Kathy Kane was the first superhero to use the moniker of Batwoman. She was created by Edmond Hamilton and Sheldon Moldoff with direction from editor Jack Schiff as a part of DC’s efforts to grow the cast of characters in Batman comics. Two years before she was created, Fredric Wertham suggested that Batman and Robin were gay in his book, Seduction of the Innocent. Since it wasn’t a time when queer characters were accepted, DC wanted to create a new love interest for Batman: enter Kathy Kane.

She was introduced 70 years ago in Detective Comics #233 (July 1956) as a wealthy heiress who was once a circus performer. Wanting to do more with her life, Kathy decided to use her acrobatic skills to become a crimefighter and to get the attention of Batman. He was apprehensive about her being a hero because he didn’t want her to get hurt, but Kathy wanted to help people, so she continued working as Batwoman.

Kathy had skills and a costume that shared similarities with Batman and Robin – with a feminine twist. Instead of a utility belt, Batwoman had a utility purse, and her weapons were disguised as things typically found in a woman’s bag. She was smart, a good detective, had fighting skills, and a talent for being stealthy – just like the dynamic duo. In 1961, Kathy’s niece Betty Kane joined the Bat-family as Bat-Girl, and naturally, she had a thing for Robin.

Three years later, editor Julius Schwartz wanted to revamp the Batman comics line, which included dropping characters like Batwoman, Bat-Girl, Bat-Mite, and Ace the Bat-Hound. Despite that, Batwoman continued to pop up in World’s Finest in “what if” stories in which Kathy was married to Bruce Wayne and they had a family. Later in the 1970s, she was in issues of Batman family books and Freedom Fighters, fighting crime with new Batgirl, Barbara Gordon. In those stories, Batwoman was a retired hero who now owned a circus, but was then killed by the League of Assassins and Bronze Tiger.

DC’s continuity went through major changes as a result of Crisis on Infinite Earths in 1985, and Kathy Kane was no longer Batwoman. Her continuity became a bit of a mess after that, with references to the original Batwoman, a new Batwoman who was partially based on Kathy, and later a new version of the character developed by Grant Morrison.