Catwoman has faced off against some of the toughest villains in all of DC Comics. Selina Kyle has taken on Bane, Black Mask, Cheetah, the Penguin and more - and that’s without mentioning the heroes she went toe-to-toe with. However, one of Catwoman’s upcoming villains is perhaps her most messed up yet - an exotic cat taxidermist.
DC is celebrating Catwoman’s 80th anniversary with a one-shot anthology featuring stories from some of the character’s most notable writers and artists. Ed Brubaker and Cameron Stewart will do a 12-page story set in The New 52 continuity, while Tom King, Mikel Janin, Mindy Newell, Adam Hughes, and Ann Nocenti are just some of the other creators working on the book. One of the more intriguing announcements was that Paul Dini would be creating a new villain in the anthology - and it’s a strange one.
Dini’s part of the anthology will include “a story about an exotic cat taxidermist who intends to add Catwoman to their collection!” So, Catwoman will be facing off against someone who wants to kill her, stuff her, and display her with pride. That’s pretty messed up. However, it’s not the first time there was a taxidermy loving villain in DC Comics.
The Green Lantern villain the Black Hand had his origin rewritten post-Infinite Crisis. In his newer backstory, William Hand (who later becomes the Black Hand) tries taxidermy in an effort to slow down his fascination with death. Unfortunately, the transition only fuels his obsession, as Black Hand kills his family dog and stuffs him. It’s as messed up as it sounds.
In this case, the unnamed new character’s obsession lies with exotic cats. So, it’s a safe bet he sees Catwoman as the biggest prize of them all and wants to taxidermy her for his own sick reasons. Hopefully, he hasn’t stuffed any other cat-based heroes (looking at you Catman). Paul Dini is the perfect writer to tell this bizarre, short story. He’s worked on numerous Batman titles, such as Detective Comics, Gotham City Sirens, The Batman & Robin Adventures while having a huge role in DC’s animated properties including developing the Batman: The Animated Series.
Dini’s new villain is set to be one of the strangest, messed-up characters we’ve seen in the Batman mythos in the wild. His literal endgame is to stuff a living person for his own amusement - which is all kinds of gross. Something tells us Catwoman won’t end up as his latest stuffed animal.
Catwoman: 80th Anniversary Super Spectacular #1 will be available on April 15th.
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