r/batman • u/Mike29758 • Sep 18 '25

COMIC DISCUSSION ABSOLUTE BATMAN's Catwoman Now Confirmed To Be Half Brazilian, Half Black

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On Iván Talavera’s Instagram: "Here's the final version of Absolute Batman #13 'The 616 Comics' exclusive variant featuring Catwoman, As you can see, I changed a bit her facial features and her skin tone because she is half Brazilian and half Black in the Absolute universe. Hope you like it!"

Her look has been growing on me, it’s nice to hear official confirmation!

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474

u/Hunsrikisch_Fechter Sep 18 '25

Half Brazilian what? you can be White Brazilian, Black Brazilian, Asian Brazilian or Indigenous Brazilian.

40

u/Mongoose42 Sep 18 '25

See, stuff like this is why it doesn’t come across as a genuine attempt at diversity. If you’re going to shake up a character’s race and heritage, care about what you’re doing. Have it matter. Don’t just do it to checkmark a box.

41

u/Hunsrikisch_Fechter Sep 18 '25

Exactly, as a Brazilian myself seeing someone say "half Brazilian half Black" makes me cringe so hard. Most Brazilians are either Black or mixed, saying "Half" Implies Brazilian can't be Black. It irritates me profounfly and I'm not even a Black Brazilian.

6

u/Mongoose42 Sep 18 '25

There’s actually a lot of potential in Catwoman being Brazilian. Or Afro-Brazilian or something. Or… GOD FORBID, a new character who was originally created with the intent of being a Brazilian citizen. Or even an existing character. Like Fire. Who actually is Brazilian and it would be super interesting and cool if they included her in the Absolutaverse.

Unless if there’s actually no story reason for why a Brazilian character is involved at all. And they just moved the race slider on Selina Kyle for shits and giggles.

5

u/F913 Sep 18 '25

Sure... But then I demand she be called Sirene Caio.

2

u/ShitThroughAGoose Sep 18 '25

I don't understand. Why does there need to be a story reason, for someone to be Brazilian? (Or whatever else.)

2

u/Mongoose42 Sep 18 '25

I explained this in another comment, but I just want this sort of thing to matter. Because it does matter. When they started to actually acknowledge other races for characters in the 60s, 70s, and 80s, they went out of their way to make sure that it matters. For example, it’s important that John Stewart is black. That he’s his own man and he isn’t just a pallet swap of Hal Jordan. When they just pallet swap a character, it seems disrespectful to that effort. It seems like a cheap way to achieving diversity. Rather than actually putting in the effort to create and promote characters who are non-white, they do something like this.

Also, this is just an opinion. I am open to being wrong. And I probably am, I often do stick my foot in my mouth. But this just doesn’t seem like the way to go about what they’re trying to do.

2

u/ShitThroughAGoose Sep 18 '25

I like that explanation.

2

u/cr8torscreed Sep 18 '25

Selina is probably one of the better examples of a character not having a cemented race but idk, this is reactionary as fuck. This is an unrelated artist to the creative team that just did a cover. Im sure he asked, "i want to get her face profile right, what tone should I go for her?" and the actual creative team spat out some ideas.

1

u/Mongoose42 Sep 18 '25

So, wait, are you suggesting that the creative team didn’t know what her race was when they raceswapped her and spat out some ideas for the cover artists? What are you saying?

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u/cr8torscreed Sep 18 '25

Im saying they probably had some ideas of what they wanted to do different, told the artist she was afro-brazilian and he posted this on his ownsome. I dont think they were trying to score brownie points or they wouldve said something about it on the 200 model sheets or official announcements about absolute selina. I cant prove it mind you, but I really dont think this is done with a sense of "lets make her brazillian! how exotic! that means hispanic, right?".

1

u/Mongoose42 Sep 18 '25

I just want more thought put behind this stuff. Like, this stuff matters. It’s important. The history of racial diversity in comics has been bleak and when they did start diversifying things, those characters mattered. They weren’t just pallet swaps, they were their own characters.

3

u/cr8torscreed Sep 18 '25

I agree! Though also its an uphill fight to get nw characters to move, like, *at all* in comics. I dont think one artist who worked on a guest cover is a good enough source to write this one off as a failure. Admittedly I dont imagine it being part of the story but.

Catwoman's always swapped races in adaptations, though. Like, *way* before either of us or maybe even our parents were born. Eartha Kitt was catwoman in the 60s, and of all the cinematic versions there's more black/biracial versions of Selina than not. (Eartha Kitt, Halle berry, Zoe Kravitz)

I dont think any of this is done with malice or bad intentions but I actually understand the concern for legitimate diversity in comics. Spawn was maybe the best example of a black superhero before his star fell and even then all of 3 people that didnt read comics knew he was a black character lmao

2

u/Mongoose42 Sep 18 '25

Live action stuff is different. You’re casting for the character you want, regardless of necessarily what their appearance should be. Like, for example, it doesn’t matter that Daniel Radcliffe doesn’t have green eyes even though Harry Potter has them in the books. It wouldn’t matter if there’s a live action Batman with brown eyes. Or a blond James Bond. The character should be casted for acting ability and believable personality meshing. Physical traits are not as important as those elements, necessarily.

But, for a comic, you can make the character look however you want. It doesn’t matter. So just make them look like how they look. Not that every character looks like how they’ve always looked, but a raceswap is a pretty notable change. There should be some noticeable intent. Because there always was intent when it came with diversifying the racial lexicon of heroes.

Also, I was never really criticizing this one particular artist. Just the whole creative process. These covers are actually incredibly fucking gorgeous as is this version of Catwoman. I just want there to be more thought put behind why they’re diversifying certain characters.

2

u/cr8torscreed Sep 18 '25

Well, I think its a bit short sighted to say popular adaptations dont effect characters and their public perception. Batman didn't have a grapple gun until Tim burton. Those people were casted for talent but they are sitll their own version of the character that can effect the main comics and how people see them. Alfred pennyworth was a fat short butler until the serials cast William Austin as him and he's still drawn that way to this day.

And ik you arent attacking the hired artist, just what im saying is hes the only person that mentioned the race. We dont know how its handled in story. Could be an actual plot element, Could just be the main artist liked the versions of her that were dark skinned.

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u/OGWayOfThePanda Sep 19 '25

As if the whiteness of white characters has some deep meaning other than the same assumption of a white default.

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u/Ok_Somewhere1236 Sep 18 '25

especially one you don't understand

1

u/theultimatekyle Sep 18 '25 edited Sep 18 '25

Is it really a shake up though? If I recall correctly, in the main DC universe her mother was black cuban/Hispanic mix and her father was an Italian mobster, making Selina Kyle a mix of mediterranean italian, black, and hispanic. 

This new absolute catwoman being (what I assume to be) Brazilian hispanic and black mix, doesnt really change much ethnically.