Holly Robinson

This page is for Catwoman II, Holly Robinson .

For the original Catwoman, see: Selina Kyle.

Origin

As a child, Holly ran away from an abusive home, ending up on the streets with no where else to go. She did whatever she could to survive, and began working as a prostitute. Holly was around 13 years old when she first met Selina Kyle, who saved her from being hustled by a police officer. Selina took Holly under her wing and the two became close friends, with Selina acting as Holly's mentor and protector. Holly was present when Selina began her career as Catwoman. Through the years, Holly has acted as Catwoman's loyal assistant (and one-time replacement).

Creation

Holly Robinson was created by Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli. She first appeared in Batman #404, published in 1987 as part of the Batman: Year One story arc.

Character Evolution

In Frank Miller's 1987 retelling of Batman's origin, Holly was introduced as an underaged prostitute who lived with Selina Kyle in Gotham's seedy East End. Holly also had a role in the 1989 Catwoman mini-series by Mindy Newell and J.J. Birch, which took place during Selina's first year as Catwoman. That story ended with Selina leaving young Holly at a convent with Maggie Kyle.

In 1988, an adult Holly appeared in "The Tin Roof Club", a 4 part Catwoman story running through Action Comics Weekly #611-614, written by Mindy Newell. In this story, Holly had married a mobster, and she was killed by her husband in an explosion. Holly's death and marriage were erased from continuity years later, when writer Ed Brubaker brought Holly back for his relaunch of the Catwoman series.

In 2002 a new Catwoman ongoing series was launched with the creative team of Ed Brubaker and Darwyn Cooke. Brubaker was initially unaware that Holly had been killed off in Action Comics Weekly, and he re-introduced the character in Catwoman #1. He later addressed the issue of Holly's death in a story titled "Why Holly Isn't Dead". The story, which appeared in Catwoman: Secret Files and Origins, implied that the events of "The Tin Roof Club" were annulled by Zero Hour or a similar continuity reboot.

Holly played a supporting role throughout most of Catwoman's second ongoing series. She became a spy of sorts for Catwoman, using her street smarts to gather information on criminal activity in the East End. Over the course of the series, Holly became a mentor to a youth street gang, struggled with drug addiction, and received combat training from Wildcat. Additionally, Holly was now openly gay, and was in a steady relationship with woman named Karon. The positive portrayal of Holly as a lesbian won the series a 2004 GLAAD award.

In 2006 during DC's One Year Later event, Holly became the second Catwoman after Selina Kyle retired due to a pregnancy. Written by Will Pfeifer, Holly's stint as Catwoman began in Catwoman #53 and ended in issue #69. Holly then left Gotham behind and was teamed with Harley Quinn in Countdown to Final Crisis.

In 2017 during DC's Rebirth event Holly's origin is rewritten once again. Now she was in the same orphanage as Selina Kyle, and when it was burned down Selina trained her to channel her rage.

Major Story Arcs

Year One

When Batman first appeared in Gotham City, Holly was a young prostitute who shared an East End apartment with Selina Kyle. At one point, Holly encountered a disguised Bruce Wayne during one of his early attempts at crime fighting and stabbed him in the leg when a fight broke out. Holly and Selina were among the witnesses at the scene of Batman's first public confrontation with the GCPD, and Holly was around to see Selina Kyle become the Catwoman.

After Holly was badly beaten by a cop, Catwoman left her at a convent where Selina's sister Maggie was a nun. Feeling too much in Selina's shadow and wanting to stay off the streets, Holly remained at the convent for a while, although she felt out of place there. Eventually, Holly and Maggie left the convent together, stealing a car and driving to San Francisco. The two friends parted ways, and Holly returned to the streets, becoming addicted to drugs.

Return to Gotham

Years later, Holly returned to Gotham. She managed to quit drugs, and began dating a girl named Karon. Looking for a safe place to stay after a series of brutal prostitute murders, Holly returned to the apartment she had once shared with Selina, and was stunned to find that Selina had also returned. For the last few years Holly had believed that Selina was dead. Catwoman decided to become the protector of the East End, and hired Holly to act as her eyes and ears on the streets. Holly pretended to be a part of the street life so she could get information that would help Selina in her crime fighting. The new job gave Holly a sense of purpose, and she was glad to be able to use her experience to help people, although being out on the streets sometimes reminded her too much of her troubled past.

