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Catwoman (White Queen)

Catwoman (White Queen)

KNI_05_p01 CS6.indd 1 10/09/2020 10:41 IN THIS ISSUE

YOUR PIECE Meet your white queen – City’s 3 ultimate femme Selina Kyle, better known as . PROFILE From the slums of ’s East 4 End, Catwoman has become one of the world’s most famous thieves. GOTHAM GUIDE A examination of Gotham’s East End, a 10 grim area of crime and poverty – and the home of Selina Kyle. RANK & FILE Why Catwoman is the white queen and 12 how some of her moves are refl ected in those of the powerful chess piece. RULES & MOVES An essential guide to the white queen 15 and some specifi c gambits using the piece.

Editor: Alan Cowsill Thanks to: Art Editor: Gary Gilbert Writers: Devin K. , , Frank Writer: James Hill Miller, , , Judd Winick, Consultant: Richard Jackson , Andersen Grabrych. Figurine Sculptor: Imagika Sculpting : Jim Balent, Michael Avon Oeming, Studio Ltd David Mazzucchelli, , Jim Lee, , Guillem March, Darwyn US CUSTOMER SERVICES Cooke, Brad rader, Rick Burchett. Call: +1 800 261 6898 : John Stanisci, Mike Manley, Scott Email: [email protected] Williams, Mike Allred, Rick Burchett, Cameron Stewart, Alavaro Lopez. UK CUSTOMER SERVICES Call: +44 (0) 191 490 6421 Email: [email protected]

Batman created by with Copyright © 2020 DC Comics. CATWOMAN and all related characters and elements © and TM DC Comics. (s20) EAGL26789 Collectable Figurines. Not designed or intended for play by children. Do not dispose of fi gurine in the domestic waste.

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KNI_05_p02.indd 2 10/09/2020 10:56 YOUR PIECE

CATWOMAN The white queen is the most important piece next to the king. In the life of few people are more important WHITE than Catwoman, the femme fatale who stole the Dark Knight’s heart and moves with a deadly grace... QUEEN

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KNI_05_p03.indd 3 01/02/2012 18:27 PROFILE QUEEN OF NIGHT Catwoman is Gotham City’s premier thief and many of her heists are legendary. She also has a morality all her own, stemming from her violent childhood and hard life in Gotham City’s vicious East End...

atwoman is the undisputed ruler of burglar, but her career is not the night. Like her feline namesake, solely driven by a desire for wealth and CSelina Kyle is a barely glimpsed material possessions, but also by a thirst predator, prowling her nocturnal territory for excitement and adventure. The thrill of – the crime-ridden streets of Gotham the hunt, and the adrenaline rush at the City’s East End district – draped in thought of being caught in the act of inky-black shadows. From out of the thievery, helps Catwoman blot out the darkness she strikes, snatching up only the memory of a traumatic childhood. most valuable of treasures. Jade and gold statuettes, priceless items of antiquity, ALLEY CAT sparkling gemstones and feline-shaped Selina was the eldest of Brian and Maria Rough childhood. Selina finds her mother dead. antiques are amongst her favourite Kyle’s two daughters. Brian was a violent objects of desire, which she stealthily drunk, who would often take out his purloins and then conceals in one of her frustrations on his wife. Maria shielded strain of this eventually proved too much many secret lairs. Catwoman is a Selina and her sister, Maggie, from the for her. Maria Kyle took her own life – and remarkably skilled and determined cat worst of their father’s brutality, but the her husband drank himself to soon afterwards. Separated from her younger sister, the headstrong Selina was remanded to the Sprang Hall Juvenile Detention Centre – a notoriously harsh state facility for orphaned or delinquent girls. While trapped behind Sprang Hall’s formidable stone walls, Selina began to see how unjust the world could be. The powerful preyed on the powerless – and only the strong survived. When she was thirteen, Selina discovered that the Hall’s administrator was embezzling state funds, and she confronted the woman about her crimes. Fearing her illegal activities would be exposed, the administrator tied Selina in a bag and dropped her in a river, to drown like some unwanted – and unloved – kitten. Thanks to her strength of will and natural athletic abilities, Selina escaped from the deathtrap. She returned to the orphanage to steal documents exposing Objects of desire. Priceless jewels are among Catwoman’s weaknesses. the administrator’s corruption, which she

