Have you ever tried to outrun your past, only to have it show up unannounced on your doorstep? That’s nightmare scenario Selina Kyle (Catwoman) is living through in Absolute Catwoman #3. The former thief has spent years clawing her way up to become wealthy enough to retire at twenty-five. She even earned enough money to buy herself a lavish villa in Madonie, a mountainous region in Sicily, Italy.
However, Selina’s plans come crashing down when her old friend Holly Robinson visits her to ask for help, only to be kidnapped by a mysterious group led by Cassandra Cain. Selina tries to lure the people who took Holly by auctioning off a strange metal sphere Holly left behind. Unfortunately, Cassandra gets the sphere while Selina is hit with an unexpected reunion with her other former friends Helena Bertinelli and Victoria Sage, who are also searching for Holly. Victoria believes Holly’s kidnapping is tied to the Yarn, an advanced artificial intelligence capable of creating a fake, yet convincing new reality. Selina is intrigued by the Yarn and how its power could give her a new life. She just has to get her hands on it first…
When the Past Catches Up With You
We find Selina stuck in a freezing, cavernous hideout alongside Helena and Victoria. Victoria is giving Selina a hard time since her plan almost caused them to drown back at an auction house.
Selina doesn’t want to hear it but before they can really get into it, a squad of shadow-masked assassins ambushes them in the dark. Selina is done with being dragged back into old messes, so she unsheathes her claws. She tells her AI assistant, Jonesy, to scan the enemies through her glasses. Thanks to Jonesy calling out attack patterns, Selina lands a solid strike on one of the fighters, and the rest of the shadow squad retreats. When Selina unmasks the one she dropped, she finds the creepy shadow effect is the result of advanced fiber-optic tech. Nothing is adding up, which makes Selina wonder what Holly has gotten herself into.
Going Back to Calico House
The story flashes back seven years to a place called Calico House. Back then, life was a lot simpler. Selina and Victoria were hanging out playing dominoes while Helena preferred to work out her muscles instead of studying for her pilot exam. They were a tight-knit group with dreams they wanted to make real. Helena wanted to become a fighter pilot, Selina dreamed of traveling the world as a photographer and Victoria wanted to run a newspaper called the Gotham Gazette.
Then Holly bursts through the door, sweating and out of breath. She tells them about a “golden ticket” job she was offered by a guy down at the Gotham Seaport who claimed to represent the richest man in the city. The client had already given Holly $10,000 just to scout a target, while a five million dollar will be paid for the actual heist.
Inside the Cat Cave
Back in the present, Selina leads Helena and Victoria through a hidden, red-lit tunnel. Using a voice command and her tech, she unlocks her secret headquarters: the Cat Cave. Helena’s jaw drops when she sees all the high-tech gear and custom suits lying around. She reaches out to touch a gadget, but Selina warns her that it holds an electromagnetic pulse strong enough to wipe out the entire power grid in downtown London.
“Oh…Kay. Gotham could definitely use some of your talents,” Helena says.
“That’s the last place on Earth I want to be,” Selina says.
Selina tells them to go home, but Victoria insists they’re already in too deep. Pressured to explain, Victoria reveals what Holly was messing with: a dangerous synthetic intelligence known as The Yarn. This thing isn’t just a regular computer program. It is a reality-altering AI that strips away human patterns, wipes out the past, and rewrites history so whoever controls it can shape nations and build a brand-new world order.
The Heist That Started It All
Going back to the Calicos’ last heist, the younger crew are running across city rooftops. Helena uses a special launcher gun to shoot a hemp rope line across a wide gap between buildings. The four girls carefully walk the tightrope under a full moon and smash through a high-rise window. Holly almost slips and falls on the way in, but Helena manages to catch her in time.
They sneak into the upscale apartment of a man named David Cain. Selina finds a hidden safe tucked behind an antique desk clock, but instead of stacks of cash, Holly pulls out a folder containing a secret list of names. Selina spots a strange little girl watching them, who doesn’t say a single word to her. Right as Holly realizes how dangerous that list really is, a huge explosion rips through the apartment. Everyone is forced to evacuate. Selina tries to tell them about the girl, but the rest of the Calicos didn’t see her.
Gearing Up for War
Still inside the Cat Cave, Selina stares at a picture of a tropical beach, trying to wrap her mind around everything Victoria told her. “We’re not heroes, we’re thieves,” Selina reminds them. But Victoria reminds Selina that they’re all good people deep down. Helena chimes in by acknowledging that the last time they were together, Selina took the fall. She’s been secretly hoping for a chance to make things right for Selina and Holly.
With Selina’s permission, Victoria hacks into Jonesy’s memory banks and pulls up an old scan that gives them the geographic coordinates for The Yarn: 35°56’42.3″N 24°41’12.7″E. Realizing a massive fight is coming whether she likes it or not, Selina finally agrees to team up on one condition: they gear up properly.
They deck themselves out in high-tech tactical suits from the cave arsenal while Victoria reverse-engineers the fiber-optic shadow mask. Selina can’t help thinking about what The Yarn promises, the chance to rewrite history. Erasing the pain, the abandonment in Gotham, all their trauma. Suited up and ready for action, the trio heads to a hangar, boards a stealth jet with Helena in the pilot’s seat, and syncs their helmet communications. With digital cat logos glowing across their visors, they take off into the night sky, ready for whatever is waiting for them at those coordinates.
But no matter how fast you run or where you hide, your past always catches up. The final panel reveals the identity of the young girl the Calicos left behind in a burning building: Cassandra Cain.
Present-day Cassandra is in a red-lit stronghold surrounded by ninja guards, staring up at a captive Holly tied up to a strange machine interface.
Absolute Catwoman #4 is scheduled for release on November 4, 2026 after a delay in DC Comics’ October schedule.
