Problems with Widening Gyre

I just want to start by saying that this is where I get off, Kevin Smith. When I started buying comics for the second time in my life I pretty much picked up everything Batman for obvious reasons. I grabbed Batman: The Widening Gyre #1 and thought it was an alright start. As time went along I decided to give Green Arrow a try. I got the Quiver trade paperback and enjoyed it. I also followed Kevin Smith on twitter for a little while, until I couldn't take the endless torrent of inane bullshit I didn't care about and *gasp* unfollowed him!

Enter Batman: The Widening Gyre #4 (after no Widening Gyre in December for no apparent reason). It opens with a thing about how a lot of the pop criminals in the 60s and whatnot were nonviolent mostly and just wanted attention. This was quite an interesting plot point. Then Joker started killing people and a lot of the ones who just considered themselves performers, not murderers, stopped altogether. A villain called Crazy Quilt shows up and the new hero guy named Baphomet helps Batman take him down.

Some flashbacks and a scene with Batman's girlfriend in which Bruce Wayne looks like Sylvester Stallone in a couple of panels go by. We arrive at an alarm being tripped at a jewelery store. Batman investigates it and Catwoman is there in an old costume, purple with a green cape. She pretty much makes a plea for Bruce to choose her over his girlfriend.

This scene does not contain the Catwoman I've come to know. It contains some superheroine who is awkward, talks too much and is a tad obsessed with Bruce Wayne. It contains a woman who puts on a sexy costume just to try and seduce Batman. This entire scene, and the entire string of dialogue coming from Catwoman's mouth is a load of crap.

I have done a fair bit of reading since I got back into comics last year. I've read Hush and a few other things that have Catwoman as a central character. Even my preconceptions of her before I got back into comics would consider this most recent development to be very, very wrong.

Maybe in some twisted way, Smith thinks that Catwoman has "grown" into the type of character who would don an old costume to seduce Bruce Wayne in order to prevent him from getting serious with a girl that he loves. I disagree, and am done with Smith's work.

Random Kevin Smith tidbits that Gyre #4 led me to consider

I'm starting to believe that Smith has written himself into his comics. Baphomet is Kevin Smith. Kevin Smith loves Batman and considers himself to be a huge dork, but also a funny guy. Let's check some of Baphomet's dialogue from the first few issues.

#1

Holy water, from St. Agnes, two blocks over. Id've been here sooner, but it was hell finding a stew pot in the rectory kitchen. Pun intended.

You're OK down there now though-- right? 'Course you are. You're the original bad-ass.

#3 

Okay-- I was dreading this moment. I never meant to crowd you or step on your toes. This is your city-- I get that. But I just thought that, I dunno... even the Batman can't be in every corner of the city at once.

Backup? Ha. You're about the only guy on the planet I'd take that from-- you being the legend and all. But I'm not looking for any charity. I'm good at what I do. If I had any doubt about that, I wouldn't've sacked up and finally talked to you, so I feel confident in telling you that... if I'm getting involved, I gotta know I'm bringing something new to this thing. And I promise you... I'm bringing something new.

I know. But I figured more than one mask can rock a crossbow, right?

It goes on like that, through the end of #3 and into #4. As I understand it, this is Kevin Smith's farewell tour to Batman, so I guess a story arc where he becomes best friends with Batman makes sense.

Also, both Aquaman and Etrigan have made appearances in the two Smith things I've read, Quiver and Widening Gyre. So this would be some kind of wet dream for him, no?