Plot summary: Catwoman and Batman cross paths for the first time and sparks fly. Also bullets, fired by the menacing Red Claw terrorist group.

(Originally published on The Reel World August 29th, 2020)

Notes

Original Air Date: September 5^th, 1992

Directed: Kevin Altieri (6)

Written: Sean Catherine Derek (4) (story) & Laren Bright (2) (story) and Jules Dennis (3) (teleplay) & Richard Meuller (3) (teleplay)

Animated: Sunrise (2) (with layouts by NOA Animation)

Music: Harvey Cohen (1), Wayne Coster (1) & Shirley Walker (12)

Despite ‘On Leather Wings’ being written as the pilot, this episode pre-empted it on television to capitalise on the popularity of Michelle Pfeiffer in Batman Returns.

Exactly like with Penguin, Bruce Timm had to visit the movie set, sketch the character, and then take those sketches back to the production team to work off. Just share assets, guys!

To that end, Selina Kyle is blonde like the moive despite her being brunette in basically all other media. She would switch to brunette in The New Batman Adventures, with the change explained in a (surprisingly good) tie-in comic.

Kevin Altieri uses this episode to teach storyboarding, specifically the little rooftop chase between Batman and Catwoman.

Recap

Catwoman scales a wealthy apartment complex, cutting a hole in a window large enough for her cat, Isis, to fit through. The snoozy kitty is able to retrieve a neclacke for Catwoman without setting off any alarms as she can see the infrared alarm beams. Isis is the real MVP.

Batman is shocked that Gotham’s famous cat burglar is a woman. Yikes. The two have a flirtatious standoff, with Catwoman calling him magnificent. She hurries away, tumbling across the rooftops thinking she has evaded him, but there he be, looking all menacing and whatnot.

An impeccable chase ensues, taking the two down to street level. Catwoman wins the exchange, slashing Batman with her claws and then pushing a stack of trash cans onto him. Like an actual stack. A pyramid of trash cans. I have never in my life seen such a thing.

Catwoman gets escapes, calling the temporarily stranded Isis with… a cat whistle, I guess? Is that a thing? For that matter, are dog whistles actually a thing or were they made up for TV and movies???

At a charity bachelor auction, Bruce is the belle of the ball, with bidding starting at $500 for an evening of his company as a litany of Extremely Horny women trip over each other to raise the stakes.

A blonde in a red dress loudly bids $10,000, with the auctioneer announcing her as Selina Kyle. Bruce gets the 411 on his date, who is said to be sponsoring a mountain lion reserve. Is that a thing? Sorry, I’ll stop.

Bruce introduces himself to Selina, who says she has no interest in him, only the animals. Oh, it’s a bachelor auction for animal charities, sorry. Bruce talks her into getting lunch, when all of a sudden: sirens.

Batman swings into action as a group of gunrunners open fire on the GCPD. Bruce quickly takes their truck down in an uncharacteristically dangerous stunt (for this show at least). Jim Gordon tells Batman that a shady organisation called The Red Claw have come to Gotham.

The next morning Selina’s secretary, Maven, prods her about her impending date with Bruce, but Kyle is far more interested in Batman. Bruce arrives with flowers, but Selina’s attention turns to a phone call from her lawyer who informs her that land she wanted for her wildlife sanctuary has been bought.

Selina jokes about Bruce being able to get her a meeting with ‘Multigon International’. To the surprise of nobody except Selina herself, he does exactly that. The Multigon CEO insists the deal is done and the land will be used to build a luxury resort. After Bruce and Selina leave, a big muscular babe with a tattoo of a red… claw… orders the CEO to keep an eye on them.

Later that night Batman interrupts a mob meeting and demands information about Red Claw. It’s at this point the word “terrorists” is casually used to describe the group, making it painfully clear when this series was made.

The Red Claw leader (irritatingly she is also called Red Claw) briefs her men on the impending transport of a virus confiscated from them. There’s a shockingly good piece of animation here with Red Claw moving in front of a projector.

Catwoman breaks into the Multigon office to gather evidence, blissfully unaware she’s been caught on camera by Red Claw.

One comically slow chase scene later, Selina’s rooftop escape attempt nearly ends in disaster, but Batman swings in and saves her, earning himself a kiss in the process.

Bruce is initially stilted, but gets very into it and tries to remove her mask. Selina pushes him away and tosses him off the damn roof! Ladies, take notes: this is how you rebuff unwanted advances.

Selina reports back to her secretary, unaware a Red Claw agent is watching her from a nearby rooftop with binoculars. Eww.

