Catwoman: When in Rome

Catwoman: When in Rome
Book cover
Publication information
Publisher	DC Comics
Schedule	Monthly
Format	Limited series
Genre	Superhero
Publication date	2004
No. of issues	6
Main character(s)	Catwoman Riddler
Creative team
Written by	Jeph Loeb
Artist(s)	Tim Sale

Catwoman: When in Rome is a DC Comics six-issue miniseries written by Jeph Loeb and drawn by Tim Sale. Sale took inspiration for his art from René Gruau, the French/Italian fashion illustrator.

The story features the DC Comics character Catwoman, on a trip to Rome to discover the identity of her father, whom she believes to be crime lord Carmine Falcone. The story takes place parallel to the later issues of Batman: Dark Victory.

Plot

Catwoman and the Riddler (as Edward Nygma) take a trip to Rome. There Catwoman meets Christopher Castillo, "The Blonde", a hitman who sets up a meeting between Selina and the capo of the Italian mob. Don Verinni, the person Catwoman was due to meet, is murdered using the Joker's venom. Catwoman is blamed, and soon all three 'heroes' are beset by Verinni's assassins. Meanwhile, Selina suffers nightmares involving Batman.

After Catwoman's hotel room burns down; Catwoman, Eddie (as Selina refers to him) and the Blonde escape to his yacht. In a pitched fight with the Don's son Guillermo, Catwoman is frozen with Mr. Freeze's freeze gun, but escapes and barters a deal with him. The Riddler then returns to Gotham City for a short time (in which he attends the Hangman trial conducted by Two-Face during the parallel events of Batman: Dark Victory). After stealing a valuable ring from the Vatican, Catwoman is attacked by the Cheetah. After she defeats the villain (with the assistance of the Blonde), Catwoman visits Louisa, Carmine Falcone's widow. Louisa denies that Catwoman is her daughter, and then orders the Blonde to kill her.

Eventually, Catwoman figures out the truth: the Riddler has betrayed her, using the trademarks of the Joker, Mr. Freeze, and also the Scarecrow's fear gas (which was the cause of Catwoman's Batman-related nightmares). The Riddler believed that Catwoman knew the answer to what he considered the greatest riddle of all: "Who is Batman under the mask?" Catwoman defeats the Riddler and his henchmen. The Riddler later steals the ring, but it turns out to be a fake and infects himself on his plane with the Scarecrow's fear gas, a booby trap set by Catwoman.

The Blonde reveals that as a child he was witness to the attempted infanticide on the Roman's second daughter (in an effort to curry favor with his Don, who respected masculine children) and that he believes that daughter was Catwoman, though he has no proof. Louisa later kills the Blonde for failing to murder Catwoman and bring her the capo ring. Catwoman waits for the Blonde at the airport but when he does not show, she returns to Gotham, with no hard evidence to prove the identity of her parents. The story ends with a two-page epilogue that is an identical scene from Batman: Dark Victory, in which Catwoman bids farewell to Carmine Falcone at his grave.

Aftermath

As seen in Batman: Dark Victory, Catwoman returns to Gotham and informs Batman that Sofia Falcone traveled to Palermo after the events of Batman: The Long Halloween, to surgically repair the scars on her face that Catwoman had inflicted upon her. This revealed to Batman that Sofia was possibly the Hangman killer.

In a later story by Jeph Loeb, Batman: Hush, the Riddler's obsession to uncover Batman's secret identity finally proves successful.