Catwoman displayed some brilliant moves and took out three different Flashes in a Flash (literally), in Batman #42. It is not a child’s play to beat the Flash, but, to beat three of them sounds a bit too much. Fans wonder how could Selina Kyle beat three superheroes who can move at the speed of light. Tom King won’t explain, and all he did was to assure fans that it would all become clear if they followed the clues provided.
But, he gave the hint that the answer is contained in the comic book. Therefore, it is not just a case of Catwoman being shown as overpowered to build the story, and if you read attentively, it is all very clear. We had seen how in “Everyone Loves Ivy,” Poison Ivy ruled the entire world apart from Batman and Catwoman. The duo embarked on the mission to beat the new ruler of Earth, and Ivy set the whole Justice League on their trail.
It is shown by King and Mikel Janin that Ivy totally dominates the heroes, to such an extent that she even speaks and hears through them as her communication tools out there. When Batman and Catwoman are seen roaming around, she tasked the mind controlled Superman to shadow them around. Rather than fighting, Ivy used Clark as a listening machine to keep a check on her enemies.
However, Batman knew what he had to do to beat Superman at that point. He pulled Catwoman close to him and whispered something into her ear. That’s when we see Superman trying to use his superhearing to eavesdrop on them. Batman then turns things around by whistling, and it turns out to be extremely painful for Clark. Why?
Batman explained how “Clark knows when to listen and when not to listen.” Apparently, he controls his powers better than Ivy does. He would have been smart enough to avoid falling prey to Batman’s whistle if he wasn’t mind-controlled by someone who is not fully aware of his powers.
It is just a minor thing in the overall scheme since it didn’t take out Superman for long. But, it is a key development which built the ground for Catwoman’s fight with the Flashes on the page that followed. Bruce and Selina knew that Barry, Wally, and the other Wally were coming their way, but, they also knew that the Flashes were not at the best of their game.
All three of them came charging at Selina, and although a totally in control Flash was capable of avoiding her assault, but, Ivy had no clue. It must also be noted here that Catwoman didn’t attack her as much as she simply reacted knowing where they were going to be. She beat Barry with a clothesline, and the other two simply crashed into her foot, Catwoman simply channeled their speed against them in a spectacular way, but, for a superb fighter like her, it was not an unbelievable thing to do.
If we could use baseball terminology briefly, it might be clearer to understand. It is great to hurl a 95 mph fastball, however, if it is bang in the middle of the smash zone, and the batter anticipates it well, it would be quite easy for a normal player to connect. The Flashes might have the capability to hurl a curveball, a slider or another technique to deceive the batter (Catwoman), but, Ivy doesn’t have such ability. If she wasn’t able to control Superman’s superhearing, then she is going to be incapable of maneuvering the three Flashes moving at the speed of light.
Therefore, even though King didn’t explain the working on Twitter, the answers were given by him in the book itself. That’s the crucial thing because it is easily shown how Catwoman did what she did. Ivy might be ruling the world as of now, but, Batman and Catwoman are in absolute control still.