Top 5 favorite Catwoman moments/scenes

[Catbat]

... inspired by the previous post :-)

[Catwoman]

Making me pick only 5 is so not fair. And do I include Selina sequences? Or just in-costume Catwoman?

I can say the finale is my favorite scene in any medium of fiction ever. Hence why my profile has almost always included a pic, quotes, or something of that nature.

I love her first encounter with Batman, the "Life's a bitch, now so am I" and "There you are" sequences.

I love her first time. I actually had a moment in the girl's locker room once chiding this overweight girl about letting people make fun of her so easily after I'd told them to f*** off and leave her alone that kind of reminds me of that scene. I didn't quite backflip away into the darkness after, but still. lol.

The jaunt through Shreck's. Smashing stuff, decapitating mannequins, disarming security guards with her whip, and blowing the place sky high, ug. Sounds like a fun night out.

Her meeting with the Penguin and how she can't keep him on task. "I'll come back later." Reminds me of many conversations I've had in my life.

Yea. There's no way the woman using the "Catwoman" name can limit it to just 5 favorites, even omitting the out of costume scenes. Have fun boys. lol.

[The Laughing Fish]

My favourite Selina Kyle/Catwoman scenes are:

• The heartbreaking final scene she shares with Batman, before getting her revenge over Max Shreck.
• Her first appearance in costume when she beats and slashes up the creep who tried to assault that woman.
• Kicking Batman's ass.
• Her emotional breakdown she suffers after her "rebirth", and becomes Catwoman.
• The callback to the mistletoe scene while Selina and Bruce are dancing at the costume party. Ironically, the two people not in costume learn of their actual costumed alter egos.

[Catwoman]

My favourite Selina Kyle/Catwoman scenes are:

• The heartbreaking final scene she shares with Batman, before getting her revenge over Max Shreck.

Fav scene ever as said above. Glad you see you picked it as your No. 1 as well.

• Her first appearance in costume when she beats and slashes up the creep who tried to assault that woman.

Tic! Tac! Toe! I only mentioned the part where she chastises the would-be victim, but that's so awesome. There's a lot of people I've wanted to give that treatment to. I probably will someday. Here's the evidence, coppers.

• Kicking Batman's ass.

• Her emotional breakdown she suffers after her "rebirth", and becomes Catwoman.

Haunting as hell, then and now. That one hits a bit close to home. I've had a couple of those "breakdowns." Which resulted in a lot of other stuff being broken.

• The callback to the mistletoe scene while Selina and Bruce are dancing at the costume party. Ironically, the two people not in costume learn of their actual costumed alter egos.

The thing is, they are in costume, Selina too at that point. But I get what you're saying. I love that part. Bruce's face is hilarious when he sees the Derringer. Selina's kind of heartbroken reply of "I don't know, anymore" when Bruce asks who she thinks she is. And then the kiss and her looking up at the mistletoe and regarding it happily. It's like one last fleeting moment of a happy thought for a condemned woman. That part and the part where she tells Alfred to tell Bruce he makes her feel the way she hopes she really is (knowing after like 68 viewings of that movie that she isn't) always tug at me hard with the bitter irony.

[The Laughing Fish]

• Her emotional breakdown she suffers after her "rebirth", and becomes Catwoman.

Haunting as hell, then and now. That one hits a bit close to home. I've had a couple of those "breakdowns." Which resulted in a lot of other stuff being broken.

That scene is so uncomfortable to watch that it might be the most relatable moment of the entire franchise. Anybody who calls Button's films "style over substance" and "cold, lifeless, mechanical" is talking out of their asses. Burton doesn't shy away from the emotion of feeling alienated, a lose of innocence and rage that people tend to suffer from in a moment of despair.

Emotional breakdowns are so common than most people dare to admit, yet they're not comfortable to talk about them, even though it's really nothing to be ashamed of. But I guess when it comes to movies of this nature, people can't cope without some pretentious dialogue or jokes.

[Catwoman]

• Her emotional breakdown she suffers after her "rebirth", and becomes Catwoman.

Haunting as hell, then and now. That one hits a bit close to home. I've had a couple of those "breakdowns." Which resulted in a lot of other stuff being broken.

