Black Cat (Marvel Comics)

Black Cat
Cover art from The Amazing Spider-Man #25
(March 2017).
Art by Stanley "Artgerm" Lau.
Publication information
PublisherMarvel Comics
First appearanceThe Amazing Spider-Man #194 (July 1979)
Created by
In-story information
Alter egoFelicia Sara Hardy[1]
SpeciesHuman mutate
Place of originFlushing, New York, U.S.
Team affiliationsBlack Cat's Gang[2]
Heroes for Hire
Defenders[3]
Avengers
A-Force
PartnershipsSpider-Man
Puma
Notable aliasesFelicity Harmon
Felicia Harmon
Party Hardy
Black Cat
Abilities
  • Superhuman strength, agility, balance, and vision
  • Psionic ability to alter probability fields to cause bad luck toward others
  • Skilled martial artist and hand-to-hand combatant
  • Highly skilled gymnast and acrobat
  • Expert burglar
  • Utilizing grapnels, sharp retractable claws, climbing pitons, and contact lenses granting the ability to see in various ranges of the electromagnetic spectrum

Black Cat (Felicia Hardy) is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Marv Wolfman, Keith Pollard, and Dave Cockrum, the character first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #194 (July 1979).[4] Felicia Hardy is the daughter of Walter Hardy, a world-renowned cat burglar. She trained herself in various fighting styles and acrobatics and, after deciding to follow in her father's footsteps, adopted the costumed identity of Black Cat. She has the subconscious ability to affect probability fields, producing "bad luck" for her enemies. Throughout her history, Black Cat has sometimes been an enemy, love interest, and an ally of the superhero Spider-Man.[5][6]

The character was depicted as a supervillain and adversary of Spider-Man, but over time the two fell in love, which motivated her into becoming both an antiheroine, and his partner. However, their relationship grew complicated after it became apparent that Black Cat was only attracted to the alter ego of Spider-Man and had little to no interest in the hero's civilian life as Peter Parker. After their break-up, Black Cat maintained her role as one of Spider-Man's most trusted allies and for years the pair shared an on-again, off-again romance.[7]

Since her original introduction in comics, the character has been featured in various other Marvel-licensed products, including video games, animated television series, and merchandise.

  1. ^ Black Cat Annual #1
  2. ^ The Amazing Spider-Man vol. 3 #6
  3. ^ Defenders vol. 4 #9 (July 2012)
  4. ^
    • Alverson, Brigid (November 29, 2022). "Marvel to Collect Jed MacKay's 'Black Cat'". ICv2. Retrieved February 8, 2023.
    • Gallagher, Brian (March 23, 2017). "Spider-Man Spin-Off Silver Sable and Black Cat Is Happening". MovieWeb. Retrieved February 8, 2023.
    • Polo, Susana (October 25, 2018). "Spider-Man PS4's new DLC makes some changes to the original Black Cat". Polygon. Retrieved February 8, 2023.
    • McGuire, Liam (April 27, 2022). "Black Cat Gets New Costume and The Perfect Weapon In Marvel Fan Art". Screen Rant. Retrieved February 8, 2023.
  5. ^ Wolfman, Marv (w), Pollard, Keith (p), Giacoia, Frank (i), Sean, Ben (col), Costanza, John (let). "Never Let the Black Cat Cross Your Path!" The Amazing Spider-Man, vol. 1, no. 194 (April 10, 1979). Marvel Comics.
  6. ^ Tyler, Adrienne (March 4, 2023). "7 Things We Most Want To See In MCU Spider-Man 4". Screen Rant. Retrieved March 22, 2023.
  7. ^ Austin, Michael (September 20, 2020). "Spider-Man's Top Ten Superhero Friends, Ranked". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved October 21, 2022.