It's Time To Talk About That Catwoman Scene In The Batman

Warning: this article contains spoilers for "The Batman."

While the movie is called "The Batman," Robert Pattinson's main costar is Zoë Kravitz as Selina Kyle, also known as Catwoman, and she plays a vital role in the story. Pattinson's Bruce Wayne first runs into her in the Iceberg Lounge, as she works for Colin Farrell's Oswald Cobblepot as a server. Bruce notices her reaction to seeing pictures of the woman with Mayor Don Mitchell Jr. (Rupert Penry-Jones), who ends up being her roommate, and he tracks her down for answers. But the first time they truly meet is when Selina breaks into the mayor's house to retrieve her roommate's passport, and from then on, they are entangled.

As the film goes on, more and more of Selina's backstory and motivations are revealed, including a crucial connection with Carmine Falcone, played by John Turturro, the mob boss who works closely with Cobblepot and frequents the Iceberg Lounge. When the truth of Falcone's crimes comes to light thanks to the Riddler, both Selina and Bruce want to go after Falcone. Unfortunately, Selina is a bit more serious about what sort of punishment she wants to give Falcone, and Bruce doesn't agree. But there's nothing stopping Selina from going after what she wants, which leads to a key scene in the last third of the film that features major action and major revelations.

Once Selina learns that Falcone is behind the death of her roommate — and also the "man behind the curtain" in control of Gotham City, allowing him to run a huge drug business and be a mayor of sorts, just without the official title — she decides to kill him. Heading to his club, she dresses up and asks to talk to him in private, hiding a gun in her bag. But Selina is interrupted right as she is bringing the gun out of her bag by trouble outside the room thanks to Batman.

Bruce wants to stop Selina from committing murder, but he also has his own business with Falcone, since Alfred Pennyworth (Andy Serkis) confirms that all signs point to Falcone ordering the murder of his parents years earlier (though nothing is for certain). But Bruce is forced to face off against his guards, and so Selina is given the chance to truly confront Falcone for everything, like her roommate's brutal death and the fact that she's his daughter, which apparently he doesn't know until this moment, though that might be up to the viewers' interpretation. It seems equally possible that he just doesn't care. 

Feeling like her father abandoned her years earlier and knowing all of the horrors Falcone has committed, Selina pulls the trigger — and misses. This leads the father and daughter to battle head-on, out in the open, and while Selina is skilled, Falcone's ruthlessness allows him to gain the upper hand. 

During the confrontation at the club between Falcone and Selina, she plays the audio that reveals his direct role in her roommate's death, an innocent woman who just happens to hear too much. Falcone strangles her — a detail that, only minutes later, becomes even more important. 

Selina also reminds Falcone of her mother, Maria Kyle, and her death. Earlier in "The Batman," Selina tells Bruce that her mother was murdered when she was very young, likely by one of the clients at the club. While Falcone first seems to feel some semblance of emotional connection to Selina's mother's name, another horrific truth comes out as Falcone turns on his daughter. As Selina physically tries to kill Falcone, he manages to push her to the ground and push down on her neck, beginning to strangle her. This immediately reminds audiences of her roommate's demise — that is, until Falcone reveals that he also killed Maria the same way. 

Simply put, Falcone will not be winning any "Father of the Year" awards, that's for sure. If Selina hadn't managed to get away soon after, she could've ended up with the same fate as the two most important women in her life. At this moment, it's probably safe to say that many audience members might side with Selina in wanting to see Falcone taken down her way, but eventually, both Selina and the viewers are convinced that justice will be served in a better way. To Bruce, this means that Selina doesn't have to hold onto the trauma that would come from killing someone. 

In the end, while it's not by her own hand, Selina does see her father die that night. With the face off with Falcone and all of that trauma settled and (hopefully) behind her, Selina decides to leave Gotham City behind and start over somewhere else — something Bruce probably should do as well, though we all know he never will.