Eartha Kitt’s take on Catwoman was one, a character who continues to be one of the most influential comic book villainesses, a recurring foe (and often romantic interest) of Batman. Kitt would be the first but not last Black woman to play her, in the series’ third and final series in 1967.7 It was deliberate casting on the part of the show’s producers (they called it “a very provocative idea”), and despite only portraying the character for one season, Kitt’s artistic choices can be felt in every subsequent iteration of the character.
