You Can Blame James Bond For Halle Berry's Controversial Catwoman Costume

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During the ascendancy of superhero cinema in the 2000s, characters like Spider-Man, Iron Man, the X-Men, and Batman were making money hand-over-fist. Comic book fans were pleased that filmmakers were finally adapting notable comic book material more directly, rather than finding sleeker, easier, more "movie-friendly" versions of their favorite characters. It helped that studios were finally willing to put a lot of money into less well-known superhero characters like Iron Man and Thor (considered C-grade characters when their respective movies came out). It also helped that special effects technology had reached an inflection point where depicting superpowers on camera finally looked a little more realistic. 

Costume designers also started to put more time and attention into superhero outfits, trying to find costumes that looked practical on a real human body. On the comics page, outlandish costumes look natural. On a flesh-and-blood actor, a lot more nuance is required. Designers started adding texture, piping, and a lot of additional detail to the outfits, and the super suits became more carefully tailored to the actors wearing them. The awkward stretching of real spandex was no longer an issue. 

Too much deviation from the source material, however, and nerdy comic book fans would invariably cry foul. Some disliked the fact that the X-Men dressed in black pleather uniforms, as opposed to their rainbow-bright comic book outfits. Perhaps most controversial was the outfit Angus Strathie designed for Halle Berry for Pitof's 2004 adaptation of "Catwoman." Pitof's film, rather than drawing from any extant DC Comics lore, invented a new character with new superpowers, and wearing an all-new costume. The cry of foul was understandably loud.

In a 2024 retrospective with EW, producer Denise Di Novi recalled the negative reaction audiences had to Berry's Catwoman costume, as well as being baffled as to why. Berry, a lovely actress, recently made heads turn in a bikini for the 2002 James Bond film "Die Another Day." Why did everyone react so negatively to her black bikini top in "Catwoman?"

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For those who don't remember the firestorm surrounding "Catwoman," know that many at the time had taken to calling it one of the worst comic book movies ever made. The film received universally negative reviews and was a box office disappointment, making only $82 million on a $100 million budget. It also swept the Razzies, although that says very little. It even continued a frustratingly persistent conversation among misogynists that there can never be such a thing as a successful female-led superhero movie. 

Some comic book purists didn't appreciate that "Catwoman" was about Patience Phillips (Berry) and not Selina Kyle, the Catwoman seen in most Batman media. Others hated the fact that this Catwoman had supernatural cat powers, whereas previous versions of the character were ordinary humans. And no one liked the costume (except for maybe Roger Ebert). The costume consisted of leather pants with artful tears in them, a large belt, elbow-length gloves with diamond claws on the fingertips, and a strapped leather bikini-like tank top. It was all topped off with an over-the-head cat mask.

While "Catwoman" was still in production, some pictures of Berry's costumes leaked to the public, and producer Di Novi was shocked at how horrified everyone was. She recalled to EW: 

"That was the first thing that started the negativity. It was an early shot before we'd perfected it. It was so different than what people were used to in the other movie. A catsuit, by definition, everything is covered up. We thought it'd be cool to be more rock & roll and bare. [...] Halle was famous for wearing a bikini in her Bond movie, and we were like, why not? People had such a reaction to it, which is so ridiculous. [...] Halle had a lot of input. I still think it's cool and a lot more modern!"

It was certainly modern, although it appeared comic book fans didn't want their favorite comic book characters altered quite so dramatically. 

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Berry was interviewed in the same EW article, and she, too, was baffled by the negative reaction. She understood that she was altering the source material dramatically, but she also — healthily — assumed that was the point. Why translate a comic book to the big screen if it's only going to offer the exact same thrills in a new medium? Indeed, that might be the most disappointing aspect of modern superhero cinema; they are such clean, direct translations of the comic characters, that there is almost no point in shifting to a new medium. Just read the comics. Unless you're going to tell a new type of story or alter the character in translation, there would be no reason to leave the comic book page to begin with. 

Berry was happy to offer a newer, modern version of Catwoman. She liked the costume and liked her film's deviation from Batman comics. She said: 

"Fans were upset about the suit. It was something different, but in our minds, why keep remaking Catwoman if you're not going to take risks and bring something different to it? The beauty was that it was better suited for my version of her, my body, who I was, and my sensibilities."

Berry and Di Novi feel "Catwoman" might have been better received if the pictures hadn't leaked and audiences could have discovered it more organically. Whether or not that's true, the costume is certainly not to blame. It's a fun, wild, weird costume for a wilder, stranger rendition of Catwoman. The film, meanwhile ... well, whatever its level of fealty to Batman comics, it's still pretty bad.