ding ding ding
of all the things ash gets compared to (lynxes, beasts, demons, wives), colonel fox is the only one to call him a leopard, the thing ash views himself as, at least within the context of the snows of kilimanjaro visual. also note that eiji is the only one to respond directly to that visual, insisting that a) humans have wisdom leopards don't (don't die on me for nothing) and b) ash is not a leopard, anyway (seriously ash don't die on me for nothing)
to fox and to ash, ash is someone whose life of violence (+ inability to leave it, stubbornness, whatever he's searching for that keeps him going down this path, etc) will inevitably lead to his death. eiji's an optimist (perhaps more accurately, he believes in ash) and tries to steer ash from this, but he's more resigned to it than he's willing to tell eiji. and the fact that fox understands that about ash immediately is just. ough. and of course in the end, ash is the one who seals his own fate. it wasn't inevitable, to eiji, to the audience, maybe to the world. but it was inevitable to ash, and he finally surrendered to it. he couldn't believe in his ability to escape like eiji could (or, imo for a slew of reasons i'm not getting into, he chose to die in a comfortable place and time, surrounded by hope and love. before things got bad again. etc)
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Catwoman's Love Interests, Ranked
No. 1. Batman. Predictable? Perhaps. Correct choice? Absolutely. They work purrfectly together. I may roll around to write a similar post for Bruce, but from Selina's perspective, he is an equal to her, values her independence, and helps her believe in herself.
(From the double date in Batman (2016) # 37, where Lois is wearing Selina's outfit)
No. 2-10. Selina herself. She is independent! But seriously, one of the things I loved the most from her 90s run was how not romance-focused she was! It was a lot of fun and refreshing to see female main character just not give a fuuuuck about romance.
(Look at her, just slapping this creep away as a squirrel laughs at him! From Catwoman (1993) #30).
No. 11. Christopher Castillo "Blondie". From Selina's adventures in Rome, the Blond was enamoured, charming, and helpful. Also, it wasn't clear if the attraction was truly reciprocal, or if Selina just got a fun vacation boy toy.
(Catwoman, When in Rome #6)
No. 12 Dean Hadley. I am not sure he really qualifies as a love interest, since I don't think that Selina was into him, but at least he died heroically trying to protect her.
(Can't compete with Batman, dies tragically, from Catwoman (2018) # 34)
No. 13 to 20. Selina on her own some more! Can't get enough of this girl on her own! Love the storyline where she unknowingly has a crush on a serial killer in a dog mask. You know what she did when she found out the truth about her crush? That's right, clawed the shit out of him!
(Catwoman (1993) #53. I think this storyline counts as her loving herself than being into this guy - she barely had any qualms about dumping him once she found out; none of that "but maybe I can fix him" for this cat!)
No. 21. The Riddler. Shocking choice, I know! But I'm thinking here of the Lonely City version - Batman is dead, time has passed, he made amends, they found each other. Doesn't work in other continuities, was fun here.
(Catwoman: Lonely City #3. The reveal that Eddie was a coke addict makes SO.MUCH.SENSE).
No. 22. James Thien. I guess he was fine. I didn't like it because her interest into him was really jarring - this was during the post-wedding break-up period when Selina was generally falling apart. But James was neither fish nor fowl. There wasn't enough development for her to be genuinely interested in him, and her interest was portrayed more like genuine interest than a random hook-up.
(Literally, I think that this is all the development there is! And then I don't remember what happened to him. Maybe he also died? That kind of seems to happen to her love interests a lot. Catwoman (2018) #12)
Nos. 22-90. Selina on her own some more! And Eiko. And others. Never enough of Selina being on her own! I also think that Eiko goes somewhere here probably, if not in my earlier "Selina on her own spot" - I just haven't read the New 52 run so I dunno. Other possible contenders in this range:
Onyx (but I don't think they had enough development)
The Trickster (Reddit tells me he's a Catwoman love interest but I don't remember it so it must have been neither good nor bad)
Spark (also new 52, so I dunno).
OK, this is where we get to bottom of the barrel, where unfortunately most other folks are. BTW, what's up with Selina having so many relationships with older mentor figures?
No. 91. Frank Baz. Some mafioso with whom Selina was hanging out in Italy. Ranked so low since he seems like a bad guy, there was a big age difference with her being really young, and he didn't do that much.
No. 91. Slam Bradley Sr. I think that Brubaker did a decent job making the romance between Selina and Slam Sr. work. I like how the run addressed how messy this relationship was, and how Slam was kind of preying on Selina's vulnerable emotional state. (Slam shouldn't have won that argument, but at least it was raised!) But unfortunately this is ranked so low since Slam becomes kind of a chump later on in the run and Selina's relationship with his son makes this very creepy.
(From Catwoman (2001) #17. Their relationship was actually pretty good in the beginning, but quickly got icky...)
No. 92. Wildcat/Ted Grant. I really like the backstory of Selina learning boxing from Wildcat. It's a sweet little bit setting up her eventual super-heroics, plus, Wildcat is awesome! He's a grumpy old man who is respected by everyone, even Batman (whom he also trained). Which is why I hated when Wildcat/Catwoman wrote her to have a crush on him. Gross! Did I mention that he's old?
(Catwoman/Wildcat #3. The art in this book is really 90s)
No. 92. Slam Bradley Jr. I totally get that hot people in costumes would have one night stands on rooftops after adrenaline rush situations. And the poor guy died right after sleeping with Selina! Nonetheless, ranked so low because it's sooo weird since she slept with his dad - which I think he knew - plus I'm pretty sure that their relationship started really antagonistic. Principles before hoes, bro! Also, not his fault but I don't like how he messed up Helena's paternity story some more.
(Catwoman (2001) #61. No idea why Selina tells the dad the story about how she banged his son?)
No. 93. Cat cult person who kidnapped Selina, dressed her up as princess Leia, and tried to marry her. Forgot this dude's name. Considering the stuff he did, he was a pretty nice dude. But - the stuff he did is pretty despicable!
(Catwoman #31. I really hated this storyline, so I feel like he should be lower, but I also really hated Stark and Valmont, so where can it go? Also not sure that kidnapping and forced marriage qualifies as a "love interest"; may rethink including him altogether but I also wanted to emphasize how much I don't like Stark or Valmont).
No. 94. Stark. Criminal who took Selina under his wing when she was still an underage sex worker, and slept with her. He's also a murderer. Pretty gross person overall, really creepy relationship.
(Selina's Big Score)
No. 95. Valmont. I really hate Valmont, OK? I wrote a whole giant post already about how much I hate him!
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