Holly Robinson

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caption=The new Catwoman,
on the cover to "Catwoman" #53 (March 2006).
Pencils by Adam Hughes.
character_name=Catwoman
real_name=Holly "Gonightly" Robinson
publisher=DC Comics
debut=as Holly:
"Batman" # 404
(February 1987)
as Catwoman:
"Catwoman" # 53
(March 2006)
creators=Frank Miller
David Mazzucchelli
alliances=
aliases=
supports=
powers=Trained by Selina Kyle and Ted Grant|

Holly Robinson is a fictional character in the DC Comics universe. She was introduced during Frank Miller's "" story arc.

Holly is a frequent ally and sidekick of Catwoman. She was trained by Wildcat and her friend Selina Kyle, and became the new Catwoman following the birth of Selina's daughter.Citation | last = Beatty | first = Scott | author-link = Scott Beatty | contribution = Catwoman | editor-last = Dougall | editor-first = Alastair | title = The DC Comics Encyclopedia | pages = 74-75 | publisher = Dorling Kindersley | place = New York | year = 2008 | ISBN = 0-7566-4119-5 | oclc = 213309017]

Character history

Beginnings

Holly made her first appearance in Frank Miller's "" as a 13-year-old runaway turned prostitute. Holly plays a small but significant role in the story when she encounters a disguised Bruce Wayne during one of his early attempts at crimefighting and stabs him in the leg. Wounded by this attack and a subsequent battle, Wayne escapes back to his home, brooding on the fact that his enemies do not fear him. This encounter is an impetus for his creation of the Batman persona. As such, Holly plays an indirect role in the Dark Knight's origin.

Holly has two siblings, a brother named Davey and another whose name has not been revealed. Both Holly and Selina were prostitutes who had met when Selina rescued Holly from a cop who was trying to hustle her. However, when Selina became Catwoman, she left Holly behind. In a "Secret Files" special released following the launch of Brubaker's Catwoman series, it is implied in the "biography" entry for Holly that Action Comics Weekly #611-614 happened differently post-Zero Hour with Holly surviving her husband's attempt on her life.

Death and rebirth

Holly next appeared in "Action Comics Weekly" #611-614, having given up prostitution and married a successful businessman. Unfortunately, her new husband was secretly a corrupt mobster and had Holly killed off in his quest to reclaim a valuable piece of jewelry that Catwoman stole from one of his safehouses. Catwoman could not link Holly's death to her husband in order for him to be arrested for the crime, so she murdered two corrupt security guards in his employment and framed Holly's husband for their murder.

This death was ultimately overturned years later, when writer Ed Brubaker ignored this storyline later in order to incorporate Holly into the cast of the 2002 Catwoman series he wrote.

As established by Brubaker, after escaping the streets, Holly joined Selina's sister, Maggie, at her convent. However she never felt entirely a part of that world, and a few years afterwards she left the convent, parting ways with Maggie.

Reunions

Holly returned to the streets and went back to drugs and prostitution. After a series of brutal murders of working girls, Holly returned to the original apartment that she and Selina had once shared, and finding that Selina had returned, was happily reunited with her friend.

Holly cleaned up her act and became a sidekick of sorts to Selina, working as her eyes and ears and ferreting out what was happening on the streets of the East End for her. She met up again with an old friend, Karon, and the two of them have been dating since "Catwoman" #3.

Holly was severely traumatized after she was forced to kill Sylvia, a childhood friend of Selina's who had turned on her. Holly isolated herself for a time, and stole some of Maggie's painkillers. However, she didn't take any of the drugs and healed to some degree when Selina and she reunited.

Selina decided that Holly needed some training if she was to be involved in her crime-fighting, and took her on a road trip to train with Ted Grant (Wildcat). They then traveled through several cities before ending up in St. Roch, where it was revealed that Selina and Slam Bradley had located her brother Davey. She found him working at a bar and the two caught up. He revealed that he had run away also a few years later, and had traveled around the world.

