The Flash (2022)

[Silver Nemesis]

In addition to everything Silver stated, Meriwether's Catwoman was absolutely the most accessible Catwoman for fans of the '66 series that were around during the VHS era. As "Batman The Movie" was the only 'official' VHS release that was widely available to own when it came to Adam West Batman (and even on DVD for a good long while as well!). Having said that, I think there is a fandom who have a lot of nostalgia and affection for Meriwether's Catwoman due to not only her distinguishing interpretation, but also being the one that could be visited and revisited on home video.

This is a very good point and a major factor in why I'm so fond of Meriwether's Catwoman. I regularly watched reruns of the TV show as a kid, but didn't actually get my own copies on DVD until I was in my early twenties. Throughout my teenage years, the only Catwomen I had on video were Meriwether, Pfeiffer and Barbeau. That's probably the case for most Batman fans of a certain age.

A few more comments on Meriwether's Catwoman.

Meriwether and Pfeiffer were the only live action Catwoman actresses who used two very different voices to distinguish between their costumed and civilian personae. Actually I think Berry might have done this too, but I can't remember for sure. Pfeiffer adopted a deeper Joan Crawford-esque voice when wearing the mask, while Meriwether slipped into a Russian accent whenever she was Kitka. Meriwether's Catwoman was more physically aggressive than Newmar's: she strikes one of her henchmen in the face early in the movie, and she knocks Batman into the sea during the final battle on the submarine.

She has all the defining qualities of the comic book Catwoman: the costume, mask, claws and whip, a cat called 'Hecate' and an alter ego that's romantically involved with Bruce Wayne. The storyline about her using her alter ego to seduce a member of the Wayne household as part of a kidnapping scheme to get Batman is somewhat similar to the plot of 'The Duped Domestics' (Batman Vol 1 #22, April 1944), only in the comic it was Alfred she manipulated rather than Bruce.

Of course Meriwether's involvement with the Batman franchise continued beyond the 1966 movie. She appeared in Return to the Batcave: The Misadventures of Adam and Burt (2003) and played an aging Selina Kyle in the 2018 fan film Rise of the Catwoman.
 

Meriwether also appeared as King Tut's lawyer, Lucilee Diamond, in the animated film Batman vs. Two-Face (2017). This movie playfully implies that Diamond is the Catwoman from the 1966 movie and that she's a separate character from Newmar's version. This isn't necessarily canon, but it would explain why Bruce didn't recognise Kitka in the 1966 film.

Meriwether reappearing on Season 2, post-"Batman The Movie", as Lisa Carson in the two-part episodes, "King Tut's Coup", "Batman's Waterloo" was also a very nice salute from producer William Dozier. For a show that didn't exactly shy away from sexual innuendo's from time to time, Bruce accepting an invitation from Meriwether's Lisa Carson for some late night milk and homemade cookies (and you know much, much more) inside her apartment stands out.

Who could blame him!?!   

Lisa Carson has also had a life beyond the TV show. She returned in the comic story 'Cleopatra's Reign' (Batman '66 Vol 1 #10, June 2014) and inspired the similarly named character Leigh Carson in 'A New Dawn' (Batman Confidential Vol 1 #26-28, April-June 2009), which was later reprinted in trade paperback form as Batman: King Tut's Tomb (2010). Carson's TV episodes also inspired the Bronze Age comic story 'The Secret of the Sphinx Sinister' (Detective Comics Vol 1 #508, November 1981), in which Meriwether's role was filled, appropriately enough, by Selina Kyle.

[The Joker]

Silver, my friend, I honestly wasn't aware of Meriwether participating in that 2018 "Rise of the Catwoman" fan film, or that Bronze Age 'The Secret of the Sphinx Sinister' story! I'm pretty sure I have those King Tut issues in Batman Confidential in a long box, but I'll probably have to dig em out sometime and re-read that story, cause I honestly don't really remember much about it (Confidential's Joker origin story "Lovers and Madmen" is pretty much what I most remember about Confidential's comic run).

You're the oracle of Batman history around here. No doubt about it.

[thecolorsblend]

Meriwether also appeared as King Tut's lawyer, Lucilee Diamond, in the animated film Batman vs. Two-Face (2017). This movie playfully implies that Diamond is the Catwoman from the 1966 movie and that she's a separate character from Newmar's version. This isn't necessarily canon, but it would explain why Bruce didn't recognise Kitka in the 1966 film.

I buy it. Always wondered why Bruce wouldn't have instantly recognized "Ms. Kitka" as Catwoman since he saw Newmar without her mask often enough.

Originally, I just figured "Theater of the absurd, don't overthink it". But the above is MUCH more persuasive, canon or not.

[Silver Nemesis]

Silver, my friend, I honestly wasn't aware of Meriwether participating in that 2018 "Rise of the Catwoman" fan film, or that Bronze Age 'The Secret of the Sphinx Sinister' story! I'm pretty sure I have those King Tut issues in Batman Confidential in a long box, but I'll probably have to dig em out sometime and re-read that story, cause I honestly don't really remember much about it (Confidential's Joker origin story "Lovers and Madmen" is pretty much what I most remember about Confidential's comic run).

You're the oracle of Batman history around here. No doubt about it.

I'm glad there are other fans on this site who are as interested in these overlooked corners of the Bat-universe as I am. I only recently found out about that fan film myself. It's a shame they didn't make more episodes. If Selina was 'Nana' then presumably her husband and child would've been Bruce and Helena respectively? Maybe the makers will revive the project at some point. I've got to say, Meriwether looks incredible for a woman in her mid eighties. She's still beautiful.

