Poison earns a spot on this list. When they show up to Ivy’s temporary spot in Metropolis, they’re not expecting the very powerful and very “possessed” Superman. Under the influence of Ivy’s synthetic Kryptonite kiss, the Man of Steel tries to kill the Dark Knight. But Catwoman gets Superman to snap out of it by throwing Lois Lane off of a building. Naturally, Batman’s not too pleased with her endangering Lois’ life.

For five seasons, “Gotham” followed a teenage Selina Kyle getting into trouble among the city’s criminal underworld, striking up a relationship with Bruce, and honing her cat burglary skills. In the series finale, we jump forward a decade and finally get to see Selina as Catwoman. And she’s doing what she does best — stealing a diamond. In those 10 years, she’s clearly gotten stealthier and more flexible, crawling, bending, and flipping her way past the museum’s lasers with ease. Bruce Wayne (now Batman) tells her to return the stolen jewel and she has a purely Catwoman response.

In one of the endless zany plots of the 1960s show, Catwoman (played by the legendary Julie Newmar) is released from prison with Batman as her parole officer. (No, seriously). She lures Bats to an empty model home and turns on her irresistible charm. She suggests partnering up, though her true goal is to kill Batman with her poisonous perfume. And to her disappointment, it doesn’t work. Why? Because he’s using “bat plugs” in his nostrils. Catwoman threatens to break out her cat-rate (like karate: https://youtu.be/UgW_PhNHq0g?t=152) moves, but ultimately has her henchman to take over. Between the silly dialogue and all the bat-isms and cat-isms, this scene is almost too much to handle.

When a newly transformed Catwoman sees a man attack a young woman in an alley, she makes it her business. Her first act as a villain is to save someone, proving she’s not all bad. She gives the man a few powerful kicks and claws his face before knocking him out with one punch. But she chides the young woman for being a damsel in distress, counting on Batman’s heroics. In a sultry voice, Catwoman delivers one of her many iconic lines from the film, then she gives us one hell of an exit.

From the beginning of “The Dark Knight Rises,” Selina Kyle demonstrates her ability to adapt to her surroundings and always have an exit strategy. After John Daggett hires her to steal Bruce Wayne’s fingerprints, she goes to a bar to deliver the goods. Anticipating the likelihood that she’ll be double-crossed, Selina brings “insurance.” Before the police arrive, she easily takes out a few of Daggett’s men, then seamlessly slips into the role of an innocent bystander caught in the crossfire, shrieking for help. It’s just another totally badass move by the forever cunning and seductive Selina Kyle.

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#1: “It’s Overtime”
“Catwoman” (2004)
It’s a bit of an obvious choice, but this action-packed final battle between Laurel and Catwoman is truly one of The Cat’s best moments.

Okay, don’t take things so seriously! The real number one is…

REAL

Of course, Michelle Pfeiffer’s Catwoman is what really tops our list. (Sorry, Halle!). Throughout the movie, we see her struggle with dual personalities, loving Bruce but hating Batman, all while on her quest for vengeance. For a moment, she considers living the dream life with Bruce, but she can’t let herself have a happy ending. Instead, Max attempts to blast through her remaining “lives” while she sings some chilling lyrics. But before it gets to eight, Selina taser-kisses Max, electrocuting them both. It may be the end for him, but by our calculations, Catwoman had one life left…