Playing with the Classy Cat Burglar

...Not nearly as sexy as that sounds.

Now, like anybody with a slight ego here, I think I've gone in some pretty different directions with some tropes. I've made Cynical Capes, Useful Dicks and Sympathetic Apes, but theres one kinda character that I'm having difficulty playing with: the Classy Cat-Burglar. For those who aren't too familiar with the CCB, they are essentially characters who steal only the best for thrills, the challenge of committing and evading being worth more than the booty itself. Examples include Catwoman, Blackcat and Thomas Crowne.

For my Superhero...thing, I decided to add one of my own. The problem is I have no idea what to do with her. Really! I got nothing! I have no idea how make the character seem new. I mean, I have an idea of what her personality is like, her relationship with the protagonist and more, but not the motive. Why would someone chronically steal rich stuff if theres a chance of someone coming to foil you?! I'm really trying to do something new with this. I would really like your help.

edited 4th Apr '11 4:33:51 AM by AtomJames

I don't think you'd agree with me, but here's my idea for her motives:

1st idea: She steals because she thinks that she's got no other use in life. She steals because she wants to give a big impact on the world as much as she can, because she knows she can't do anything else, anyway. Basically, she's empty inside. The only thing driving her to be a Classy Cat-Burglar is her wanting to make an impact on someone, whether that be bad or good. Oh, and she just wants to be utterly fashionable and classy. Because she's rich, somehow.

2nd idea: Think Psiren from Full Metal Alchemist. She does it for the publicity. But here's what separates her from Psiren: she does it for her own publicity. She just wants to be famous. Because the rich and famous are glamorous.

3rd idea (which is probably the lamest of them all): She does it for someone. Someone she cares about deeply. It could be a greedy family member who asks them in exchange for all the love he has given her all his life, or maybe he's dying and he asks those things of her, or maybe she's training under someone, and that's part of her training. Or maybe her real training is to play mind games with the police and run away from them, while stealing is just secondary.

EDIT: Edited a grammar mistake that I failed to see the first time I edited. First edit was to add another idea.

edited 4th Apr '11 7:12:43 AM by theindefiniteone

If it were me stealing fabulous jewelry and such, it would be to play Robin Hood: sell it and give the proceeds to charity. In her day job, she's a celebrity who convinces the rich to give up their money voluntarily. For some "ripped from the headlines" relevance, make the punishment be restitution for the crime, e.g. steal a Rembrandt from the CEO of BP and set up a trust fund for the families of those killed on Deepwater Horizon.

To take it in another direction, suppose the gems she steals have magic powers.