Apparently she also appeared in a horror comedy called Hell's Kitty (2018) along with Adrienne Barbeau, Michael Berryman and Doug Jones. I haven't seen this movie, but Meriwether's character is listed on the credits as 'Grandma Kyle'. It looks pretty bad.

Regarding Detective Comics Vol 1 #508, that was an attempt at publishing a King Tut story at a time when DC didn't have legal access to the character, so they just created a new villain named Gregory Griffin who believed himself to the Pharaoh Khafre. Nowadays Griffin is often acknowledged as being the Bronze Age/Earth-One version of Tut. The Tomb of King Tut was the story that properly introduced the title character into the Modern Age. It happens to be one of my favourite Batman stories of the 2000s and one of my top five Modern Age Riddler comics.

If like me you enjoy stories with an ancient Egyptian flavour, and if you're a fan of King Tut and the Riddler, then I highly recommend this comic. It's sadly overlooked, probably because it was published in Batman Confidential. But it's a really fun adventure full of riddles, death traps and nods to the King Tut TV episodes. The New 52 comics have portrayed the Riddler and King Tut as friends, but their association first began in this story when they were fighting on opposite sides. For that reason alone, it has some historical significance.

I buy it. Always wondered why Bruce wouldn't have instantly recognized "Ms. Kitka" as Catwoman since he saw Newmar without her mask often enough.

Originally, I just figured "Theater of the absurd, don't overthink it". But the above is MUCH more persuasive, canon or not.

The only other explanation I could think of is that the movie might be a prequel to the TV show, taking place at a time when Batman has yet to see Catwoman unmasked. Either that or her Russian accent just threw him. But the concept of there being more than one Catwoman works too. Kathy Kane briefly became 'Cat-Woman' in the Silver Age comics, so there is a precedent for there being more than one character to adopt that costumed identity at the same time.

I never had a problem accepting different actors playing the same characters in the Westverse. We had three Catwomen, two Riddlers and three Mister Freezes. But I was always fine with accepting that there was only ever really one version of each. That said, it can be fun trying to think up explanations for why there might be multiple different versions of certain villains. With Catwoman, the Batman vs. Two-Face movie offers a possible explanation why there might be at least two different Catwomen. If we accept that, then it follows that Kitt's version could also be a separate character. This would account for why their personalities are all slightly different.

The Batman '66 comic offered an explanation for the two Riddlers by suggesting that the John Astin version was a mask that Frank Gorshin's Riddler wore when committing certain crimes.

Again, I don't think there's really any need to explain or acknowledge the change in actor, but if you were going to do so then this was a fun way of addressing the issue. Explaining the differences between the three Mister Freezes might be trickier.

[The Laughing Fish]

Has anybody else noticed this movie's new release date is the same date when B89 first came out throughout the US? June 23rd.

Anyway, I'm not very fond of Grace Randolph and I don't take her seriously, but a week ago, she said she heard Affleck doesn't die in the film after all. Even going so far to say he doesn't want to close the door on playing Batman entirely just yet. The only other scooper I remember claiming Batfleck was never going to die was Mikey Sutton, who had been saying this for many months now.

Maybe there is something happening behind the scenes with this Discovery merger, but I'm not so willing take Randolph's word. Back in January, she was mocking Snyderverse fans for not "moving on" and "give the new slate a chance", now she credits them for keeping the faith. For all I know, this is her way of mocking the fans further by trying to get their hopes up.

If anyone's interested, here are screenshots to what she tweeted in this video, but beware, this YouTube commentator makes some obnoxious comments. So feel free to skim through the video and mute the guy.

[Gotham Knight]

It is being suggested now that part of the Flash delay might be because it is now very, very apparent that Miller is a problem child. Could The Flash retcon himself? Anyway, Miller seems to have completely lost it. The stories keep coming that he is an easily agitated weirdo who will attack you as soon as he can maneuver you into a conflict.

[thecolorsblend]

It is being suggested now that part of the Flash delay might be because it is now very, very apparent that Miller is a problem child. Could The Flash retcon himself? Anyway, Miller seems to have completely lost it. The stories keep coming that he is an easily agitated weirdo who will attack you as soon as he can maneuver you into a conflict.

He went ham on a pregnant woman so I can't say any of this is too surprising.

Still, he had that reputation before principal photography commenced on the movie so I wonder why he was brought back at all.

[The Dark Knight]

It is being suggested now that part of the Flash delay might be because it is now very, very apparent that Miller is a problem child. Could The Flash retcon himself? Anyway, Miller seems to have completely lost it. The stories keep coming that he is an easily agitated weirdo who will attack you as soon as he can maneuver you into a conflict.

There's an established trend now and it's that Ezra has issues. I'd like to know if it impacts upon the film's box office in any way. And if people who loathe Miller feel any different about his conduct next year. And that's not taking in to account the possibility of more incidents like this happening. On another point, I've seen talk there was possibly a scene filmed for Aquaman 2 that featured Keaton meeting Momoa. But because The Flash is coming out after that movie it has now been pulled - but it may be used later. Sounds believable actually.

[eledoremassis02]

I wonder if it could be put into the flash as a mid or post credit scene?

[The Dark Knight]

ViewerAnon seemingly infers ZSJL is canon to The Flash instead the Whedon cut, which I wouldn't even use for a drink coaster or bargain bin frisbee. He also deleted a tweet suggesting Ben now isn't 100% done with Batman as first thought. He said deleted the tweet "not because it's untrue but because it might draw a little too much attention. I got excited with some new information and need to learn to pace myself." Anon is right more times than he's wrong, so this changes things and keeps uncertainty and possibilities up in the air. If legit, are we looking at reshoots to change timeline elements of The Flash? Or is this simply leaving the door open to the Deathstroke script for HBO Max?