The Best Movie Version of Catwoman Can Never Be Replaced

When Batman #1 hit comic shelves in April 1940, Bill Finger and Bob Kane introduced the character of Selina Kyle/The Cat into the Batman mythos. Eventually, she’d take on the more recognizable Catwoman moniker and has become a staple of nearly every Batman TV show, podcast, and video game adaptation ever since. Everyone just adores the morally ambiguous antics of this burglar, who alternates between seeming like the perfect romantic match for Batman and also his ultimate foil. Even the world’s greatest detective can’t always stay two steps ahead of this dynamic lady.

Naturally, such a prolific comic book character has also crept into endless Batman movies. Lee Meriwether was the first woman to portray the character in live-action theatrical cinema in 1966, followed by four more, stretching from 1992 to 2022. A bevy of award-winning artists have taken on the character, but only one is the ultimate version of Catwoman that can never be duplicated. Unsurprisingly, Michelle Pfeiffer is the reigning queen of Catwoman forever and ever.

Michelle Pfeiffer Is Just So Entertaining as Catwoman

For some comic book characters adapted to live-action cinema on multiple occasions, there’s a clear victor. For instance, it’s obvious Ron Perlman is the superior Hellboy among the three men who’ve played the character. Similarly, Willem Dafoe’s Norman Osborne is apparently greater than Chris Cooper’s brief The Amazing Spider-Man 2 iteration of the same baddie. For Catwoman, though, there hasn’t been a full-on dud version of the character. Anne Hathaway, Zoe Kravitz, and Lee Meriwether were all absolutely delightful inhabiting this part. Even 2004’s dreadful Catwoman featured Halle Berry giving it her campy all to such a ludicrous vision of the character.

Even with this glorious track record, it’s impossible to top Michelle Pfeiffer’s Catwoman. For one thing, Pfeiffer is endlessly captivating in the role. This consistently transfixing artist just grabs every inch of your eyeballs as she chews up the screen as a resurrected Selina Kyle who throws all caution to the wind. Tim Burton’s maximalist expressionistic vision of Gotham also gives Pfieffer’s Catwoman so many iconic shots to inhabit. Just look at that “Hell here” image where the pink neon glow of Kyle’s apartment vividly contrasts with the snowy blues outside in Gotham City.

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Pfeiffer’s sexually charged and chaotic unpredictability also makes a fantastic foil to Michael Keaton’s Batman. The Batman/Catwoman rapport is one that various Batman movies have always wrung entertaining out of, but Batman Returns especially had a blast clashing the morally upright vigilante with a tornado of mayhem. Watching this iteration of Catwoman bounce off actors as endlessly fun as Christopher Walken and Danny DeVito is also a riot. The specific visual and casting trappings informing Batman Returns accentuate the joys in Pfeiffer’s Catwoman.

Michelle Pfeiffer’s Catwoman Is Unabashedly Silly and That’s Great

Another joy of the Catwoman from Batman Returns? How she’s so unabashedly Catwoman. Strutting around in a tight leather suit and with pointy cat ears (not to mention doing things like gobbling up birds or purring), this version of the character matches Michelle Pfeiffer’s audaciousness to a tee. This is not a “grounded” vision of Catwoman, too timid to display a costume and behavioral traits of the character that have existed in the comics for ages. It’s instead an incarnation that embraces Tim Burton’s skewed vision of Gotham City.

That just lets Michelle Pfeiffer really excel and pushes her version of the character among other strong iterations of the character in The Batman and The Dark Knight Rises that just didn’t quite go all the way with fully translating the character’s source material goofiness. Even considering all these factors, it’s worth mentioning that Pfeiffer would have some serious competition if one were discussing all live-action versions of Catwoman. In Batman‘s third season, Eartha Kitt portrayed the character and instantly became an icon in the role. Like with Pfieffer, there was a conviction to Kitt’s Catwoman that was utterly captivating.

Tragically, Kitt didn’t get cast in the role until after the 1966 film adaptation of Adam West’s Batman. Thus, the big-screen Catwoman role firmly belongs to Michelle Pfeiffer. That isn’t to disparage the excellent work people like Hathaway and Kravitz did in the part. However, nobody in the Catwoman role on the big screen could hope to topple the once-in-a-lifetime joys of Pfeiffer as Catwoman. She just brought such a unique, fully-committed, and gonzo energy to this staple of Batman lore that lives on eternally.

Batman Returns is now streaming on Max.