The Dark Knight Rises First picture of Catwoman - Part 1

[I SEE SPIDEY]

Let's face it, if she wore cat ears, she'd look like every other 22-year-old girl on Halloween who was too lazy to find a real costume so just wore black, put on a cat ears, and drew whiskers on her face.

Are you one of those people who hates interesting costume design just because you love Nolan's films?

How are Cat ears any sillier than that godawful Batman costume in TDK?

 

[Boom]

The image itself is called "Selina Kyle," so am I delusional to hope that this isn't the full Catwoman suit?

Yeah. I probably am.

In any case, the costume itself is great. Which only frustrates me more. Because without any shred of a cat motif to be found anywhere, the suit ultimately fails as a representation of Catwoman. Hathaway looks like she could easily fit into any action/spy thriller and not look out of place. I'm just not seeing the character here.

Her name is Catwoman. Her costume is designed to look cat-like. How anyone could argue or rationalize against that is beyond me. Cat ears would be goofy? Really? And yet for some reason it's perfectly acceptable for Batman to have pointy bat ears and an impractical cape?

 

[Hunter Rider]

Now my desktop wallpaper!

 

[miggizle85]

YES! That is what I thought when I first saw the pic this morning. In fact I think I was the first person on here to make the SpyKids comparison
http://forums.superherohype.com/showthread.php?t=361671&page=2
6th post down
(sorry but my ego just wouldn't let me not take credit).

 

[I SEE SPIDEY]

The image itself is called "Selina Kyle," so am I delusional to hope that this isn't the full Catwoman suit?

Yeah. I probably am.

In any case, the costume itself is great. But without any shred of a cat motif to be found anywhere, the suit ultimately fails as a representation of Catwoman. Hathaway looks like she could easily fit into any action/spy thriller and not look out of place. I'm just not seeing the character here.

Her name is Catwoman. Her costume is designed to look cat-like. How anyone could argue or rationalize against that is beyond me. Cat ears would be goofy? Really? And yet for some reason it's perfectly acceptable for Batman to have pointy bat ears and an impractical cape?

Because Nolan is perfect in everyway silly.

Listen I'm totally open to the possibility that this isn't the final version of the suit but WB needs to clear this up and release it if it isn't because right now she looks like Non-discript Woman.

 

[QueenChaos]

We need to see her actually performing this role to judge more adequately. This is *a* look of Catwoman. It's not the greatest photo we could have gotten to reveal enough expression that we could gather further detail from. In the promo image of Bane, it was set up in such a way that there was more focus on him - what he is conveying with his eyes and what his presence feels like overall is more prominent.

It has been mentioned that this image was probably mostly released to beat spy photos, they knew that spy pics would be taken and wanted to release something official as soon as they could, to make sure they were on top of that and Catwoman/Selina Kyle's first appearance would be represented with more quality.
They may have a more focused, evocative image of Catwoman planned (or already have it taken care of as Gill suggested), but are not ready to release it yet.

 

[Saint]

Because Nolan is perfect in everyway silly.

Listen I'm totally open to the possibility that this isn't the final version of the suit but WB needs to clear this up and release it if it isn't because right now she looks like Non-discript Woman.

Girlwoman.

 

[Secret Fawful]

You people are way off the mark. Look at the mask CLOSELY. It has a cat nose nosepiece, and from the front the mask is completely cat-shaped. She might have more of a head covering at other points, but that mask is THE MASK they are using.

 

[KRIM]

I'm sorry but I don't think that 65% of people on these boards appreciate any criticisms of these films. It's all praise, all the time or you are a hater who wants another Batman and Robin.

As someone who just painstakingly waded through every Catwoman-related post in the past 10 hours, I can confidently say an overwhelmingly vast majority of the posters here did express their disappointment with the image.

In any case, the costume itself is great. Which only frustrates me more. Because without any shred of a cat motif to be found anywhere, the suit ultimately fails as a representation of Catwoman. Hathaway looks like she could easily fit into any action/spy thriller and not look out of place. I'm just not seeing the character here.

Easily the most frustrating part of all this. It's like 95% done. They only needed to inch their way to glorious victory and they just said, "f--k it". Imagine having the wildest, steamiest, sex romp of your life, only for your partner(s) to suddenly dash out moments before the epic climax. Blue balls galore.

 

[regwec]

I look at this and I see the lame, pedestrian sort of thinking that everybody would always expect to see, just before being surprised by a Joker in purple, a gruesome Two-Face, or a Bane with venom. That's what keeps my hope alive: Nolan hasn't done anything this pedestrian so far, so I hope this isn't the whole picture we're seeing.

Right now, she looks like the fan caricature of the "realism" perspective, where "real" is assumed to mean "boring."

I do understand why you would think that, but at the same time it is important to recall that everything in the design (bar the silly little LED lights) has a precedent in Catwoman's previous appearances. I think a "teh realism" approach would be to have her wearing something unnecessarily armoured, and to dispense with the mask entirely.

I do think they are genuinely paying homage to the Catwoman designs of a former age. I had half prepared myself for her costume to look a bit like this, because I suspected Nolan would want to use a design that had some "authenticity", but was distinctly different from the Catwoman of Batman Returns, and the Catwoman design that is generally in vogue at present.