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Gotham. She also received training in the noble art of boxing from the grizzled Ted Grant, a former heavyweight champion of the world. Selina Kyle grew into a ferocious lioness, QUEEN OF NIGHT protecting the downtrodden and destitute of Gotham’s urban jungle, often sharing her ill-gotten gains with those less fortunate than herself. She became particularly close to a young street girl called Holly Robinson. Selina watched over Holly like she was the little sister that she’d lost years earlier. When Holly became embroiled in an altercation on the street, Selina instinctively leapt to her defence – and found herself fighting a young , who had been patrolling the lawless East End in the hopes of

Protective. Selina and Bruce Wayne meet for the first time... in combat.

then sent to the authorities. She also took cruel mistress, however, and Selina the opportunity to erase all record of her eventually ran away – taking her young past existence. Selina Kyle no longer friend, Sylvia Sinclair, with her. The two Rough childhood. Selina finds her mother dead. officially existed – she was now a ‘non- drifted apart soon afterwards, with Sylvia person’. blaming Selina for the deprivations they’d Selina soon found herself in Alleytown been forced to endure while eking out – a small network of cobblestone streets an existence on the mean streets of the that was nestled between Gotham’s East End. historic old town and the poverty-stricken East End. She was taken in by Mama THE DARK KNIGHT Fortuna – the elderly leader of a gang of Selina did what she had to do to child runaways – and taught the art of survive. She honed her burglary thievery. Selina soon became the slickest skills, and learned numerous and slipperiest burglar that the Gotham martial-arts techniques from City Police Department had ever been the near-legendary forced to deal with. Mama Fortuna was a Armless Master of

Crooked upbringing. Selina and Sylvia with Mama Fortuna.

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Geared up. Catwoman is born.

combatting crime. Later, Wayne perfected his crime-fighting strategy and donned the mantle of the Bat. On seeing Batman in Partners against crime. feels Catwoman’s in the hunt for . action for the first time, Selina was inspired to CAT’S GOT THE CREAM Catwoman was attracted to Batman create her own Equipped with a deadly , Catwoman from the moment of their first meeting. costumed clawed her way to the of the criminal Her feelings were reciprocated – but the identity – tree. She committed only the most Feline Fatale and the Dark Knight proved Catwoman. audacious robberies and, thanks to her to be too incompatible. The Bat and the animal cunning, was never caught and Cat came from different sides of the caged. She stole from the rich – particularly tracks, and each seemed incapable of the corrupt politicians and mob bosses – and compromise necessary for a truly loving made it a point of honour never to kill relationship. Still, their liaisons on the anyone rooftops of Gotham City continued, and unnecessarily. It was Catwoman occasionally helped Batman perhaps for this thwart the evil ambitions of Gotham’s reason, more than deadliest villains. She fought against any other, that , Two- and Harley Quinn – and Batman pursued was a valuable ally when Batman found Catwoman less himself the target of the mysterious Hush. relentlessly than he did other CASUALTIES costumed Samuel Emerson ‘Slam’ Bradley was a criminals. He hard-nosed private detective hired by knew that she Gotham’s sleazy mayor to track down the also protected mysterious Catwoman. He did as asked, the vulnerable but got more than he bargained for when citizens of the he finally cornered Selina Kyle. The pair East End, so he became lovers, but Slam grew to realise often turned a that Catwoman’s heart would always blind eye to her belong to Batman. criminal activities, Shortly after encountering Slam for the giving Catwoman first time, Selina’s life was thrown further every opportunity to into chaos by the return of her sister. After permanently change her being adopted, Maggie grew up to be spots. Sister Magdalena of the Gotham Catholic

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enemies. Sylvia Sinclair – still harbouring a grudge from when they were both teenagers – betrayed Selina’s secrets to , the undisputed ruler of Gotham’s underworld. Smarting from Catwoman’s constant interference in his ‘business’ affairs, Black Mask attacked Selina’s closest friends and family – putting in the hospital and driving Maggie insane by forcing her to bear to her husband’s savage murder. Pushed to the edge of reason, Catwoman retaliated by shooting Black Mask in the head. Catwoman had violated her own moral code by murdering Black Mask, and her often precarious sense of identity became even more tenuous in the months that followed. When her apartment was firebombed and her fence and dear friend, Lola, was murdered, Catwoman enacted brutal revenge on the man responsible. She beat mobster Louis Ferryman – known on the streets as Pushed to the limit. Catwoman kills Black Mask. Bone – half to death, and was only Diocese. She eventually abandoned the prevented from church, however, to escape to San finishing off the villain Francisco, where she met her future by the timely husband Simon Burton. She finally returned intervention of Batman. to Gotham – and to Selina. Unfortunately, this made Maggie a target of Catwoman’s NEW START Following the changes in reality following the “” incident, some of Catwoman’s past had changed, as had her relationship with Batman. Both had been romantically entangled since early on in their careers but their ‘careers’ had often got in the way of their relationship. Catwoman briefly became part of the of America, a team created to rival the

Payback. Catwoman attacks Bone with a baseball bat.

