Talisman: Batman Super-Villains Designer Explains Why They Didn’t Include Catwoman

USAopoly lets you control several of Batman’s most iconic villains in Talisman: Batman Super-Villains Edition, as you try and hunt down Batman in Arkham Asylum. You’ll be able to use characters like Harley Quinn, The Penguin, Clayface, Poison Ivy, and of course The Joker amongst others in the game, but if you’re looking at the roster you might notice one rather popular character omitted from the group. That would be a certain Selina Kyle, otherwise known as Catwoman, who has been one of the most prominent villains in Batman’s world. That said, she’s also fought by his side numerous times over the years, and when ComicBook.com spoke to Talisman: Batman Lead Game Designer Pat Marino about the game, he explained why they left her out of the game.

“Talisman: Batman Super-Villains Edition is based on the New 52 era of the DC universe, so we focused on the key villains from these storylines,” Marino said. “The playable villains are some of the most well-known antagonists in the series and include Bane, Two-Face, The Joker and The Penguin, just to name a few. One villain we made a conscious decision to omit as a playable character was Catwoman. We wanted to stay as true as possible to the source material, and the setting of the game didn’t align with her story.

“Catwoman was not an Arkham Asylum inmate, and by this point in her story arc, Catwoman is more of an ally to Batman than she is a villain,” Marino said. “We think we captured the major favorites from this run of the comics and have received positive responses to our Rogues’ Gallery.”

It makes a lot of sense actually, though it is a bummer she isn’t featured in the game in some form or fashion. Who knows though, maybe if there’s a sequel to the game we’ll get more villains and perhaps Batman will get an ally in Catwoman to help him out on the board.

For more about the game you check out our full interview right here, and the official description for the Talisman: Batman Super-Villains Edition board game can be found below.

“Sneak, fight and search your way to victory in this reimagined version of Talisman. With sights set on a villain and multiple obstacles ahead, players navigate through Arkham Asylum to evade orderlies, officers, and Batman, Robin, and Batgirl to release the inmates and become King or Queen of the underworld.”

What’s Included:

1 Custom Illustrated Game Board
12 Character cards
1 Batman card
102 Encounter cards
24 Feat cards
28 Purchase cards
4 Security Key cards
4 Alignment tokens
6 Six-Sided dice
12 Custom sculpted character figures
1 custom sculpted Batman figure
6 Stat boards
30 Coins
30 Encounter tokens and 36 Fate tokens
Rules

Have you played the game? Let us know what you thought of it in the comments and feel free to hit me up on Twitter @MattAguilarCB for all things tabletop!