That scene is so uncomfortable to watch that it might be the most relatable moment of the entire franchise. Anybody who calls Button's films "style over substance" and "cold, lifeless, mechanical" is talking out of their asses. Burton doesn't shy away from the emotion of feeling alienated, a lose of innocence and rage that people tend to suffer from in a moment of despair.

Emotional breakdowns are so common than most people dare to admit, yet they're not comfortable to talk about them, even though it's really nothing to be ashamed of. But I guess when it comes to movies of this nature, people can't cope without some pretentious dialogue or jokes.

Preach it, Brother Fish.

[Catbat]

1) "There you are" sequence - it perfectly shows how insidious Catwoman's seductive art can be. In my opinion, everything about this scene is greatly choreographed and acted: Catwoman confidently taking the initiative, Batman's confusion and fear / excitation and the overall sense of forbidden radiating from their interaction. As a sidenote, for some reason this scene has always polarized my friends, as some of them don't seem to accept how Batman got deceived and injured while others considered it an intriguing take on Catwoman's tactics and psychology. We might consult the community on that ;-)

2) The first fight on the rooftop with Batman. It's fast-paced and inventive (Catwoman manages to use all her weapons and skills against him in less than 2 minutes), showing an overpowered Batman for the first time since his confrontation with the Joker's goon in the clocktower. The two sequences actually have some elements in common, but in this case there's no real resolution since the circumstances eventually only lead to an apparent truce on the ledge.

3) Catwoman meeting the Penguin. Apart form the heavy sexual innuendo surfacing almost relentlessly, the two of them plotting shows that its' her idea of framing Batman that eventually prevails. Catwoman's line "To destroy Batman we must first turn him into what he hates the most, namely us" underscores her manipulative ways and deceptions, together with a surprising self-awareness of being Batman's nemesis.

4) The situation under the mistletoe. The other sexually dangerous moment of the movie also has Catwoman's best comebacks, together with a rapid worsening of the circumstances that contrasts with the apparent pause of the action.

5) The mugger scene, because it's a great introduction for Catwoman: the audience gets a glimpse of her unpredictable nature and ambiguous morality.

[Catwoman]

1) "There you are" sequence - it perfectly shows how insidious Catwoman's seductive art can be. In my opinion, everything about this scene is greatly choreographed and acted: Catwoman confidently taking the initiative, Batman's confusion and fear / excitation and the overall sense of forbidden radiating from their interaction. As a sidenote, for some reason this scene has always polarized my friends, as some of them don't seem to accept how Batman got deceived and injured while others considered it an intriguing take on Catwoman's tactics and psychology. We might consult the community on that ;-)

Even seeing it countless times like I have, the tension in this scene is palpable. I have to admit, while I truly love Batman, as a girl it's so fun even now watching her wind the ultimate He-Man up like a little toy and hurt him when it's the last possible thing on his brain. He wasn't thinking defense or strategy at that point. God gave men two heads and only enough blood for one at the time. His entire blood volume had worked its way south of the border at that point. And she took advantage of it. Of course he responds with the He-Man backhand off the ledge. I generally rate Batman a lot higher on the masculinity scale than most real men so I prefer to assume it was just an involuntary reaction to the pain and being attacked, but it's not out of the realm of possibility to think he also reacts out of embarrassment over being taken advantage of by a mere woman' superior guile so he has to exhibit his supposed superior physicality on her, as is the real world case a lot of the time. As for your friends, do they not accept that Batman was deceived and injured, or do they not accept that he was deceived and injured by, again, a mere woman, one who had just been injured and saved by Batman? I'm not at all the quickest to wave the sexism card around unless I really and truly believe reason is there.  but after a couple dealings here and elsewhere when it comes to comic characters, it's obvious that quite a few people have that mindset. In my admittedly biased opinion, I fall 100% in the second category. An intriguing take, and, again as a girl, fun as hell.

3) Catwoman meeting the Penguin. Apart form the heavy sexual innuendo surfacing almost relentlessly, the two of them plotting shows that its' her idea of framing Batman that eventually prevails. Catwoman's line "To destroy Batman we must first turn him into what he hates the most, namely us" underscores her manipulative ways and deceptions, together with a surprising self-awareness of being Batman's nemesis.

