Re-Ranking Catwoman

Back on January 9th of this year I put up an article called "Ranking Catwoman" which you can find here. In that article I did exactly what it sounds like and ranked the various women who have played Catwoman throughout the years from TV, movies, animation and video games and in that article I said that I would revisit that article once The Dark Knight Rises came out to put Anne Hathaway where I think she belongs on the list so lets now take a look at where she stands against the rest with the new rankings (and more pictures!)

#10 Halle Berry (Catwoman 2004)

#9 Eliza Dushku (Batman: Year One)

#8  Grey DeLise (Batman: Arkham City)

#7  Ertha Kitt (Batman 1966)

#6 Gina Gershon (The Batman)

#5 Lee Merriwether (Batman 1966)

#4 Michelle Pfeiffer (Batman Returns)

 #3 Anne Hathaway (The Dark Knight Rises)

Anne Hathaway  might be the most faithful live action of Catwoman to date all without her being called Catwoman once in the entire movie. Much like her comic book counterpart Hathaway plays the part of a bad girl who doesn't necessarily want to be bad, she just does what she has to do to get by and if that means kicking a crippled Bruce Wayne in his bad leg to steal his mothers pearls. Though when the time comes shes ready to do the right thing she is there to help out. All that said though she is still not my favorite live action Catwoman.

#2  Julie Newmar (Batman 1966)

#1 Adrienne Barbeau (Batman: The Animated Series)

Once again you can check out the original article here with details on each Catwoman.

Ranking Catwoman

When it comes to Batman there is no doubt that his perhaps greatest female foil, hell why are we playing the sex card here, there is no doubt that his greatest foil may just be Catwoman and as such just like all of his other great foils such as The Joker, we have seen a bunch of of different people take up the cat ears to cause trouble for Caped Crusader. Here is my personal ranking of the greatness of these Catwomen.

TBD Anne Hathaway (The Dark Knight Rises)

I can't say where Ms. Hathaway will land on this list yet since we are all still eagerly awaiting The Dark Knight Rises but I think that in the hands of the very capable Christopher Nolan that she will at the very least not end up at the bottom of the list. If I was to predict where she'll end up on the list, which is exactly what I'm going to do right now, then I would say she'll land right in the middle at #4. So question is who do I think she will be better then, who will she not be better then and yes most importantly where will she actually land on the list after The Dark Knight Rises comes out? Who knows, I guess I'll have to re-visit this blog entry during the summer to say where her official ranking will be. (Find out here in the follow up article)

#9 Halle Berry (Catwoman)

I may not know where Anne Hathaway is going to be on the list but I know that Halle Berry comes in dead last. Why? Any number of reasons, the terrible performance she gives is naturally the main part but the shitty costume (Which some people seem to think is sexy for some reason) and horrendous script don't help her cause either. So congratulations Ms. Berry not only to you continue to unimpress me with everything you do but you are also by FAR the worst Catwoman of all time.

#8 Eliza Dushku (Batman: Year One)

Dushku is low on this list but lets be honest here, she has only been Catwoman briefly in a animated movie that was only a little over a hour long and a short that came with it. What I saw was good but there wasn't a whole lot there to judge maybe if there was more she would be higher but as it stands shes at #8.

#7 Grey DeLise (Batman: Arkham City)

Batman: Arkham City was a damn fun game and one of the best parts about it was that you could play as Catwoman. Grey DeLise took on the role of Catwoman in this game and she did a damn fine job of it but much like Dushku there wasn't a whole lot performance wise to put her to high up on the list. That said that main reason she is above Dushku may just be because I had so much fun playing the game instead of DeLise's performance itself.

#6 Ertha Kitt (Batman 1966)

Do I give away much about the rest of this list by saying that Ertha Kitt is my least favorite of the Catwomen from the 1966 Batman series? Na I figure we knew all three of those Catwomen would be on here anyways. As for Ms. Kitt I think she made a pretty good Catwoman and might even of been higher on the list if not for the fact that the other two Catwomen from the 1966 series were so damn good that they kinda left Kitt in their dust. Maybe if Kitt was the sole Catwoman in another Batman show she would be higher on the list but as it stand she just misses out on making the top 5.

#5 Gina Gershon (The Batman)

Although not the best animated series Batman would have one can't argue that The Batman was a pretty damn solid show and worthy to be in any Bat-fans DVD collection. (note to self, buy The Batman on DVD) Naturally Catwoman has to be a part of any Batman show and it was Gina Gershon who lent her voice to Catwoman this time around and although she was only in five episodes she did a stellar job that left me and many other fans wanting much more Catwoman then what we got in this series.

#4 Lee Merriwether (Batman 1966)

The second of the Catwomen from the Batman 1966 series or more specifically the movie that came from the series. Merriweater was fantastic in the role of Catwoman. It was though this movie and due to that Lee Merriwether that I was introduced to Catwomen in the first place and what a fine introduction it was for that reason and that reason alone Lee Merriwether's Catwoman will always have a happy place in my heart.

 

#3 Michelle Pfeiffer (Batman Returns)

Pfeiffer is often times at the top of most Catwoman lists so it might come as shocking that on my list she only reached the lowly number of third place. Don't get me wrong I Pfeiffer oozed pure sex appeal and captured that part of Catwoman better then anyone else ever did. For years I wanted to see Pfeiffer return to the role and finally gave up on that dream when the Catwoman movie was announced and Halle Berry took the role, bla what a huge letdown.

