Cookie-Cutter Counterparts: The Catwomen

Selina Kyle was in many ways the antithesis of Bruce Wayne. The female to his male, the criminal to his crimefighter, the cat to his bat. Each Selina had similar traits, style, and subtance while diverging in history evident in parallel worlds. And it was these differences that molded two distinct women from the femme fatales they were to the romantic interests of the Dark Knights that they would later become. Yet despite moments, perhaps even years of happiness, their lives were nevertheless marked by tragedy largely of their own making. Let's dissect these two ladies further:

• Earth-One's Catwoman began her career inspired by the felines she grew up around in her father's pet shop, coupled with boredom over a civilian life. Earth-Two's Catwoman was an abused wife to a millionaire who adopted her guise to gain vengence and independence.

• The silver age Selina had a sister, the golden age Ms. Kyle a brother. While the sister Felicia who perished in Swamp Thing's bog, the brother Karl became the King of Cats temporarily.
• While neither Catwoman were homicidal individuals by their disposition,  there were allegations as such one two occasions...when the the junior version faced the owner of circus cats and when the senior version used her cat-of-nine tails on a henchman. Each case was later disproved after further examination.
• While both ladies wore the same classic purple costume trimmed with the green cape, the newer version wore a jumpsuit with a tail and then a blue jumpsuit with red mask while the original was first clad in a stylish green dress and then a yellow gown with red cape and a hideous cat mask.
• Earth-One's Catwoman battled her counterpart's daughter the Huntress, which led to the end of Kyle's criminal activities. Earth-Two's Catwoman lost her life when she resumed her criminal career, which led to the beginning of Helena's Huntress career months earlier.
• The older Catwoman later married her arch-foe and retired from her crooked career, while the younger Catwoman dated her enemy's civilian identity briefly before they broke up.
•  Miss Kyle reclaimed her costumed career when motivated by jealously over Talia Al Ghul's budding romance with the Batman, Mrs. Wayne  reclaimed her illegal alias when blackmailed by former henchman Silky Cernak with a forged photograph.