Hobbies And Interests
Catwoman
Catwoman, or Selina Kyle, graced the pages of the very first Batman comic book in 1940. During this time period, film noir was wildly popular, and along with that, the concept of the femme fatale---the female villain with seduction powers. The character of Catwoman, a thief with martial arts training, fit well with current trends. Her storyline has been on and off again in the comic book series, sometimes disappearing for years at a time and returning every now and again as a love interest or nemesis.
Vicki Vale
Vicki Vale was introduced as Bruce Wayne's love interest in 1948. The publicity surrounding her introduction, though, was as "a new menace in Batman's life." Vale's character was a magazine photographer who went on a date with Bruce just to snap his photo. She was the first woman to find out Bruce Wayne's identity as Batman, however, Bruce Wayne told her that she was wrong. She was a recurring character throughout the comic book series.
Batwoman
Like Batman, Kathy Kane---who later would become Batwoman---was first introduced in Detective Comics, although she was introduced a decade after Batman, in 1956. She was a circus performer and motorcycle stunt performer who wanted to follow in Batman's footsteps. While strong, her character was feminine, too, with a perfume bottle tear gas weapon and charm bracelet handcuffs. Batwoman was heavily marketed as a love interest for Batman.
Batgirl - Three of them
There were three different Batgirl characters. The first was introduced in 1961---Betty Kane, Kathy Kane's niece. Betty discovered that her aunt was Batwoman, and she too wanted to fight crime. Betty Kane's Batgirl was a love interest of Robin, Batman's partner in crime-fighting. In 1967 Barbara Gordon, the adopted daughter of Gotham police commissioner James Gordan, became the second Batgirl. Barbara was a trained in judo and other martial arts and wasn't as much of a damsel in distress as the other female characters. Her rein ended when the Joker shot her in the spine, leaving her paralyzed. Barbara still wanted to fight crime, so she became Oracle, an information gatherer for all Gotham heroes. In 1999, Cassandra Cain was introduced as the new Batgirl, eventually earning her own comic book series.