Similar to many other characters from the Batman mythos, including the Dark Knight himself, Catwoman has been ripe for reinvention ever since first debuting in the pages of DC Comics back in 1940. That being said, while countless names have gone on to play the iconic heroine in live-action over the decades, for a lot of people, nobody has come close to matching Michelle Pfeiffer’s Selina Kyle in Batman Returns.
Julie Newmar, Eartha Kitt and Lee Meriwether all suited up opposite Adam West, Camren Bicondova was a series regular throughout the entirety of Gotham‘s Run, Anne Hathaway proved a solid foil for Christian Bale in The Dark Knight Rises, Halle Berry headlined one of the worst comic book adaptations in history that bombed at the box office and Zoe Kravitz looks to put her own stamp on Selina in The Batman, but Pfeiffer still has the lot of them beat.
Yes, Batman Returns‘ Catwoman is the definitive live-action portrayal of the legendary figure, and it turns out that not only did Pfeiffer look the part, but she was also more than capable of handling the stunts while kitted out head to toe in a leather ensemble. A behind the scenes video from the shoot has resurfaced this week, which shows the actress easily whipping the heads off a series of mannequins in one take, as you can see below.
Reminder: Michelle Pfeiffer whipped the heads off those four mannequins IN ONE TAKE to thunderous applause from the Batman Returns crew! pic.twitter.com/wVqyH4qw6A
— Jarett Wieselman (@JarettSays) February 19, 2021
No wonder the crew broke into such enthusiastic applause at the end of the shot, because that’s something a lot of seasoned stunt performers would have struggled to pull off in one go. Pfeiffer clearly put the work in to master her character’s weapon of choice, though, and it adds another new wrinkle to her legacy as Catwoman.