I think Nolan is more influenced by the Burton/Schumacher movies than people imagine- in an inverted way. I think he feels that his Joker, his Bane and his Catwoman have[/i] to be different to be original and worthwhile. I don't think he makes personal, artistic choices in a vacuum where only creative integrity matters. I think he feels compelled to bring something new, in this case by looking to something older than most people expected.

All the same, I hope we get our cat-eared cowl, and I suspect we will.

 

[Boom]

KRIM, I agree completly. Nolan is the biggest cocktease in the world. He designs a suit that is 98% perfect, then ****s up the crucial 2%. From the neck down, she's perfect. Those set photos have me all like "."

Then I see the head.

Goddamnit .

 

[QueenChaos]

Because Nolan is perfect in everyway silly.

Listen I'm totally open to the possibility that this isn't the final version of the suit but WB needs to clear this up and release it if it isn't because right now she looks like Non-discript Woman.

I would think we'd get something more before Summer's end... It doesn't feel like this is "it", to me.

 

[TheBatman072]

Nolan is the biggest cocktease in the world. He designs a suit that is 98% perfect, then ****s up the crucial 2%.

From the neck down, she's perfect. Those set photos have me all like "."

Goddamnit .

I knoooow.

 

[regwec]

Easily the most frustrating part of all this. It's like 95% done. They only needed to inch their way to glorious victory and they just said, "f--k it". Imagine having the wildest, steamiest, sex romp of your life, only for your partner(s) to suddenly dash out moments before the epic climax. Blue balls galore.

Some people really like that.

 

[Victarion]

KRIM, I agree completly. Nolan is the biggest cocktease in the world. He designs a suit that is 98% perfect, then ****s up the crucial 2%. From the neck down, she's perfect. Those set photos have me all like "."

Then I see the head.

Goddamnit .

Fans like these would turn anyone tsundere, as seen by Nolan's aesthetic choices.

 

[I SEE SPIDEY]

I would think we'd get something more before Summer's end... It doesn't feel like this is "it", to me.

Eh, I want it on Monday if this isn't the final look. Atleast if they confirm it is I can be disappointed without reservations.

 

[Secret Fawful]

 

[miggizle85]

Easily the most frustrating part of all this. It's like 95% done. They only needed to inch their way to glorious victory and they just said, "f--k it". Imagine having the wildest, steamiest, sex romp of your life, only for your partner(s) to suddenly dash out moments before the epic climax. Blue balls galore.

t: That's a good comparison but right now we don't if she's dashed out and left the building entirely or if she's just in the other room, rummaging through her bag, hopefully pulling out a pair of sexy cat ears for us.

 

[Dark Knight]

Oh Oh...it's panic time for fanboys, especially since we have not seen the full costume as of yet.

 

[KRIM]

Spoiler

I gather this is based on personal observations of the feline variety. In which case, no disrespect, but I think your cat is a robot.

 

[SuperT]

Well, it's clear that she's obviously wearing some sort of mask underneath those goggles. It's a shame they didn't release a shot of her without the high tech goggles on because the mask underneath looks great.

 

[I SEE SPIDEY]

Oh Oh...it's panic time for fanboys, especially since we have not seen the full costume as of yet.

Oh, Oh it's blind praising time for Nolan fanboys.

See that works both ways.

I'm fine with the body suit, it looks fairly sexy from what I can tell. (what a terrible and frustating shot for them to release!)

 

[Boom]

...What "cat nose" are you talking about, Fawful?

It just looks like a sculpted nose bridge .

 

[Rockadood]

Moreso than Christopher Nolan, Lindy Hemming is responsible for the costume design and I have full confidence that her designs for Catwoman will work well on film.

Think about how thorough and considerate to the characters' histories she has been in the previous films;

Scarecrow - Starts off in a suit with the sack-mask, then dons an untied strait jacket with the mask (Also, riding a fire-breathing horse!)
Joker- Perfect, from the purple suit to the checked socks. This was THE look for Halloween.
Two Face - This was inspired, having half the suit burned with the lining showing makes a lot more sense than stitching two suit halves together.
Bane and Catwoman - We'll just have to wait and see.

Lindy Hemming's designs have never let us down, and I have every confidence in her ability to bring a quality look to the screen for these characters.

 

[QueenChaos]

Eh, I want it on Monday if this isn't the final look. Atleast if they confirm it is I can be disappointed without reservations.

Hah.. yeah, sooner than later might be best with the reaction this appears to be getting overall. I feel like they have something more planned, but not meant for this time.. or they are off schedule with it (as it seems they have been behind in schedule with things from what we've heard and the rate of progress we've observed).

I was expecting the first image of Catwoman to be along the lines of the Bane photo in appearance, as stated in one of my previous posts this photo seems to lack in focus on Selina/Catwoman herself and doesn't amplify her presence the way it ought to.
Even if she didn't have the cat-cowl in an image like that, I think many would be a little more satisfied as it would more properly establish her presence - and more appropriately convey the feel of her portrayal.

So.. I still hope for something more like that to be released.