Katherine "Kathy" Kane is a character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. She is the first DC character to appear as the superheroine Batwoman. She was created by writer Edmond Hamilton and artist Sheldon Moldoff under the direction of editor Jack Schiff, as part of an ongoing effort to expand Batman's cast of supporting characters. Batwoman began appearing in DC Comics stories beginning with Detective Comics #233 (1956), in which she was introduced as a love interest for Batman in order to combat the allegations of Batman's homosexuality arising from the controversial book Seduction of the Innocent (1954). When Julius Schwartz became editor of the Batman-related comic in 1964, he removed characters deemed non-essential, including Batwoman, Bat-Girl, Bat-Mite, and Ace the Bat-Hound. Later, the 1985 limited series Crisis on Infinite Earths retroactively established that Kathy Kane never becomes Batwoman in DC's main continuity. The character has since made appearances in the main continuity without the Batwoman persona.
Publication history
Kathy Kane is primarily associated with the Silver Age of Comic Books. In the aftermath of the attacks on comics in the early 1950s, the Batwoman was the first of several characters that would make up the 'Batman Family'. Since the family formula had proven very successful for the Superman franchise, editor Jack Schiff suggested to Batman co-creator, Bob Kane, that he create one for the Batman. A female was chosen first, to offset the charges made by Fredric Wertham that Batman and the original Robin, Dick Grayson, were homosexual. Kathy Kane and alter ego Batwoman first appeared in Detective Comics #233 (July 1956). In the character's debut issue, Batwoman is introduced as a female rival to the crimefighting prowess of Batman:
There's only one Batman! That's been said many times and has always been true, for no other man has ever rivaled Batman as a champion of the law, nor matched his superb acrobatic skill, his scientific keenness, his mastery of disguise and detective skill! But now, in one suspenseful surprise after another, Batman finds he has a great rival in the mysterious and glamorous girl...The Batwoman!
She was a costumed crime-fighter like Batman, yet in many ways not an exact counterpart. For example, the contents of her utility purse were actually weapons disguised as stereotypical feminine accoutrements such as lipstick, cosmetic compacts, charm bracelets, and hair nets. Batwoman appeared regularly in the pages of Batman and Detective Comics through the early 1960s. Although letters from fans indicated Batwoman had become popular with readers, editor Julius Schwartz considered the heroine, as well as other Batman-related characters, to be inappropriate for the new direction he planned to take the Batman universe. Following the revamp to Detective Comics in 1964, Batwoman was removed from the series. In 1967, a 'new' Batgirl, Barbara Gordon, was introduced, who not only replaced Batwoman as Batman's female counterpart, she surpassed the original heroine in popularity. Batgirl also proved to be more appropriate for her time period and the realistic approach DC Comics began taking with its characters. Unlike Batwoman, Gordon's Batgirl used a utility belt and various gadgets similar to Batman's, in addition to being a skilled martial artist and possessing a doctorate in her civilian identity. Despite requests from readers to revive Batwoman, DC's editorial staff initially declined to bring the character out of retirement, considering the fact that she was specifically created to be a love interest for Batman.
...Batwoman and Bat-Girl were there because romance seemed to be needed in Batman [and Robin]'s life. But thanks to the big change and a foresighted editor, these hapless females are gone for good. In their place stands a girl who is a capable crime-fighter, a far cry from Batwoman who constantly had to be rescued by [sic] Batman.
However, with the launch of the Batman Family comic book series in 1975, readers continued to request for Batwoman to appear in new stories. One reader states:
it is totally beyond me why you ignored Batwoman in your first two issues... I can understand your reluctance to go back to the days where everybody in Gotham had a Bat-identity, but you can't wipe out Batwoman that easily...I was counting on her making the scene in a new story, perhaps coming out of retirement to offer assistance to your Dynamite Duo [Batgirl and Robin].
Batwoman was brought back in Batman Family #10 (March–April 1977) as "Batgirl's guest heroine" when she comes out of retirement to capably assist Batgirl in defeating Killer Moth and the Cavalier; the two women even learn each other's secret identities during the story. Batwoman appeared two more times in the title, in issues #14 (1977) and #17 (1978). Batwoman then next appeared with Batgirl in two issues of Freedom Fighters #14 and #15 in 1978. However, in Detective Comics #485 (August–September 1979), Batwoman is killed by the League of Assassins (assisted by the Bronze Tiger). Editor Dennis O'Neil later stated in an interview, "we already had Batgirl, we didn't need Batwoman." The issue marked the final appearance of the Earth-1 Kathy Kane. An Earth-2 version appeared in The Brave and The Bold #182 (January 1982). This Kathy Kane retired from crime-fighting when that world's Batman married Catwoman; this world's Kathy was now married and with a family of her own. She comes out of retirement to help a grown-up Robin and the Earth-1 Batman battle the Earth-2 Hugo Strange.The Brave and the Bold #182 (January 1982)
The Kathy Kane version of Batwoman was restored to modern continuity by writer Grant Morrison in flashback sequences in various issues of their run on the Batman-related titles, most explicitly in Batman Incorporated #4 (August 2011). This issue reveals the origin of the original Batwoman in current DC Universe continuity; she is Bruce's aunt by marriage. After she was widowed, she and Bruce fought side by side and were lovers for a time, until it appeared she was killed. In that time, she worked reluctantly as a member of the spy organisation Spyral, which had employed her to uncover Batman's identity. Her biological father was also revealed to be the Nazi scientist Otto Netz (Doctor Dedalus). In 2013, in Morrison's final Batman Incorporated issue, it is revealed that Kathy is alive and working as an assassin for Spyral. Kathy then makes a few fleeting appearances in Grayson (2014–2016), referred to primarily as Agent Zero. In Grayson #8, during a fraught encounter between Dick Grayson and acting Spyral head Mr. Minos, Kathy shows up to assassinate him.
