Catwoman has one of the most convoluted backgrounds in modern DC Comics‘ history. Originally, Selina Kyle was portrayed as having a split personality that wanted to be a thief. That changed with the Post-Crisis reboot and Batman: Year One. However, even after that, there were stories like The Long Halloween that conflicted with the revamp. Now, a new comic has reconciled this history in a way that makes Selina’s origins more closely resemble her character in The Batman.
The revamped history is explained in Catwoman #84, by writer Torunn Grønbekk and artist Patricio Delpeche. The current storyline finds Selina Kyle trying to recover a piece of jewelry known as the Palermo Pearl. Her mother, Maria, claimed to have once worn the Pearl on a magical night.
Selina sought to steal the Pearl in Maria’s memory, so her mother could be buried with something that made her happy. This heist story was mixed with flashbacks to Selina’s past. However, Selina’s history has become somewhat muddled over the past four decades.
Catwoman’s conflicted history explained
In Batman: Year One, Selina Kyle was a dominatrix and petty thief who became Catwoman after seeing Batman in action. Other comics expanded on this, revamping Selina into a child of the streets who escaped foster care after the death of her abusive father. However, none of this was an issue until the publication of Batman: The Long Halloween a decade later.
The Long Halloween saga teased Selina Kyle being the daughter of mob boss Carmine Falcone and having been put up for adoption to keep her safe. This history was explored in a spin-off mini-series, Catwoman: When In Rome. This did not gel with the Post-Crisis comics, which affirmed Maria and Brian Kyle as Selina’s biological parents.
This only became an issue as more Batman writers began counting The Long Halloween as part of the official canon. However, things became even more confused after Matt Reeves‘ The Batman adapted the Long Halloween origin for its’ version of Catwoman. Thankfully, the current monthly Catwoman comic book has explained the discrepancy with a new retcon.
Catwoman is now officially Carmine Falcone’s daughter
Selina’s theft of the Palermo Pearl involved infiltrating an exclusive auction at a private party. This put her into the crosshairs of the Court of Owls. It also pitted her against Gotham City mob boss Carmine Falcone, whose family owned the Palermo Pearl and was selling it.
Falcone confronted Selina at her mother’s grave, just after she finished burying the pearl. He spoke of knowing Maria, but never having been formally introduced to Selina. Selina took the subtext of the conversation as proof of what she long knew: Carmine Falcone was her biological father and he knew she was his daughter.
However, Falcone was not seeking to make amends for abandoning Maria. Instead, he told Selina that while he had no need of another daughter, “a Catwoman I can use.” The implied threat was that he would expose her identity if she did not start stealing for him.
Catwoman #84 is now available at comic shops everywhere.
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