Mystery of the Batwoman

[arbre_rieur]

Four more pages from BATMAN, INCORPORATED #4...

This issue fleshes out the backstory of Kathy Kane, the first Batwoman. At one point, she was invited to join an elite spy organization.



Interestingly, we find out later in the issue that Agent-33 is El Gaucho.

Comments

[sadoeuphemist]

Angry possessive-of-his-copyright Batman is so adorable.

[drmcninja]

That is easily the greatest reply possible to Bruce's statement. Plus, it begs the question: would Batman go into the Ladies' Room?

I for one would love to see a story where the Joker gets away because Batman refuses to set foot in there.

[lilacsigil]

I think Batman would go into the Ladies' Room without hesitation...but I don't think Superman would!

[kenn_el]

The Batman TV series went there (and I think it's what Morrison was referencing in a tongue-in-cheek way) with Catwoman escaping through a women's dressing room and Bruce and Dick being unable/willing to give chase, leaving Batgirl to pursue her (and get captured, as usual, sadly). A similar homage occurred in the Batman Confidential series with Batgirl and Catwoman.

[drmcninja]

Excuse me while I go and find that episode. Immediately.

[benicio127]

Loved this issue.

[turtlefu]

So, unlike Kate-Batwoman, Kathy-Batwoman's sole motivation is wanting to bang Batman? Wonderful, that's exactly what we need.

[darkblade]

It's true to her Silver Age origins. Yet another reason why I oppose bringing back elements from it.

[shadowpsykie]

well... yes and no... its PART of the reason. It was an assignment. It was a challenge. She didn't count on falling for him.

i actually like the way this paid Homage to the silver age Kathy, yet also gave her INFINITELY more depth.

[saralakali]

I'm pretty sure Batwoman was a Golden Age character.

[schala_kid]

I don't know what comic it was, but there was a scene where some criminals doing some illegal activities (I think they were making drugs not sure) in a Bathroom/Restroom in Metropolis. When asked why they were doing it in there they said that Superman was in no way going to look there because he was too polite and modest.

[funbox]

Your icon... is that a real cluster? Or a photoshopped pair of eyes to a nicely colored cluster? Either way its pretty cool

[aaron_bourque]

I'm unsure if I like this because it's actually GOOD (being clever and witty and fun), or because it's so freakin' INSANE . . .

Aaron "The Mad Whitaker" Bourque; I'm also unsure if I should care as long as I'm enjoying it . . .

[jkcarrier]

That was the Question mini-series by Rick Veitch and Tommy Lee Edwards. Lots of clever bits in there.

[omimouse]

That may have also been the episode where Batman, Robin, and Batgirl were tied into a 'human knot' as the 'leave all alone to die' device.

I saw that episode when I was 12, and between it and the X-Files BDSM slash fanfic at 14, there are days when I wonder if my whole puberty was just set-up for joining scans_daily.

[jkcarrier]

"It's true to her Silver Age origins."

Not really. The original version shows Kathy performing at the circus, thinking "I wish I could be like Batman, the greatest acrobat of all! He uses his skill, not for shows, but against crime!" Not that different from Kate, really -- wanting to do good, and using The Bat as a template.

[jkcarrier]

She's kind of on the cusp. She debuted in 1956, the same year as the Barry Allen Flash.

[darkknightjrk]

Nope--her assignment was to track down Batman and figure out his secret identity. She just ended up falling for him.

[darkknightjrk]

Can't it be both?

[darkblade]

Well to be honest I've never read her origins specifically but I do have a couple of old books where she resembles Lois at her Gold/Silver aged worst in terms of trying to get the hero to marry her.

[superfangirl1]

IKR?

Ii just so cute with his expression. :)

[blackruzsa]

This is so weird XD But adorable.

I remember watching the DCAU movie of The Mystery of the Batwoman. I kept the theme song of it in my ipod and boggle people's minds when they listen to it and I say it's from a Batman movie.

[espanolbot]

Ah, Silver Age Batman! Back when he was on the correct dosage of medication.

