The Dark Knight Rises Why Selina Kyle Isnt Called Catwoman

The Dark Knight Rises: Why Selina Kyle Isn’t Called Catwoman

Anne Hathaway makes her DC debut in The Dark Knight Rises as Selina Kyle, but her character is never referred to as Catwoman – why not?

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The Dark Knight Rises Why Selina Kyle Isnt Called Catwoman

Why doesn’t The Dark Knight Rises ever bite the bullet and refer to Anne Hathaway’s Selina Kyle as Catwoman? Coming off the back of Christopher Nolan’s game-changing The Dark Knight, expectations were high for the trilogy’s final part, especially after Tom Hardy’s Bane was confirmed as the primary villain. Alongside the Bane announcement, Anne Hathaway was unveiled as the Selina Kyle of Nolan’s Batman universe. Known in feline circles as Catwoman, this iconic DC character was famously brought to life by Michelle Pfeiffer in Batman Returns, and will forever rank as one of the most recognizable faces in the Rogues Gallery, appearing in animation, TV, comic and film.

Selina has been a villain, an ally, and a lover to Bruce Wayne, and Anne Hathaway’s iteration proves a mixture of all three. Initially attracting Bruce’s attention as a thief who dresses in black and fights with the skill of an Olympic gymnast, Selina betrays the Caped Crusader by selling him out to Bane, but she soon sees the error of her ways, and helps the rapidly-recovered vigilante to seize back Gotham City. The Dark Knight Rises ends with Bruce and Selina living happily ever after, and Alfred looking on satisfied. Curiously, however, Hathaway’s character is never explicitly called “Catwoman.”

This creative decision is part of Nolan’s wider attempt to make his Batman movies as realistic as possible, keeping the comic book action grounded at all times, and this means foregoing the outlandish costumes and cartoon-ish names. It’s easy to buy Selina Kyle as a Robin Hood who steals from the rich to help those who, like her, have been left behind by Gotham’s murky world of corruption. This fits neatly within Nolan’s established tone, but Selina prowling the streets of Gotham proclaiming to be the “Catwoman” strays a little too far into the comic book-y realm Nolan was desperately trying to avoid. As a result, Hathaway’s Catwoman is vastly toned down compared to any other version. Her costume is just a stealthy, black ensemble, and only a carefully positioned pair of goggles allude to Selina’s feline theme. Even the whip is replaced with a firearm and burglary essentials – because why would anyone actually use a whip in a real fight?

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There’s also a solid in-universe reason why Selina Kyle isn’t called Catwoman. In Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy, the superhero and supervillain name come more naturally to Gotham’s theatrical types. Bruce takes on the Batman persona as a way to strike fear into criminals, while Joker develops an entire clown character to reflect his philosophy on human nature. In Batman Begins, meanwhile, Jonathan Crane’s Scarecrow tag derives from his insanity. Once a super-name is settled upon, it’s then up to the headline writers of Gotham City to enshrine these nicknames into the cultural vernacular. But this process doesn’t apply to Selina Kyle whatsoever. As a thief, theatricality is the last thing Selina needs in The Dark Knight Rises, and she’d sooner blend into a crowd than stand out. It makes no sense for her to adopt a dramatic name like Catwoman, when her entire operation relies on anonymity. And unlike Batman and Joker, Selina is never caught in action by the paparazzi, who otherwise might’ve spotted the goggle ears and come up with “Catwoman” themselves.

Inevitably, some Batman fans were disappointed that Selina Kyle never went “full Catwoman” in The Dark Knight Rises. Nolan perhaps could’ve found a way to incorporate the title without compromising his artistic vision, even just as a one-off mention like Robin gets. With that said, there’s no denying that Anne Hathaway’s Selina is purpose-built for the Dark Knight trilogy’s world of urban gray. A more authentic version might’ve satisfied Catwoman fans initially, but wouldn’t feel believable alongside Christian Bale’s Batman.

Link Source : https://screenrant.com/dark-knight-rises-selina-kyle-not-catwoman-reason/

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