Absolute Catwoman #4 Is Building Towards Something Fun, but It Lacks Resonance (Review)

The Absolute Universe is DC’s newest, biggest alternate universe, and it’s made an incredible name for itself thus far, including five ongoing series and, so far, three limited series that have all been extended to twelve issues. Absolute Catwoman’s adventures fall into that second category, with her first arc following her reunion with her old group, the Calicos, as she races to steal an artifact known as the Yarn before Cassandra Cain’s League of Shadows can get their hands on it. So far, the battles have been big and bombastic, with the threat of Cass and her parallels and connection to Selina being the greatest parts of this story by far.

However, as fantastic as the parallels between the women are, the rest of the series is lacking in emotional connections. The Calicos themselves are indispensable to the plot and are the constant focus of Selina’s arc, but they hardly feel like they’re her friends at all. This arc is moving much too fast without giving us any time to grow attached to the characters we’re supposed to care about, and that’s dragging the entire story down with it. This arc has good beats, but no connective tissue to make them hit hard.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Pros	Cons
Fluid, gorgeously colored art with amazing expressions	Emotional beats don’t hit as hard as they should because the side cast isn’t developed
A fantastic parallel between Catwoman and Cass	Somewhat basic plot points
Selina’s arc takes a definite upswing	Costumes for Huntress and the Question that do not work

Resolving Problems Without Building Bonds

This issue’s biggest strength is, without a doubt, the building tension between Catwoman and Cass. It revealed that Selina turned herself in when she believed the explosion killed the young Cass, where she was recruited by Black Mask. Selina has lived her life trying to make up for Cass’s supposed death, but now she’s realizing that might have all been in vain, as Cass is alive and blames her. Both have their reasons for wanting the Yarn, and the parallel narrations do wonders to elevate their dynamic. Selina definitely doesn’t understand Cass yet, who, to be fair, feels like an entirely different character than her one-shot, but that’s definitely by design, so it has a pass for now. The seeds of their final confrontation are set, and it’s tons of fun to see.

However, the rest of the issue has some serious structural problems. The biggest is that this marks a turn in Catwoman’s arc, where she’s choosing to embrace her friends and rely on them instead of running away. The problem there is that we hardly know these friends. Both Huntress and the Question are about as developed as cardboard cutouts, so Selina’s decision to embrace them falls flat because we hardly know anything about or have connected with them. This issue does nothing to make us care about the Calicos, which it definitely needed to, as the arc only has two issues left, and the remaining ones will definitely heavily feature the clash between Cass and Catwoman; there isn’t much room left to do that.

Beautiful Art and Confusing Designs

Bengal continues to provide incredible art for this series, with Giovanna Niro giving us some positively spectacular coloring. Niro’s colors are an absolute treat, from the all-encompassing fiery hues in the skyline to the subtle red glow of the many screens in the urban jungle. My personal highlight is the shift between the cool blues for the young Cass and the harsh red for her resolute, violent present. Bengal’s art continues to be clean and fluid in a very, very fun way, but the greatest bits are definitely the expressions. Every character has such subtle but detailed expressions that say so much. Selina’s resignation turning to angry determination, Cass’s boredom as she fights Selina, all of this conveys so much about their characters, and I cannot get enough of it.

However, we now come to the elephant in the room. This issue gave us Huntress and the Question’s costumes in full view as they fight, and I have to say that I am not a fan. Frankly, these designs don’t work for the characters. Obviously, given that they’re Calicos, their costumes have to incorporate elements of Selina’s, but that restriction takes away so much. Helena’s suit lacks any of the embellishments and sass that make her character and original design work so well, and the full suit with the white lines just isn’t very appealing. The Question definitely got the worst of it, though. This isn’t a Question costume. It’s a recycled Barbara Gordon Batgirl suit with a full face mask. Nothing about this suit makes me think about the Question at all beyond the mask, but because that’s blue, it loses all of the charm of the original anyways.

These designs aren’t inherently bad, but they definitely do not work for the characters in question. Superhero redesigns are hard to do, given that so much of their character is often conveyed in their suit. Redesigns need to harken back to what made the original work, but these don’t do that. These costumes are so definitively not working for the characters that I often found myself pulled out of the story to question them. Overall, the art in this book is beautiful, which makes these costumes stand out even more.

What do you hope we get out of the rest of this arc: development for the Calicos, or a climactic finish between Selina and Cass? Let us know your vote in the comments below!

Absolute Catwoman #4 is on sale now!

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