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Set up. Selina is Justice League and potentially take them on jailed for the murder in combat if the need ever rose. For the of the Dogs of War. most part, Catwoman preferred to work alone. When all 237 members of the Dogs of War were murdered after they had blown up the Thomas and Martha Home for the Boys and Girls of Gotham – the orphanage Selina and her childhood friend Holly Robinson had spent most of their youth in – Selina was blamed for the murders and Batman forced to bring her to . While he believed her to be innocent, Selina refused his offers of help, ending up on death row. The Dark Knight managed to get Selina out of jail to join him on a mission when he formed a ragtag team of criminals and mercenaries to illegally enter Bane’s homeland of Santa Prisca and bring Psycho Pirate back to Gotham City. Once in Santa Prisca, Catwoman seemingly betrayed Batman, joining Bane and telling him of the Dark Knight’s plans. It was just a bluff though and, as Bane and Batman fought, Catwoman struck, attacking Bane and helping to defeat him. The mission bought Batman and Catwoman closer and, after spending the night together, Batman promised to prove Catwoman innocent – even though she continued to take responsibility for the murders. The Dark Knight eventually worked out Holly Robinson was responsible for the killings but she fled before he could bring her to justice.

BANE’S REVENGE When Bane came to Gotham seeking revenge on Batman, Catwoman helped the Dark Knight protect his friends – freeing those Bane had captured while the Dark Knight fought him. Following his defeat of Bane, Batman proposed to

Bluff. Catwoman ‘sides’ with Bane. Teamwork. Catwoman and Batman defeat Bane.

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Proposal. Bruce makes a commitment. Copycats. The Creels’ imposters.

Catwoman, who eventually said “yes”. wanted for the murders. She turned down However, Selina was still wanted for murder. the Creels’ offer and soon found herself and Catwoman tracked Holly to coming into conflict with both the police Khadym, where Holly was in hiding under and the Creel family. Raina was seeking the the protection of . Selina and secret of Lazarus Pits and, through an Talia came to blows and, after Selina ancient map, gained access to their stabbed Talia in the back, Batman’s ex powerful waters. She used one to tighten admitted to liking Selina. Batman and her grip on the city and raise her own son, Catwoman left Khadym with Holly, taking Adam, from the dead. In the end she was her to and clearing Selina’s name. defeated by Catwoman and killed by Adam – who had become a zombie-like BROKEN HEARTS creature. With Creel defeated and her For a while Catwoman was happy with the sister safe, Selina left, deciding it was time Dark Knight. Together they helped stop to head home to Gotham City and a trying to take over the world and troubled with the Dark Knight. survived a run-in with . In the end, Catwoman has maintained a delicate though, Catwoman left Batman on the day balancing act for most of her adult life. She of their wedding. Holly had left Arkham to has straddled the fence between right and attend and told Catwoman that it was nice wrong – but as her world has grown to see Batman happy because for years she increasingly had thought it was the misery and rage that dark it seems helped the Dark Knight continue his fight. It that she will was then Catwoman realised she had to now have to leave – so Bruce could continue as Batman. finally come Little did Selina know that Holly was down on one secretly working for Bane, and getting side… or the Catwoman to break Batman’s heart was all other. part of his plan to destroy him. NEW BEGINNINGS Selina left Gotham City and tried to start a new life in the Californian city of Villa Hermosa, having tracked her sister Maggie Floored. to an asylum there. No sooner had Selina Catwoman settled in, than she found herself coming fights Raina into conflict with Raina Creel Creel. and her corrupt family. The Creel family were the power in Villa Hermosa and wanted Selina to work for them. They used Catwoman copycats to attract Selina’s attention but when one of them killed two Sword play. Talia is stabbed by Selina. cops, Selina found herself

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KNI_05_p04-09.indd 9 08/07/2020 10:38 GOTHAM GUIDE 1

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Catwoman fi ghts the shape-changer. 5

6 The Black Mask falls from the roof.

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KNI_05_p10-11.indd 10 01/02/2012 18:40 GOTHAM GUIDE THE EAST END The East End is the most notorious district in all of Gotham City. It’s an urban jungle where mobsters, corrupt cops, con men and much, much worse prey on the weak and the destitute.

