Catwoman Sets Up Selina Kyle's Devious New Mission

Selina makes a big move in Catwoman #25 that could secure her future in Alleytown. Is she being altruistic or something else?

(Warning: The following contains spoilers for Catwoman #25 by Ram V, John Paul Leon, FCO Plascencia, and Ariana Maher, on sale now.)

Selina Kyle is thinking big in Catwoman #25. In the story, "Return to Alleytown," Catwoman makes a trip to her hometown and after a run-in with some local kids, she decides she can help them while also helping herself. What Catwoman winds up doing sets herself up to be a future Queen of Crime in Alleytown. She might not exactly be a philanthropist, but she's also not a narcissistic sociopath.

Catwoman has been robbing the streets of Gotham since 1940 in Batman #1. Created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger, Selina Kyle was originally designed to be a supervillain for Batman but has since evolved into a kind of antiheroine and love interest for Bruce Wayne. Selina was a troubled kid with neglectful parents who wound up in an orphanage. There she ran afoul of a corrupt administrator and again took to the streets. This time she winds up in Alleytown where Mama Fortuna, an elderly leader of a gang of young thieves, took her in. Fortuna molded Selina into a seasoned, skilled thief. Even though Fortuna took Selina and others in, she treated the children like slaves and took all the money they stole. Fortuna had both a big impact on Selina's life, but Selina also resented her for her treatment.