You all knew this was coming. Peter Parker and Bruce Wayne could not be more different, but they oddly share the same interest in women! At DC Comics we have Selina Kyle/Catwoman! At Marvel Comics we have Felicia Hardy/Black Cat! Today we answer the age old question; What's The Difference?
First known as "The Cat", Selina Kyle first appeared in "Batman #1" in 1940 and was created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger to be Batman's first female adversary. Kane loosely based Catwoman off of his cousin Ruth Steel and actress Jean Harlow, another influence was the animal Selina based herself on. In their own opinion, Kane and Finger saw cats were like women and men were like dogs. The affection of a cat must be earned with both distance and care, their demeanor is very calm and confident. But with dogs, loyalty is easily given and distractions come easy too. Catwoman was a thief, but additionally a love interest, a "forbidden lover" kind of character. Though The Comics Code of Authority limited the characters use, Selina really came into her own when she got her first independent comic book in 1993. Selina Kyle's simplest origin story is that she was once a prostitute who's sister Maggie was abused by Selina's pimp. After killing the pimp, Maggie becomes a nun and Selina begins a career as a thief along with her position as a dominatrix. After seeing Batman in action for the first time and realizing her way of living is harmful to herself and her friend Holly Robinson, Selina dons the identity of Catwoman. As a professional thief she crosses paths with Batman and the two develop their relationship. Since 1993, Catwoman has been better described as an anti-hero more than a straight-up villain. She has no goal of killing Batman or taking over the world. Like many characters Selina has had her fair share of changes, she was a mother, she had a sidekick, she was on The Justice League of America, and most recently she was a crime boss. The latter refers to her father being a crime lord and her inheriting the family business. The idea of her being the child of a crime boss has actually been done once before, as well. There was even a time when Batman considered starting a legitimate relationship with Catwoman, but alas their love was never meant to be. Catwoman's gadgets include bolas, sharp claws, and her signature whip. She is also a skilled fighter and a master thief. Her best ability is her tool of deception, tricking anyone who poses a threat. With three cinematic appearances and an inclusion in every form of Batman media, Catwoman is definitely one of DC Comic's secret weapons.
Felicity Hardy was created in 1979's "Amazing Spider-Man #194" by Marv Wolfman and Kieth Pollard. Marv intended on creating Black Cat as a villain for Spider-Woman, taking inspiration from the Tex Avery cartoon "Bad Luck Blackie" which was about a black cat who triggered bad luck for others. However, Marv never got the chance to use her in Spider-Woman so the concept for the character was moved over to the Spider-Man book along with Marv. Felicity was the daughter of Walter Hardy, a world-renowned thief who posed as a traveling salesman. When she was a teenager, Felicity was raped by her boyfriend and spent months training in combat and gymnastics to eventually have her revenge. Before she could kill her rapist, he was killed in a drunk driving accident. Robbed of her revenge, Felicity channeled her anger and her training into becoming the next best thief and following her father's footsteps. She became The Black Cat. Felicity failed at rescuing her father from prison as he had died while locked up, but on that night she met Spider-Man and was so fascinated she continued her criminal career to gain his attention. Their relationship failed as Felicity saw Peter Parker's civilian life wasn't satisfactory for her and, more so, her lack of powers made her feel like a liability to Peter. After being rejected by The Avengers and The Fantastic Four, Black Cat went to the same scientists that created The Scorpion and The Fly. They gave Selina the ability to alter probability, basically she became a bad luck magnet. However, this whole operation was lead by The Kingpin who had a vendetta against Spider-Man and gave Black Cat bad luck powers in order to make her an unintentional danger to Spider-Man. As such, Black Cat used these powers to become a "Robin Hood" kind of anti-hero. Black Cat's abilities have altered from bad luck projection to cybernetic enhancements, magical enhancements and a really cool chain whip, but she is primarily a thief. As if her years of changes weren't enough, Black Cat was arrested and robbed of all her stolen goods after Spider-Man (actually Doctor Octopus) defeated her and turned her into the police. When she got free, Black Cat swore vengeance on Spider-Man and became a crime boss. Sometimes a hero, sometimes a villain, Black Cat's story is one of desire and betrayal. At the end of the day she's just a scared girl trying to be as strong as the people around her.