1. HELL ON EARTH a sanctuary for cutpurses and pickpockets Black Mask off a rooftop. And when that You won’t fi nd the East End listed in the thanks to its close-knit and inward-looking didn’t work… she shot him in the head. Gotham City tourist guides. It is an area community. Selina Kyle made her way to that has long been marred by rundown Alleytown after escaping from the Sprang 6. A DANGEROUS LIVING… bars, strip clubs, illegal gambling Hall Juvenile Detention Centre. Mama Looking to sell on your ill-gotten gains? dens and sleazy hotels. Bordering on Fortuna took her in, and taught her the Then the East End is the place to go in historical Old Gotham, the East End delicate art of thievery. Years later, Selina order to fi nd a suitable fence. Catwoman, is polluted by vice of every kind. Its returned to Alleytown to discover that of course, knows them all. There is Leonard crumbling and overcrowded tenements Mama Fortuna’s criminal network had been ‘Swifty’ Burgess, who will move suspect house the poor and the displaced revived by Sylvia Sinclair. goods through his pawnshop with no of the city. At the black heart of the questions asked. Jeffo provides a similar East End lies Crime Alley, formally 4. SERIAL KILLER service – although Catwoman prefers to the prestigious Park Row, whose After an extended break from the role, use him as her eyes and ears on the streets tranquillity was shattered – and future Selina Kyle became Catwoman once again of the East End. Catwoman’s most reliable notoriety assured – by the murders of in order to defend the working girls of the fence was Lola Macintire – who was also Thomas and . East End from a mysterious serial killer. Selina Kyle’s close friend Someone – or rather something – was and confi dante. 2. LESLIE THOMPKINS mercilessly preying on the vulnerable Unfortunately, the Bruce Wayne was left traumatised women, leaving behind a trail of hideously gangster Bone, by the death of his parents. mutilated bodies. Catwoman discovered who was looking After the police were fi nished that the perpetrator was a former soldier for revenge after questioning the young man, Dr. who had been transformed into a shape- Catwoman had Leslie Thompkins comforted him – changing creature as an experiment by the stolen from her words giving him the much- US military. She tracked the monster to its him, recently needed strength to carry on. Years lair – and trapped it in a freezer unit, before murdered later, Leslie established a medical delivering it into the hands of Batman. Lola. centre on Crime Alley, funded by . Sharing 5. BLACK MASK many of Batman’s secrets, she After losing his family’s multi-million-dollar eventually became Catwoman’s fortune, Roman Sionis carved a friend and psychiatrist – from his dead father’s ebony persuading the Feline Fatale to coffi n and embarked on a do more to protect the innocent criminal career as Black Mask. citizens trapped within the He fought Batman many times, crime-ridden East End. one encounter leading to the ebony mask being seared onto his 3. ALLEYTOWN face during a raging fi re. In and out of A maze of cobblestone streets for years, Sionis eventually that forms a small borough discarded , believing his horribly between the East End and blackened face to be a sign of his strength Old Gotham, Alleytown was and determination to survive. Black Mask established over 200 years ago became one of Gotham’s most feared and by Gotham’s corrupt founding psychotic mob bosses, marking out the fathers as a place to hide East End as his personal territory. When away the poor immigrants Catwoman disrupted his criminal empire, fl ooding into the city. he tortured and murdered her friends and Alleytown has always been family. Catwoman retaliated by pushing

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KNI_05_p10-11.indd 11 01/02/2012 18:41 RANK & FILE TOP CAT A king may seem to have all the power – but it is the queen who is the absolute monarch in chess. Under the cover of darkness, Catwoman prowls her territory – and when she makes her move, it is with devastating effect.

First aid. Catwoman helps LOYALTY TO THE CROWN Batman against Hush. At fi rst, it may seem inappropriate for a thief such as Catwoman to be the white queen. However, in chess, the queen is steadfastly loyal to her king – she is the strongest noble in his defence, and an important piece in taking offensive action against the opposing side. Despite coming from the wrong side of the tracks, Catwoman is deeply attracted to Batman – and he to her. Some would say that they are in love, but refuse to acknowledge their true feelings. Consequently, when Batman is under threat, Catwoman is often the fi rst to leap to his aid. She has come to his rescue many times, taking on such villains as Hush, the Joker and the Scarecrow.

Point of view. Alfred gives his opinion on Batman ‘s feelings.