That scene leaves me with a few different thoughts. From a Catwoman standpoint, I have to admit that it's clear that she has bitten off a bit more than she can chew. She realizes that all-too-late after the death of the Ice Princess. In the moment, she's all in. I love the full version of the "Life's a bitch" quote to Batman because it adds so much context to her mindset at that point, and it's a travesty it wasn't kept in the movie in its entirety: "The world tells boys to conquer the world, and girls to wear clean panties. A man dressed as a bat is a he-man, but a woman dressed as a cat is a she-devil. I'm just living down to my expectations. Life's a bitch, now so am I." Batman isn't her enemy, Max Shreck is and most deservedly so, but in that moment, like I said, she's all in with the bad girl thing. She knows she's wrong, like when she asks her reflection in the window "Why are you doing this?" It causes her a lot of trouble (being tangled up in the Ice Princess' murder, being killed herself by Oswald, etc). See that's part of what I love about the character and part of what resonates with me. It's all tied to the initial action by Max, but she creates some of her own problems by seeing herself as far worse as she actually is. Been there, done that. Nobody died, including me obviously, but a lot of tears were shed before I realized all too late that I wasn't the horrible person I thought I was and had to portray because of the actions of somebody else.

Putting that all aside, the scene itself and Penguin's innuendo and Selina's growing annoyance make me giggle. Every unwanted sexually-motivated comment or advance, the guy could look like Robert Redford in his prime but I picture him like the Penguin in the moment lol. Helps me keep my wits about things. Makes me respond a bit more harshly than maybe I should, but eh.

4) The situation under the mistletoe. The other sexually dangerous moment of the movie also has Catwoman's best comebacks, together with a rapid worsening of the circumstances that contrasts with the apparent pause of the action.

Like I said, the tension with the ledge scene is palpable. The tension here is "Oh-my-f***ing-god"-able. I'll keep this as PG rated as I can but let's just say I really enjoy that part. Everything about it. The way she straddles him, the dialogue, the Cat kiss (one of my favorite parts of my own repertoire), the second talon attack, it's all too perfect. I love that when she says "You're the second man that killed me this week, but I've got seven lives left" instead of responding with a blank-ass "What the hell is with this chick?" stare, he says he tried to save her. I know that's what the script called for, but I appreciate it. I also love how she sets up the stab with the cold, cruel mental attack of "Seems like every woman you try to save ends up dead...or deeply resentful." Again he isn't her enemy and again I love him, but there's something delicious about that line.

5) The mugger scene, because it's a great introduction for Catwoman: the audience gets a glimpse of her unpredictable nature and ambiguous morality.

It was the purr-fect intro. I wonder how much of her old self she sees in the woman she saved. And sometimes (if you haven't noticed, based off my mood this movie can feel kind of different every single time I watch it) I wonder if she's trying to inspire the woman to not be such a damn weak pigeon by using a bit of tough love. I mentioned in my first post that I once had a similar confrontation with a girl. I stopped one in what was obviously a long line of incessant bullying incidents with her, then once the locker room was clear, right as she was thanking me just like in the movie (the movie wasn't on my mind though in that moment) I got her up against the wall and told her to toughen the f*** up and stop letting people walk over her like that. I was angry at the girls who were making fun of her but I was angrier at her for just taking it and letting it upset her. What I really wanted her to do was let it roll right off her shoulders, because none of the girls I saw making fun of her were worth a damn in their own right. Not saying I was either, but I didn't act like I was better than anyone. I don't know if I got through to her or not. I don't remember seeing much of her after that day, to be honest, and it makes me wonder even now if I did more harm than good, but anyways. I'm rambling. Yea. Wonderful scene.

[The Laughing Fish]

1) "There you are" sequence - it perfectly shows how insidious Catwoman's seductive art can be. In my opinion, everything about this scene is greatly choreographed and acted: Catwoman confidently taking the initiative, Batman's confusion and fear / excitation and the overall sense of forbidden radiating from their interaction. As a sidenote, for some reason this scene has always polarized my friends, as some of them don't seem to accept how Batman got deceived and injured while others considered it an intriguing take on Catwoman's tactics and psychology. We might consult the community on that ;-)

My only guess why anybody could criticise that scene is because Batman was easily caught off-guard by somebody who was a direct threat to him. But my response to that is it's one thing for him to fight petty crooks and freaks on a routine basis, it's another thing to be taken by surprise and be confronted by another vigilante who also becomes a creature of the night. Particularly against somebody who is of the opposite sex. I guess you can rationalise it as Batman getting a taste of his own medicine. He had adopted the image of an animal and become this mysterious being to intimidate his targets and now it's his turn to become the target.

