Absolute Catwoman #4: Cats Trapped

Selina, Vicky, and Helena are close to rescuing Holly and securing the Yarn, but a mountain of assassins led by Cassandra Cain stands in their way. Forced between saving her friend or saving the world, Selina will have to reconcile with her past to decide her future.

What started as a mini-series, has now become the first arc of a twelve-issue maxi. Just like Absolute Martian Manhunter and Absolute Green Arrow before it, Absolute Catwoman has been expanded. There is lots of speculation about how this could affect the wider Absolute Universe (specifically Batman), but for now we focus on the story at hand. Things start to come full circle for Selina as she finally starts to reconcile with her own emotions and fears to save her friends. This issue is split between Selina’s inner dialogue and the Calico’s plan to retake the Yarn from the League of Assassins. This is the most self-reflection Selina has undergone so far, and while the conclusion she comes to is a bit quick, it is still an effective resolution to her character arc.

Che Grayson and Scott Snyder are close to the end of the first arc, and the stakes have never been higher. Selina continues to take center stage and how she continues to utilize the tools at her disposal is fun to watch. Her trauma is still laid bare, specifically her guilt over what happened to Cassandra. Cassandra herself doesn’t do much in this issue, but her one-shot (which we also reviewed) almost perfectly explained her feelings about Selina.

Bengal Giovanna Niro makes for a powerhouse combo when it comes to the art in this book. My one complaint though is that Kitana does not seem to be as big and buff as she was in the Cassandra Cain one-shot. Other than that the book is still amazing to look at.