And I have to say, becoming a superhero to bang Batman is indeed a noble pursuit.

[icon_uk]

The human knot wasn't in a Catwoman episode though, it was in the last ever episode "Nora Clavicile and the Ladies Crime Club".

[icon_uk]

"Betcha Neva" is a VERY catchy little tune...

[blackruzsa]

Yes.
Yes it is.
On most days, I like to sing it in front of unassuming crowds.

[blunderbuss]

That's ... actually really smart. :O

[saralakali]

I believe it's the Ghost Head nebula. Even if I'm wrong on that, you should be able to find it in NASA photos somewhere.

[saralakali]

Yeah, after I posted that, I looked her (and the Silver Age) up. I was basing it more on that story where she (and Batman and Robin) go after the Spinner. That story had what I've come to think of as Golden Age art.

[greenmask]

..Never challenge the knowledge of a master. X]

[icon_uk]

Nah, in this case I only remember it because even as a 10-year-old it looked uniquely improbable as a form of restraint, and as the plot involved Nora Clavicle replacing all the male police officers in Gotham with females (so they'd spend more time fixing their make up than stopping crooks) and her master plan was to release explosive clockwork mice (because the female officers would, of course, be too scared of the mice to do anything about it) even I felt the show was scraping the bottom of the barrel.

[greenmask]

O_O

[icon_uk]

Yeah, though my expression was more o_O than O_O

[jarodrussell]

Sadly? That was one of the best death traps of the series.

[jarodrussell]

Had to look it up, but the episode is "Catwoman's Dressed to Kill."

[freddylloyd]

For Batman, Silver Age art didn't arrive until the much-hyped "New Look" of 1964. The more general timeline doesn't really fit that book.

[schala_kid]

Thanks :D

[ebailey140]

But, Kathy, Betty, Ace, and Bat-Mite were very specific to that 1956-64 period, which actually lasted longer than the New Look period (1964-66) and the Camp period (1966-69), combined. These were distinct Batman periods within the Silver Age.

The Batman that was a founding member of the JLA was very much a part of that period with Kathy. The Camp period would, ironically enough, set up the Bronze Age Batman, not only by introducing Barbara Gordon, but the TV show forcing DC to bring back to the comics villains that had been considered useless by the editors for over a decade, such as the Joker and Catwoman.

[halloweenjack]

...and the last episode of Star Trek TOS had a crazy lady switching bodies with Kirk because Starfleet wouldn't let women become starship captains. WTH, 60s TV?

[halloweenjack]

Honestly, this doesn't hold a lot for me, besides the sight of a woman in widow's weeds and motorcycle boots riding the Wall of Death. However, that in and of itself is pretty damn cool.

[omimouse]

Ah! Now I remember it, yes. See, the only thing that I really paid attention to was the human knot. Namely, I kept trying to figure out where people's hands were in relation to the other two in said knot . . .

-coughs-

[freddylloyd]

Yes, those are the sort of changes that mean the general “Golden Age” and “Silver Age” stratifications don't apply well to the Batman comics. It's easy to spot the break at 1956 for other parts of DC's pantheon. For Batman and Robin, the change isn't apparent in the art style, as a previous commenter noted, and the general "Silver Age" has at least two clearly distinct portions. (I don't see a big distinction between "New Look" and "Camp period," but others do.)

As a result, Groucho Reviews says Batman's "Silver Age" started in 1964, Comics Archive uses 1955 or '56 as the start point, and the DC Database says there's no exact changeover date.

Some shifts in the tone of Batman stories are linked to a change of editor: the simultaneous arrival of Whitney Ellsworth and Robin in 1940, the "New Look" driven by Julius Schwartz in 1964. But the Ellsworth/Jack Schiff transition seems more gradual, without a clear turning-point. Batman met his first aliens in 1947, after all.

[droolfangrrl]

Hm... my own personal response has been, "ACK VERMIN" and then assist my cat to kill it, if she wants to "play" then I dispatched it with a shovel.