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About This Series
Issues
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About This
Series:
Issues:
The
typical DC tradition is to give an annual comic special based on each
of their monthly titles. Catwoman was one of them.
Issues:
#1: 1994. This
was an "Elseworlds" annual. "Elseworlds" was DC's answer to
Marvel Comics' "What If?" series. Marvel's "What If?" put slight
spins on their familiar superhero sagas to produce drastic results in
what was, usually, a one-issue story. DC's "Elseworlds" took it a
step further; they put their heroes in strange times and places,
producing alternate realities. I really enjoyed the "Elseworlds"
comics. If nothing else, they were really interesting
stories. Would any of them hold up as a regular series?
Some would, and some wouldn't.
The story presented in this issue of the Catwoman Annual would, if anything, be interesting to see made into a sequel. Set in the year 1275 A.D., this is a story about religious knights versus werecats. The character we know as Batman is, in this reality, Timon Vicar, vicious leader of the opposition against the werecats. The armor he and his soldiers wear look similar to our Batman's costume. The symbol on each of their tunic's is a bat-like cross.
Contrary to our Batman, Timon Vicar is the villainous leader of the Augustine army. His father is the far more evil King. The hero is actually Catwoman and her werecat people. The werecats' race is called Selene (a play on the name of Selina Kyle, our Catwoman's true name). Ra's al Ghul (in our Batman stories, a supervillain) is ruler of the House of Selene. To kill a member of Selene royalty, that being must be killed nine times; once for each life. Timon Vicar kills Ra's al Ghul for the ninth and final time in the opening sequence of this story, losing his left eye in the fight.
Now wearing an eyepatch, and deathly ill from fever in the Winter cold, Timon Vicar is approached by a Catwoman. Her name is Talia, and she is the daughter of Ra's al Ghul (just like in our reality's Batman stories). To save himself, Vicar lies and says that he is only a follower of the Vicar, his leader having died in the attack by highwaymen. Catwoman, as Vicar comes to call her, has a deep hatred for highwaymen AND the Augustines. However, she is currently on the trail of the bandits, and takes Vicar along on her journey.
On the way, Talia/Catwoman saves Vicar's life more than not, and he starts to see the error of his ways. Maybe his hatred for the Selenites WAS misplaced all these years? In addition, the two fall in love. After Vicar saves Catwoman's life once, the relationship is solidified. He finds out that Talia knew his true identity all along and didn't kill him. She wanted him to see that Selenites were NOT the enemy, and she wanted him to take that message back to his people, namely the King. Vicar agrees.
Timon Vicar returns to his father and pleads with him to end the war against the Selenites. A less than favorable reception, the King pretty much denounces his son. King Maddox is about to triple his efforts in killing the remaining Selenites when Talia kills him, instead. Talia followed Vicar to the castle! Although she really didn't want to kill the King, she knew she had to in order to stop the bloodshed. Vicar chases after her. All is forgiven when, suddenly, soldiers' arrows are shot into her back.
Now that Vicar is King, he promises to end the war upon her dying breath. He knows, though, that she still has eight lives left, and that he will see her again.
This is a well-told story and a recommended read.
The story presented in this issue of the Catwoman Annual would, if anything, be interesting to see made into a sequel. Set in the year 1275 A.D., this is a story about religious knights versus werecats. The character we know as Batman is, in this reality, Timon Vicar, vicious leader of the opposition against the werecats. The armor he and his soldiers wear look similar to our Batman's costume. The symbol on each of their tunic's is a bat-like cross.
Contrary to our Batman, Timon Vicar is the villainous leader of the Augustine army. His father is the far more evil King. The hero is actually Catwoman and her werecat people. The werecats' race is called Selene (a play on the name of Selina Kyle, our Catwoman's true name). Ra's al Ghul (in our Batman stories, a supervillain) is ruler of the House of Selene. To kill a member of Selene royalty, that being must be killed nine times; once for each life. Timon Vicar kills Ra's al Ghul for the ninth and final time in the opening sequence of this story, losing his left eye in the fight.
Now wearing an eyepatch, and deathly ill from fever in the Winter cold, Timon Vicar is approached by a Catwoman. Her name is Talia, and she is the daughter of Ra's al Ghul (just like in our reality's Batman stories). To save himself, Vicar lies and says that he is only a follower of the Vicar, his leader having died in the attack by highwaymen. Catwoman, as Vicar comes to call her, has a deep hatred for highwaymen AND the Augustines. However, she is currently on the trail of the bandits, and takes Vicar along on her journey.
On the way, Talia/Catwoman saves Vicar's life more than not, and he starts to see the error of his ways. Maybe his hatred for the Selenites WAS misplaced all these years? In addition, the two fall in love. After Vicar saves Catwoman's life once, the relationship is solidified. He finds out that Talia knew his true identity all along and didn't kill him. She wanted him to see that Selenites were NOT the enemy, and she wanted him to take that message back to his people, namely the King. Vicar agrees.
Timon Vicar returns to his father and pleads with him to end the war against the Selenites. A less than favorable reception, the King pretty much denounces his son. King Maddox is about to triple his efforts in killing the remaining Selenites when Talia kills him, instead. Talia followed Vicar to the castle! Although she really didn't want to kill the King, she knew she had to in order to stop the bloodshed. Vicar chases after her. All is forgiven when, suddenly, soldiers' arrows are shot into her back.
Now that Vicar is King, he promises to end the war upon her dying breath. He knows, though, that she still has eight lives left, and that he will see her again.
This is a well-told story and a recommended read.