Fictional character biography Pre-Crisis
In the original Pre-Crisis continuity, Kathy Kane, a wealthy Gotham City heiress and former circus performer, decides to use her skills and resources to become a costumed crime-fighter. This is partly out of altruism and partly to attract the romantic attentions of Batman. During the Silver Age of Comics, Batwoman guest-starred occasionally in Batman stories published from 1956 to 1964. While Batman wished for Kane to retire from crimefighting due to the danger, she remained his ally, even when she temporarily became a new version of Catwoman. In 1961, Batwoman was joined by her niece Betty Kane, alias Bat-Girl. Kathy and Betty were romantically interested in Batman and Robin, respectively. Robin seemed to return Bat-Girl's affection, while Batman remained aloof. In 1964 however, DC dropped Batwoman, as well as Bat-Girl, Ace the Bat-Hound, and Bat-Mite from the Batman titles, which were undergoing a revamp under editor Julius Schwartz that eliminated many of the sci-fi elements that were introduced in the 1950s. However, Batwoman continued to make appearances in stories published during the next few years in the Batman-Superman team-up book World's Finest in various "imaginary stories" where she was married to Batman and had started a family with him. The character would later reappear in the late 1970s, made guest appearances in the Batman Family and Freedom Fighters comic book series, often fighting crime alongside Barbara Gordon, who had become the new Batgirl. In a story depicting Batwoman as a retired crimefighter, she becomes the owner of a circus, which she keeps until killed by the League of Assassins and the brainwashed Bronze Tiger.
During this period, DC began heavily using the Multiverse storytelling device which posited that the publisher's earliest stories (from the Golden Age of Comic Books) took place on the parallel world of Earth-Two. DC visited the concept of an older Batwoman in The Brave and the Bold #182 (January 1982), in a story titled "Interlude on Earth-2". In this story, which features the Pre-Crisis Earth-One Batman accidentally arriving on Earth-Two to battle the Earth-Two Hugo Strange alongside the adult Earth-Two Dick Grayson (Robin), Batwoman is portrayed as middle-aged and still in love with the now-deceased Commissioner Bruce Wayne of Earth-Two.
Post-Crisis Later, the conclusion of the publisher's 1985 maxiseries Crisis on Infinite Earths altered DC Universe continuity, subsequently changing the character histories of Batwoman and Bat-Girl. In the new continuity, Kathy Kane did exist, though her persona as Batwoman had been erased. Bat-Girl never existed either, but a superheroine named Flamebird was introduced, who had a somewhat similar costume and name, "Bette Kane".
Despite the erasure of both Kathy Kane as Batwoman and Betty Kane as Bat-Girl, there were references to both heroines in Post-Crisis publications. In Alan Moore's Batman: The Killing Joke, Batman stares at a photograph that portrays Bat-Girl, Batwoman, Ace the Bat-Hound, and Bat-Mite—characters that did not exist in DC continuity at the time. In Planet Krypton #1, which was part of The Kingdom storyline, a Hypertime ghost of Batwoman haunts the Planet Krypton restaurant. Batman briefly recognizes her as "Kathy", but then quickly denies knowing her. Kathy, sans her Batwoman identity, was also referenced in a few Post-Crisis publications. According to The DC Comics Encyclopedia: The Definitive Guide to The Characters of the DC Universe (2004), Kathy was described as a wealthy former circus stuntwoman that had inherited her father's fortune and later became acquainted with Bruce Wayne as a Gotham socialite. She eventually became a crimefighting ally to Batman, although she never used the Batwoman name. The encyclopedia entry explains that she eventually purchased a circus and was murdered by a member of the League of Assassins; however, the Bronze Tiger was not her killer. Her murder was again recalled in Suicide Squad #38. During the Beast Boy miniseries, Flamebird tried to post bail for Beast Boy with money "borrowed from Aunt Kathy." Flamebird further mentioned that "Aunty Kathy's in Gotham" in Teen Titans #39.
The introduction of Kate Kane as the new Batwoman following the continuity-altering events of Infinite Crisis in 2005 allowed the company to revisit elements of the Kathy Kane character it did away with following Crisis on Infinite Earths; Batman writer Grant Morrison explicitly set out to treat Batman's entire publication history as his backstory.Morrison Interview with IGN http://au.comics.ign.com/articles/876/876418p1.html In Detective Comics #824 (2006), the Penguin refers to Kate Kane as the new Batwoman, implying for the first time since 1985 that there was an earlier Batwoman. Later Kathy appears in a flashback story in Batman #682 (2009), in a panel showing Batman and the original Batwoman kissing, with Robin showing his distrust of her and Bat-Girl. In this story, Kathy is referred to as "Katy" Kane. In Batman #686, Batman's butler Alfred mentions that Bruce Wayne was once romantically involved with Kathy.