The new Catwoman

After the events of "Infinite Crisis", DC Comics jumped forward in time. One year later, Holly Robinson has taken over as the new Catwoman, replacing Selina Kyle, who has retired.

In "Catwoman" #53, Holly Robinson made her first appearance as Catwoman; at the close of the issue she is ambushed by the Angle Man. He proceeds to bind her hands and feet, cover her mouth with a piece of duct tape, and then tries to throw her off of a rooftop. Although Holly escapes, she is caught on film administering a brutal beating to Angle Man. Reluctant to ask Selina for help, Holly turns instead to Ted Grant.

Holly is arrested and takes the blame for the murder of Black Mask (Selina had actually committed the crime.) She is rescued from jail by Selina and takes a short break from being Catwoman. While Selina is getting Holly's name erased from the police database, Holly again suits up as Catwoman to stop a new villainess named Blitzkrieg, who is about to execute a bound and gagged young girl on a live video-feed to the internet. Holly manages to save the girl, but not before she is unmasked on the live webfeed.

After the rescue, Holly runs into Detective Lenahan, a Gotham cop who has become fixated on capturing Catwoman. They are confronted by Hammer and Sickle, who want Selina dead, and are perfectly willing to dispose of Holly in the meantime. Lenahan is killed by the Russian supervillains, but Selina arrives in time to save Holly. The police assume that Holly and Catwoman are responsible for Lenahan's death after finding the two women next to his decapitated corpse in "Catwoman" #67.

Holly and Selina manage to escape from the GCPD and defeat Hammer and Sickle. However, Holly is now wanted for Lenahan's murder and her identity as Catwoman is public knowledge. She exits the series in "Catwoman" #69 and begins a new life as a fugitive.

Countdown

Holly first appears in "Countdown" #47; she rescues an elderly homeless man, moving him away from debris falling from a destroyed building. Homeless herself and on the run for the murder of Black Mask, she is offered a place to stay by a mysterious woman wearing a stola or chiton who goes by the name Athena. Holly accepts the offer to stay at an Athenian Women's Shelter, which houses battered and abused women. One of the residents is a reformed Harley Quinn.

After some time at the women's shelter, it eventually becomes apparent that Athena, running the shelter, is in fact the nefarious Granny Goodness who takes to training these women - Holly and Harley among them - to be her new Female Furies. After they are brought to an island for training, Holly and Harley meet the Amazon queen Hippolyta, and encounter Mary Marvel. The group reveal Granny's deception, and Holly, Harley and Mary follow her as she retreats to Apokolips. With Mary's help, the group manages to free the Greek gods, and Holly is granted the powers of Diana (Goddess of the Hunt) as a reward and displays both archery skills and feral, cat-like physical enhancements. After returning to Earth, Holly loses these powers. After witnessing the "Great Disaster" on Earth-51, she returns to Gotham City alongside Jason Todd and Harley, with whom she lives at the end of the series.

kills, resources and abilities

Holly has no meta-abilities. She has been taught stealth, athletics, hot-wiring, lock-picking, thieving, acrobatics, and the martial arts by Selina. Ted Grant trained her in a form of kick-boxing adapted for street use, as well as English boxing. She is proficient in the use the whip, firearms, and knives. As of "Countdown to Final Crisis" #10, Holly had a portion of the cunning and skill of Diana, Goddess of the Hunt. While she possessed these powers, she was an excellent marksman, and had the ability to track people by their scent.

=Personal life= Holly is a lesbian, and maintained a steady relationship with her lover, Karon, until they were forced to separate in "Catwoman" #69. Karon has not been seen while Holly has been on her adventures in "Countdown". During these adventures, Holly has struck up a friendship with Harley Quinn and appears to be her roommate in Gotham at series' end.

External links

* [http://www.writeups.org/affiche_fiche.php?id=2425 Profile and biography] at writeups.org

References