Relentless

Holly was later surprised to run into her old friend Maggie Kyle, who had recently returned to Gotham. However, Maggie was soon kidnapped and tormented to the point of insanity by Black Mask, who wanted to destroy Catwoman's life. Black Mask was aided by Sylvia Sinclair, who had Holly kidnapped and beaten. Eventually, Holly killed Sylvia to save Selina's life. Holly was traumatized by these events, and she isolated herself from Selina. Overwhelmed with guilt over Maggie's fate and Sylvia's death, Holly stole a bottle of Maggie's painkillers. However, she didn't take any of the drugs, and healed to some degree when she reunited with Selina.

Wild Ride

To rebuild their friendship and heal from the ordeal with Black Mask, Selina took Holly on a road trip across the country. Their first stop was a rural safehouse, where Selina arranged for Holly to receive martial arts training from Ted Grant. They then traveled through several cities, including Opal City and Keystone City. In St. Roch, Holly was happily reunited with her long lost brother Davey, who had been located by Selina and Slam Bradley.

Holly later became the supervisor and den mother to a group of street kids called the Alleytown Gang, running them as a network of spies and informants for Catwoman. When Selina disappeared for a period of time, Holly began wearing the Catwoman costume to convince criminals that Catwoman was still protecting the East End.

The New Catwoman

Selina Kyle decided to retire from being Catwoman after discovering that she was pregnant. She asked Holly to take her place as the protector of the East End, and Holly became the second Catwoman. During her tenure as Catwoman, Holly turned to Wildcat for guidance and advice as she dealt with villains such as Angle Man.

Holly was later arrested for the murder of Black Mask, but was rescued from jail by Selina, who had actually committed the crime. While Selina was getting Holly's name erased from the police database, Holly suited up as Catwoman to rescue a kidnapped girl from being murdered by Blitzkrieg. She saved the girl, but was unmasked by Blitzkrieg on a live video feed to the internet. Holly was then confronted by Jim Lenahan, a GCPD detective who was obsessed with capturing Catwoman. They were interrupted by Hammer and Sickle, who wanted to kill Selina. The Russian super-villains killed Lenahan, but the police believed that Holly was responsible for Lenahan's death. After helping Selina defeat Hammer and Sickle, Holly left Gotham City, now a fugitive wanted for murder.

Countdown to Final Crisis

Holly arrived in Metropolis, where she encountered a woman called Athena, and accepted an offer to stay at an Athenian Women's Shelter. Here, Holly met Harley Quinn, and the two became friends. After winning a group battle, Holly and Harley were taken to Themyscira for Amazon combat training. They later met Hippolyta, who recruited them to help her uncover the truth about the false Athena who was training fake Amazons. It was soon revealed revealed that Athena was actually Granny Goodness, who was training these women to be her new Female Furies. After being confronted by Hippolyta, Granny Goodness retreated to Apokalips, pursued by Harley, Holly, and Mary Marvel. On Apokolips, Mary Marvel used her powers to free the imprisoned Greek gods and as a reward for helping, Holly and Harley were granted powers. Holly received a portion of Diana's skill and strength as a huntswoman. She lost these powers after returning to Earth.

A New Life

Following their adventure on Apokolips, Holly and Harley lived together in Gotham. After helping Selina steal Tommy Elliot's fortune, Holly received a large sum of money and decided to move away, beginning a new life elsewhere.

Rooftops

Holly had killed 237 men, but Selina took the blame. Since then she has been using the alias Catherine Ann Turley. When Batman came to Holly looking for Selina, Holly goes into a rage and slices Batman's throat, leaving him for dead. She then takes a plane to KaHonda.

Powers and Abilities

Unarmed Combat

Holly Robinson currently has no powers. She is a formidable fighter, having been trained in martial arts by Ted Grant and Selina Kyle.

During Countdown to Final Crisis, she was granted the skills and strength of a huntswoman by the Goddess of the Hunt, Diana. These gifts included a more feral appearance making her a true "catwoman". However, she lost these powers after returning to Earth.

Other Versions

Other Media

DC Showcase: Catwoman

Holly Robinson was seen in the 2010 DC Showcase: Catwoman.

Batman: Year One

Holly was also seen with Selina Kyle through out the movie.

The Dark Knight Rises

In Christopher Nolans third and final Batman movie, Juno Temple played a character named Jen. She was a friend of Selina Kyle and also a thief. Jen was Nolans version of Holly Robinson.