Catwoman Poll #1

So I'm kicking off the Catwoman polls with a selection of ten actresses from the list of names. It's over there to the right. All you're voting on here is which of these six would be the best. Odds are pretty good that your favorite will not be on the list. The winners of each round of polling will face off in a final poll to hopefully determine your choice for Catwoman.

I thought I'd include my thoughts about these names as well. First, I should tell you that I think the actress should have these four qualities:

• Sex Appeal: Catwoman kinda has to be sexy, she wears a skin tight suit and is a love interest for Batman. Kathy Bates is a wonderful actress, but shouldn't be playing Catwoman.


• Elegance: Selina Kyle is generally portrayed as a part of Gotham's high society, and should turn every head in a room full of the city's elite. Generally, she shouldn't be the girl next door, or the kind of girl you don't bring home to mom. She should seem like she belongs in that world (even if it bores her).


• Toughness: If she doesn't look like she can hang in a fight with Batman, she's not much of a villain.


• Real Acting Ability: There might be hundreds of women who look the part perfectly, but I actually would rather have Kathy Bates than a wooden actress.

So now here are this week's candidates:

• Elisha Cuthbert
  You may remember her from: 24, The Girl Next Door
  
  Oh, how I'd like to see her in that costume, but as much as I hate to say it, I don't think she's much of an actress.


• Eva Green
  You may remember her from: Casino Royale, The Golden Compass.
  
  Bond girls tend to be sexy and elegant, and Eva's no exception. She's a good actress, too. I'm not sure I can see her kicking Batman's ass though.


• Sienna Guillory
  You may remember her from: I had no idea who she was, but I suspect she was suggested because of her part in Resident Evil: Apocalypse.
  
  I can see where whoever mentioned her was coming from, based on pictures of her character from Resident Evil, but having not seen the movie, or remembering her from any role, I can't comment on anything else. Let me know in the comments if you remember her and she turns out to be either perfect or awful.


• Jaime King
  You may remember her from: Sin City, The Spirit
  
  Gorgeous, obviously, but I've never been fully convinced of her acting ability, and she doesn't seem physical enough for the role.


• Keira Knightley
  You may remember her from: You probably know who she is.
  
  I've never found her as attractive as others seem to, but I won't deny that she's a looker, and elegant. My complaint here would be that she's too thin, it looks like she could be broken in two rather easily.


• Shirley Manson
  You may remember her from: Singing for the band Garbage, Terminator: the Sarah Connor Chronicles.
  
  She entered herself in this competition, telling a reporter a while back that she'd love to play Catwoman. She's only had the one acting gig, and she's playing a robot from the future, so her performance is intentionally robotic. Not the greatest resume to judge her by. But I'd rather not have a rookie in this kind of part.


• Rachel McAdams
  You may remember her from: Mean Girls, Wedding Crashers, The Notebook
  
  She fails, for me, on the elegance one. I don't mean that as an insult, she just seems like the girl next door. Catwoman shouldn't seem as sweet as Rachel McAdams always does.


• Rose McGowan
  You may remember her from: Scream, Charmed, Planet Terror
  
  She'd make a better Poison Ivy, I think, but not a terrible Catwoman. She's borderline on the elegance test, and she doesn't have great range as an actress, but this kind of part is right up her alley.


• Michelle Monaghan
  You may remember her from: Gone Baby Gone, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Eagle Eye or Mission Impossible 3.
  
  She's got the sex appeal and the elegance and the acting, I'd sort of question the toughness, though. I definitely wouldn't be upset if she were cast.


• Thandie Newton (pictured)
  You may remember her from: Mission Impossible 2, Crash, RocknRolla.
  
  She's classy and gorgeous, and I think she can handle the part. Again, I'm not sure I could see her posing much of a threat in a fight.

Vote early, vote often, and check back in a week for the results, and for the next set of ten. Oh, and it's not too late to suggest more names for Catwoman, the list is already big, but I'm up for adding anyone I've missed.