Catwoman: When in Rome

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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 Rene Gruau, French/Italian fashion illustrator.

The story features 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 in parallel to the later issues of Batman: Dark Victory.

[edit] Story

Catwoman and the Riddler (as Edward Nigma) take a trip to Rome. There Selina meets The Blonde, a hitman, who sets up a meeting between Selina and the capo of the Italian mob. Don Verinni, the person Selina 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 featuring Batman.

After Catwoman's hotel room burns down, Selina, Eddie (as Selina refers to him) and the Blonde escape to his yacht. In a pitched fight with the Don's son Guillermo, Selina is put "on ice" using Mr. Freeze's ice gun, but escapes and barters a deal with Guillermo. Nigma then retreats back 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 Selina defeats the villain (with the assistance of The Blonde), she visits Louisa, Carmine's widow. Louisa denies that Selina is her daughter, and then orders the Blonde to kill Catwoman.

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 Selina's Bat-related dreams). The Riddler believed that Selina knew the answer to what he considered the greatest riddle: "Who is Batman under the mask?" Catwoman defeats the Riddler and his henchmen and returns to Gotham, with no 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 Selina bids farewell to Carmine Falcone at his grave.

[edit] Aftermath

As seen in Batman: Dark Victory, Selina 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 identity finally proves successful.