Ever since Kenner released a Catwoman figure for Batman Returns, I have enjoyed collecting any and every Catwoman item I can find. Forget the Bat; it’s all about the Cat. Thanks to Paladin, fellow contributor to NERDSociety, I was able to have my lovely hands on a very sought after Knightfall Catwoman figure. Let’s look!

Brought to fans by DC Direct in 2006, this version of Catwoman takes a page from the Knightfall story arc from Batman and contains her cool ‘90s look, like her purple suit with black boots. Along with that mad look on her face. Not to mention all that flowing curled hair. This version of Catwoman is one of my favorites due to the color scheme and partly because of the nostalgia of when she debuted with this look. I also liked the idea of her hair being loose. She seems more dangerous. Gone is the fully covered costume, ready to keep one guessing about who is behind the mask. Instead we get closer to seeing the masked woman’s identity (even though the reader already knows.) There is also something wild about letting your hair down, no?

The back of the card is standard DC Direct packaging. Each character is shown in the series along with a brief bio for each figure. I had never really read this story arc in the comics, but I do know that this arc prominently featured Bane and one back breaking scene with Batman. Some have also compared certain elements of the Knightfall arc with the latest film, The Dark Knight Rises. Having never been a know-it-all with Batman comics, I can only fully comment on what I do know: Catwoman figures!

Knightfall Catwoman has a few points of articulation, though like most DC Direct figures I own, the joints are very stiff. I like this, as nothing can be more annoying than a highly detailed figure with rickety joints. Hips, knees, shoulders, elbows, wrists, and neck all have some form of movement. Though I must say, turning her neck is hindered somewhat by the plastic sculpt of her hair.

Check out that hair! Catwoman is a polished cat thief in the front and wild vixen in the back. That is a massive set of plastic hair! It looks cool though and DC Direct also did a fantastic job with the details.

Overall, the paint and sculpt for this Catwoman is fantastic. The detailing is great. Her facial sculpt looks so menacing with just a dash of sass for safe measure. I also like how parts of her feature a matte paint while her gloves, boots, and hair have a glossy look. It is always nice when figures have different paint styles, it really adds to the texture and quality of a figure, making a comic character really pop out of the pages.

So Catwoman comes with a whip and quite possibly one of the coolest stands for a figure I have ever seen. I love the shattered Bat signal image used for the stand. It just looks really cool and has an impressive effect. Back in the olden days when we had to walk to school in sleet and snow, we also had to endure boring clear stands for our figures to stand on. I really appreciate that toy companies have become very inventive with what these figures have to stand on.

Knightfall Catwoman is a spectacular figure. I know Kenner had released this version of Catwoman in the ‘90s under its Legends of Batman line, but I think DC Direct really made something special. I am thankful to Paladin for sending this to me, I am thrilled to add this Catwoman to my collection. It would now seem that my Catwoman collection is complete. For now…

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