Besides, judging how Catwoman failed to puncture the Batsuit for a second time during the mistletoe scene, I think it's safe to say Batman learned his lesson and never underestimated her again.

I reckon if people expected Batman to be always one step ahead of the villain and never have any momentary lapses, it would make for a very boring story. Catwoman using seductive tricks is not something invented by BR, it has happened in the comics. For example, take a look at this scene from the 1989 Catwoman mini-series. When Batman tries to arrest Selina after she made an attempt to attack and kill a corrupt cop for abusing her friend Holly Robinson, she seduces Batman with a kiss before knocking him out and scratching his bloody chest to make her escape. Batman concedes his defeat, but hints he won't make the same mistake in underestimating her again.

[Catbat]

(Ledge seduction) Even seeing it countless times like I have, the tension in this scene is palpable. [...] I generally rate Batman a lot higher on the masculinity scale than most real men so I prefer to assume it was just an involuntary reaction to the pain and being attacked, but it's not out of the realm of possibility to think he also reacts out of embarrassment over being taken advantage of by a mere woman' superior guile so he has to exhibit his supposed superior physicality on her, as is the real world case a lot of the time.

I totally agree, the scene reaches high levels of eroticism and it's basically my favourite among the ones portraying their relationship. My feeling is that Catwoman's ultimate goal was to perform an objectification of the batsuit in order to give Batman's costume a sexual meaning, thus corrupting and diminishing his power. Just like The Laughing Fish noted, Batman was not used to fight a female vigilante with roughly equal skills and capabilities who was also totally immune to his intimidating looks and theatrics. Therefore, when she took the initiative and started caressing his rubber suit in a sensual way, Batman had no idea how to react because the means he relied upon for both protection and aggression were not working with her. In my opinion, the tension created by this sequence stems from the precarious equilibrium between rubber fetish (which they seemingly both enjoy and it's also supported by the fact that the batsuit reproduces and highlights Batman's male features like the chest plates and the abs protections) and the physical threat represented by Catwoman's talons. Given the circumstances and the need to play their respective costumed identities, that was probably the only way to foreplay for them - at the same time, following that path also meant entering an extremely dangerous situation, especially for Batman. Also, even if Catwoman's purpose was to eventually injure Batman, that does not lessen the sexual ramifications implied by her seduction: she probably wanted to deceive him from the start, but in order to do that she had to win his trust first and create an erotic framework for him (i.e. seemingly worshipping his body through the batsuit), thus inevitably establishing a physical attraction between them.

I personally believe Batman's fierce reaction to the stabbing was mainly provoked by the acute pain her claws had inflicted him, but it's totally correct to assume that he was also aggravated by the fact that she had deceived him. I'd say that, right before being punctured, Batman was convinced she would have "gratified" him sexually for having saved her, so his backhanding her off the building also incorporated a strong element of frustration to it. Later on, when he recovered in the batcave, we see Batman angrily throwing away one of his gauntlets: it's highly plausible that he was still furious (and possibly also sexually frustrated) by the outcome of his encounter with Catwoman.

As for your friends, do they not accept that Batman was deceived and injured, or do they not accept that he was deceived and injured by, again, a mere woman, one who had just been injured and saved by Batman?

Well, most of them had problems accepting that he had repeatedly been beaten by Catwoman during the previous fight (which I personally don't see as an issue) and that the punishment culminated in him being deceived / ridiculed by a woman. The fact that he had saved her form falling certainly added a note of cruelty to the treatment he received, but again he should have known by then that she was dangerously unpredictable, so he contributed much to his own fate when he didn't take proper measures to protect himself. However, as I wrote, all these logic conclusions became really irrelevant when the "sex" element was introduced in their confrontation - for which I'm grateful to Tim Burton!

Overall, a great scene that never ceases to amaze me!