To be continued…

Best Performance

Kevin Conroy clearly had some fun being a smitten kitten over Selina, and it’s another strong showing for him as both Bruce and Batman, but I have to tip my hat to the object of his affections: Adrienne Barbeau as Catwoman.

It’s always nice when female characters have atypical voices in fiction, and this deeper, more assertive Selina is extremely engaging. Her playful dynamic with Batman is joyous, and her rage towards the businessman who screws her over ensures it’s a multi-dimensional performance. She exhibits a great deal of control over the audience’s emotions in that we have fun when she does, and sympathise with her cause when she gets angry.

Ranking

I understand the network’s desire to get a Catwoman episode on the air as soon as possible as Batman Returns was an incredibly popular movie, but running SIX episodes between this one and part two is utterly bonkers. It’s not like the Two-Face episodes where several in-world months pass between the two parts, this episode ends on an explicit cliff-hanger.

That weird decision aside, this is a fun if unspectacular caper. Batman and Catwoman’s flirtationship has been money for 80(!) years at this point. She was created in the first place with the intent of spicing up Batman’s “rather sterile life.” Much has been written about Batman’s aversion to sex, and despite this being a children’s cartoon his attitude towards Poison Ivy earlier in the series ring trues in that regard. So seeing Bruce enraptured with somebody is fun, and the tried and true dynamic of neither being aware of the other’s secret identity works a treat. They’re horny for each other in costume, but Selina could take or leave Bruce Wayne. Smart lady.

It’s not all sex games though, as the elaborate chase scene during their first encounter is perhaps the most visually interesting action scene in the series to date. Batman taking down the gunrunners is likewise pretty extreme by the standards set so far. Catwoman’s escape near the end isn’t quite as thrilling, but it’s all good fun. Fun is probably the best word to describe this episode in general. Fun is good, but fun alone doesn’t get you in the top tier.

1. Heart of Ice
2. Two-Face Part I
3. On Leather Wings
4. Two-Face Part II
5. Pretty Poison
6. It’s Never Too Late
7. The Cat and the Claw Part 1 (NEW ENTRY)
8. P.O.V.
9. Christmas with the Joker
10. Be a Clown
11. Nothing to Fear
12. The Last Laugh
13. The Under-Dwellers
14. The Forgotten
15. I’ve Got Batman in My Basement

Rogues Roundup

Catwoman (Adrienne Barbeau) (first appearance)

Is she even a villain? Sure, she’s a thief, but she uses the money from her jobs to fund her endeavours as an animal activist (a nice wrinkle to give her character here btw).

Morality musings aside, Selina has been such an enduring character for good reason, and this iteration more than holds its own. I know it’s an unpopular opinion, but I much prefer this to Michelle Pfeiffer’s version. I just always found it a little offensive how thick they lay on Selina’s sad sap pre-Catwoman existence. Also she licks her latex-covered hands, which is gross.

Anyway, that’s a whole different thing. Cartoon Catwoman is not only a cool, capable jewel thief with a suspiciously well-trained pet, she’s sassy in and out of the costume and isn’t impressed by Bruce’s wealth. Her number one priority is protecting animals and she won’t take no for an answer on that front because she a Boss Bitch.

But for as fun as she is, she’s definitely not as interesting as the top trio on the list so far. The difficult decision is whether to place her ahead of her fellow Gotham City Siren, Poison Ivy. They share a lot of the same DNA, leading double lives that see them exploit their sexuality to further their true aims of helping nature. They also both get the drop on Batman. I think Ivy was a hair more interestingly written in ‘Pretty Poison’, but both are going to make future appearances, so there’s plenty of opportunity for them to move up.

Red Claw (Kate Mulgrew) (first appearance)

I dig the design, but there’s really not much to Red Claw as a character in this episode. She has a vague Eastern European accent and her group are described as terrorists, which as I mentioned earlier, is kind of wild to hear 30 years later. It’s not that terrorism is a taboo topic – far from it – but I don’t think children’s cartoons are allowed to touch it post-9/11.

I can’t in good conscience put her higher than Man-Bat. Penguin is likely to surpass her later, but sucked in his debut and I actively despire the bottom two.

1. Mr. Freeze
2. Joker
3. Two-Face
4. Poison Ivy
5. Catwoman (NEW ENTRY)
6. Scarecrow
7. Rupert Thorne
8. Arnold Stromwell
9. Man-Bat
10. Red Claw (NEW ENTRY)
11. Penguin
12. Sewer King
13. Boss Biggis