Catwoman Just Suffered One of the Most Brutal Deaths in DC History

Warning: Spoilers for Catwoman #64!

Summary Catwoman's "nine lives" power leads to a brutal crash-landing on Earth, pushing her closer to her final death.

Catwoman is risking her lives on dangerous missions, raising questions about her self-destructive tendencies.

The number of Catwoman's lives is dwindling, leading her to push herself to the limit as she tries to be a hero.

Death continues to haunt Catwoman in the worst way possible. One would assume that finally receiving a "nine lives" superpower would prove to be a blessing for Selina Kyle, but it's proven to be more of a horrifying curse. Being gifted nine actual extra lives has done more to put her in excruciating pain with every inch she steps toward a final, irreversible death.

Case in point: Catwoman #64 by Tini Howard and Carmine Di Giandomenico showcases Catwoman's most devastating death yet as she crashes from space into Earth, burning up again and again before making final impact. This might rank up there with some of the most horrifying deaths in DC Comics history, not just in Catwoman's shortening lifespan.

While Catwoman is still new at having such a superpower, these powers are dwindling fast as she loses another life — and sometimes multiple lives — with each passing issue. To understand how close Catwoman is to knocking on death's door permanently, one must understand what her other deaths looked like.

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Catwoman's Latest Death Is Her Most Horrifying

Selina Kyle Might Not Come Back from This One

Not willing to go down without a fight, Catwoman's brawl with the Demolition Team severely damages the ship until she's forced to crash-land on Earth, burning her up countless times upon re-entering the atmosphere.

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To combat her latest enemies, Viceroy and the White Glove, Catwoman needs to board the Ultraviolet X-40, a government-owned experimental spacecraft. With it, she must venture into the deep unknown — outer space — to destroy a satellite that she's certain will allow her enough time to take out Veronica Viceroy's operation unseen. Catwoman understands the risks involved, quipping that even getting stuck in space "means certain death, Major Tom style," but that highlights just how dangerous she's determined Viceroy and her crew to be.

Unfortunately for Catwoman, her life is in danger when the Demolition Team is on her tail on orders from the general of the spacecraft that she stole. The Demolition Team's orders are simple: kill the thief before any of the government's secrets spill out — or worse, it gets out that one person outsmarted them. Not willing to go down without a fight, Catwoman's brawl with the Demolition Team severely damages the ship until she's forced to crash-land on Earth, burning up countless times upon re-entering the atmosphere.

How Did Catwoman Gain Her "Nine Lives" Powers?

And How Has She Lost Her "Nine Lives" Thus Far?

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Catwoman gained her mysterious new "nine lives" powers at the conclusion of the DC Universe-altering Gotham War event. Selina Kyle emerged from a meteor attack orchestrated by Vandal Savage and awoke seemingly unscathed. In actuality, she lost her first life. In a twist on Tim Burton's interpretation of Catwoman, the feline femme fatale has gained multiple extra lives — meaning, if she played her cards right, she could be immortal. Since then, she hasn't let those lives go to waste. In fact, she's taken advantage of them to go on the most dangerous missions of her heroic career.

The massive Batman vs. Catwoman Gotham War crossover event took place primarily in the Batman and Catwoman titles written by Chip Zdarsky and Howard. The entire event, including a tie-in series and multiple one-shots, is collected in a hardcover edition, available June 25th, 2024, from DC Comics.

Selina's first two deaths since her original Gotham War resurrection happen in Catwoman #59 by Howard, Stefano Raffaele, Veronica Gandini, and Lucas Gattoni. While invading the home of Paola Molina, the defenses of the walls Catwoman is scaling are activated. The electric shock that is sent through her entire body makes her feel as though her heart has stopped. Later in the same issue, she's stabbed with a knife through the chest by Paola, only to recover virtually untouched. In the next issue, Catwoman #60 by the same team, Eduardo Flamingo sticks Catwoman with a lethal injection. The needle misses the vein, so the poison isn't fatal, but the truck collision at the issue's end is, causing Catwoman's next death.

Catwoman's Powers Have a Significant Limitation

How Much Time Does Selina Kyle Have Left?

Catwoman #61 gives the title character a run-in with radiation sickness in Markovia, but she also runs into Superman, who praises Catwoman for her continued sacrifice. Nonetheless, she loses another life. Selina is spared another death — until Catwoman #63 by Howard, Di Giandomenico, Gandini, and Gattoni, wherein she saves documentarian Justice Jordan from drowning. With no air supply, she gives him her oxygen tank and mask while underwater, leaving herself to drown. A return to the underwater sea kingdom that held Jordan captive, Tritonis, causes her second death in one issue, as she can't escape an explosion that slides her spine apart.

Following seven deaths, Catwoman's time is indeed running out.

That death brings readers to Catwoman's most recent and certainly most brutal death: crash-landing on Earth after violently hurtling through that atmosphere at the speed of light, her singed body visible through the flames at the conclusion of Catwoman #64. Most importantly, her body remains completely lifeless after the incident. The suspense teases that Catwoman may have lost all of her lives, and this was the last straw for her enhanced life cycle. More than likely, it'll take time for her to recover from this one. However, following seven deaths, Catwoman's time is indeed running out.

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Catwoman Is Becoming Self-Destructive with Her Lives

Does She Have a Death Wish?

Seeing how frequently Catwoman has died — and how quickly she is running through each life — leaves one to wonder if she is pushing what her nine lives are capable of. More than that, it begs the question if Catwoman is pushing herself too far. No one is going to argue that she is not committed to being a hero. It's clear as day that she thinks using up all of these lives is her way of trying to go all-in on being a hero without the limitations of death holding her back.

Even if these missions aren't going to permanently kill her, they're certainly going to run her ragged.

However, it's concerning when she starts risking each of her lives on the most dangerous, high-risk back-to-back missions with no signs of slowing down. Even if these missions aren't going to permanently kill her, they're certainly going to run her ragged. Most importantly, assuming that Catwoman actually is dead for good once she uses up her ninth life, it's going to run her into the ground — literally. It's hard to say that she wasted her lives considering that she lost them in situations where she wouldn't have survived without them.

However, it feels like a waste to see them almost run out as quickly as they were introduced. This "nine lives" experiment was the perfect way for Catwoman to truly be introduced as a DC character on the side of heroes, as she endeared herself to the superheroes around her and gained their trust after spending so many years as a villainous thief. However, she says it best when she tells Superman in the final pages of Catwoman #61: "I'm so tired." Selina Kyle has saved many lives, but she's breaking herself in the process. If Catwoman's not careful, this superpowered story will actually be the death of her.

Catwoman #64 is on sale now from DC Comics.