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Batman: The Long Halloween, Part 2 drops a bombshell revelation about Selina Kyle’s past and, in the process, heals Catwoman in a major way.
WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Batman: The Long Halloween, Part 2, now available digitally.
In Batman: The Long Halloween, Part 2, Selina Kyle’s journey is a bit more heroic than fans are accustomed to. Part 1 had her following Carmine Falcone around a lot, helping the Dark Knight on the mystery regarding the Holiday Killer as they went after the mobster’s family. It felt like he was a mark she was protecting, probably wanting him alive to rob him down the line. However, Part 2 reveals why she’s actually been doing all this, and it shockingly leads to revelations that help heal her past trauma in a major way.
Batman’s admittedly confused as to why Selina’s always around, tracking Carmine, gathering info on him and such. But he doesn’t mind since it helps the case he, Jim Gordon and Harvey Dent are building. They may want Carmine and all the gangs reined in, but they need the mob alive to do this or else it’ll be the same brand of vigilante justice they preach against.
Interestingly, in all the scraps, the Caped Crusader doesn’t see Catwoman exhibiting the judge, jury and executioner behavior. Instead, her revenge is more subtle, as seen when she led them to Carmine’s money so they could burn it down. Since she knows his identity, Bruce finally asks her why she’s so personally invested in this conspiracy, hoping she’ll be vulnerable and tell him the truth.
On the rooftop after the Bat and Carmine have an altercation, Catwoman admits there’s a possibility Carmine might be her dad. She’s been monitoring, waiting for the right time to confront him so she can just get the name of the mother she never knew. Part of her thinks her mom might be alive, hoping to put to bed all the nightmares of when she was an orphan. She simply wants to understand her backstory and this history is indeed addressed in Batman: The Long Halloween‘s finale.
When Two-Face shoots Carmine and leaves him bleeding out, Catwoman’s there to help Batman try to save him. She also tries to save his daughter, Sofia, but she dies in a fall. Eventually, Catwoman unmasks and Carmine mentions the name “Louisa,” which sends her on her way. It’s the name she needed all these years, and ironically, it ties into Jeph Loeb’s work with DC. He and Tim Sale were architects of The Long Halloween comic, which had Selina monitoring Sofia and Carmine on Father’s Day, and in 2004, their Catwoman book suggested Carmine and Selina’s mother had her in Italy. However, he didn’t want another girl, as that would have been a sign of weakness, so Carmine tried to erase this family that could’ve endangered his business.
Granted, Carmine was dying in Batman: The Long Halloween, Part 2, so he could have just been hallucinating or been wrong, but Selina feels like she’s gotten closure. The final shot has her with Alfred and Bruce at the mansion, happy as a Bat-kid picks up his Halloween treats. Bruce is stunned because he never gets visitors, but Selina seems to embrace this part of their new life. It’s the light she’s always wanted and while it’s never confirmed if she intends to track Louisa down, she’s at least happy in the moment. Seeing the Falcone family all get killed off redeems her as she pursues a future and love she didn’t think she deserved.
Batman: The Long Halloween, Part 2 is now available digitally. The film will be out on Blu-ray Aug. 10.
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