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UNIQUE MOVES In chess, the Queen is the most versatile piece. She can move both diagonally and laterally, and across any number of unoccupied squares. Catwoman, too, has few restrictions on her movements. Like a her namesake, she skitters across the rooftops of Gotham City’s East End, unseen until she fi nally strikes. Nowhere is out of bounds for the Feline Fatale. Thanks to the wealth accrued over a lifetime of larceny, Selina Kyle is often seen partying amongst the great and the good of Gotham’s high society – while secretly planning her next heist. She recently attended a Wayne Enterprises charity function, disguised in a bright red dress and blonde wig. However, Bruce Wayne – on a rare night off from patrolling the city as Batman – recognised Catwoman’s sleek form instantly.

ALLIES Just as a queen is best supported by a rook or a bishop, Selina Kyle can be at her most effective when working in tandem with others. In her ongoing war with Black Mask, she came to rely on Holly Robinson and P.I. Slam Bradley, who were her eyes and ears on the streets of the East End. When an all-out mob war engulfed Gotham, Catwoman worked decisively alongside Holly Robinson. Batman and his allies in order to restore calm to the city.

Slam Bradley. In trouble. Selina at the mercy of Bone.

POWER PLAYS The queen is the most powerful piece in chess and, as such, is particularly prone to harassment from minor pieces. A player who develops his queen too early – and without support from other pieces – runs a high risk of losing her completely and eventually forfeiting the game. Catwoman also has a problem with overconfi dence. A steadfast belief in her own abilities has often led to her blundering into dangerous situations. What should have been a simple robbery recently led to the death of Selina Kyle’s friend, Lola, and Catwoman being held captive by gangsters working for the hideous Bone.

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SACRIFICING A PAWN A chess player may use a Queen’s Pawn Opening as a way to develop a Queen’s at the start of a game. This move suggests that the player is willing to sacrifi ce a pawn in order gain control of the middle of the board. Thanks to her often-hard exterior, Catwoman also seems willing to sacrifi ce those closest to her. Nothing could be further from the truth. A tough life has meant that she has become accustomed to death, but is not blasé about it. It’s interesting to note that a Queen’s Gambit isn’t really a gambit at all, as the lost pawn will always be regained later in the game. Similarly, Catwoman’s seemingly reckless acts are often calculated ploys designed to bring about ultimate victory. Nowhere is this better illustrated, than when Catwoman used gangster Onyx as bait for . It seemed as if Catwoman was willing to lose the unconscious Onyx to Killer Croc’s murderous appetite – but it was all a ruse in order to capture the monstrous villain.

Counterplay. Onyx is saved from the jaws of Killer Croc.

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KNI_05_p12-14.indd 14 01/02/2012 18:46 RULES & MOVES THE WHITE QUEEN Though the most important piece on the chessboard is the king, the queen is traditionally the most powerful piece. The queen moves in a straight line vertically, horizontally or diagonally, covering any number of squares.

THE QUEEN IN CHESS The queen’s range and ability to attack many pieces at once are the source of her power. Each player begins the game with one queen.

CHESS OPENINGS 8 For the first moves in any game, a player must move either a pawn or a . A 7 chess opening is also commonly referred to as a ‘defence’. 6

THE QUEEN’S INDIAN DEFENCE 5 The Queen’s Indian Defence (pictured right) is an opening characterised by the following moves: 4

1W/Pawn - d4 2W/Knight - c4 3 W/Knight - f3 3 B/Knight - f6 B/Pawn - e6 B/Pawn - b6 2 Since black does not seek immediately to occupy the centre with his pawns, this is considered a 1 hypermodern opening. In order to prevent white from occupying the e4 square he seeks instead to a b c d e f g h fianchetto his queen’s bishop, thus putting pressure on that square. With the white centre THE FIANCHETTO thus restrained black seeks to attack it. White will In the fianchetto, or ‘little flanking’, the bishop usually attempt to solidify his centre and prove is developed to the second rank of the adjacent that it is strong, not weak, then use his advantage knight file, the knight pawn having been moved to crush black. one or two squares forward. The fianchetto is a staple of many hypermodern openings, in which the The Queen’s Indian Defence also has the dubious philosophy is to delay direct occupation of the distinction of never having been used in centre. The objective is to undermine and destroy professional play by chess legend Bobby Fischer. the opponent’s central outpost.

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Divided, ruthless and deadly, this tooled-up terror is ready to attack.

BLACK KNIGHT Visit www.eaglemoss.com

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