In this review of Catwoman #88, Black Mask continues his personal assault on Catwoman.
Catwoman #88 main cover by Sebastián Fiumara (DC Comics)
CATWOMAN #88
Written by TORUNN GRONBEKK
Art by DAVIDE GIANFELICE
Main Cover: SEBA FIUMARA
Variant Covers: FRANK CHO, MICHAEL WALSH, W. SCOTT FORBES
Page Count: 32 pages
Release Date: 6/17/26
This review contains spoilers
Catwoman is able to rescue Holly and she tells her everything about Black Mask and the game that he is playing. Holly is angry and confused and mad that she had been so clean for years and Black Mask almost forced her into doing drugs again. Catwoman feels incredibly guilty but she knows the game isn’t over.
Meanwhile Maggie Kyle is saved by Slam Bradley from an attacker sent by Black Mask. He helps Maggie into a car and tells her to drive somewhere safe but to tell no one where she is going. She speeds off as more attackers come and Slam is going to keep them busy.
The False Face man attacks Selina and Holly during this and they knock him out cold. A phone rings and its Black Mask calling and taunting Catwoman. He tells her about the fake Selina leaving the bomb at the bus station and that if she wants to stop it she has to meet him before midnight and that it’ll be a “family reunion”.
Slam is taking on his attackers while Holly drives Catwoman to the location. Katarina tells Black Mask why she chose him for this mission against Catwoman. Black Mask thinks he is going to be praised but Katarina tells him it is because he is not clever but just willing to hurt and push farther than anyone and Black Mask is taken aback by that.
While Catwoman is on the move she feels herself being followed by a young woman in a mask. Selina manages to catch her. Right when Catwoman catches her, the girl is shot by Katarina. It was a trick to lure Catwoman. Katarina gives Catwoman an ipad with a captured Slam on it and a pin for a grenade.
The pin that Selina is now holding belongs to a grenade that Black Mask gave to Slam to hold while he is tied up.
And the story continues….
Analysis
Let’s start with the cover. A giant Black Mask is about to eat Catwoman and Holly while the text says “Jaws of Defeat”. It’s a pretty striking cover and reminds me of Emperor Joker when he was giant and um…. Ate those people. (I do love that story though. Great Superman story). It just caught my eye and was the first time I really noticed a cover for this run.
Selina is in a bind here. There’s a bomb at the train station which will kill plenty that she will be framed for and Slam is holding this grenade that he can’t possibly keep from exploding for a long period of time. I wonder who Selina will turn to for help. She knows that Holly won’t stay safe and will jump back into the fight. Does Holly stop the bomb while Selina saves her friend? Can Selina really put Holly in danger like that? Also keep in mind that Holly is running around ina Catwoman like outfit so some type of misdirect is going to happen. It feels like Selina will have to make the hero’s choice ala Batman Forever and Spider-Man. Batman and Spidey were able to save both. We’ll see what Selina does here.
It feels like someone is going to die. Can’t be Catwoman- who is the book going to be about? Slam? Holly? Maggie? Does someone kill Black Mask? Something big is going to end this storyline.
My one quibble with this run is that it seems like quite a few issues either end with an explosion or the tease of an explosion. Selina’s place was blown up with her friend inside. Issue 87 ended with a bomb at a train station that has still yet to go off. This issue ends with Slam Bradley holding a grenade. It feels like there are too many bombs all over the place.
Either way we’re building to an explosive finale. (See what I did there?)