Black Cat wasn't intentionally based off Catwoman, but the similarities are funny. The fact that they've both become crime lords recently is interesting and I'd love to find out which company had that idea first. For both Batman and Spider-Man, love interests aren't rare and most of the time there is a huge catch to who they date. It just so happens they both have feline companions who cause a lot of trouble. The difference I see is that while Catwoman has mainly been in the crime game for herself, Black Cat has more of a chip on her shoulder. She chose to be a thief to be like her father, she chose to get superpowers to be like Spider-Man, she chose to be a crime boss to get her reputation back, over the course of her history Black Cat has become a harder character. Selina-on the other hand-has gotten softer in the years. Even as a crime boss she showed sympathy towards Batman and his allies. The line between hero and villain has slanted in opposite directions for both characters. Though their goals are different, both these characters are examples of how people can be gray in the world of good and evil and in the end, we only have ourselves and the people we care for.
Thank you for reading!
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Felicity Hardy was created in 1979's "Amazing Spider-Man #194" by Marv Wolfman and Kieth Pollard. Marv intended on creating Black Cat as a villain for Spider-Woman, taking inspiration from the Tex Avery cartoon "Bad Luck Blackie" which was about a black cat who triggered bad luck for others. However, Marv never got the chance to use her in Spider-Woman so the concept for the character was moved over to the Spider-Man book along with Marv. Felicity was the daughter of Walter Hardy, a world-renowned thief who posed as a traveling salesman. When she was a teenager, Felicity was raped by her boyfriend and spent months training in combat and gymnastics to eventually have her revenge. Before she could kill her rapist, he was killed in a drunk driving accident. Robbed of her revenge, Felicity channeled her anger and her training into becoming the next best thief and following her father's footsteps. She became The Black Cat. Felicity failed at rescuing her father from prison as he had died while locked up, but on that night she met Spider-Man and was so fascinated she continued her criminal career to gain his attention. Their relationship failed as Felicity saw Peter Parker's civilian life wasn't satisfactory for her and, more so, her lack of powers made her feel like a liability to Peter. After being rejected by The Avengers and The Fantastic Four, Black Cat went to the same scientists that created The Scorpion and The Fly. They gave Selina the ability to alter probability, basically she became a bad luck magnet. However, this whole operation was lead by The Kingpin who had a vendetta against Spider-Man and gave Black Cat bad luck powers in order to make her an unintentional danger to Spider-Man. As such, Black Cat used these powers to become a "Robin Hood" kind of anti-hero. Black Cat's abilities have altered from bad luck projection to cybernetic enhancements, magical enhancements and a really cool chain whip, but she is primarily a thief. As if her years of changes weren't enough, Black Cat was arrested and robbed of all her stolen goods after Spider-Man (actually Doctor Octopus) defeated her and turned her into the police. When she got free, Black Cat swore vengeance on Spider-Man and became a crime boss. Sometimes a hero, sometimes a villain, Black Cat's story is one of desire and betrayal. At the end of the day she's just a scared girl trying to be as strong as the people around her.
Black Cat wasn't intentionally based off Catwoman, but the similarities are funny. The fact that they've both become crime lords recently is interesting and I'd love to find out which company had that idea first. For both Batman and Spider-Man, love interests aren't rare and most of the time there is a huge catch to who they date. It just so happens they both have feline companions who cause a lot of trouble. The difference I see is that while Catwoman has mainly been in the crime game for herself, Black Cat has more of a chip on her shoulder. She chose to be a thief to be like her father, she chose to get superpowers to be like Spider-Man, she chose to be a crime boss to get her reputation back, over the course of her history Black Cat has become a harder character. Selina-on the other hand-has gotten softer in the years. Even as a crime boss she showed sympathy towards Batman and his allies. The line between hero and villain has slanted in opposite directions for both characters. Though their goals are different, both these characters are examples of how people can be gray in the world of good and evil and in the end, we only have ourselves and the people we care for.
Thank you for reading!
Facebook: The Panel Biter
Twitter: @ThePanelBiter
Podbean: Panelbiter.podbean.com
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