Has Batman ever arrested Catwoman? If so has she been sent to Arkham?

Question

The Facebook status between Selina Kyle and Bruce Wayne is definitely set to "it's complicated", but Batman cannot deny that Catwoman IS a criminal. Has he ever turned her over to the police, and if so, has she been sentenced to prison in Arkham? She is technically not "criminally insane", unless you'd classify kleptomania as insanity.

I don't care about universe/continuity, maybe with exception of Lego Batman (where I know that Catwoman escapes from Arkham) and Adam West TV series in 1960s.

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Apparently it happened in Catwoman Vol 1. Have there been any other occurrences?

Answer 1

The original, Golden Age version of Catwoman (1940-1977) has been repeatedly sent to prison by Batman, escaping each time, and eventually reforming, marrying Bruce Wayne, and bearing their daughter. There was no confinement to Arkham: indeed, Arkham debuted in 1974, well after most of this version of Catwoman's stories had been told. I can find no indication that Earth-Two, the home dimension of these versions of the characters and their stories, had an Arkham.

The Silver Age version of Catwoman (1954-1986) did some jail time; this happened off-stage, and it is unclear that Batman put here there. She was paroled. She was not a patient at Arkham.

The Post-Crisis version of Catwoman (1986-2011) had her origins ret-conned during her run; some versions have her in juvenile detention, not at Batman's hands. This incarnation appears never to have done time as an adult either in prison or Arkham.

The (possibly) current version of Catwoman as of this writing (2011-) has not been in jail. She has, however, done a brief stint in Arkham as part of a Justice League of America plan to infiltrate The Secret Society of Super-Villains. Batman was not involved.

There are many other versions of Catwoman, whose histories I will not exhaustively research; however, the versions listed above represent the bulk of Catwoman's publication history. Batman has imprisoned her. She has been sent to Arkham, though under false pretenses and without Batman's involvement.

Update: In Batman: Killing Time #2 (2022), we see clear indications that Catwoman has done time in Arkham as a genuine patient:

Given what appear to be the current rules of DC continuity, this may only be true within this comic or any comics which make specific reference to it.

Answer 2

In addition to the versions mentioned by Politank-Z, there are 2 major non-comic versions of Catwoman from recent verses, from the Dark Knight movie trilogy and the Arkham video game trilogy.

In the Dark Knight trilogy, Catwoman appears as The Cat in the 3rd part, The Dark Knight Rises. In this universe, Catwoman is never arrested by Batman.

Instead, Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle escape to Europe after faking Batman's death, starting a new life together.

In the Arkhamverse, Catwoman has been caught and sent to a prison (not necessarily Arkham) multiple times:

1. In the portable game Arkham Origins: Blackgate (later ported to PC, Xbox 360 and PS3), Batman arrests Catwoman at the start of the game and sends her to Blackgate Penitentiary. Unbeknownst to him, this was actually her intent: she wanted to enter Blackgate to free Bane. She later managed to be released through a deal with the government.

2. While Catwoman herself did not appear in Arkham Asylum, there was evidence pointing to her being incarcerated in the facility. Notably, she could be found on Joker's Party List, and her gloves and mask could be found in a display case in the Mansion.

3. In Arkham City and the prestory, Hugo Strange manages to arrest Catwoman (after multiple attempts foiled by Batman). After interrogation, she is sent to Arkham City, the megaprison developed by Hugo Strange to hold all of Gotham's criminals

   And kill them all.

4. In Arkham Knight, Catwoman is caught by the Riddler and equipped with an explosive collar. Batman needs to complete 3 sets of challenges to free her, each set consisting of: a race with the Batmobile, a Batmobile puzzle and a co-op puzzle with the help of Catwoman. But she is not incarcerated in any prison.

Answer 3

Batman: the Animated Series, S02E09 - "Catwalk". The beginning shows Batman winning a fight against Catwoman, then cuts to a scene where she is being sentenced by a judge.

Catwoman: I was the cat who walked by herself, and the city was my hunting ground. I prowled through Gotham each evening, going where I liked, and taking whatever I wanted.. Until I met him.

[Fight sequence between Batman and Catwoman. Batman wins.]

Catwoman: I gave him my best fight, but in the end, kitty got her claws clipped.

[Cut to Catwoman in front of a judge who slams his hammer and points accusingly, as if sentencing Catwoman. Catwoman is seen with an expression of fear]

Catwoman: Had to promise I'd be a good little pet and walk on a leash, even if it killed me.

The episode doesn't show Batman arresting her, but it is implied. The opening also seems to recount their first meeting. Additionally, the episode doesn't show what happens after the "sentencing," whether she was immediately set free (after promising to be good) or sent to prison. I assume she was set free because the episode implied she had no prior arrest (or even encountered any trouble with law enforcement) "until [she] met him."