Despite being animated, Batman: The Animated Series (BTAS) is widely regarded as one of the most serious and sophisticated animated shows of its time. While it was a children’s show, the ’90s series managed to blend dark themes, complex storytelling, and even mature character development, which ultimately appealed to both children and adults. This is particularly true when it comes to character portrayal; beyond Batman being portrayed as a morally complex hero with a tragic past, many of its villains were also given sympathetic backstories.
The newly-released Batman: Caped Crusader seeks to keep the same level of seriousness. Though it features some of the same elements, the series is much bolder when it comes to the design of its setting and narrative approach — it offers a noir-inspired reimagining of the Batman mythos, focusing on a younger version of Bruce Wayne/Batman during the early stages of his crime-fighting career. Nonetheless, character-wise, it does the same as its predecessor by offering more complex portrayals of its hero and its villains. Well, except Catwoman; she’s completely redesigned.
Batman: Caped Crusader introduces Catwoman in the third episode of the first season, titled Kiss of the Catwoman, which explored Catwoman’s characters. This Catwoman is played by Christina Ricci — the actor who portrayed Wednesday in 1991’s The Addams Family, and Rae from Black Snake Moan. But what makes this appearance even more interesting is the fact that we also got to see the Catmobile, which, believe it or not, is an actual thing that has been adapted from the comics and plays well with Catwoman’s more whimsical and often ignored side.
Catwoman wasn’t always about whips and sultry voices. In fact, her first appearance happened in Batman #1, which was released in the spring of 1940. Then called simply “the Cat,” Catwoman was introduced as a jewel thief with a playful and flirtatious demeanor, and while she was a villain, her crimes were often depicted as lighthearted pranks rather than deeply malicious acts driven by the desire for world domination or destruction. What added to her whimsical nature was that she often engaged in cat-and-mouse games with the Bat.
Her appearance in the new episode, along with the fact that she’s driving the aforementioned Catmobile, plays well into those earlier portrayals — even down to her costume. Selina Kyle and Bruce Wayne meet one another at the museum during an exhibit that displays the Gotham elite’s jewels, including Martha Wayne’s pearls. Later on, Selina resorts to jewel theft after being left in debt, leading to her adoption of the Catwoman persona. After being caught and outed by Batman, Selina takes inspiration from him by upgrading her car and resorting to gadgets during her “hunt.”
So, not only do both of them have animal-themed costumes and rely on gadgets, but Selina also uses the inspiration to reveal her own Catmobile, driving the thing with absolute joy while also nearly running over Batman. As mentioned before, the vehicle wasn’t created specifically for Caped Crusader but draws its roots from the comics. It was first introduced in Detective Comics #122 in 1947, and it was originally called the Kitty Car. Of course, the design was a bit different because it resembled a giant cat that Catwoman sat in.
The design in Caped Crusader looks more like what Catwoman drove in Batman: The Brave and the Bold and resembles a vehicle driven by Cat-Man in Batman comics — a completely different and unrelated character. Whatever the case may be, the entire character redesign and the portrayal of Catwoman as a more whimsical character is very well-received by the fans, many of whom say that this is a really fun take on a previously established character.
And it truly is. While the feline femme fatale known as Catwoman remains a fan favorite, the new version is far more believable because she’s not portrayed as a completely villainous, unstable cat lady. Instead, she’s just a thief who, as Alfred pointed out, isn’t actually hurting anyone — only stealing. Perhaps that’s enough to catch Batman’s attention and keep him interested.
In the end, the introduction of the Catmobile and her reliance on gadgets just goes on to show how heiress Selina Kyle isn’t a gritty alley cat but a joyous thief who enjoys helping herself to other people’s property and belongings, and sometimes even their cats. She has no noble motives like the BTAS version of the character and certainly isn’t as one-dimensional as she was in her very beginnings. What she does have, however, are her charm, the desire to play cat-and-mouse with the Batman, and one kick-ass ride.
Oh, and we forgot to mention that the Catmobile is slightly faster compared to the Batmobile. Those interested in catching up with the series can stream Batman: Caped Crusader on Prime Video.