Gotham City Sirens 

Following in suit with Austin’s theory about strong women wearing a mask of femininity to survive by acting as love interests, is the character of Catwoman. Introduced in the 1940’s, Catwoman became the love interest of Batman, himself. In his book, The Supergirls: Fashion, Feminism, Fantasy, and the History of Comic Book Heroines, Mike Madrid briefly discusses the topic of sex among superheroines and how it did not exist. Madrid claims that the only time sex was made evident back in the 40’s among women in comics was among villainesses, “The message in comic books about women and sex was this: powerful and intriguing women might be sexual, but it also meant they were bad” (249).  It is here that Madrid focuses on Catwoman. Madrid states, “Clad in a purple satin gown, with razor talons and wielding a lethal whip, she was the embodiment of female power blended with seduction” (247). While Catwoman may have disposed of the purple satin gown, and opted for a black, leather, skintight jumpsuit, Madrid’s claim about her strength through seduction is still evident in Gotham City Sirens. 

 

Catwoman is one of the very few who know of Batman’s true identity as Bruce Wayne. This alone grants Catwoman a significant amount of power, not just over Batman, but among her fellow villainesses in Gotham City Sirens. Before agreeing to work together, Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn attempt to obtain Batman’s identity out of Catwoman. Catwoman avoids betraying Batman by telling Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn that there are multiple Batmen. Dini visually portrays the infestation of her relationship with Batman through a particular panel of Catwoman. Half of her face is covered by a picture of Batman. One’s identity is often emphasized through the face, so the fact that Dini covers half of Catwoman’s in this panel, reveals his view of the pervasiveness of Catwoman’s relationship with Batman. 

 

However, Gotham City Sirens takes place at a time where Bruce Wayne has gone, and Catwoman has found herself at a time where she desires to rebuild herself. Thus, leading her to the decision to team up with Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn. Dini believes in Catwoman’s success, not with Batman, but with other strong women.