Selina Kyle as a character works without Bruce and it's one of the benefits of her character.
But what parts of her do you think are enhanced but Batman/Bruce Wayne?*
[aka gush about BatCat cause you deserve it]
okay finally getting around 2 this one sorry it took so so long.
ur right to say selina works independently !! i honestly think that is one of the strengths of a ship like batcat, because they can and do hold solo storylines and that makes the times when they are together so much better.
the ways they work together best are the ways they compliment each other. for one they both represent gotham, but in different ways. i'd argue that bruce is a more general sense, with a more abstract goal, while selina is very specific. the poor, the abused, the people in the heart of the city. and the way she addresses those people she protects is also more "specific" because of this (using specific more generally because while selina does go things like the mission in brubaker catwoman, status quo often means we dont get to see the effects of those sorts of things. selina loses a lot of what she establishes as a recurrent trauma in her stories.)
this also goes for how they compliment each other in terms of psychology. like i talk about in this analysis selina is pretty consistently protrayed to have issues with self-worth, and has this believe in her own evilness that has stuck with her pretty consistently as a character trait. the delightful thing with their dynamic is that bruce is not fooled by this narrative that selina believes and preforms. he's pretty comfortable calling BS on it actually. to be honest he's pretty comfortable calling bs on her in general when necessary.
(catwoman 2001 #19)
he also has this general unrelenting belief in her goodness & i think that provides her with a "safe place to land" for lack of a better term. its not something she will take up often but its something that is there.
(catwoman 2011 #38)
(catwoman 2018 #33)
i also think its pretty telling that in the times selina is uncertain and shaken about her own identity, she goes to bruce to ask him who she is. (look the indentity crisis arc in 2002 catwoman is dumb and a pretty clear attempt to erase selina's character and character development BUT i think the moment is telling for their relationship)
(catwoman 2001 #51)
basically selina is awesome and being with bruce is a very interesting contrast of worldview and supportiveness that makes both characters better.
