Catwoman is an archetype, obviously. She was created based on femme fatales in 1940s films. But that doesn't mean she cannot be done great. One could just as easily dismiss the Joker as a character.
Hathaway made this sort of character believable. You mention (ugh) Die Another Day, in which Halle Berry played one of the most disliked Bond girls because she was pure undeveloped camp. Even looking at TA's similarity with Black Widow, she has no particular depth or motivation beyond "getting red off my ledger." TDKR is Batman and Bane's movie, but Catwoman brings a level of levity and fun to it that has not been in any Nolan movie, save how you read Ledger's Joker. And she was grounded just enough audiences believed she was real. And that's the trick with Nolan's popularity. He makes audiences believe in these broad larger-than-life characters.
That is why almost all the reviews, even from those who disliked TDKR, has nothing but praise for Hathaway's Catwoman. While she isn't as iconic as Joker, she probably could have sold the movie more, like Pffeifer's own Catwoman, with a larger role. Oh well.
