Catwoman made her first appearance in Batman comics way back in 1940, making her one of the first costumed villains to appear in his comics. By the time the Adam West TV show started, Catwoman had become one of the most popular of his villains thanks to the actresses portraying the role in that series.
After The Long Halloween, Catwoman changed forever, giving up her pure villain role for that of an antihero. When Batman Returns rolled around, Catwoman changed even further, and DC chose to rise her prominence in the comics as well. However, that does not mean everyone is Team Catwoman, as there are some very unpopular opinions about her on Reddit.
For years, Batman fans wanted to see him get together with Catwoman. While he had one risky relationship with one of his best female villains in Talia al Ghul, which resulted in the birth of Damian Wayne, it was Catwoman that fans loved. This was especially true after the Batman Returns movie teased it so heavily. However, not everyone wants to see this.
One reader who is not a fan is lilynguyen289 on Reddit, who posted a thread simply with the title, "unpopular opinion: not the biggest fan of Catwoman and the ship." Some responses agreed with them, saying that Tom King's run with the wedding ruined it for them.
There are some villains that pop up a lot in superhero movies and TV shows. In the world of Batman, one unpopular opinion about Joker is that he shows up too much and is a crutch for writers as well as producers of Batman TV and movies. It turns out some people feel the same about Catwoman.
On Reddit, wickedvicked wrote, "Catwoman is overrated and should stop popping up in Batman media." They went on to say that she's "not that interesting" and there are "plenty of other female characters that can be included."
Catwoman has been a beloved Batman character since the Adam West TV show, and she grew more in popularity after The Long Halloween made her more of an antihero than a fully-fledged villain. She doesn't have the unstable nature of other Batman villains and is a shade of grey in a universe that needs it.
However, GeraldEdgseffecaddy wrote on Reddit that Catwoman was their least favorite character. They simply described her as "some lady in a catsuit that's supposedly meant to be highly seductive femme fatal." Many superhero characters can be boiled down to simplistic basics, but Catwoman appears to be a particularly notable offender for a select few readers.
Batman has had a few major love interests in his life, but two of the most long-lasting were both his former villains. One was Catwoman, who he has been intertwined with since the 1940s. The other is Talia al Ghul, who debuted in the 1970s with her father, the evil Ra's al Ghul. While Batman almost married Catwoman, he had a child with Talia.
According to Cesar0fr0me on Reddit, Talia was "a more interesting love interest" than Catwoman. This relationship might have resulted in the birth of Damian Wayne, but it was always toxic and never as good as healthy for Bruce as the one with Catwoman.
Catwoman has been seen as a sexual femme fatale since the Adam West Batman days. That was made even true in Batman Returns with Michelle Pfeiffer's performance. On Reddit, GoldLightzz wrote that they hated Catwoman because her only purpose is "To be a sex symbol," and that she takes away from any property she appears in.
The Redditor also said that this was a problem in The Dark Knight Rises, though she wasn't actively sexualized there. While Catwoman has indeed sometimes used her sexuality to her advantage, many other fans expressed that they like how she's able to own her sexuality and use it to her advantage.
A lot of Batman fans love Batman and Catwoman's relationship most while it's kept flirty and isn't something overly serious. However, when the two almost got married, it could have been a major game-changer for both characters comic stories.
With that said, monkworm wrote that they "liked the idea of Batman actually marrying Catwoman" as one of their unpopular opinions. The wedding never happened, and that has really put a strain on their relationship in every way, but most fans seem to prefer it that way.
When looking at the live-action versions of Catwoman, most people agree that there is one that stands above them all. With the exception of the people who count the Adam West TV show, as far as the movies are concerned, most people look at Michelle Pfeiffer as the defining performance of the character.
On Reddit, escodoozer doesn't agree with this sentiment. "She’s hot," they wrote. "But that’s about it. Don’t get why people hype it up to be a good performance." Needless to say, this was a rare opinion in the thread, as most fans appreciated that Pfieffer mixed confidence, vulnerability, sensuaity, and danger into one package.
Even when people say they are not big on Michelle Pfeiffer in Batman Returns, they usually add the condition that at least she wasn't as bad as Halle Berry. In Catwoman, Berry won a Razzie and actually showed up to pick it up. The movie is one of the lowest-rated superhero movies ever.
However, Weird-Event-6924 wrote on Reddit that "Halle Berry did a better Catwoman than Michelle Pfeiffer." They then doubled down, saying Berry's Catwoman was "sexier" and "visually closer to a cat-person" than what has been delivered in other films.
Zoe Kravitz received a lot of praise for her performance as Catwoman in The Batman. Even with the change to her origin that made her Falcone's daughter, she impressed a lot of people by blending the character's mix of vulnerability and confidence. However, that doesn't mean everyone was sold.
On Reddit, Panda_is_Delicious wrote that "Zoe Kravitz did nothing for me as Catwoman. She was beautiful, but incredibly dull." While some agreed, most Redditors in the thread felt that Zoe was good in the movie.
Catwoman has been an antihero since The Long Halloween, and when Tom King took over writing Batman, he made sure to bring her into the Bat-Family. This was all part of the storyline that led to the wedding and eventual breakup, but it was something that had been slowly happening for decades.
However, one Redditor felt this was purely a King move and they didn't like it. "[No] matter how much Tom king shills for catwoman she will never be part of the bat family," they wrote. Others on Reddit pointed out how this has been part of Batman's history for years, and that other characters have been introduced to the family during the same time frame.
Catwoman is one of Batman's oldest villains, although she has become more of an ally in recent years, which has rubbed some fans the wrong way.Shawn S. Lealos