 

#2 Julie Newmar (Batman 1966)

As sexy as Pfeiffer was was as Catwoman I find that Newmar was even sexier. The sexual nature of Catwomen had to be much more subtle in the series for no other reason then the time it was on TV but that was something that worked even better for the character and lets face it we all picked up on it. Newmar's look as Catwoman was also my favorite of any other Catwoman.

#1 Adrienne Barbeau (Batman: The Animated Series)

Yeah Adrienne Barbeau is the Number one Catwoman on my list even though she never once wore the catsuit on TV. Still Barbeau did more with her voice as Catwoman then anyone else did. The stories involving Catwoman in Batman: The Animated Series were closer to any other depiction of Catwoman in the comics. Barbeau's voice was perfect for Catwoman is was classy, sexy and everything that anyone would ever want Catwoman to be.


So with my opinions on which Catwoman is the best I would like to do something I have never done before and do a dedication. Yup I would like to dedicate this article to the biggest Catwoman fan I know my internet pal Mrs. Nancy Seigh, stay classy lady.

UPDATE: In case you missed it at the top of the article I have now posted my follow up article now that The Dark Knight Rises. You can check out my re-ranking of Catwoman which now Anne Hathaway right here.

My Favorite Comics of 2011

Since 2011 is pretty much all wrapped up now I think its pretty safe for me to name my favorite comics of the year and some that were a little more disappointing. First The Good.

The Amazing Spider-Man:



Yeah no big shock here, I'm a big time Spider-Man fan and if the comic is being written even remotely well then I love it. Thankfully we have Dan Slott writing the book and its obvious that he is as big a fan of the web head as the rest of us. Plus the big Spider-Man event Spider Island didn't disappoint me in the end which most events tend to do.

The Walking Dead:



I may be a little behind here with this book since I buy it in trade but its one of those books I'm pretty sure is safe to say has been amazing all year round even if I haven't read what the later half of the year has had to offer as of yet.

Chew:



Much like The Walking Dead I read Chew in trade but much like The Walking Dead this book has been so great that I find it hard to believe that it would get botched. Its original, twisted and most importantly fun just like any good comic should be.

Daredevil:



For years now Daredevil is a character that has been defined by how much he gets put through the ringer, if its not one thing its another and its always bad. With this latest re-launch however things have been changed up, Daredevil is catching a break, hes happy and hes enjoying kicking the crap out the of the villains. How would of thought in a day and age like this that taking a dark and brooding character and lightening up the mood would be just what the doctor ordered.

The Flash:



I haven't read anything from DC since the whole New 52 Reboot. Its not that I don't plan to but these days with my limited space and not to mention the fact that they don't cost as much, trades are the way to go for me. The relaunch was the perfect time for me to stop buying DC and start picking up the trades. Before the reboot however The Flash was on the top of my pile every week that it came out since it was being better then it had been in years, not to mention looking incredible.

Jonah Hex:


Much like The Flash Jonah Hex was another DC book that I was loving this year before the reboot. Jonah Hex was pretty much a one and done every single issue, you didn't need to read every issue to know what was going on you could pick up any issue at any time and get right into it and if you did pick up a issue I defy you to not be hooked by the pure bad ass that is Jonah Hex, one book would be all it would take.

Moon Knight:



I have always been a fan of this character but he one that's hard to write, basically the guy is a nut case and its pretty hard to write a nut case who is supposed to be the hero of the book as opposed to a villain who would be gone after a few issues. So far Brian Michael Bendis has been able to keep Moon Knight great and has been succeeding where others have failed. Hopefully this keeps up.

Those are the favorite comics of mine that pop into mind off the top of my head, sure I read a lot more then those this year, all Avengers books and Green Lantern books for example. I also read these books that didn't light my world on fire.

Flashpoint:


Flashpoint was DCs big event book of the year that would lead the way into the new DC reboot. I read the whole thing and it had its moments but for the most part it left me flat. Flashpoint felt like a chore to read after a while for me while I was actually having more fun with some of the other Flashpoint books instead like Emperor Aquaman and Citizen Cold.

Captain America:



Captain America had a pretty solid run there for a very long time starting when Brubaker took over the series and did the unthinkable by bringing Bucky back from the dead as The Winter Solider and then blew the book into heights that Captain America hadn't seen in years with The Death of Captain America and having Bucky take up the mantle. It seemed like he could do no wrong but after Steve Rogers came back from the dead it seemed like the book went on auto pilot as we all waited for Rogers to reassume the role of Captain America while the book seemingly did the impossible by both having Bucky-Cap being super awesome the entire time while the book itself got stale and boring. I still don't understand how that works.

Fear Itself:



This is unquestionably the biggest disappointment of the year for me. Marvels big event books have slowly gotten more and more tedious over the years since the massive hit that was Civil War each usually a little worse then the one before it but this one was just awful. I couldn't get into it from day one and have no idea why I punished myself by continuing to read this mess.



So what do you think of my picks? Agree? Disagree? Comment below and let me know as well as telling me what your favorite comics of the year are.